Wow. I realise the series is about a necromancer, but DAMN it's dark.
Magical wars. Death Gods. Other Gods who are just plain pissy. Witches. Ghosts. lots of ghosts.
And one of the cleverest "Disreputable Urban Mages" since the original John Constantine.
Eric Carter has been on the road for 15 years running from his past. Carrying out odd jobs, slaying monsters and killing killers.
Drawn back home by his sisters horrible murder, a murder that turns out to be part of a long con meant to bring back a dead god.
So much detail in the characters, such wonderful dialog.
You really can't help but fall in love.
As long as you're ok with sorcerers with ancient magic knives flaying peoples skin off and wearing like a suit.

Loved this book. Love everything that Stephen Blackmoore writes. He's the best out there writing fantasy noir. His voice is notable for its unique bite but it also carries a wistful desire for forgiveness and redemption.

In the huge world of urban fantasy, Eric Carter stands out. Where Jim Butcher's Dresden is full of humor and goodwill, Eric is often cruel, and when Kevin Hearne's Atticus shows a drive to make the world a better place, Eric is hellbent on revenge at any cost. Despite our hero being kind of a bad guy, I couldn't help but hope he succeeded.

Departing from books one and two, Hungry Ghosts takes place entirely in Mexico. In a very tight spot involving Santa Muerte following the events of books one and two, Eric hunts down the one woman who knows how he can get his revenge on Santa Muerte and her husband.

The story wraps up nicely, but there is still enough unresolved conflict to hint at the possibility of book four.

I'll now spend the next several months obsessively checking Stephen Blackmoore's website for any updates.

I’ll be honest I didn’t start reading Stephen Blackmoore’s Eric Carter series when it first came out. I had heard positive praise from authors I like about it, but didn’t actually manage to pick up a copy of Dead things, the first book in the Eric Carter series, until about a year ago.

Let me tell you, I’m glad that I did.

Blackmoore has created a fascinating and engaging series filled with action, mayhem and a fun take on urban fantasy. If you are looking for a comparison of known urban fantasy authors to compare this series to Eric Carter is somewhat like a mix between Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. It’s darker than the Dresden Files, but not quite as macabre filled as Sandman Slim, therefore this series may not be for everyone but if you can handle a bit more ghoulish killing in your action (well done, of course) then this could be the series for you.

As for Hungry Ghosts itself, I highly recommend reading the first two books in the series, Dead Things and Broken Souls before reading Hungry Ghosts, but once you do you’ll be very happy with the experience. The entire premise of the Hungry Ghosts is based on the previous two books in the series (hence it being a series), so please do not read these books out of order.

So, if you like urban fantasy and you’re ok with your magic a bit on the darker side of things then here comes the real question, why should you waste your precious free time reading this book. Well, first and foremost, Blackmoore is truly impressive in his action scene writing and he does not scrimp on them. Carter is always in some sort of gun fight, ghost fight, god fight, or just plain getting his butt whooped on (a bit like Harry Dresden if you will). Of course, one thing different from Dresden is the style of magic, since Carter is a necromancer, there’s a lot of death related to his magic, not only that but it really does seem that the magically enhanced folks seem to have a bit of a society that isn’t on the good side of Santa’s present list. Therefore, magic seems to be a lot more pain related, scars, blood, tattoos, things of that nature. If I didn’t lose you there then I have a strong feeling this will be the book for you.

On top of that, Eric is a strong likable protagonist (of course I personally like his old/dead best friend Alex best, his snark is certainly appreciated by me if not by Eric). Hungry Ghost deals a lot in Eric’s growth and acceptance in his part in the deaths in his family. Blackmoore does a good job showing the pain and depression that his parents and sister’s deaths have caused in him and how these events have shaped him into the character we see today. On top of that, these revelations lead to a bit of awareness that will help fill out Eric’s character more in further books.

Speaking of further books, while I would very much like to read more about Eric Carter and his world I’m genuinely curious about whether there will be more books in the series and if so where the story will go from here. Blackmoore has tied off a number of the storylines that have been driving Eric over the last three books, however, he does keep enough mystery alive that if there were more books Blackmoore could expand on this mystery treating the new books as a new chapter in Eric’s saga.

All in all, I very much recommend this to anyone who enjoys Mike Carey, Richard Kadrey and Jim Butcher, and I do hope there are more books in the Eric Carter series. It was an action packed, entertaining quick read.

**This book was reviewed via Netgalley**

Hungry Ghosts is third in S Blackmoore's Eric Carter series. Our opening finds Eric cutting a swath through Mexico, looking for Tabitha, erstwhile ally & sometimes foe. A zigzag of connect the dots puts him back in Mexico City, in the heart of Santa Muerte worship.

