Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)
by Ilona Andrews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.48 You Save: $4.51 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.10 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)
Book Review: Fun urban fantasy with strong female protagonist - Great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit that I judged Magic Bites by its cover. When I received it, I wasn't interested in reading it at all, but after hearing some really good things about it I was more excited to give it a try. I was not disappointed. This book is fantastic!
Kate Daniels is a member of the Mercenary Guild. Mercenaries are called in to deal with situations involving magic that the police either can't or won't handle. When Kate's guardian, Greg is found dead, Kate sets off on a mission to find out what happened. She finds a case of strange killings Greg has been working on, and it leads her to the necromancers who control vampires and The Pack, a group of shapeshifters.
Urban fantasy can be hit or miss with me. Magic Bites was definitely a hit. The story was never boring and kept me entertained the entire time. It reads like a thriller with some magic, vampires, and shapeshifters thrown in. The necromancers and The Pack are both suspected in the killings Kate's guardian was investigating, and it is left up to her to figure out who is responsible before all hell breaks loose between the two groups. Some people might be burned out on vampires and werewolves, but I assure you...these are more your standard fare than those of the sparkling, buff teenage variety. They are menacing. I found myself thinking that Kate was in danger throughout most of the book and had that "edge of my seat" feeling throughout the entire read.
It only took the first few lines of the book for Kate Daniels to become one of my favorite female characters. The story opens with her drinking Boone's Hard Lemonade and watching television...and she drinks Boone's not because she's poor but by choice! Who does that?!! Only someone who is very secure with themselves and VERY cool. When I read those first few pages I immediately knew that this book would be more like reading The Dresden Files than reading a romance-y girlie urban fantasy book. Kate seems more down on her luck in the romance department and can definitely handle herself in a fight. I happen to love female protagonists that aren't all bosoms and eyelash batters. Call it the feminist in me, but I like it when writers make women capable of more than seducing a man. Kate Daniels fits that profile for me, and I want to read more of her story!
For those of you that like a little hint of romance, there's definitely some romantic tension, and the series seems to hint at that being a part of the story arc in the coming books (which I will most likely be picking up soon). My hope is that they continue to focus on Kate Daniels being a hardened merc with a little bit of a soft side.
The only thing that left me wanting in the book is that I wish there was a little more world building on the part of the neuromancers and The Pack. Since the books are relatively short, that might come later in the series. Overall I thought the book was fun and quick. If you're an urban fantasy fan, like women who can kick booty, or even want to delve into urban fantasy, I highly recommend Magic Bites. It's definitely a good way to spend a lazy Saturday!
*Notice of disclosure: I received this book for review from Penguin Books.
Book Review: Fresh Urban Fantasy with an Excellent Heroine (B Grade)
Summary: 4 Stars
Ilona Andrews has a hit with with her Kate Daniels series. This is one Urban Fantasy book that is fresh and crackles with energy. If you like your heroines strong, powerful and with wit, you have to read Magic Bites.
Magic Bites takes place in Atlanta, Georgia where magic cripples the city. There are things called flares that can take out modern conveniences such as cars and electricity. During theses times, creatures that enjoy using their magic for their own devious means come out and cause problems. That is where Kate comes into the picture. She is a sort of freelancer mercenary who keeps control and cleans up these problems. Kate has her own special magic at her disposal. She has a pretty nifty sword she can use along with another secret weapon up her sleeve. Kate has two magic words from her deceased father she can use as a last resort if need be. When Kate says one of these words out loud to whomever, the unlucky fool must do what she orders. In Magic Bites, Kate acquires four new words from her mentor who has been murdered. She now has six words and her sword to use. Just because Kate may have these powerful words to use whenever she wants to, there are consequences. Every time she says one of these words, the pain she experiences is unbearable, only to be used if there is no other option.
Greg, Kate's mentor, was a powerful knight who belonged to a group called the Order of Knights and Magical Aid. Kate has the option of joining but she doesn't deal well with authority. Now that Greg has been eliminated, she must enter the world he was involved with to find his killer. This is where she is introduced to a whole new group of characters. Not only are there magicians and witches, but vampires, werewolves and all different types of shift changers.
