Masques by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs writes wonderful urban fantasy. Until I read Masques, I had almost forgotten that she also writes really great classic fantasy as well. Masques is the first book in her Sianim series, which is being reprinted by Ace, and it is a great start.

Aralorn is a pretty cliché heroine for a fantasy novel except that she's not pretty. As the bastard daughter of a powerful noble, Aralorn has all the makings of your typical female hero. She follows the script pretty well: she's got magic, she's good in a fight, and she doesn't take orders from her boss. It's funny because it's the normal character sketch for an urban fantasy character as well. Briggs is so good at writing this character type, so Aralorn makes a great heroine.

Set in a classic fantasy world, Aralorn and her co... Read More

Masques by Patricia Briggs

Aralorn, a short, plain, and outspoken young lady who always hated to “sit and sew” in her father’s court, works as a mercenary and spy. She’s not particularly good with the sword (the staff is her weapon of choice), but her shapeshifting ability is a pretty useful skill. She’s sometimes aided by the wolf she saved a few years ago. He comes and goes and Aralorn knows that he’s more than he seems. When the evil mage Jeffrey starts planning world domination, Aralorn and Wolf plan to stop him.

Masques kept me entertained for 9 hours and 48 minutes (I listened to Brilliance Audio’s version). Though there’s nothing new in Patricia Briggs’ debut novel, and not much that surprised or inspired me, it was pleasantly diverting. Masques is definitely predictable in places and it relies on a few too many convenient occurrences as well as several t... Read More

Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs

Wolfsbane, the sequel to Patricia Briggs’ debut novel Masques, was written later in her career and just published last month. It continues the story of the shapeshifters Aralorn and Wolf, whose relationship has developed significantly since the beginning of Masques. Aralorn has been called home after a ten-year absence because her father has died. When she and her “pet” Wolf arrive, they find some evil magic at work and a mystery to solve.

As you’d expect, Briggs’ writing is better this time. She has a smooth style that I find pleasant to read (or in this case, listen to, since I read this on audio, again read by Katherine Kellgren). I enjoyed spending more time with Aralorn and Wolf and agree with Ms. Briggs who, in the humble introduction to the book, said she wrote Wolfsbane Read More

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

For a woman raised by wolves — OK, werewolves — Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson has turned out all right. Though Mercy's half-Native-American heritage allows her to shapeshift into a coyote, instead of a wolf, she's taken care of herself by working as a mechanic and keeping her nose out of supernatural matters. But her eastern Washington town has too many such matters: her former boss is one of the fae; her neighbor is the local werewolf Alpha; and her client with the Scooby-Doo-inspired van is a vampire. Moreover, times are changing, as the fae have made themselves known to humanity, which isn't accepting their existence with perfect grace. And though Mercy has found her niche between the natural and supernatural worlds, their slow collision threatens to crush her.

To date, author Patricia Briggs has published three novels starring Mercy (Moon Called, Blood Boun... Read More

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

I sure hope that Mercedes Thompson will turn into a longer series because Patricia Briggs started off just right. The characters are believable and the way that Ms. Briggs handles the various supernatural groups (fae, vampires, lycanthropes) is something that you can actually see happening. The situation just feels real.

My favorite part is the main character. Mercedes Thompson is a tough kid with a bad attitude who knows her limitations. Unlike Anita Blake, Mercy actually has limits and vulnerabilities that are real. She gets herself hurt like a normal person would and she's not able to just kill the bad guy despite it all. She's smart, she's talented, and she is realistic. The rest of the supporting cast fits in well around her and each is well developed.

Last thing: NO PORN! Patr... Read More

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

This it the third volume of Mercedes Thompson and to this point Patricia Briggs has done a wonderful job of blending relationship stuff with some interesting, at times tense, urban fantasy. She has a great grip on the world she is writing and her heroine, Mercy Thompson, is very well developed.

Ok, here comes the reason this got 5 stars: Mercedes Thompson gets the crap kicked out of her in a major lasting way and it's completely her own fault. Talk about a great change from some of the other urban fantasy authors who let their characters get away with being stupid over and over again. The details would spoil the story, but let's just say that Mercy stays true to who she has been so far and pays for it big time. Warning... what happens to her is really harsh and for some people may be a bit too traumatic for easy reading. This is an adult series, ... Read More

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

In Bone Crossed, the fourth installment in the Mercedes Thompson series, Mercy is learning to cope with her new role as the mate of the local werewolf pack while still suffering the effects of a horrific assault that occurred at the climax of Iron Kissed. Complications from inter-species conflicts remain a central theme, and her relationship challenges don’t simply fade away, but Mercy Thompson does not cry mercy.

Patricia Briggs keeps the story moving, introducing new plot elements which require Mercy to constantly re-evaluate and adjust. Another author might wave a magic wand and make things all better for Mercy, but Briggs doesn’t, and my respect for her writing deepens as a result. Too many authors leave their heroes static, allowing everything to magically work out right witho... Read More

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Woohoo! Another Mercy Thompson book from Patricia Briggs’ is hitting the shelves. I had just finished book four (Bone Crossed) only a few weeks ago, so I was very happy to get a chance to read Silver Borne so soon afterwards.

I love the Mercy Thompson series. I started reading it while waiting for the next Dresden Files novel and they have been a worthy diversion. Silver Borne, the fifth book in the series, continues the story of Were-Coyote and VW mechanic Mercy Thompson. With each installment Mercy has found herself in deeper trouble, and Silver Borne carries on that tradition with enthusiasm... Read More

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson has been through a lot. Patricia Briggs has not spared her heroine anything and, in River Marked, if feels like Mercy is finally going to get a break... This feeling, however, is not to last...