From Mexico City, Eric, Tabitha in tow, heads into Mictlan with the goal of settling his differences with Mictlantecuhtli. Once in Mictlan, Eric faces many of the trials the dead themselves do. Along the way, he meets an old enemy, one eager to make use of Eric's particular gifts. To make matters worse, using magic in Mictlan is changing Eric faster than he'd like. Eric’s in a desperate race to find Santa Muerte and Mictlantecuhtli before time runs out.

Okay, so, all three books together tell the story of the awesome spiritual alchemy transformation that Eric is undergoing. In the first, the death of his sister is the Calcination event, stirring his rage. By the end of Hungry Ghosts he has reached the Putrefaction/Fermentation stages This is the 'dark night of the soul’ so often thought as the lowest point in a person's life. It is the death of one state of being and the chrysalis to the next, where all that you have learned of yourself through the previous alchemic stages work their potent changes. You will not be the same when you emerge. Being in Mictlan, one of the lands of the dead, and equipped with a unique power, he gets the extra 'privilege’ of experiencing the trials of the dead, aiding his alchemic transmutation.

This book was by far my most favourite. It was very focused and driven. I enjoyed the tour of Mictlan. I'm not as up on Aztec mythology, so these books have been enlightening for me in that respect. I do so hope Eric gets to travel to Xibalba in the future, or another less well-known land of the dead.

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻 Highly recommended, especially for fans of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series.

This is an urban fantasy, no sex, drug usage and plenty of graphic language. There are ghosts, monsters and a lot of manipulation by gods. There are unpronounceable names and places and incredibly impossible situations that miraculously turn out just fine. Well, fine enough, anyway. Sort of fine. Ok, not dead and that's all we can hope for.

This protagonist has a sarcasm streak a mile wide and I love it. He stumbles through problem after problem and all without a plan. He goes with the flow and hopes for the best. He is manipulated, beat up, shot at, magicked and he still keeps going. Energizer bunny has nothing on Eric Carter.

Now the ending isn't exactly clear cut, so us fans are assured of another book, which is fantastic. I can't really tell you much was revealed in this book, but it was a twisty ride up and down, down and around until Eric run out of ground at the edge of town of Mictlan. Who are his friends? Not who he thought. Who are his enemies? That's an unknown too. Everyone has their own agenda, even Eric, though his changes from moment to moment.

This is an incredible series and it needs to be started with book #1, Dead Things. The GraphicAudio takes Eric's world and makes it come to life with sound effects and different voices - kind of like a movie. If reading a book is more your style, I've done that too. Either road you take is not a mistake. This is a book for the...um...well...books. ;)

I dont think I have ever read a story quite like Hungry Ghosts before when I read the synopsis I was really interested to know more a bout the story .When I got the chance to read it early I was thrilled and I dived into this story as soon as I could and It was fantastic. In Hungry Ghost we follow Eric Carter and let me just tell you we go on wild adventure with him . I found the world that Stephan Blackmoore created to be absolutely fascinating. The necromancy , the gods everything was just fascinating and made me want to know more and more even when things got a little creepy in the story lol. There was so much that happening in this book and this book is not long .Every page had something new that I was eager to find out . This was thrilling , scary at times ,fascinating and unique story filled with lots of unexpected humor. If you are looking for some heart pounding urban fantasy story you should defiantly pick up this book

This book had been scheduled for publication for a while, but Mr. Blackmoore didn’t like how the book initially turned out and decided to redo it from the ground up. I applaud his decision, because this book turned out great! Eric is on the hunt for Tabitha who is Santa Muerte’s avatar. His quest to find her and to do the bidding of not one, not two, but three gods may be the death of him. I really can’t say too much about this book, because much of it will spoil the first two books. I can say that it is well-written, and the descriptions are so very vivid, you feel like you are there in the desert, woods, ruins, etc. with Eric. Many plot lines are brought to a close with this book as Eric comes to terms with many of the demons which haunt him. However, there are some new questions raised which I hope means more books in the series. I did find this book darker than the other ones, but not in a bad way. I still enjoyed it quite a bit as darker doesn’t bother me. If you are a fan of slightly dark urban fantasy, give this book and series a try. You should probably start from the beginning as there is a lot of information given in each book. This book was fantastic! Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-copy of the book. This same review will be posted on both Goodreads and Amazon.

The book follows Eric, who is a necromancer that is trying to avenge his sister's death.
his book feels fresh compared to other dark urban fantasy books, though i havent read the first 2 before this i should have.

Hungry Ghosts is a wonderful addition to the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore. The book follows Eric, who is a necromancer that is trying to avenge his sister’s death. The basic plot reveals several spoilers for books 1 and 2 in the series, so I will try to gloss over plot details. However, Eric is running ragged because of several factors, and his quest takes him from L.A. down through many parts of Mexico.

The book is very dark and at times violent and bloody. Eric is fighting tenaciously to survive, and has a devil-may-care attitude toward his enemies. However, rest assured that he is fighting for good and enjoy the rocky path that leads him to the climax.