Once such shifty creature is Curran, who is the Beast Lord. He is also the Pack King a.k.a. the lord of the shift changers. Curran can change into this monster lion and does not like to be told "no" and feels he must be obeyed in all things. You can just imagine his reaction to Kate when they meet. Sorry, folks, this is no love at first sight or even a twinge of lust between the two. Curran can't stand Kate and she feels the same way about him. These two not only come to blows but try their best to kill one another. Remember how Kate has a problem with authority? Well, Curran is the top dog, er... cat and he wants Kate out of the way mainly because of her nose in the air attitude. As the story progresses, Kate and Curran come to an understanding and help one another. Kate eventually finds out who killed Greg, gets her revenge and helps Curran and his pack keep control of Atlanta.
Ilona (and don't forget her wonderful husband Gordon who lends a hand) has come up with a gritty, dark world that has some great potential. I look forward to Kate and her future adventures with her six magical words that can cause so much damage. And, if Kate and Curran end up sharing a kiss or two, I wouldn't mind that either.
Katiebabs
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)
Book Review: Unique, gory urban fantasy
Summary: 3 Stars
_Magic Bites_ is an exciting urban fantasy with a unique premise and detailed world-building, somewhat marred by an unsatisfying twist in the story's central mystery.
I give Andrews a lot of points for creativity here. In _Magic Bites_'s near-future setting, magic and technology come and go a bit like the weather; when magic is working, tech isn't, and vice versa. The shifts are unpredictable, but it can be assumed there will be several per day. Andrews does a great job of exploring all the aspects of this situation and the ways people find to cope with it (magic-powered light bulbs to back up electric ones, horseback travel, etc.). I loved the well-thought-out explanation for why telephones occasionally work during a magic phase. Especially haunting was the image of downtown Atlanta, its skyscrapers crumbling away with every onslaught of magic.
Also laudable is Andrews's use of mythological creatures. As a fan of urban fantasy, a trend that saddens me in many recent novels is the fixation on vampires and werewolves to the exclusion of everything else. World folklore gives us a lot of "things that go bump in the night" to play with. In _Magic Bites_, there are vampires and werewolves (of course) but also other beasties, and the central villain is a horrific creature that exists in folklore but that I've never seen used before in a novel.
The heroine, Kate, is part of the novel's uniqueness as well. At first, I didn't like her. She seemed to be yet another of those urban fantasy heroines who constantly make fools of themselves to prove they're tough, and somehow everyone loves them anyway. It turns out, though, that while Kate wisecracks constantly, there are consequences to her abrasive style. Andrews allows other characters to be offended by her heroine, and that's something that's all too rare.
Where _Magic Bites_ lost me was in a brief series of scenes late in the story. There are two characters who might have done something awful; we'll call them A and B. For reasons I never quite understood, everyone becomes convinced that A did the deed. Beats me why they think this. There aren't really any clues pointing toward A. B, on the other hand, might as well have "Guilty" tattooed on his or her forehead. B has been telegraphing guilt throughout the book. Yet somehow no one thinks of him/her until A is exonerated. Then, to confuse me more, the character who was the ringleader in accusing A gets mad at Kate over the whole fiasco, even though it was his idea. I was lost, to say the least. If A was going to be a red herring, there should have been more clues leading in that direction, and B's guilt should have been more subtle.
It picks back up after that, though, and there's a suspenseful showdown with the baddie, and an ending that ties up the story nicely but leaves room for sequels, the first of which is already out.
I should mention that Magic Bites contains a lot of gory violence.
I would recommend Magic Bites to anyone who enjoyed early Laurell K. Hamilton; its blend of mystery, horror, and a tough heroine gives it some of the same "feel."
Book Review: Superficial Romance, Depraved Bad Guys, and Bloody Battles
Summary: 4 Stars
THREE QUICK POINTS:
* Point 1: The prose and pacing are exquisitely done. The book is smartly written without being pretentious and urges you forward without shoving you down a flight of stairs. It's evident that the word selection and syntax were assembled with care.
* Point 2: This novel is a perfect exercise in world-building. Set in a future version of Atlanta ravaged by magic, the descriptions are vividly dark and disturbingly crafted. It becomes real.
* Point 3: What, no sparkly, beautiful, or dangerously seductive vampires? Nope. In this book, vampires veer from the contemporary norm. They are hideous quadrupedal humanoids continually degrading into something much worse--"an abomination in progress."
