James A. Hunter
Author of Strange Magic
About the Author
Image credit: Artists drawing of author on his own webpage
Series
Works by James A. Hunter
Wasteland Warlords 6 4 copies
Wasteland Warlords 4 4 copies
Wasteland Warlords 5 4 copies
Vigil's Wrath: Vigil Bound, Book 4 2 copies
Sketches and Poems 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Hey all, my name is James Hunter and I'm a writer, among other things. So just a little about me: I'm a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). I'm also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—'cause that's a real thing. I've also been a missionary and international aid worker in Bangkok, Thailand. And, a space-ship captain, can't forget that.
Okay … the last one is only in my imagination.
Currently, I'm a stay at home Dad—taking care of my two kids—while also writing full time, making up absurd stories that I hope people will continue to buy. When I'm not working, writing, or spending time with family, I occasionally eat and sleep. - Birthplace
- Denver, Colorado, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Colorado, USA
Members
Reviews
Savage Prophet: A Yancy Lazarus Novel (Episode Four) (Yancy Lazarus Series) (Volume 4) by James A. Hunter
This is an urban fantasy, no sex, lots of death and much to my dismay, a cliffhanger. This is not a stand alone, please start with Yancy’s book #1.
There are a few series that I feel passionately about. Yancy’s story is one of them. Yancy is a salty, ill-behaved 68-year old Marine who is a mage that has seen too much and done far worse. He’s been betrayed, loved, and hated. He’s also funnier than anything I can ever compare. His sense of humor is one of those that makes me laugh out show more loud.
His story is continuing, though I have no idea how he’s keeping himself alive. In this book, it’s never a good day for Yancy. He’s got more on his plate by just waking up in the morning than I have in all my life. He has to out-guess the Fates and try boxing in a demon. He has to figure out puzzles and keep at least three moves ahead of his enemy…which he’s not always sure the identity.
He’s trying so hard to do the right thing that sometimes he has to do the wrong thing to get him into the place he needs to be to do the right thing. The secondary characters are not disappointing either. The world is a mixture of Earth as we know it, Faerie, and an other world that is deadly if you don’t know what you are doing and treacherous even if you do.
Yancy Lazarus is a one of-a-kind and his story is the ultimate conspiracy theory. If you think the government is bad, you’ve never met the bathrobe-wearing sh*tpickle of the Guild. That’s Yancy’s word – not mine. show less
There are a few series that I feel passionately about. Yancy’s story is one of them. Yancy is a salty, ill-behaved 68-year old Marine who is a mage that has seen too much and done far worse. He’s been betrayed, loved, and hated. He’s also funnier than anything I can ever compare. His sense of humor is one of those that makes me laugh out show more loud.
His story is continuing, though I have no idea how he’s keeping himself alive. In this book, it’s never a good day for Yancy. He’s got more on his plate by just waking up in the morning than I have in all my life. He has to out-guess the Fates and try boxing in a demon. He has to figure out puzzles and keep at least three moves ahead of his enemy…which he’s not always sure the identity.
He’s trying so hard to do the right thing that sometimes he has to do the wrong thing to get him into the place he needs to be to do the right thing. The secondary characters are not disappointing either. The world is a mixture of Earth as we know it, Faerie, and an other world that is deadly if you don’t know what you are doing and treacherous even if you do.
Yancy Lazarus is a one of-a-kind and his story is the ultimate conspiracy theory. If you think the government is bad, you’ve never met the bathrobe-wearing sh*tpickle of the Guild. That’s Yancy’s word – not mine. show less
Wendigo Rising: A Yancy Lazarus Novel (Episode Three) (Yancy Lazarus Series) (Volume 3) by James A. Hunter
A Sasquatch! Yancy Lazarus meets Big Foot. How could I not love this book.
Yancy has charmed me from the very beginning. Not by his looks, he’s okay. Not by his smoking and drinking, does way too much of that. And definitely not because of his behavior. But, in spite of it.
