Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
by Patricia Briggs
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Book Reviews of Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
Book Review: 4.5 Stars, very well done
Summary: 5 Stars
Moon Called is an urban fantasy centered around werewolves, told from the first person perspective of Mercy Thompson. Currently, supernatural creatures are being forced to reveal themselves to the unsuspecting human population because of the rise in modern science and technology. This fact is the basis for much of the underlying turmoil of the book. Mercy is a shapeshifter--a coyote. Unlike the werewolves she is not bound in any way to the moon, or to the stringent pack system that organizes them. Mercy is in fact fiercely independent, owning and running her own mechanic shop for German vehicles. Despite her seemingly low status, she's in a unique position of knowing a variety of supernatural creatures and being deeply involved in their lives. An abused teenage werewolf shows up in her shop looking for work, and Mercy becomes entangled in the fights and politics of the local werewolf pack. Mercy fights along side them in a battle for power and justice.
This book had a lot of positive points. Mercy is a fairly appealing protagonist. She's tough and independent, but still shows emotion and compassion. I wish she'd developed more but I understand there's more books in the series for that. The cast of secondary characters were each interesting in their own right, but also helped to move the plot forward. Briggs did a good job outlining the pack hierarchy and rules in a way that made sense, while managing not to get bogged down with politics. The world building was similarly well done. The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading, even if it was slow in a few places. I liked that there was a mystery to be solved and a few surprise twists. I also appreciated the touches of humor that kept it from getting too dark.
My main criticism is that the characters are pretty underdeveloped. As mentioned, I liked them all very much, however I would expect that having encountered hardship they would be impacted or changed in some way.
This is the type of book that leaves you wanting to read the next one in the series immediately. It's that good. Everything is wrapped up well, but there's just enough questions left unanswered to keep you curious. Excellent book.
Book Review: So what do a garage mechanic and a coyote have in common? They are both Mercy Thompson.
Summary: 4 Stars
SYNOPSIS:
Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, a "walker" who changes into a coyote as easily as she blinks her eyes. When a young homeless man comes into her garage needing a job the wheels are set in motion for Mercy and all of her friends to become involved in a battle to overthrow the Marrok, the pack leader with oversight over all the werewolves in North America. There is an experimental drug being tried on newly turned werewolves in the Chicago area and somebody stands to make a pile of money if the experiments can be made to work. The Marrok and his sons have to solve this mystery quickly.
OPINION:
I really liked Mercy. She came across as someone who actually could take apart the transmission of a VW Jetta and put the darn thing back together blindfolded. She actually tended to her business instead of just giving it lip service or having it be nothing more than background material. I enjoyed all of the characters introduced here; Adam Hauptman, alpha of the local werewolf pack, his very human daughter Jesse, Tony the undercover cop, Stefan the vampire, Elizaveta the witch who uses magic to clean up all the "trouble spots" when secrecy is necessary to protect the wolves, and Zee the previous owner of the garage and a man who owns a wicked knife. This is the first book in the series and lays the groundwork for all the books in the series so there is a lot of ground to cover and many important characters to be introduced and explained. Patricia Briggs has done that really well. The writing is crisp, the action is really well described and the tension which builds between Mercy and the werewolves is strong and exciting. The scenes where Stefan took Mercy to the vampire queen gave me chills they were so well written.
RECOMMENDATION:
Definitely worth reading in order to get involved in this series. This particular book may be advertised as a paranormal romance but there are only indications of romance which might take place in the future. I was very, very impressed and definitely want to read the other books in the series. How nice to find an author who knows how to "write" a story. They can't all do that you know.
Book Review: Strong beginning to a great series
Summary: 5 Stars
In Moon Called, Mercedes Thompson, the VW mechanic, Mercy for short, has always strived to lead a normal life. Well, as normal a life as a walker (one who can shape-shift into a coyote) can expect. A walker who was raised by werewolves, whose neighbor is Alpha of the local werewolf pack, whose former boss is a powerful member of the fae community, and whose friend is a vampire with a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. That kind of normal. When a newly turned teenage werewolf shows up at her garage looking for work, Mercy finds herself crossing the boundary from her version of normal into much more dangerous territory, where she finds herself at the center of a storm of feuding werewolves, vampire favors and angry witches...
