It was ok. Not a book I will reread but it was somewhat enjoyable.

Strange Magic

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those books that you read just to kick back and relax. I am kind of unsure of whether I like or dislike this book. This is about a wizard who wants to be left alone but finds himself in trouble because he decided to help a friend. This reminds me a lot about Harry Dresden and the Dresden files series. Both characters are likable, and irritating with some humorous moments in the book.

You have to try this book for yourself.

A gun slinging magic man? What else is needed for a story? Maybe one where this is a wizard on the run from the guild?

A mad affair but a very enjoyable book with including a character with attitude. Much enjoyment had with this book.

I have to say, this was just a bit of simple reading. No masterpiece, yet it never failed to entertain me, and I liked it enough that I finished it ready to jump into book two. Truthfully, Yancy isn't that different from so many of the urban fantasy mages out there these days, but there was a little different spin on the magic, and a witty inner monologue that kept me chuckling.

"Sure, maybe complaining didn't change anything, but it's still the sacred right of the suffering. Sacred right, d@mm*t."

I feel like there is a lot of world building to catch up on, and a lot of backstory that just got tossed in my face between dramatic save the world moments. I'm hopeful this is better fleshed out in book two. This was definitely stronger on the writing than the actual story. I could feel myself there, taste the food, hear the music. I just didn't always care. A solid 3 stars, but it had potential to be so much more.
~ George, 3 Stars

"Beer and ice cream, the food and drink of the gods I tell you-ambrosia heisted and mass produced for us mere mortals."

Strange Magic is the first installment of the series featuring Yancy Lazarus. I was drawn to this series because the description made it sound like reading an episode of Supernatural. Unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver what I was expecting. Yes, readers are introduced to all kinds of supernatural characters. Yancy is a mage who enjoys blues music, appreciates good ribs, drives and lives out of his car, and has a no nonsense attitude. Seems promising for a main character for a series such as this. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time getting around the fluff writing. The author would take forever to get through a scene. There were a lot of references to pop culture and heavy descriptions for scene settings. The writing was very distracting and I found myself having to skim over sections of the book just to get back to what was actually happening during certain scenes. To me, the best part of the book was the setting, which featured a layered urban fantasy world. I'm interested enough in Yancy to want to get to know him as a character a bit more, so I'll probably give the second book a chance.

Love this series reminds me a bit of Dresden . I am a huge fan of urban Fantasy

I had trouble finishing this. It had an awesome premise, and started off well enough, but the story just didn't hold me very well.

I thought it tried too hard to be a Dresden File rip off, and failed. The magic bit with the strange name (that I can't remember because it made me roll my eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck) was annoying. JUST FREAKING CALL IT MAGIC. Ugh. And every other phrase was a pop-culture reference that, honestly, I don't care about. Totally took away from the story line and made me want to pick it up less. It was like the annoying uncle trying to be hip. LOOK At ME I'M HIP AND WITH IT. I USE THE BOOKFACE.
Yancy isn't likable at all. He's SUPER ALL POWERFUL, but kind of an asshole. He's whiny, poor me, and a mouthy jackass. It's like he's supposed to be witty and flip but fails epically. In the end I just couldn't really care that he was set up and people were trying to kill him. It was a rip off of Dresden Files, and a really poor one at that.

I was fed up of young girls heroines, those that know nothing but are perfect somehow. THIS WAS AMAZING! REFRESHING MY BRAIN! A total rec!

Goodreads rating system proved to be perfect. Two stars = "it was ok."

It had a lot of promise, and it was short (only 200 pages or so), and took me almost 3 weeks to read. I just couldn't pick it up once I set it down.

My biggest gripe was that it tried too damn hard. We don't need pop culture references and jokes and witty dialogue EVERY SINGLE PARAGRAPH. It takes away from the realism that is needed to ground Urban Fantasy into our world when it's constantly reminding us that "hey, this is your world. hey, that show you like is in here. hey, funny joke" over and over and over.

I'll consider the second. Maybe he polishes his writing up some and some of this problem is reduced? If he could tone it back some and stop trying so hard to be funny and awesome, it would actually BE funny and awesome (see: Jim Butcher's Dresden Files).

