Still an original setting, one that makes use of less known supernatural/folklore creatures (such as Sasquatches—I don’t think I’ve seen a single vampire yet in this series, and this is refreshing). We also find again some of the previously involved characters, such as agent Ferraro, Yancy’s old Vietnam comrade Greg, and James from the Guild, along with unlikely allies in the person of, well, Bigfoot and his daughter (he’s not named Bigfoot, although Yancy keeps calling him Kong, for want of being able to remember his full name). To be fair, at times I preferred these two Sasquatches, once they got past their tendency to refuse to explain their real reasons.

Some of the action scenes were pretty interesting. There’s a curious ‘battle of the bands’ at some point, mixing music with combat, and that isn’t something I’ve often read. Other such scenes left me quirking an eyebrow, though, like the one with Cassius. I quite dig Cassius, but I’d like to know more about him, apart from the little Yancy tells us about him, and the fight scene I’m thinking about, the one at the end, was… OK, I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to make of it. It was fun in a WTF way, but it jarred with the rest of the UF/supernatural-oriented action. I think a little less action in parts would’ve been good here.

This book tended to annoy me more than the previous ones when it comes to Yancy’s personality, though. I’m all OK for the grumpy, no-strings-attached guy who prefers to live in his car, but the way he acts at times is much too childish for someone with so many years of experience, and especially so many battles and betrayals behind him. I guess this is why I particularly appreciated the moment when ‘monsters’ put him back in his place regarding ‘all the people they had killed’ vs. ‘did you ever wonder if the monsters you killed had friends and families?’

Conclusion: 2.5 stars, there are good things in this series, and the end paves the way for more, since part of the threat is gone, but not fully… and things could still go terribly wrong.

A review won't be posted for this title because we did not enjoy the book at all.

Yancy is up to his old tricks, just wanting to hang out at a bar, get drunk, and play some cards or the piano. He doesn't want to be out trying to save the world, but as an Agent of Luck he doesn't have much choice. While on his way to follow a lead, Yancy is met by Bigfoot stopping to ask for help. Of course, when Bigfoot's problems overlap with his own mystery, Yancy can't help being intrigued. Even with Bigfoot's help Yancy doesn't know if he'll be enough to stop the zombie Armageddon that's on its way.

I've said this in the previous two reviews for this series, but I have to repeat it here: Yancy's snark and dark humor are extremely well written. I enjoy every time he opens his mouth even when he's being obtuse or an ass. What Wendigo Rising excelled at, however, was helping him grow past that. It's been clear up to this point that Yancy is a hard outer shell with a soft, gooey center,. The truth revealed in this book is that he doesn't know how to handle strong emotion, so he walls himself off from everyone around him as a defense. Reading about him learning to open himself up and welcome having friends and even a lover was very interesting.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the plot. The beginning dragged. Despite this being the third book in the series and the plot firmly entrenched at this point, there was a lot of exposition to explain the world-building and the magic Yancy uses. In fact, every time Yancy uses his magic he also has to provide an explanation as to what the Vis is and why he can only draw so much without it becoming dangerous. The repetitiveness became a touch boring after a while. The rest of the book consisted of battle after battle after battle. I understand that Yancy is in a race to save the world from the possibility of a zombie hoard, but there needed to be some sort of relief from the constant, almost overwhelming drama to break it up a bit.