Hungry Ghosts
Eric Carter 3
DAW, February 7, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
Eric Carter 3
DAW, February 7, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
Stephen Blackmoore’s dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts • “Gritty, emotional and phenomenally imaginative.” —RT Reviews
Necromancer Eric Carter’s problems keep getting bigger. Bad enough he’s the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, has come back — and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places. As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade, Carter is slowly turning to stone.
To make matters worse, both gods are trying to get Carter to assassinate the other. But only one of them can be telling him the truth and he can’t trust either one. Carter’s solution? Kill them both.
If he wants to get out of this situation with his soul intact, he’ll have to go to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, and take down a couple of death gods while facing down the worst trials the place has to offer him: his own sins.
Qwill's Thoughts
Hungry Ghosts is the third novel in the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore. Married to Santa Muerte, necromancer Carter is out to kill her and Mictlantecuhtli - the Aztec King of the Dead and Santa Muerte's ex-husband. Carter has a particular need to dispatch Mictlantecuhtli - they are swapping places with Carter becoming a more and more a jade statue when he uses the god's power and Mictlantecuhtli becoming flesh again. To achieve his ends, Carter goes on a hunt for Santa Muerte's avatar in the real world and then to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead. On top of all this at least one other Aztec god has issues with Carter which is part of an ancient feud between those gods. Carter is juggling a lot in Hungry Ghosts and the opportunities for him to die are more numerous than ever.
Carter's approach to trouble is generally to take down whatever is in his way. It's worked for him so far more or less so why change? Carter is snarky, a bit crazy, and spends most of his time in a very dark place mentally. He's also extremely resourceful. He's been responsible for a lot of death and destruction to those close to him and many others. In Hungry Ghosts he becomes less sure of his burn it all down approach and for the first time in the series is facing up to events in his life with a bit of introspection. Trying to stay alive, fighting monsters (human and otherwise) does not leave a lot of time for this, but Carter's journey through Mictlan is both real and metaphorical.
Blackmoore brings Mictlan vividly to life and provides fascinating information about Aztec mythology and history. This is all vital to the events unfolding in Hungry Ghosts and serves to deepen the story. In order to stay alive Carter needs to understand what is going on in Mictlan and with the gods.
Hungry Ghosts is a dark, action-packed thrill ride and is Blackmoore's best writing so far. It's full of rich detail and exceptional character development wrapped in a great story. I'm truly looking forward to the next three Eric Carter novels.
Hungry Ghosts is the third novel in the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore. Married to Santa Muerte, necromancer Carter is out to kill her and Mictlantecuhtli - the Aztec King of the Dead and Santa Muerte's ex-husband. Carter has a particular need to dispatch Mictlantecuhtli - they are swapping places with Carter becoming a more and more a jade statue when he uses the god's power and Mictlantecuhtli becoming flesh again. To achieve his ends, Carter goes on a hunt for Santa Muerte's avatar in the real world and then to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead. On top of all this at least one other Aztec god has issues with Carter which is part of an ancient feud between those gods. Carter is juggling a lot in Hungry Ghosts and the opportunities for him to die are more numerous than ever.
Carter's approach to trouble is generally to take down whatever is in his way. It's worked for him so far more or less so why change? Carter is snarky, a bit crazy, and spends most of his time in a very dark place mentally. He's also extremely resourceful. He's been responsible for a lot of death and destruction to those close to him and many others. In Hungry Ghosts he becomes less sure of his burn it all down approach and for the first time in the series is facing up to events in his life with a bit of introspection. Trying to stay alive, fighting monsters (human and otherwise) does not leave a lot of time for this, but Carter's journey through Mictlan is both real and metaphorical.
Blackmoore brings Mictlan vividly to life and provides fascinating information about Aztec mythology and history. This is all vital to the events unfolding in Hungry Ghosts and serves to deepen the story. In order to stay alive Carter needs to understand what is going on in Mictlan and with the gods.
Hungry Ghosts is a dark, action-packed thrill ride and is Blackmoore's best writing so far. It's full of rich detail and exceptional character development wrapped in a great story. I'm truly looking forward to the next three Eric Carter novels.
The Giveaway
What: Mass Market Paperback copies of Dead Things, Broken Souls and Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore. US / Canada Only
How:
Who: The giveaway is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US or Canadian mailing address.
When: The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on February 14, 2017. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
What: Mass Market Paperback copies of Dead Things, Broken Souls and Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore. US / Canada Only
How:
- Send an email to theqwillery . contests @ gmail.com [remove the spaces]
- In the subject line, enter “Eric Carter Novels“
- In the body of the email, please provide your name and full mailing address. The winning address is used only to mail the prize and is provided to the publisher and/or The Qwillery only for that purpose. All other address information will be deleted once the giveaway ends.
Who: The giveaway is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US or Canadian mailing address.
When: The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on February 14, 2017. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change without any notice.*
Previously
Dead Things
Eric Carter 1
DAW, February 3, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 256 pages
Eric Carter 1
DAW, February 3, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 256 pages
The first book in Stephen Blackmoore’s dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts • “Gritty, emotional and phenomenally imaginative.” —RT Reviews
Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it’s a title Eric Carter is stuck with.
He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He’s turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course.
When he left LA fifteen years ago, he thought he’d never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.
But now his sister’s been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why.
Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it’s the patron saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who’s taken an unusually keen interest in him.
Carter’s going to find out who did it, and he’s going to make them pay.
As long as they don’t kill him first.
Broken Souls
Eric Carter 2
DAW, August 5, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 272 pages
Eric Carter 2
DAW, August 5, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 272 pages
The second book in Stephen Blackmoore’s dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts • “Gritty, emotional and phenomenally imaginative.” —RT Reviews
Sister murdered, best friend dead, married to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte. Necromancer Eric Carter’s return to Los Angeles hasn’t gone well, and it’s about to get even worse.
His link to the Aztec death goddess is changing his powers, changing him, and he’s not sure how far it will go. He’s starting to question his own sanity, wonder if he’s losing his mind. No mean feat for a guy who talks to the dead on a regular basis.
While searching for a way to break Santa Muerte’s hold over him, Carter finds himself the target of a psychopath who can steal anyone’s form, powers, and memories. Identity theft is one thing, but this guy does it by killing his victims and wearing their skins like a suit. He can be anyone. He can be anywhere.
Now Carter has to change the game — go from hunted to hunter. All he has for help is a Skid Row bruja and a ghost who’s either his dead friend Alex or the manifestation of Carter’s own guilt-fueled psychotic break.
Everything is trying to kill him. Nothing is as it seems. If all his plans go perfectly, he might survive the week.
He’s hoping that’s a good thing.
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