I lost this book in the shuffle of life, and oh man I regret that. Fun book, excellent world, and so fun to read.

In full confession, I started reading this series while waiting for the next book in the Dresden Files, with low expectations, thinking it would be "Dresden-light". They do have similar quippy-ness and dark humour, and a tough, ever fighting good guy fighting against terrible odds, but these stories stand fully on their own, as a great, fun, action-packed series. This one is no exception, with all the twists and giant foes and funny scenes through the gore. It's a little less dark than the others, which was a nice balance, too.

Stephen Blackmore is simply the best and his books are getting more and more gritty and detailed. His world-building is fantastic,

Each book in this series is better than the previous and this one is the best I read. A dark, twisty, action packed and fast paced story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Great world building and characters, excellent storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Stephen Blackmoore’s Hate Machine is gritty and addictive in all the best ways. Like Jim Butcher and Seanan McGuire with their urban fantasy series, he’s created a distinctive and unique character with witty and memorable dialogue, then lets them loose in impossible circumstances. While Eric Carter endlessly gets stomped by events in the book, the readers get to win all around with an entertaining, wild ride that straddles the line between dark and emotional. 

Hate Machine, like the rest of the series, is infused with crazy situations, hilarious dialogue, and tension that keeps you racing toward the end of the novel. I also happen to love how we get more about Eric Carter’s past in Las Vegas and has an ending that almost breaks your heart. Just like the character, the writing just gets better and better.

If you like dark, emotional, gritty and addictive stories, this novel is for you. I highly recommend the entire series but the series is worth the read and so too is Hate Machine, the 8th book. You won’t regret it, I promise.

The latest entry in the Eric Carter UF series continues the story from the last volume, Suicide Kings, but I'm honestly not sure what purpose this book serves other than to help the series move closer to Sandman Slim territory. The plot, such that there is, has Eric running around trying to find this "oracle" and interacting with various other characters who either will help or hinder him in this quest. To me, the whole thing seemed somewhat pointless and I didn't find that this book did much of anything to advance the series. It seems like the series has lost it's purpose and/or direction. Very disappointing.

"The eighth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.

If there's one thing Eric Carter can count on, it's his past coming back to bite him in the ass.

Gabriela Cortez, La Bruja, has had her soul trapped...somewhere, and the only one who knows how to get it back is the Oracle of Las Vegas, a powerful artifact that Carter helped create almost thirty years before. It doesn't just predict the future - it makes things happen, influencing events to reach the goal it wants.

Only somebody's gone and stolen it, attempting to turn it into an artifact that doesn't just change the future, but also the past.

Eric needs to find it and steal it back before this comes to pass. If he doesn't, Gabriela's soul is lost. And quite possibly the future as well."

More adventures in, will someone PLEASE admit that Richard Armitage is the cover model!?!

Thanks to Netgalley and DAW for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was another great installment in one of my favorite ongoing series. Keep in mind if you've never read one of the Eric Carter books, this isn't the book for you to start on. But for those long-time fans, I can only say that hopping back on into the series felt natural. I didn't even realize I was 25% through the book before I saw it was almost time for work.

Eric Carter is one of the most hated protagonists I know of. He's just such a dislikable person that it feels natural to have people hate him, fear him, and most importantly want to kill him. But this has got to be the book where the least amount of people wants to kill him; which is mostly due to the fact he now has an even more fearsome reputation—knowing this and seeing the title I imagined that everyone in Nevada would be gunning for him in the book. His only option would then be to kill his way through Las Vegas. Instead, we get a heist book, which seems rather mediocre given the fact that Eric's expertise doesn't really mesh well with heists. People still die during the book, just not the amount I've gotten used to in this series. (I blame Blackmoore for this line of thought. I used to be more cautious about murder hobos. Then I read the Eric Carter series and realize that Eric's kill it and make sure they're dead plan, works rather well for him and not many others.)

What we do get is more background on Eric's past. He did a lot of things during those 15 years away from Los Angeles, and if Blackmoore wants to continue Eric's story he needed to do a deep dive on some of it. It just so happens that part of it took place in Sin City itself. Trying to save his "friend's" soul, he returns to Las Vegas to try and get answers from what's basically a Magical 8-ball shoved in a decapitated head. Sadly this head has been kidnapped and Eric needs to get it back if he ever wants his answers. Simple plot, but Blackmoore makes it so I enjoyed reading all of it.

The only other thing I really have to complain about is that we don't currently have an end goal as good as the one in the first 4 books or in the arc between 5-6. Still, I'll patiently wait for the next book in the series. Why?