Now, he’s teamed up with a sasquatch who needs his help. Seems one of his kind has gone off the rails, munching on flesh, cannibalizing his own species, and liking it too much.
Now, these beings like their privacy. show more They’ve managed to stay secluded, with everyone believing they don’t exist. One rogue sasquatch could put them on the front page and here comes the hunters. Not good at all.
In comes the big bad Wendigo. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another, and the state of Montana may be one big ghost town if Yancy doesn’t take care of it.
If that isn’t enough, Yancy’s still trying to stop the supernatural beings and their plans for armageddon.
When I wasn’t snortin with laughter, I was talking out loud. Cheering Yancy on. The poor guy just wants a break. Some time off to smoke, drink, and jam some blues. Not today, Yancy
As with the first two books, I ate this up. The author kept the suspense ramped up, threw in some new supernatural beings, put Yancy through the wringer, and continued to make me laugh.
I’ve been thinking about who should play the part of Yancy if there were a movie. I’m going with Russell Crow or Gerard Butler. Picture them in Gladiator and The 300.
Still lovin Yancy Lazarus, and still wanting more. show less
Yancy has charmed me from the very beginning. Not by his looks, he’s okay. Not by his smoking and drinking, does way too much of that. And definitely not because of his behavior. But, in spite of it.
Now, he’s teamed up with a sasquatch who needs his help. Seems one of his kind has gone off the rails, munching on flesh, cannibalizing his own species, and liking it too much.
Now, these beings like their privacy. show more They’ve managed to stay secluded, with everyone believing they don’t exist. One rogue sasquatch could put them on the front page and here comes the hunters. Not good at all.
In comes the big bad Wendigo. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another, and the state of Montana may be one big ghost town if Yancy doesn’t take care of it.
If that isn’t enough, Yancy’s still trying to stop the supernatural beings and their plans for armageddon.
When I wasn’t snortin with laughter, I was talking out loud. Cheering Yancy on. The poor guy just wants a break. Some time off to smoke, drink, and jam some blues. Not today, Yancy
As with the first two books, I ate this up. The author kept the suspense ramped up, threw in some new supernatural beings, put Yancy through the wringer, and continued to make me laugh.
I’ve been thinking about who should play the part of Yancy if there were a movie. I’m going with Russell Crow or Gerard Butler. Picture them in Gladiator and The 300.
Still lovin Yancy Lazarus, and still wanting more. show less
Note: This is Book 2 in the series and can work as a stand alone.
Book 1 was good but this book is much better. It’s a bit darker, more gritty, some great secondary characters, awesome fight scenes, and some twisted fae. Yancy still fascinates me. He has his dated lingo and smokes like a chimney but his ideas of women aren’t dated (which is nice since it would have been embarrassing yet entertaining to see FBI agent Nicole Ferraro kick his butt).
Some of those background questions I had in show more Book 1 get answered here. We learn more about Yancy’s family and the reasons he left them. We also get to know more about the magic Guild Yancy was once part of through the Guild member James. There’s still plenty to learn about Yancy’s past but I like that we get a little bit more each book.
There’s plenty to do with the winter Fae and Old Man Winter in this story. It borders on epic fantasy because of the big sweeping implications of some of it but I liked that it stayed urban fantasy. That’s Yancy’s strength right now. There were some great messy scenes fighting ice dwarves and such. I also like Yancy’s take on using compulsion, even on evil fae.
Nicole is a great addition to the story. She’s got her own agenda and doesn’t take crap from Yancy. Yet she can play a role, keeping it cool, in order to blend in as well. She’s not all bite; she’s also a lot of brains. I really hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a fun, dark urban fantasy that wraps up the immediate mystery while leaving a few bigger questions for the series arc. Once again, it was the perfect companion to playing Titan Quest. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Charlie Kevin was great once again. He’s the perfect fit for the gravely, snarky voice of Yancy. He also made an excellent Nicole, his voice being feminine without being ridiculous. I loved his voices for the various fae. He made them sound dangerous and deadly. All his character voices were distinct. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars. show less
Book 1 was good but this book is much better. It’s a bit darker, more gritty, some great secondary characters, awesome fight scenes, and some twisted fae. Yancy still fascinates me. He has his dated lingo and smokes like a chimney but his ideas of women aren’t dated (which is nice since it would have been embarrassing yet entertaining to see FBI agent Nicole Ferraro kick his butt).
