Patricia Briggs
Raven's Shadow (2004)
Yes, I am gouging myself on new books. I'd been very good, about not bought myself any books for several months, so I figure I'm entitled to a small binge--especially when I can find books on sale.
Seraph, a Traveler, a mage, and the last of her clan, is saved by Tier, a solider heading home for peace and calm, years after he snuck out as a boy to join the army. The first two chapters tell of their meeting and how Tier saved Seraph. The remainder of the book tells of what Seraph does after Tier disappears.
Although Raven's Shadow is book one of a duology, it can be read as a stand alone novel--the author resolves the issues and problems satisfactorily by the end of the book. I have a great deal of admiration for authors who can do that (and also authors who can tell a story in under a thousand pages).
I was very pleased with Raven's Shadow. The story was fun, the characters were interesting, and the writing was good. There were several things that I particularly liked about the story: the Travelers, who were somewhat akin to gypsies, are an oppressed class, yet Patricia Briggs makes sure that they aren't all noble, and that some react to their persecution the way that many people react--with anger and hostility. It makes them far more human than than they would have been otherwise, considering the story.
I also like the fact that for most of the story Seraph and Tier older--middle aged by the standards of the time. Not callow youths learning their skills and powers, nor aged masters with wisdom and skill, but (somewhat) regular people, comfortable with their skills and with themselves.
There were some flaws with the book. I thought that things came together a little too easy in some parts. I wasn't sure what the limitations on a Raven's power were, mostly she seemed to be able to do whatever she needed, but again, as she was older, she should have known the limitations of her powers, and not attempted more than she was capable of doing. The same thing for Tier, although that is also explained to some small degree.
So there was at least some explanation
But all in all, the story was engaging and well-paced, with interesting characters. It was a fun read, and although I was able to put the book down and do other things, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you're looking for a good fantasy, with strong characters, then I definitely recommend Raven's Shadow.
Rating: 8/10
Raven's Strike (2005)
The sequel to Raven's Shadow, Raven's Strike picks up where Raven's Shadow left off. Tier and Seraph, and their children Lier and Jes are headed back from Taela. They are still traveling with the clan of Rongier the Librarian, and Hennea, who was separated from her clan when she was kidnapped by Volis .
Like the first book, Raven's Strike has an interesting story and characters. And my favorite: strong female characters. However, that doesn't mean the men are weak. In fact I again think Tier is the most interesting character in the story, although the focus is less upon him in this book than in the previous book. However, the complexity that Jes develops in this story makes up for it.
There were again a couple things in the story that bothered me--one of which made me look up from the book and say, "That's ridiculous!" I'm sorry, but the Emperor just doesn't show up at a peasant's house and stay for a few days, sleeping in the barn. And my desbelief was exacerbated by the fact that the emperor appeared without any warning, which stressed how unlikely the situation was. Even more frustrating, in the following chapters she did a good job of explaining why the emperor had to leave, and why he wanted to search out Tier. Perhaps if this part of the story had been presented first, I would not have found the Emperor's arrival so jarring, and might have been able to overlook how unrealistic the situation was. But was things were written, I ended up pulled abruptly from the story, which is a bad thing.
Also, towards the end of the story (and I'm going to try to be vague here) I did not understand the resolution of Tier's problem. I kept waiting for an explanation, and none ever came, which was rather frustrating. The way the problem was solved was entirely too much "then a miracle happens" to sit well with me.
However, despite these weaknesses, Raven's Strike was still a good and enjoyable book, and its many strengths were enough to overcome its flaws. I really liked the explanation of the mermori. I found them fascinating. I also liked learning more about Phoran's Memory.
Though, as much as I liked the cover of Raven's Shadow, I hate to cover of Raven's Strike. Seraph no longer looks like a mature woman, but isntead looks like a badly dressed teen. (And the dress she's wearing? Ugh. And it is repeatedly mentioned how Seraph keeps wearing herTraveler's pants, instead of going back to a dress like a proper Rederni woman. And what is the dog like creature supposed to be? Because it certainly isn't Jes. (Nor is it any species of canine known to man.)
I'm glad this was the second book in the series, because covers like this are enough to keep me from purchasing books by new authors. (I don't need look like even more of a geek than I already am, when I pull out books to read while I'm waiting for the PRT.)
If you enjoyed Raven's Shadow, then you'll definitely want to read Raven's Strike. If you have not read Raven's Shadow, the story is written so that you should be able to read the story without missing anything. But to me, Raven's Shadow is the stronger of the two books, so you'll really want to read that first.