Well, this book doesn't have the most elaborate of plots, and it doesn't have the greatest of heists. But if you've been reading the same book series I have, then this book is pretty much another fun installment to a very enjoyable series. Stephen Blackmoore has a way of capturing all of my attention when he writes about Eric Carter and his messed-up existence. And every time he drops another book, I'll be there to read it.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Hate Machine
By Stephen Blackmoore
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific book! I love the Eric Carter books but I think Blackmoore outdid himself this time! Wow! This book is amazing! Just when I thought he couldn't possibly get Eric in deeper trouble, or more impossible situations, Blackmoore writes this! Action packed with crazy, insane gods, ghosts, and more! Eric has to save his friend's soul and he may also have to save the world!
I love these colorful characters, twisted plot, unexpected situations, against the odds trials for Eric, and so much more. Even though there is blood and gore, there is humor and wit sprinkled generously about!
If you haven't started the Eric Carter books, what are you waiting for? Do yourself a favor! Get started! Cheer on the retired assassin and lets fight some bad gods (some you may never have known existed) and bad guys (some may not be human)! It is never, ever boring!

One of the few positives about being Eric Carter is that you don't really, you know, need a resume. If you haven't yet run across Carter in previous books (what are you waiting for, seriously), he's a necromancer, an expert in death magic. Or that's what he started out to be. Over the course of the seven previous books, he has been the consort of an Aztec goddess, turned (mostly) to jade, been sent to the Aztec underworld, been murdered by a demon, and resurrected as (not to put too fine a point on it) a zombie.

In the previous installment of the series, Carter was asked to make a choice between embracing his humanity or holding on to his godhood; he made the choice to be human (or as human as he could be under his own peculiar circumstances). Author Stephen Blackmoore, in turn, has to figure out how to push Carter more to the human side. Not to make him more relatable--the thing about Eric Carter is that he isn't exactly relatable--but to center him in the here-and-now, to the extent that's where the books are set.

Blackmoore makes three choices, all of which lock together tightly enough to give them the impression of inevitability. First, Blackmoore moves Carter out of his native Los Angeles and sends him to Las Vegas, which is haunted not by the ancient Aztec gods but by the ghosts of the Rat Pack. Second, in sending Carter to Vegas, Blackmoore is also sending him back into his own past, in a Snake Plissken I-thought-you-were-dead sort of way. And then third, if you're going to have Eric Carter in Las Vegas with a rogue's gallery from his past, well, you're going to have a casino heist.

It's the decision to move Carter to Las Vegas that gives HATE MACHINE its energy, bringing along a new cast of characters while providing enough mayhem to keep the story moving along. It is the case that the heist part of the narrative is a bit underplayed--this isn't exactly OCEAN'S ELEVEN--but where the path of the novel looks at times like it's skidding, it's actually drifting and hitting every turn.

If you're not familiar with the Eric Carter novels--which are basically the West Coast version of the Harry Dresden novels, with fewer jokes and more Adderall--HATE MACHINE may not be the best place to start--there's simply too much back story to digest all at once. (I was behind and read BOTTLE DEMON and SUICIDE KINGS before this, just to catch up, and I'm glad I did.) Blackmoore does what he does as well as anyone, and in this installment he keeps the fireworks going until the end. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eric Carter picks up where he left off, heading to Las Vegas to find out why the Oracle sent him a message through Amanda's murderous uncle in the previous book. Along the way, he reunites with his old thieving crew from 30 years ago to pull off a heist to retrieve said Oracle.

Each new book in this series gets harder and harder to read, as Blackmoore flounders with what to do with Eric, now that the Santa Muerte arc is complete. Everything that made this series interesting and unique is gone, leaving an empty void where a compelling tale used to be. Most of the writing is telling, not showing, and the main character's personality doesn't match his actions or thoughts. For example, in the first book, Eric was so (rightfully) paranoid, he wouldn't let anyone know where he slept, for fear they would kill him in his sleep. In this book, Eric claims to be just as paranoid, but he bunks down with the rest of his crew when hospitality is offered. And when he's not doing that, he's telling at least one other person (who he claims not to trust) where he will be sleeping (and then actually doing it without hesitation), which is apparently a routine place. Eric has little to do with the actual heist, almost making him more the people maven or grifter than anything, which is a sharp turn from his usual muscle role.

Overall, I don't regret reading this book, but I'm very worried for the continued life span of the series. Blackmoore needs to find inspiration for Eric's future or sunset the character.

I thought that overall this addition to the Eric Carter series was pretty worthwhile, there was some immersion breaking with the random real-world political stuff hammered in there for no reason I could see. It is nice seeing the entanglement between Eric and Gabrielle getting more fleshed out as time goes along, as well as getting small snippets of Eric's life and doings that haven't been covered as of yet in the overall series. Also hilarious to see the fallout from his televised deathmatch playout in the magical community slightly.Very interested to see how Amanda turns out as a character in contrast to her father and how she will adapt to taking up the mantle of a pillar of magical society. my two main criticisms of the novel were the immersion-breaking real-world stuff and then the wholesale slaughter of what I found to be very interesting side characters and former associates of Eric's, other than that I enjoyed the book I would rate it 4/5 stars.

Hate Machine by Stephen Blackmoore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This long-running series is still going strong. After the previous events, I admit I was extremely curious to see where an ex-god could go after the burning of LA.

It turns out that heading to Las Vegas afterward was a kinda dodgy choice.

