joanne walker aka siobhan walkingstick a 1/2 indian 1/2 irish & now she's seeing the dead, ancient gods & dreaming. also she's a mechanic turned cop & newly appt. shaman. great read, fast-paced, action filled. brought on by a near death exp w/wildhunt ( )

wish fulfillment fantasy? ach, Mary Sue, i fear she is alive and all too well. not really badly written otherwise, but a bad case of it. warning sign: a heroine who acquires power suddenly that is infinitely greater than that of her god opponent. can we say sustainability issues? net result: instant discard pile. ( )

I was impressed with this debut outing by C. E. Murphy, convincingly bringing together a half American Indian, half Irish mechanic/cop Shaman with a 6 century old feud between a God and his demigod son throw in some ancient legends and a Seattle cabbie and you've got Urban Shaman. One of the better paranormal fiction series first books I have read in a while. It usually takes more than one book for a series to really get good but this one, given it's break neck pace and the authors deft skill and research, really kicks it out well. I will be looking forward to reading the next one in this series. ( )

I've wanted to read this book for ages, and I'm so glad I finally acquired and devoured it.

Joanne Walker's having a lousy week. On a return flight to Seattle, she notices something peculiar in the street below - a woman fleeing a pack of dogs, and a sinister man with a knife. Super-rational Jo has trouble believing what she saw, much less convincing anyone else so she sets out to find the woman on her own, and finds her own share of trouble. The Wild Hunt is on the loose. They want that woman. And now that Jo's in the way and manifesting some peculiar powers of her own - like instant healing from fatal wounds - they want her, too. Oh, and then there's the dude with the knife. He's even worse.

I loved this book! It was a fast, enjoyable, yet intelligent read. A few things were obvious, but the ending still surprised me and made it all the more delightful. Jo is a spunky and modern woman, but thoroughly like-able and easy to relate to. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and Murphy's other books. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2009/03... ( )