Rating: 7/10
Moon Called (2006)
I have to say, Moon Called was a lot of fun to read. I had no expectations of the book at all (I bought it because I liked other books by Patricia Briggs), so everywhere the story went was a surprise. And a pleasant surprise at that. Also, this book was as much a mystery as it was a fantasy, and a pretty well-done mystery at that.
Mercy Thompson is a mechanic and a shifter. Being a shifter is similar to being a werewolf, in that she can change into an animal form--her other form is a coyote--but in other ways it's completely different. Her changes are not affected or regulated by the moon, and her shifting is easy and painless. Mercy also lives next door to the alpha werewolf for her area, so she is surprised when a young werewolf shows up at her garage looking for work, because as far as she knows, he's not part of the local pack.
The writing was very good: the pacing was excellent (this was another couldn't- put- it- down- to- go- to- sleep book), the dialog was sharp and amusing, and I really liked the story. Several times it went places I hadn't expected, which I especially liked. Plus, actions taken earlier in the book left me wondering whether any character was safe from being killed off. Which I also really like, because as much as I hate having characters I like killed off, I also find it ridiculous when everyone comes through a horribly dangerous situation completely unscathed. (Though I have to admit this is far more noticeable in movies than in books.)
I could have done without the cover though--at least the half-shirt / perfect breasts portion of the cover. I mean come ON. The woman is a mechanic. She doesn't need grease embedded in her entire torso, including her ridiculous breasts and I'm pretty sure any woman smart enough to be a mechanic would also be smart enough to wear a bra to work. Not to mention the fact that wearing your hair loose combined with moving engine parts just can NOT be a good idea. So boo-hiss for the cover.
Luckily, the book more than overcame the foolish cover.
This book also had my all-time favorite characteristics--the story arc was completed within the book. Although there are plenty of openings for another book in this series, my hope is that when(!) Patricia Briggs writes more books with Mercy Thompson, she'll continue to write in this vein: completing the story arc in a single book, and no cliffhanger endings. Plus, as an added bonus, very strong female lead character.
And I really hope she writes more books about Mercy Thompson. The writing and dialog were excellent, but most of all it was just a fun book to read, and I want more like it. If you're looking for a fun book to read, I highly recommend Moon Called.
Rating: 8/10
Blood Bound (2007)
Blood Bound is the sequel to Moon Called, and continues the story of Mercy Thompson, a mechanic and a walker. A walker is similar to--but not the same as--a werewolf. What she has is an inborn power to change form at will, and that shifting isn't tied to the moon. She also owes a favor to one of the local vampires--a favor he has come to collect.
There are several things about this book that I particularly like. I like the hierarchy of both the local werewolf pack and the vampire seethe, and they way they react to Mercy and each other. It makes sense that for the vampires to have survived for as long as they have, they would need to have some sort of hierarchy of control.
I'm also fascinated by how Patricia Briggs (and several other authors who write supernatural fantasy) have chosen to have at least some of their supernatural creatures come out of the closet (so to speak) to the general public about their very exisence
Another thing I particularly like is how Mercy works to make ends meet. Yes, her money problems do get solved, but that's part of the fantasy, isn't it?
However, I was a little bothered by the start of an "everyone wants Mercy" thing that was going on underneath the story. It looks like this was for the most part headed off at the pass, with Mercy needing to make a decision between just two guys, which I can accept. But I really don't care much for it when all the males find the heroine irresistible. Yes, that too is a fantasy. It's just not my favorite brand of fantasy is all. But as I said, Mercy seems to have limited her number of eligible suitors, which good.
Additionally, she had to make hard choices--and she got hurt making the choices she made (got hurt, and stayed injured for an appropriate amount of time even). I prefer it when the characters have to make hard choices, and when there are consequences for those choices.
I still dislike the cover though. Not the tatoos and the grease--that's good. I just hate the fact she has to have her coveralls undone to her belt. Why? Why would she do that? There is no good reason for her--or anyone--to dress like that. And I really don't think that she'd be wearing a frilly bra on the off chance she was foolish enough to undo her coveralls like that. I mean really--she's an otherwise sensible woman, so it just seems out of place. And I realize that the author has no control over the covers, but it really bugs me. I mean, when the book came, my grandmother asked what book I'd gotten (on the off chance it was a mystery). I held up the book, and said, "It's a fantasy book, I don't think you'll want to read it." She looked at the cover and said, "You're right."
If you read Moon Called, then you will want to pick up Blood Bound. If you haven't read Moon Called, you should be able to pick up Blood Bound without any difficulty, but you'll probably enjoy it more if you read the books in order. Otherwise, it was a strong, fast-paced story that I had trouble putting down last night so I could go to bed.