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
In Magic Bites, Kate Daniels receives a cryptic message prompting her to check on her guardian. (When I first saw the term `guardian', I thought it was some sort of super/preternatural type of guardian-it's her legal guardian.) When she checks up on him, she learns that he's been murdered. Kate's investigation soon leads her to a much bigger problem involving two feuding groups: The Pack (shape changers) and the People (necromancers). What results is a preternatural mystery complete with red herrings and all.
MY THOUGHTS:
My first thought after shutting Magic Bites was *this* is how a preternatural fantasy book should be written. The strongest point of the book is the world created; the tearing down of the Atlanta we all know and the rebuilding of a dark, dilapidated, and disturbing place complete with menacing creatures and a new code of conduct.
The book is told from the point of view of Kate Daniels, a mercenary. She's a spunky, in your face, get things done the hard way kind of girl. Being inside her head for the entire 260 page book wasn't bad. She was rather entertaining. The only tough humps were the moments when she was down on herself physically. When she was ragging on herself, she really ragged and that did become a little annoying.
While the characters were also well crafted-Kate Daniels and Curran (the scary, and yet somehow sexy, Lord of the Free Beasts) in particular-a few did seem off somehow. Most notably was Bono. I can't put my finger on it, but something about him rang false. Another qualm I had with the book was the various new agencies (and their abbreviations) thrown at the reader. It's a little overwhelming to keep track of who they are, what their purpose is, and what they're actually doing, but as the story moves forward, it does become easier to manage.
Those small points aside, Magic Bites was easily read in a single sitting. The descriptions of the people and settings were vivid enough to place the reader in the story while leaving enough room for the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. The prose was clever, well thought out without being pretentious or forced; it was very natural to read from one sentence to the next and one page to the next. It had a little bit of everything: superficial romance, depraved bad guys, and bloody battles. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable read.
Book Review: Great addition to the urban fantasy Genre. Lovers of P Briggs and Harris will want it.
Summary: 5 Stars
Kate Daniels is a member of the Mercenary Guild. She hires out her sword and her magical talents to suppress those who are misusing their power. This is a world where tech and magic are competing for control. When the tech wave rises, magic subsides and vice versa. The fantasy construct is detailed and original. It's a bit Renaissance society meets futuristic. Each City is assigned a group of knights from the Order of Knights of Magical Aid. In this world, there are also shapeshifters and The People (vampires) and humans.
Kate is a reluctant heroine. She is powerful, due to her lineage, but she doesn't work well with others. She choose to be a Mercenary instead of part of the Order as her guardian and knight-diviner, Greg, wanted. But then someone starts killing different members of each group, including Greg. Before a full scale war breaks out between the Pack and the People and to avenge her loss, Kate Daniels must discover who is behind the murders and she must learn to work with others. One of those "others" is the powerful, sexy and merciless Lord of the Beasts, Curran.
I am first and foremost a romance reader. It takes a really good book to make me enjoy a story with no romance. While there is a slight tickle there between Kate and Curran, the story focused on the fantasy construct, the plot, and Kate's destiny in this world. The fantasy construct was something very original; very fresh. There are knights, protectors, crusaders, mercenaries, the Lord of the Beasts and vampires as I haven't read in other books. The imagery is vivid; the dialogue smart.
****
I glanced around the room. The mood had changed. The game had ended, and their eyes burned like fire. The hair on their heads bristled, and the smell of murder was in the air.
"This is Slayer," I said, holding the saber so they could see it clearly. The saber seethed, and luminescent tendrils of smoke clung to its blade. "It has had many names. One of them was Wolfripper. Push me and I will show you how it got that one."
--
Curran turned to me. "Take one of mine again and I'll kill you." He said it in a conversational manner, matter-of-fact and flat, but in his eyes I could see a simple certainty. If he had to, he would kill me. He would not lose any sleep over it. He would not give it a second thought. He would do it and move on, untroubled by ending my existence.
****
The niggles is that Kate is a smart mouth and at times that gets her into trouble and she doesn't always learn from this. During an encounter with Curran, Kate acts hastily and suffers a bad consequence from it. But in the very next scene, she is smarting off again which could have easily led her into more trouble. There were also some hiccups in the plot and some character motivations that I couldn't explain but overall, this was an excellent start to a brand new series. Any fan of Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris would enjoy an afternoon with this book. A-