Some of those background questions I had in show more Book 1 get answered here. We learn more about Yancy’s family and the reasons he left them. We also get to know more about the magic Guild Yancy was once part of through the Guild member James. There’s still plenty to learn about Yancy’s past but I like that we get a little bit more each book.
There’s plenty to do with the winter Fae and Old Man Winter in this story. It borders on epic fantasy because of the big sweeping implications of some of it but I liked that it stayed urban fantasy. That’s Yancy’s strength right now. There were some great messy scenes fighting ice dwarves and such. I also like Yancy’s take on using compulsion, even on evil fae.
Nicole is a great addition to the story. She’s got her own agenda and doesn’t take crap from Yancy. Yet she can play a role, keeping it cool, in order to blend in as well. She’s not all bite; she’s also a lot of brains. I really hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a fun, dark urban fantasy that wraps up the immediate mystery while leaving a few bigger questions for the series arc. Once again, it was the perfect companion to playing Titan Quest. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Charlie Kevin was great once again. He’s the perfect fit for the gravely, snarky voice of Yancy. He also made an excellent Nicole, his voice being feminine without being ridiculous. I loved his voices for the various fae. He made them sound dangerous and deadly. All his character voices were distinct. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars. show less
I had a lot of fun with this story despite its few faults. Yancy is a rough and tumble character with a good heart. He’s somewhere in his 70s but because of his magic he looks like he’s in his 40s. His lingo made me think of biker movies and James Dean and gritty stories of Vietnam. Also, Yancy is a smoker which I like in characters even though I don’t care for it in real life.
Hunter gives us small glimpses into Yancy’s past which includes his family that he left behind and his time show more spent working closely with other magic users. It hooked me. I wanted to know more even as I wanted Yancy to get to the bottom of these demonic murders. Yancy has depth and while I wanted some of the side characters to be a bit deeper, Yancy was enough to keep me entertained.
The pacing was good with plenty of action and small moments of reflection tossed in. This story made a good companion was I played Titan Quest. While Yancy was the star, I enjoyed Greg as well. He’s got some snark and he’s tough on Yancy but he’s also intriguing. The building of the magic-side of the world is also well done. There were clear rules for the bits of magic presented and those stayed consistent throughout the story. All together, 4/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book.
The Narration: Charlie Kevin was a lot of fun to listen to. He is the perfect match for Yancy Lazarus. He’s got a little gravel to his voice, always seems on the cusp of being a smart ass (just like Yancy), and also handles Yancy’s emotions well. All his character voices were distinct and his female characters sounded feminine. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars. show less
Hunter gives us small glimpses into Yancy’s past which includes his family that he left behind and his time show more spent working closely with other magic users. It hooked me. I wanted to know more even as I wanted Yancy to get to the bottom of these demonic murders. Yancy has depth and while I wanted some of the side characters to be a bit deeper, Yancy was enough to keep me entertained.
The pacing was good with plenty of action and small moments of reflection tossed in. This story made a good companion was I played Titan Quest. While Yancy was the star, I enjoyed Greg as well. He’s got some snark and he’s tough on Yancy but he’s also intriguing. The building of the magic-side of the world is also well done. There were clear rules for the bits of magic presented and those stayed consistent throughout the story. All together, 4/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book.
The Narration: Charlie Kevin was a lot of fun to listen to. He is the perfect match for Yancy Lazarus. He’s got a little gravel to his voice, always seems on the cusp of being a smart ass (just like Yancy), and also handles Yancy’s emotions well. All his character voices were distinct and his female characters sounded feminine. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars. show less
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Statistics
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- 65
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- Rating
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