The first quarter of River Marked focuses on Mercy's plans to marry alpha werewolf Adam Hauptmann. She's also still dealing with some of the lingering problems from previous books, like the recovery of her vampire friend Stefan and her continued adjustment to being a coyote in a wolf pack.

After the wedding, Mercy and Adam head out on a honeymoon that is fated for disaster. With the usual lead-up, Mercy must eventually confront and defeat a truly Lovecraftian monster. I have to give Briggs credit for dreaming up such a nasty creature!

The best part of River Marked is the interaction betwe... Read More

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs 

Slipping back into the world of Mercy Thompson comes so easily for me. I don’t struggle with a huge readjustment because everything feels so familiar and Patricia Briggs has such an easy style to enjoy. Tragically, this at times means that I am not as engrossed in the story as I expect to be, because it feels much like more of the same thing over again.

Frost Burned is the seventh novel in the MERCY THOMPSON series. Mercy has gone through a lot in past editions, so when she is caught up in a relatively mundane car accident I almost had to chuckle because it’s just her luck. The fact that she and her stepdaughter are not seriously injured in the crash is about par for the course, but when she starts to make calls back to her husband and his werewolf pack, things begin to fall apart.

In many ways, the continued evolution of this series, reflected in the atte... Read More

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson-Hauptman’s evolution from grease-monkey rebel to wife of the Alpha of the local werewolf pack has been a slow process. At her core she remains the caring, hard-working, selfless woman we always liked, but life has a way of throwing her curve balls. So, when her husband’s ex-wife/mother of his only child comes running to the pack for help, Mercy has to find a way to cope.

Mercy’s husband, Adam, is truly a knight in shining armor. When someone he is connected to needs help, it’s not in his character to resist. He takes care of those he cares about, even when it’s not easy. Christy, Adam’s ex, is everything that Mercy is not. She is gentle-spoken, domestic, a great cook and really, really pretty.  Well, Mercy is pretty too, but she doesn’t put the same kind of effort into it that Christy does. Mercy is also hon... Read More

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs has chosen to write a spin-off series during the middle of her very successful Mercedes Thompson series. I am not complaining, because Mercedes Thompson has been really good, but it’s something of a surprise to me.

Briggs opens Cry Wolf, the first installment of Alpha and Omega, without a lot of explanation of what has happened in the story so far. We are taken straight to a scene in Chicago where Bran, the Marrok (Werewolf Overlord), is cleaning up the mess caused by his son Charles rescuing Anna. Anna is a different type of werewolf than we have known before and it makes for some interesting diversity as her specialized abilities become clear. The first 60 pages or so are spent on establishing a r... Read More

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Anna Latham may be a rare Omega werewolf (as opposed to an Alpha/pack leader), but it hasn't done her a bit of good. Abused and degraded by her Chicago pack, she's at once freed and claimed by Charles, a strapping son of the Marrok (the North American werewolf lord) with rare abilities of his own. Anna returns with Charles to the Montana wilderness, both eager and hesitant to begin her life anew; but even the Marrok's home territory isn't exempt from the prowling of a rogue werewolf — and an even older and more sinister evil...

Cry Wolf is the first book in Patricia Briggs's Alpha and Omega series. However, it's important to note that it's a spin-off from her Mercy Thompson series (which includes the Marrok and his sons and references the purifying of Anna's pack) and a continuation of t... Read More

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Werewolves have recently come out of the closet, sparking prejudice among their human neighbors. Bran, leader of all North American werewolves, is cracking down on anyone who breaks Pack law, as these transgressions engender more bad feeling between humans and werewolves. Thus, the use of capital punishment has increased. Bran’s son, Charles, is the designated executioner, and his grim task (and his guilt about it) is battering his psyche and driving a wedge between him and his wife, Anna.

So, to help Charles’s mental health by giving him something more heroic to do, Bran sends Anna to help the FBI crack a tough case with Charles as her backup muscle. The case is that of a serial killer and rapist who has evaded capture for decades. The murderer initially targeted human victims, later killing fae as well, and the last few victims have been werewolves. Anna and Charles have information and skills th... Read More

The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

I think that the ability to create a world that is filled with magic and unknown places is perhaps too great a task to do in one book. There is a degree of detail that we, as readers, have come to expect due to the growing trend of long multi-volume series.

In The Hob's Bargain, Patricia Briggs does a good job of telling a story within the constraints of a single volume. The heroine is interesting and relatively likeable, but not terribly believable. That's probably because there simply isn't enough space in a single short volume to do much in the way of character development.

The setting is a small village that goes through several disasters in a short time. The heroine loses her new husband and her family and is plagued by an onset of magical power in a community that equates magic with evil. Add to this mix the return of m... Read More

Strange Brew by P.N. Elrod (ed)

The theme of Strange Brew is witchcraft. This anthology features nine well-known urban fantasy authors, each with their own spin on the theme. Some of these stories feature well-known characters. Others focus on characters who are secondary in the author's series, or characters who are entirely new. Glancing at the table of contents and doing a little mental math, most of the stories are around 40 pages, give or take a few. (The longest is Karen Chance's at just under 60.) As is always the case with anthologies, I had my favorites and my less-favorites, but if you like urban fantasy, there will probably be something here for you.

"Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs: A werewolf enlists the help of a blind witch to help him find his brother who has been kidnapped by a sinister coven. The wit... Read More