I was fascinated by the weaving of several Aztec (Nahautl) gods and goddesses into the storyline. The names may be long and hard to pronounce, but the personalities of these characters jumped off the page. Most were menacing, and there were several hidden agendas. However, Eric blasts through the story with guns (and magic) blazing, in several instances to severe detriment to his health.

I particularly liked Eric’s interactions with Tabitha. She is a past love interest, and now serves to simultaneously help-yet-perhaps-hinder his goals. Again, avoiding spoilers to previous books, but the tension between Eric and Tabitha is emotional and serves to propel the reader through the storyline.

One highlight is a scene where Eric is forced to confront his past decisions and mistakes. He comes to terms with some of the tumult in his life, and the scene is quite powerful.

The end of the book is almost an epilogue, but serves as a catharsis for three-books-worth of pain, second-guessing, betrayal, mistakes, and loneliness. I greatly enjoyed the book (and the series thus far) and highly recommend it.

I know the Eric Carter series is several books in, but Hungry Ghosts was my first foray into it. I found myself breezing through it and not wanting to put it down. Protagonist Eric Carter is quite the anti-hero. He kills at will when he feels people don't deserve any more chances. In Hungry Ghosts, he takes out a mansion full of cartel members who come back to him in the afterlife. As a necromancer, Carter can move in an out of the worlds of life and death. This time he needs to fix a problem that began earlier. He leaves LA with a curse on him; the Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli has embedded a piece of himself inside Eric; his wife Sante Muerte has done similar to a woman named Tabitha, only she killed Tabitha to create her avatar.

Blackmoore takes the reader on an adventurous journey through the Aztec belief of the underworld explaining that there are afterlives for each religion as long as there are followers. Carter has difficult decisions to make along the entire journey. The more magic he uses, the more he swaps places with the god trapped in jade. Eric's skin become more overtaken by the jade with each new challenge until he's almost gone by the final battle.

Carter has to deal with running into visions of his dead loved ones while trying to not go insane from the mists around a dangerous obsidian mountain. The souls haven't been able to cross through the mists in five hundred years so when Eric succeeds, he unclogs the jam and they can try to get through again.

Hungry Ghosts is about Eric Carter having to answer to three different Aztec gods when he really doesn't care about them at all. By the end he's so worn out, he doesn't even care if he survives the ordeal.

I enjoy urban fantasy, specifically stories that borrow heavily from the film noir and hard-boiled detective genres. Stephen Blackmoore’s Eric Carter novels fit the bill nicely.

Hungry Ghosts is the third installment in the series, following Dead Things and Broken Souls. In Blackmoore’s world, magic relies on a local grid wizards can tap into. The specific expression of that power varies among wizards, with Eric Carter drawn to one of the rarest specialties: necromancer. He is a strong natural talent, but a series of adventures has given him exceptional abilities.

Great strength often comes at great cost, and Carter’s power boost is no exception. The events of the first two books led to his becoming entangled with Santa Muerte, originally known as Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec goddess of death. “Entangled with” as in “married to.” Mortals pledging themselves to gods can result in significant complications and side effects up to and including fates worse than death, so Carter is properly motivated to take extreme measures to save himself.

The first two novels in the series set up the action in Hungry Ghosts, so I won’t detail the events that put the author’s protagonist in this bind. The action is entertaining and, true to the book’s hard-boiled antecedents, occasionally violent. Okay, fine…you got me: more than occasionally. And yet I never have the feeling that Blackmoore adds violence for its own sake. Instead, frequenting the world of the dead (literally) and carrying around the messed-up baggage that comes with it makes Eric Carter familiar with and capable of delivering death in its various forms. As an author, Blackmoore writes in a straightforward style that I find engaging. The gritty industrial locations of his mortal criminals’ lairs stand in sharp contrast to the land of the dead and the magical elements present when Aztec gods manifest.

The events of Hungry Ghosts takes Eric Carter through regions of existence he had (mostly) heard of but hoped never to traverse. The ongoing exploration of the landscape and Carter’s reaction to it kept me interested throughout. Again, Blackmoore’s direct style serves him well here. He splits his narrative between milieu and character wisely, providing every detail I need to appreciate the challenges of the setting and the consequences of failure while following his protagonist’s thought process as he works through increasingly challenging and threatening situations.

I highly recommend Hungry Ghosts and its predecessors, though I do have a couple of caveats given the books’ subject matter and presentation. First, the novels include a fair amount of profanity. I believe the characters’ language, like the violence, is organic to the story, so it doesn’t bother me. Second, readers who shy away from descriptions of bloody crime scenes or casually mentioning a shotgun blast to the back of the knee should pick other books.

I loved all three Eric Carter novels, especially Hungry Ghosts. If you enjoy (or think you might enjoy) urban fantasy, I’m sure you will, too.