A Yancy Lazarus Novel (Pilot Episode) - Strange Magic

Bought this as a filler to read while waiting for other series to come out. Finally got to actually get into reading it & couldn't put it down. Just bought book 2 & can't wait to see what else Yancy gets into.

Hunter does a great job of providing just enough information to keep you satisfied and plenty of mystery to keep you reading. Yancy, the main character, reminds me of a less intense and harass version of Steve McHugh's Nathan Garret with a much lower libido.

Had trouble staying with it. Usually I can read through some tough stuff, but I felt like I had read most of book somewhere else. Plus I felt let down at the end. Maybe I'll check the next episode but won't cross my fingers waiting.

I liked this book-creative concept and entertaining to read. I read a ton and it takes a bit for me to say "creative concept" because I've read them all so to speak. Looking forward to more from this series.

A well-paced and promising start to the series with an interesting protagonist. Lazarus despite all his protestations, IS a hero-- just a life-worn, sardonic one with a morass compass that skews just slightly off true north. The slightly contrived plotting is easily forgiven by the richness of the snarky banter.

The problem with writing about a world of magic is generating suspense. If the character can literally change the nature of the universe with a thought, how do you construct a believable set of challenges for the hero to overcome? James Hunter sets up a system of magic that has some room for this. Lazarus is far from immortal. He, apparently, has some limits to what he knows how to do. There is a suggestion that some manipulations of the universe are beyond his skill/affinity. And, there is a hint that other actors might possibly limit what he can do. The problem with this book is that none of these limitations that are built into the magical system are used for creating any suspense. Instead, we mostly get statements about how much power or immunity the current opponent has and then, despite those claims, Lazarus overcomes them all too easily.

[*Possible Spoiler Warning*]
At one point the major plot obstacle is that a beast is camped out in such a way as to block not only the specific help Lazarus needs another character to provide but is also blocking that character's entire livelihood. It is described as an impossible challenge. The beast is immune to magic and infinitely powerful. Even though no other person encountering such a beast has survived, Lazarus is informed that the beast may not like light and sound. Lazarus makes a lot of noise and light and, ....wait for it.... the beast gets annoyed and moves away. What?!? Are you kidding me? The guy whose livelihood depended on this and who had every device imaginable at his disposal AND was the one who knew about the sound and light never tried something simple like flash-bang grenades? Seriously? And, more to the point, we are supposed to be impressed that Lazarus turned himself into the magical equivalent of a flash-bang....?
[*End Spoilerage*]

So, basically, this is just one hyped-up, easily-overcome adventure after another. If you like your heroes to be Superman without the whole Kryptonite thing, then this will be a reasonably enjoyable read. The writing is not terrible and the editing is good enough not to be a major distraction (as it, alas, has become with all too many Sci Fi e-books). If you like to think while you read, you should probably stay away from this one.

I've been reading urban fantasy and fantasy-mystery genre mixing books for a couple of decades now, starting with Glen Cook's Sweet Silver Blues, Laurell K. Hamilton's The Laughing Corpse (which I read before the series opener) and through all of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels. This opening novel in a series by James A. Hunter is good - it stands in with the series openers of each of those big-name authors, and it is not the lightweight book in the crowd. This is a really big deal, because there are a TON of bad fantasy novels by indie (and pro) authors. Strange Magic isn't one of those.

Solid protagonist, good action, interesting magic, and a bad guy that isn't a caricature - what more could we ask for? Well, how about a nice set of secondary characters, some coming through as old allies, and some as new acquaintances. Another interesting twist is that Yancy, the protagonist here, is a Vietnam veteran, rather than from Desert Storm or the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's old. He doesn't look it, but he is. He isn't carrying a huge dose of romantic angst, either. He left his family when the magic called, and while he is a man haunted by regrets, they are the regrets of an adult, rather than those of a man-child / woman-child who can't bother to decide what to do with their myriad romantic partners and their woe-is-me tales of "love" about people (creatures) that would eat them given the chance. Yancy knows he isn't going to change that Voodoo woman or the crooked man - he can't even change himself.