Rating: 7/10
Iron Kissed (2008)
I really like Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, so I’ve had Iron Kissed on pre-order since I found out it was available. I had to finish the book I was currently reading before I started this, but yesterday afternoon I picked it up and didn’t want to put it back down. Which is why I didn’t start reading today until I had a chunk of time in which I wouldn’t be interrupted. Because I did not want to put this story down once it got started.
As much as I really like the Mercy Thompson series, this may be my favorite book yet. First off, the last portion of the book had me running to my room to finish reading because it made me all sniffly and teary. So yeah, I’ve got extra hormones in my system right now, but still, the story was so well written, and I’ve come to care about what happens to Mercy so much that I was…concerned.
To clear her debt to Uncle Mike, Zee asks Mercy to come out to the Reservation to use her nose to investigate some crime scenes. As a result, Mercy ends up in terrible trouble trying to get her friends out of trouble–all the while realizing that she has to make a decision between Adam and Samuel, because not making that decision is creating even more trouble not just for herself but for Adam’s pack as well.
First things first, I loved the cover of this book. Despite the excess of skin Mercy is showing, the cover does an excellent job of depicting Mercy as she is described in the book. Her face as drawn matches how she was described in he book, as is her hair, and her attitude. Of course I think it’s a little silly to display that much skin while working on a car, but I suppose they have to do something to make the cover sexy.
Second, the story is very well done. Everything hangs together and makes sense, the pacing is excellent, and I didn’t want to put the book down until everything was concluded. Parts of the story were very hard to read, as some very bad things happen to Mercy, but these things not only help to resolve some of her issues, but they reinforce what Mercy is and how she fits into the local hierarchy. She’s small, weaker than everyone with whom she resorts, and had to resort to wits and cunning over strength–in essence, she is coyote (only without so much of the trickster traits.)
I also liked that although she had to rely upon others when brute strength was necessary, she was able to take care of herself for the most part–yes she gets herself into situations from which she cannot extricate herself, but it is not stupidity (in most cases) that gets her into those situations, and they are not situations from which anyone could survive alone. So it is right for her to lean on others–it doesn’t make her a damsel in distress.
I particularly like how Mercy deals with the trauma in the last several chapters, and I think that Patricia Briggs did a good job dealing with the issue at hand, making the situation and Mercy’s reaction to it quite realistic. Even if it did make me all hormonally weepy.
If you have ready any of the previous Mercy Thompson books, the you do not want to miss Iron Kissed. If you have not read a Mercy Thompson book before, and you enjoy supernatural fantasy, then run out and get Moon Called and Blood Bound because reading them first will make Iron Kissed all the better. Yes, you could read this without having read the other two, but you’ll enjoy it more if you know the history.
Rating: 9/10
Cry Wolf (2008)
I really like Patricia Briggs writing, so when I saw she had a new book coming, I ordered it without knowing anything about it.
CryWolf is set in the same world as her Mercy series, and many of the characters carry over, although Mercy does not make an appearance. Which is a good thing, since I think the series needed to be able to stand alone. We also learned about the Marrock’s pack from an outsiders point of view, rather than Mercy’s, which made it very different. Samuel made a brief appearance, but not a large appearance, which I liked, because he has been a major character in the Mercy series.
As with the Mercy books, the characters are distinct and well developed, although much of that may come from most of the characters having made an appearance in the Mercy books. One thing I liked was that we learned more about the characters who have made brief appearances in the Mercy series. The Marrock was a major character, and we learned quite a bit about his past, which I found fascinating.
And of course we spend lots of time with Charles and Anna.
However, I had one major problem with the book. I spent the entire book feeling like I had missed the first part of the story. I kept checking to see if there was a book before this. Nope. Was this something that happened in one of the Mercy books? I don’t think so. So why does it feel like I’m missing something?
Because there was a short story that came before this.
That’s not so good. The first book in a series should be able to stand on its own, without making you feel like you’ve missed something. Was it anything glaring? No. Just a general feeling as I read the book that I was completely missing something.
But what was even more annoying is I own the collection the story is in, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet.
So like her other books, it was a very good story with very good characters, but lost points for the nagging feeling that I was missing something. If you like Patricia Brigg’s Mercy series, then you’ll want to pick up Cry Wolf. Just be aware that if you haven’t read the short story, you may feel like you’re missing something.
Rating: 7/10
Books by Patricia Briggs:
Raven's Shadow (2004), Raven's Strike (2005)
Mercy Thompson:Moon Called (2006), Blood Bound (2007), Iron Kissed (2008)
Alpha and Omega: Cry Wolf (2008)