I mean, Las Vegas. Home of dime-store oracles and hopium and bargain-rate tricks... and, of course, heists.

I like heists. They're fun.

All in all, after the previous books, this one reads more like a vacation or a recuperation than anything, but to be fair, a lot DID happen. No complaints.

One thing to add, though: this is Blackmoore's tribute to the pandemic and all the other crap that happened. It was definitely interesting to read it through that lens. :)

I received this ARC from Netgalley.com at no cost and am providing an unbiased review.

This is book eight in the Eric Carter series by this author, and I have been an avid fan of Blackmoore from the start. It is written in a way you pretty much have to know what is going on in the series to understand completely what is happening in the story. This part of the main character's journey is returning to Las Vegas, where from prior books, all we know is he had some bad history there. This book opens up the past and we get to learn a bit more about the how/why Eric is the way he is.

Being a fan of this series makes it hard to write about the book, besides it was good! I enjoyed learning more about the Eric's past. We find out (again) how seemingly cruel and heartless he can be when needed, yet find out how much he yearns for a love that never seems to go well. Many other new characters are brought forth in this story, mostly from the MC's past. Not much time is spent on building their past, as throughout the story, they end up dead. World building - heh - more like world destroying. In typical Carter fashion, Las Vegas does lose a few memorable buildings during his short stay.

Overall, this was a wonderful addition to the series, and rounds up the storyline coming from book seven. Not sure where Blackmoore will go from here, but I am hoping he does, or creates a new series that has a similar character. I really enjoy the snark and sarcasm he brings to the character.

I’ve been reading this series since the beginning, and it just keeps entertaining me for a few hours while reading it. Eric, the main character, is such a tortured soul who’s finally decided to give in and be the “monster” he thinks he is. This book pretty much began where the last one ended with him going to Vegas to help a friend in need (no spoilers). He meets some old partners who don’t necessarily have his best interests at heart, and we find that out the hard way. This series continues to be a little dark, but it is interspersed with moments of hope, redemption, and tender moments. I am ready to continue after this one doesn’t tie up some loose ends, and I hope we’ll get to see some help from Eric’s compatriots. A wonderful, dark, action-filled, urban fantasy sure to please those who like such books. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Another fabulous read by Stephen Blackmoore in the Eric Carter series. I love Blackmoore's clever banter and Eric's brutal honesty. This book had a little more hope to it than the others, which I loved. It wasn't quite so nihilistic, but I always worry what Blackmoore has in store for poor Eric. He never gives the guy a break. Great book. 10 out of 10 recommend. But please read this series in order or it won't make much sense.

Oh man, this was such a great read! I love this series so much, and after the ending of Suicide Kings, I needed to know what was going to happen next! I'm so glad that we're getting this one so close, because there's a lot going on in these books, and my memory is not great!

For all that we've followed Eric for 7 previous books, we really don't know a lot about his history. I mean, before the last book, I'm pretty sure that we didn't know about his adventure in Las Vegas. And this book explores a good deal of that history, because it's causing problems for him now!

The main plot of this book is finding the Oracle, because he wants something from Eric, that's why he told Werther how to do the soul trapping thing. But of course things are all sorts of complicated, and with a lot of hidden agendas!

There's a ton of developments in this book, because I know that we'll be seeing them again. I loved how everything wrapped up, and I loved how the story turned and twisted! Stephen Blackmoore always writes such clever solutions! Loved where we left off, though it was pretty painful, and it was a really fantastic installment in this series!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait for more, I just enjoy it so much!

This series is advertised as dark/noir, and that it most definitely is.

In a typical heroic series, you might start out with a damaged guy, and then see them heal and become more heroic throughout the books. In this series, it's going the opposite direction.
The protagonist, Eric, is drifting more and more into the damaged anti-hero zone. Things end in disaster more than with a happily ever after.

In this book, Eric has to reconnect with some old friends and enemies in Los Vegas. Various deaths and disasters ensue.

If you like noir and urban fantasy, I would recommend this series.
It doesn't have the tightest plots or character development, but it's entertaining the whole way through. The book maintains a fast pace and enough mysteries to keep you guessing.

A video review including this book will premiere on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/ChloeFrizzle

Thanks to Netgalley and DAW for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

I have loved every single one of the Eric Carter books but HATE MACHINE may be my favorite yet. Eric’s past has always been something of a mystery and delving into it a bit is an interesting look at where he came from and why he ended up as, well…. Eric Carter, among other things. And beings. I also particularly enjoyed the supporting cast of this latest installment, all with distinct personalities and backstories, 2 aspects of story Blackmoore does particularly well without interrupting the momentum of the plot.

And there’s one PARTICULAR scene… let’s just say I’ve discovered it’s possible to hold your breath and laugh your ass off at the same time. Truly, I think that chapter is not only some of Blackmoore’s best writing but some of the best dialogue I’ve read in any book ever.

It’s an excellent year when we get two Eric Carter books. Many thanks to Blackmoore for busting his butt to give them to us.