Holy crap! Where did this come from? I didn't know that this was a series when I started. After reading, I hope its a 10 book series. Nice work. This is going on the reread list and I'm going to check if Ms Bowen has written anything else.

I highly recommend the audiobook as well. The narration was stellar and spot on to the spirit of the book. ( )

This was really quite good. It had a recommendation by Cherie Priest, and that worried me a bit, since I read one of her books (Maplecroft) and disliked it for being too dark and depressing. But this book was nothing like that. Lots of ugliness happening, of course, but there was no hopelessness. Nettie is a great character, who can be a bit coarse and difficult in the beginning, but she grows and gets to know herself better. Not to wonder she has difficulty accepting friendship at first, considering how little she got for the first years of her life. She is above all tenacious and courageous, risking herself several times to help her friends. The story moves along at a decent pace, and at times, quite a bit faster than that. Not all mysteries are resolved at the end, but it is rounded off enough for satisfaction. And if you're looking for diversity in fantasy, this is definitely one to try: aside from the main character being female, strong and smart and the book passing the Bechdel test, she is also half-comanche, half-black, identifies as male (and there are indications that this is not just to hide among men), and is attracted to both men and women. Aside from that, there are several native Americans and a gay guy. It's true that there are not a lot of women in the book, and that Nettie herself doesn't view women in a positive light, especially at first. This does make sense from her character's point of view, however, and I'm glad that the other woman who gets a decent amount of page time prefers dresses over men's clothes and teaches Nettie to accept more of herself.

The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that I prefer my books to be more immersive. It was a great read, and I was invested, but I did not have much trouble setting the book aside. I think the pace was a bit too fast, as if we were skimming over the story instead of sinking into it.

Still, I'm already planning when to go into town to buy the next book. Highly recommended. ( )

This is a really good book. Unique setting in the Wild West, unique main character and great storytelling.

All kinds of themes can be found in this story, like racism, gender issues, acceptance of being 'other' and so on, but always to benefit the story.

I love the 'monsters' in this book. They are influenced bij Native American stories I guess and that is very interesting to me as I don't know much about that.

So it must be no surprise that I already started reading the next book in this series. ( )

I decided to read Wake of Vultures because Kevin Hearn tweeted about it and I am glad I did.


This is a great book.
The combination of fantasy, the occult and Native American myth is well blended. It contains skin-walkers, harpies, chupacabra, vampires, fanged rabbits, shadows and more.
Nettie is complex, or maybe very simple. She is hungry and ragged; ignorant and unaware of the world outside the shabby ranch and town she has grown up in.
Overnight Nettie's world changes and starts her on a journey that will teach her much more than she ever imagined. This book stands out from the usual fantasy crowd: Native American and Western myths, plus Nettie's multicultural heritage and a wide range of characters. Wake of Vultures is a fabulous read.




P.S. Contains skin-walkers, harpies, chupacabra, vampires, fanged rabbits, shadows and more. ( )

Damn fine read, this story.

What the author pulled from history and from legend and story and fantasy and wove here is the very kind of magic I like best, with characters I want and need with and mourn and cheer with.

Nettie starts out a tangled, knotted angry, stubborn mess. You know from the start that untangling any of that won't be easy or neat or simple and oh boy, that's an understatement. How this one ends is at once too soon and HELL YEAH.

So go. You want this one. ( )