Finally, the book feels like it has steeped, just a bit, in the Blues. This isn't quite a New Orleans or Memphis Voodoo atmosphere with the baroque, humid air that holds all hope down, but rather the Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City blues, where bad men and women hang out in honky tonks and pool rooms, do their deals and live their lives by their own set of rules. But all of them still love music, and Yancy loves them. Give Strange Magic a shot - you won't regret it.

I like the detective/wizard genre but after a few recent disappointments I was some what hesitant to buy Mr. Hunter's book, but after reading a couple reviews I went ahead and bought the book.

I like "Strange Magic" because it's gritty, fast paced, Yancy Lazarus comes across as a real character who has lived a rough life because of his gifts and talents. One thing I especially appreciated is Mr. Hunter's respect for his faith in his book. Too many detective/wizard books are written by pagans with an ax to grind against Christianity & I found "Strange Magic" to be very refreshing because of it's respect for Christianity.

What a great debut! While there were a small number of missteps of grammar and such, overall this one really works. This stars a semi antihero, a man who has lost most everything but seems to still want to fight the good fight occasionally. The magical system and world building has only just begun this is first book, but it looks intriguing so far. Highly recommend.

Likes this one from page one.

Spoiler alert for those who don't actually want to know what the books about.

This one starts with Yancy Lazarus. He's in New Orleans at Nicks's Smoke House bar playing jazz on the piano while the band takes a break.

Yancy is a Vietnam vet. He looks to be in his forties though he's actually sixty-five years old.

The reason he looks young is simple. He's a mage. A mage who can touch the Vis. Vis means force or energy in old Latin. Its this force or energy that Yancy can tap into. Lazarus can manipulate that energy.

As Yancy plays he notes a "thug" in an expensive suite watching him. He knows the guy is here for him and is hoping he'll go away. Not happening.

The blonde headed thug tells Yancy it's time to leave. Time to get up and leave with him nice and slow. If Yancy doesn't the thug tells him bad things will happen.

Yancy decides to go with the guy so no one in the smoke house bar is hurt. This is when he meets a guy who reminds him of an H&R Block tax accountant. A guy who tells him he's there to pay him off and discourage him on the case he's on.

Yancy doesn't have a clue what he's talking about because he isn't working on a case at the moment. The only thing he's done is taken a call from his pal and fellow Vietnam vet Greg Chandler in Cali. A Greg who tells him bad things are happenning in Cali. Yancy had agreed to go to Cali for a looksee. Thats it. No contract to do anything at all.

So begins a pretty damned good read.

This one has Yancy, Greg, a man named Yraeta, a man named Morse, creatures called Rakshasa, another creature called a Daitya, a battle royal between Yancy and the Daitya, a visit to the hub, George the Mange, a deal with George, another mage named Dhaliwal, a little girl named Suzanne, death destructioin, friends, enemies and Yancy Lazarus and his pal Greg in a fight for their lives.

This is a real entertaining urban fantasy alla Jim butcher's Dresden files, which for me is the best of the best. But this one is very good. I was interested start to finish, and I liked the main character. This is good stuff. Now, where is second installment? Huh? Where? Get to work.

Visit a lot of places....New Orleans, for instance....Lazarus is sort of like a mixture of Sam Spade and Merlin; a practical, honest man. He is in deep trouble with druggie bikers, the cops, the Mafia, the Magic Council, and a demon summoned. This new novel is incomplete....you have to buy the book to see how it ends.

Great first book. Reminds me of early Jim Butcher/Dresden Files. Hoping the character/story develop additional depth as Butcher's character's have. If they do, then this is a permanent addition to my "must buy & read" shelves.

I love books like this. Supernatural, humor, and a mystery all in one. Despite the glaring grammatical errors and the copious overuse of commas, I still give it 5 stars because it's such a good read. The outstanding jazzy-blues song references are a bonus!