Moon Called (2006)

I can't tell you how many times I considered starting this series, but put it off because of the God awful covers. Likewise, I can't tell you how many times I've heard from friends that I should read it, that despite the God awful covers it really is a great series. Well, I finally bit the bullet and dove in...

And I'm really glad I did. The cover of this book isn't a good indicator at all of the content within. It's not about some trampy PNR chick being all bad ass and dark and shit, it's about a smart and competent woman doing her best to help her friends and those in need. She's still bad ass.. I mean she's a mechanic, how hot is that? I'm a mechanical engineer and I can't even work on cars. I can change a tire, do my breaks, change my oil (although I'd need a refresher for that one, haven't bothered doing it myself in years), but that's about all I have in my secret arsenal.

Just a side note.. I still can't believe I'm reading and enjoying books like this. A year ago a scoffed at it all. Werewolves and vampires and other paranormal crap? No thanks. But I don't know.. It's just entertaining. It's a great genre to use to break up all of the Epic Fantasy I read, and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

As for how this series compares to other Urban Fantasy out there.. I don't know. I'm still young in my UF adventuring, having only conquered Dresden and Kate Daniels thus far. Still, I really really really enjoyed this story, and I'm very excited to check out the next book in the series. ( )

What do you call a coyote who was raised by wolves? Mercy Thompson, that's what! She's a walker--that is, she can shift into a coyote at will. She grew up in a pack of werewolves. It's a bit confusing at times to me, but I can imagine that it's confusing to Mercy so therefore the reader is meant to feel a bit of that. The series reminds me a bit of the Sookie Stackhouse novels in that one of the supernatural species has "come out" (revealed themselves to humans), and others are sitting back watching how it all turns out before deciding to do the same. Mercy is the only one of her kind that she knows, so she spends a lot of time with various members of other species, especially werewolves. When the alpha of the local pack (who happens to be Mercy's neighbor) is attached and his daughter kidnapped, Mercy has to take a walk down memory lane to help get her back and restore political order in the werewolf world.

Overall I liked the start to this series and plan to read the rest. It will be interesting to see Mercy's character develop, especially since it's hinted that she has more powers than she is aware of. That's not surprising since she didn't have anyone like her to teach her walker ways, so in many cases she learns by the seat of her pants. It will also be interesting to see which direction her love life takes with the many possibilities presented. ( )

The Mercy Thompson series were recommended by a friend who is also a Dresden Files fan.
While technically in the same genre and quite enjoyable so far, they are no Dresden Files.
On their own merit though, Mercedes is a highly likable character with a great supporting cast.
Interestingly, the fae have "come out" to some extent in these books and the consequences are only just beginning to reverberate through as the werewolves also reveal themselves.
I am now in the third book and will happily continue the series, they are a nice addition to the paranormal genre. I also very much appreciate that the content, so far, is 'PG". I like to share good stories with my teenager but a lot of paranormal crosses a line I am not ready for her to cross as yet.
( )

Just briefly: I'll be coming back to this series and reading the other books in the very near future. I'm glad there are more. ( )

This is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series. She’s our first person narrator and also a “skin walker”, a kind of shape-changing witch from Native American lore. Since she has the habit of turning into a coyote, she was sent to be raised by a pack of werewolves in a small Montana town. Now she’s in Washington state, living next to another werewolf, and running a one-woman garage she inherited from a gremlin.

A few of the magical beings came out to the public a few years ago, but most remain in private, including the werewolves and the vampires she’s paying protection money to. Or at least she would be paying if she could afford it. Fortunately, one of them is trying to restore an old VW bus, so she’s working it off in trade. So, she was not entirely surprised when a teenage werewolf on the run showed up at her doorstep looking for help.

As you would expect, hijinks ensue. The folks chasing the young werewolf start sniffing around for him, and the local pack of werewolves is none too happy about it. Then it starts look like an even bigger problem stemming from other packs across the country, and that brings in the pack that raised her… and by the way, she did not exactly leave that pack under the best of circumstances. Before long, the moon is up, and all hell is breaking loose. Well, not literally hell, it’s at least… um, hair-raising.

I liked it. The plot was good, and it kept me guessing. The characters were fairly real to me, and she did a good job of humanizing werewolves without turning them into sparkle-puppies. My biggest complaint was that some of the important plot-movers were “off screen” until late in the book, so I had a hard time keeping track of who was who once they showed up in the final build towards the climax. My much smaller complaint was there was a sidetrack thread about the local vampires that was interesting but not really required for the plot of this book. Clearly, it’s there to set up more events in future books, but it felt very extraneous in this one.

Still, even with those caveats, it was enjoyable. The next one is already sitting in my kindle samples, waiting to go. ( )