I was basically instantly sucked into Mercy's world. She is an engaging heroine, spunky but not cheesy; she feels real. The powerful paranormal characters in her life are realistic even in their otherworldliness, which is impressive. Briggs worked in a good base of folklore and real world nature to make even the unbelievable believable. I never really felt myself rolling my eyes or thinking, god this is cheesy. It wasn't. I thought the first book showed great world-building potential.
The one area where I became a little leery and thought my worries were going to be justified was the end. I hate Scooby Doo-ism, where an author wraps everything up too easily into a neat little package rather than crafting the ending with as much care as the rest of the book. Beginnings and endings, I believe, are the hardest to right and have the most potential for let down, and I was worried I was going to be let down. There was one section where it felt a little too `let's wrap this up,' but Briggs managed to get away from it and back into a real flow, balancing it out into Mercy's engaging narration. It was a little blip on my uh-oh radar, but she saved it (though it was a big factor in knocking the book from a 5 to a 4): but she ended with a great closer. Certainly looking forward to the rest of the series, and anything else Briggs writes.
More (including reviews of the next 2 in the series) here:
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Book Review: First I've read by this author
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a devotee of vampire fiction, and I give just about any author at least one chance. I like the usual suspects--Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Kim Harrison, and even late Laurell K. Hamilton--but there's been a little lull here lately. (Hamilton's "Micah" was really only a novella packaged as a full-length novel; Davidson's Betsy Taylor books are short; still waiting on the new Southern Vampire from Harris...) Anyway, I saw this on the shelf at Books-A-Million and figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not as over the moon about it as some of the reviewers, but it shows promise.
This is not, strictly speaking, a vampire book. It's a werewolf book, although there are vampires, witches, fae, and Native American shapeshifters known as "skinwalkers," such as the main character, Mercy Thompson. I like the balance and interplay among humans and the various supernatural types, though the setup is pretty much like Hamilton's Anita Blake books, in which the supernaturals are all either "out" or about to be.
The book starts a little slow, and 20 or 30 pages in I thought about putting it down. If you buy the book, give it a little longer than that, as the pace picks up dramatically (unlike Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian," which just slogs on mercilessly and endlessly). The plot is reasonably intricate, although I was a little dissatisfied with how the author tied it all up at the end. There is little emphasis on description, which for some readers is a plus, but I would have liked a little more.
Those few quibbles aside, the protagonist is very likable. As other reviewers have pointed out, she is tough without being all-powerful. She can be hurt, both physically and emotionally. She has her own quirks and hangups without being a bundle of neuroses like Anita Blake. She's sexy without being slutty, although it seems that there are an awful lot of interested supernatural guys out there trying to get close to her. I hope that Patricia Briggs continues this as a series, because I will certainly keep reading it. I'm also likely to pick up some of her earlier stuff to test it out.
Book Review: Mercy Thompson #1: Moon Called
Summary: 5 Stars
Mercy Thompson #1: Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs
Urban, paranormal, dark fantasy - whatever you want to call it. These genres are hot right now. Anything with werewolves or vampires is flying off the shelves, and everytime I turn around, there's another new series out. A lot of them have way too much romance and fluff for me - no real story line or characters you want to follow for 300 pages.
Well, bring on "Moon Called," by Patricia Briggs. I just finished this book about 10 minutes ago, and I could read it again, immediately. That's how much I loved it.
"Moon Called" has werewolves, vampires, fae, and a new idea, walkers. Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a mechanic who transforms into a coyote. The only walker she knows, she was raised by werewolves, and now has a vampire and a gremlin for friends. Mercy's happy minding her own business, but when a newbie werewolf shows up on her doorstep, she's suddenly thrust in the middle of werewolf, vampire, and fae politics, while trying to rescue the local Alpha's daughter from kidnappers.
Briggs introduces a world where lesser fae, such as brownies, have come out to humans. Werewolves are on the cusp of announcing their presence as well, as they can't stay hidden anymore due to advances in forensic science. The world and the myriad politics of supernatural races are described as necessary, with just enough detail to leave you wanting for more. The book is in the first person point of view, which works very well with the character of Mercy. Mercy recognizes her own strengths and weaknesses, but she's also gutsy and impulsive when she feels the need to be.
Briggs' writing is alternatively dark and light - from a fight between dominant werewolves to a scene where a werewolf is acting like a big puppy, the author keeps enough humor in a somewhat dark story to give some needed laughs. The plot is full of twists, and you don't quite see the ending coming until you're there.
"Moon Called" reads to me like everything urban/paranormal/dark fantasy should be.
5/5.