Review - Vicious Circle (Felix Castor, Book 2) by Mike Carey (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 592 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0446618717
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Felix Castor series
Source: Audible.com (audio book)
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the second book in the Felix Castor series by Carey.  If you liked the first book, you will most likely enjoy this book as it is very similar in tone.  Last I heard there were 6 books planned for this series.  The fifth book, The Naming of the Beasts, came out in Jan 2011.  I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was well done (so please excuse name mispellings).

Felix Castor has changed from doing spirit extermination to spirit counseling and shortly thereafter he is approached by a couple who say that their daughter's ghost has been kidnapped.  At the same time a rash of violent crimes is plaguing the city and Juliet, has a strange case involving possessed church that she needs Felix's consult on.  Felix again ends up over his head and embroiled in events that both threaten the whole city and his life.

This book stands alone well, so you wouldn't have to read the previous book to understand what is going on here.  This is good for people that like to pick up a series in the middle.  The only thing I don't like about this is that there isn't an over-arcing story or goal that ties this series together.  I usually like my urban fantasies to have something resolved within one book, but also a broader story or purpose that is all-encompassing and you don't get that with this series...at least not so far.

Felix is still as much of a smart-ass as he was in the first book.  This makes the book fun to read at times but can also be frustrating.  Felix withholds information that could prevent horrible situations with no real rhyme or reason.  Sometimes it is like he wants to be beat up.  Felix doesn't seem to really grow or change as a character at all.  He is just as dense, stupid, and determined as in the first book and makes a lot of really bad decisions.  I was disappointed that he hasn't really learned anything and that his ghost summoning powers remain somewhat lame.

Having Juliet play a bigger part in the book was nice; she is a more interesting character than Felix and actually does seem to be changing and learning.  Juliet can actually kick some butt, rather than constantly getting her own butt kicked (like Felix).  I hope she plays a large role in future books.  I also enjoyed learning more about Raffe and Asmodeus.  Pen remains a somewhat underdeveloped character and is discussed a lot but not present very much.

The other thing I found frustrating was the predictable plot.  Right at the beginning of the book Asmodeus leaves Raffe and violence breaks out in the city.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the two are connected somehow, but it took Felix the whole book to realize it.  I mean really it is a bit contrived that Felix was so completely blind to what was going on around him.

I did enjoy the writing style and the story was tied up well.

Overall while there were some things I enjoyed about this book, there were more things that frustrated me.  I enjoyed the humor and love how supernaturals are all forms of ghosts, I like the idea of music summoning ghosts, and I liked that Juliet played a bigger role.  I was frustrated with how predictable the story was and how dense Felix was, I was also frustrated by Felix's sameness throughout the novel (he never learns anything and withholds information for strange reasons, he always gets beat up and loses).  I am on the fence about whether or not I will read the next book in the series, Dead Men's Boots.  There are some things I like about this series but I am worried the third book will just be more of the same.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge List 

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Zombies! Reading Challenge

 

Review - The Devil You Know (Felix Castor, Book 1) by Mike Carey (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: July 10, 2007

ISBN-13: 978-0446580304
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Felix Castor series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I had heard wonderful things about the Felix Castor series and it has been on my book shelf forever, I finally got around to reading it.  It was a very enjoyable book.  Right now there are six books planned for the series and Book 5, The Naming of the Beasts, just came out in the US last year.  The sixth book is scheduled for a late 2011 release and is, as yet, untitled.  The book has a creative take on the paranormal world and Felix is snarky; and lots of fun to read about.

After a particularly bad possession Felix Castor has tried to give up exorcising as a job.  He is taking a leave of absence and trying to be a magician at children's parties...well it's just not working out.  He finally is forced to take a case because he needs the money to pay rent.  The case seems to be straight forward; the local Archive is being haunted by a female ghost with no face and they want Felix to exorcise her.  No problem right?  Well Felix is finding that this is no ordinary ghost and ends up getting into some pretty dangerous stuff very quickly.

I really enjoyed the world created here.  Basically all supernaturals are different types of possessions; as such exorcists are very important where ghosts and possession are a fact of everyday life.  The book all takes place in London, which is a wonderful setting.

All of the characters have depth and are interesting.  Felix himself is incredibly funny, with a dry sense of humor, and he is constantly getting himself beat up or stumbling into situations that are better left alone.  He is a bit of a anti-hero and constantly ends up trying to do the right thing despite his best efforts.  There are a number of laugh out loud points in this book.

The plot has many layers of deception and takes a number of twists and turns.  My only problem with the plot is that ultimately it was fairly predictable...I guessed what had happened in general terms in the beginning of the book and was kind of let down when I was right.

The action scenes are well done and the book itself was very readable.  Things moved at a pretty good clip, although there were times where it felt like Felix was kind of stalled on the main case and there were a couple times when the story went off on dubious tangents.  Still, it was very engaging and interesting overall.

This is definitely a solid urban fantasy of the investigative variety; no romance and not a ton of magic (besides the ghosts).  Definitely for adult readers only; there is a lot of swearing, violence, and sexual situations (talk about rape, hookers, etc.).  The book wrapped up nicely and I look forward to reading about more of Felix adventures in the future.

Overall a fun and engrossing urban fantasy.  I enjoyed the world that's built here, I liked Felix as a character, and enjoyed the humor woven throughout.  The plot was a bit predictable and the storyline lagged a little at points.  I will definitely be reading the next book in the series; this world and the characters were just so fun!  I will be checking out Vicious Circle next.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge List can't link reviews
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge