Tag: Mercy Thompson

One of the worst taglines I’ve come up with lately—which is saying something. But it’ll do.

Winter Lost

DETAILS:
Series: Mercy Thompson, #14
Publisher: Ace Books
Publication Date: June 18, 2024
Format: Hardcover
Length: 406 pg.
Read Date: July 2-4, 2024

What’s Winter Lost About?

Mercy’s brother Gary shows up at their front door late one night in a royal mess—he’s almost unidentifiable. More than that, he’s having a hard time understanding what’s going on around him and is having a worse time communicating it. No one has any idea why he’s there, where he came from, or what happened.

A quick consultation with a couple of Fae sends Adam and Mercy to Montana—the type of magic that zapped Gary is characteristic of a particular Fae. Along the way, an epic winter storm engulfs Western Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington—and perhaps more.

Adam and Mercy meet the one responsible for Gary’s state—to free him, they have to complete a task (the guy’s not being a jerk by this, it’s literally a condition of the spell). They have just a couple of days to find something, free Gary, save a wedding, and…I kid you not…save the world.

Everything Else

While the main story is plenty to talk about, there are a couple of other things to note. There’s some good development with Mary Jo, Honey is making some interesting choices, Tad and Jesse are up to something fun, Zee and Adam are involved in a project, and plenty of other things are afoot.

We continue the whole jockeying-for-dominance thing under Adam with Warren, Darryl, and Sherwood—but it seems to be going better than it was in the last book—but it feels like there’s some sort of slow-burn story going there and I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy where it ends up.

There’s more action on the building conflict with various witch groups and the conflict with Bonarata. I want to be super-vague about both of these, but want to mention them. They both took very little space in the novel as a whole and part of me wonders if we really needed them now—we could’ve come back to them in book 15 and spent more time on both (while assuming things were ongoing with both). But…I really liked the way that Briggs wrote both of them.

Bonarata is conducting some psychological warfare on Mercy, which seems to be pretty effective. As part of that, he’s hurting other people. The best example the readers get in this book is a certain kind of horrific. I don’t know if Briggs has shown something so depraved since Iron Kissed—but this time the victim is someone we don’t even know the name of. Part of me is really impressed with how Briggs wrote this, most of me wishes she hadn’t.

So, what did I think about Winter Lost?

There are a couple of things to say—first: I had a whole lot of fun with this one. Yeah, the stakes are higher than they sometimes are. But this felt more fun than the last couple of books, things have felt very weighty since Silence Fallen. This was closer to River Marked, it seems.

But more than that, Briggs was trying some new things narratively, both in the order and way she was telling the story—and in the way the cast of characters were spread out in this book. And everything she tried worked really well. At the moment, I can’t think of a way to talk about this with any level of detail and not spoil some big things—so let’s just leave it with Briggs trying some new things for the series and succeeding. I don’t know if she’ll want to try to tell another story like this anytime soon (and I’m not sure she should), but I like to see her experimenting—and hope she continues.

There’s not much more to say—there’s some great action, some solid character moments, a nice bit of new mythology, and Briggs has planted all sorts of seeds for a couple (or more) future installments in the series. This is just what Mercy fans needed, and I hope we get more of it soon.

4 Stars

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Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs: Mercy May Find Herself Up Against a Horror Movie Character

By HCNewton

On September 12, 2022

In Mercy Thompson, Patricia Briggs, Urban Fantasy

Soul Taken

by Patricia Briggs

DETAILS:
Series: Mercy Thompson, #13
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: August 22, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 388 pg.
Read Date: August 29-30, 2022

“The thing that we thought might end up with Adam dead looks like it will work out okay,” I told her dryly as her feet hit the ground again. “We have another situation to replace it that might end up with Adam dead. Or me dead. Or maybe the whole pack. But at least we solved one deadly situation before we picked up another one.”

“Business as usual,” said Tad.

What’s Soul Taken About?

Wulfe continues to act strangely—for him, that is—as he was last time. Then he goes missing. And Marsilia tasks Mercy with finding him, or she and the Pack will face the consequences (not life and death consequences, either—something worse).

But it’s not just Wulfe who’s missing—there are others, too. The paths seem to lead to a Fae artifact believed to have been destroyed and a local Urban Legend/subject of a new Horror movie.

Sure, this isn’t as strange as the miniature zombie goats, but it’s close. And slightly less cute.

Sherwood Post

“I’ll call Samuel and bug him.”

“Why not ask Sherwood?” Adam said.

“Did he sound like someone who was going to spill the beans to you?” I queried. “He talks more, but he doesn’t say more. He hasn’t changed that much.” I found that reassuring.

After a lot of speculation, we finally get to know Sherwood Post’s actual identity. And, um. Wow. As she clearly intended, the answer Briggs gave us only leads to more questions.

Several more questions.

For example: was this identity her plan when she first introduced the character? (likely, but I can see a scenario where it wasn’t) Given how this changes what we know about the world, when did she decide to shake things up to this extent? Lastly, when do we start seeing the ripple effects from this revelation? Okay, maybe one more: how many other things has she been lying to us about? (okay, that last one is a joke. Pretty much)

Unintended Consequences

Mercy (and therefore, we) are aware of a decent segment of the supernatural/paranatural population of the Tri-Cities area (although I think I remember her being surprised by some early on in the series)—she knows all the werewolves, many of the Fae, the goblins, vampires, etc.

But we learn along the way in this book that because of Mercy’s declaration a few books back that the area is under the Pack’s protection many “lower powered” supernatural beings have moved into the area for that protection. Mercy and the Pack were unaware of this until they met some in the midst of their investigation. Briggs didn’t spend much time on the idea, but it laid the groundwork for potentially several future storylines.

Even aside from that, I thought it was a great idea—and really seems likely to have happened given Mercy’s action.

So, what did I think about Soul Taken?

I’m never going to complain about getting to spend time with Mercy and the crowd. But I felt let down with this novel. The premise was promising, maybe even more than that; I thought the threats brought by Marsilia and how that played out were intriguing; I was glad to see who the Big Bad behind it all was; and the future ramifications for the seethe are promising. But the stuff in between the premise and the defeat of the Big Bad? Eh. Even the big fight scene wasn’t that good—nor am I that invested in the means by which they were defeated (dancing around a spoiler there).

Really the things that interested me the most about the book were the ongoing arcs and development—the stuff about Sherwood, the lesser powers, some internal Pack matters, and Zee (there was a lot of great material with Zee here). When the subplots and the things the novel isn’t about are what grab me, there’s a problem with the book. The solution was too rushed, it was all too easy, really. If Briggs had taken another hundred pages or so to really dig into the premise and the hunt for the Big Bad, maybe that would’ve worked (but that’d make the book super-sized by her standards).

I just wanted more, I guess. It was fun enough to justify the time and I’ll be back for more—but I expect more from Briggs. I do think long-time fans will enjoy Soul Taken—and despite what it might sound like, I did—but it will leave you wanting.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

By HCNewton

On April 14, 2015

In Alpha & Omega, Authors, Fiction, Patricia Briggs, Urban Fantasy

Dead Heat

by Patricia Briggs
Series: Alpha and Omega, #4

Hardcover, 324 pg.
Ace Books, 2015
Read: March 6 – 7, 2015
One of the biggest difficulties I have here on this ol’ blog is coming up with something to say about later books in a series. What (barring a significant shift in quality) can I say that I haven’t already said? I’m honestly not sure here, but I’ll give it a try.

It’s been three years since the jaw-dropping conclusion of Fair Game, and we’re finally able to get back to Brigg’s Alpha and Omega series. Things seem to have been pretty quiet for these two. We’re not given a lot (or any, as far as I can recall) of information about what’s been going on in the lives of Charles and Anna since then, but we can guess — they’ve grown closer, Charles has done a little enforcing for his father, Anna’s. . . well, honestly, I don’t know, she’s been doing her own thing.

Hunting Game is a nice departure from the typical setup for these books. There’s no assignment, no renegade werewolf, no investigation — just Charles trying to get a gift for Anna and introducing her to an old friend. Sure — something supernatural comes up, there’s something/someone that needs to be stopped before people die. Thankfully, conveniently, fortuitously, Charles and Anna are in town and they (with the help of the local pack) can take charge to protect those who need it the most.

There’s not a lot here that will progress the story of either series, no dramatic character growth or supernatural threat that will shake things up. It’s about spending time with these people, understanding them a bit better — at least in a new light. Seeing Charles away from his family — but amidst friends that might as well be, sheds a good deal of light on his character — not just his past. It’s also interesting seeing the way this particular pack acts together (as opposed to Bran’s or Adams’s).

There’s a warmth to this book, even when things got hairy and tense — which fits a novel about an Omega — the same way that Mercy’s books have a very different feel. A welcome addition to the growing Brigg’s world.

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