I appreciate Netgalley providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I'm just sorry my honest review of what could have been an awesome series wasn't as positive as I had hoped it would be.

I like the book because it is a good fantasy story, writen with much detail. You can imagine everything because it it described so detailed.

How have I not heard of or read any of James A. Hunter's books before?! The way he writes! You can feel the music, the atmosphere, the magic in t air! When his character plays the piano you become the song! When he describes people and places you feel like you are a part of the scene not reading about it but there, partaking! If you love paranormal sans romance then this book is for you!!!

Strange Magic takes you on an unforgettable adventure unlike any you have gone on before and with the most unlikely hero ever! Yancy Lazarus is a 65 year old, hard core smoking & drinking mage who is only trying to help out a friend when all the netherworld explodes in his face! Grab the book to find out the rest and you will be glad you did!

Books often get compared to the Dresden Files and often the comparison is tenuous as best. This though is a better comparison. Wizard, gets kicked around a good bit, scrappy as can be. A really good adventure story that starts with the action immediately.

Overall a good first book in a series in that it starts on world building with a neat magic system.

This Is Hard Stuff to Write

Hey, you've read Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden. You've read lots of Simon R. Green and have spent more time than you probably should have with his John Taylor in the Nightside. You're always willing to go on an adventure with a smart-mouth wizard fixer type. But good ones are hard to find, and they aren't usually free.

Well, all four Yancy Lazarus books are kindleunlimited freebies, which falls seriously on the plus side of the balance. And Yancy may not be the top noir-wizard-Sam Spade type, but he struck me as a decent choice and an entertaining companion.

If you're a demanding purist, and I am not, Yancy's world of magic may not be an airtight construct. His stories don't always hang together, he's awfully lucky, and he absorbs more beatings than a cheap rug. But, you know what, I generally liked his attitude, bought most of his wisecracks, appreciated lots of his throwaway observations and tips, and overlooked his overheated Nam/broken family/loner act.

These books seem to me to be like a string of beads. There were set pieces, (New Orleans beat down, motel ambush, poker with the bad guy, confrontation with minor demon one, and so on), that worked, and a few that maybe didn't, strung out along a single plot thread. Some of the beads were shiny and fun, some weren't. But the overall effect was entertaining and the hero was just hard-boiled enough to be as promised. The magic was sometimes interesting and came with a few twists. The plot did occasionally surprise. I truly believe that writing this type of tale is brutally difficult, and keeping any wizard character fresh is especially extra difficult. Given that, I was happy with this choice and enjoyed the tale and the company. A nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

So, this is my first review of a book on the netgalley. So I tried my hardest to read it and finish it. But I was unable to do it :/ I got to about a third of the book and while I thought it was okay(ish) I didn't find it very interesting.

So after we got this out of the way, here is a short synopsis about the hows and whys.

The book is about a mage called Yancy Lazarus and he well fixes magical problems like demons I gues. Anyways he can manipulate the reality with "Vis" (It is a little bit like the force or so). That leads to him being a bad as because most combat for him is using bullet deflection and tearing down walls. Btw, did I mention that this vis gives him super strength, resistance to poison, tranquilizers and gives him super luck! So he basically is the redicoulusly overpowered main character archetype. I don't really mind this and I also liked him and found the mystery slightly intrigueing (Somebody summoned something bad to use in a gangwar and both sides want to kill Lazerus for either believing he summoned the bad thing or for wanting to stop him from figuring it out)

I kinda liked the character and mystery hence two stars instead of one.

Now I am comming to the reason I didn't finish. It is the writing it is kinda boring and hard to follow when there isn't combat and it feels incredibly slow and a slug when there is combat.

Anyways if you like mystery and an OP main character and you can overlook the writing style then you should give it a try. But sadly it isn't for me.

An enjoyable read in line with the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Yancy is not a mere Dresden clone however and brings his own unique spin to Urban Fantasy. Solid opener to the series and a comfortable read, recommended for fans of the genre.