Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Moon called by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is not your average mechanic - and not just because she is a woman working in a job traditionally associated with men.  Mercy is more than your average human, mostly because she is a walker, able to take the shape of a coyote at will.  In a world where people know about the Fae but the vampires and werewolves still slink about in the shadows, it doesn't pay to stand out in the crowd - especially when the werewolves who know of her existence barely tolerate her presence, and she is too weak to avoid paying for the protection of the vampires.

It is a somewhat uncertain way to live, but Mercy is managing her tight rope act okay - until she intervenes to rescue a newly turned werewolf and sets a chain of events in motion that brings her world crashing down around her ears.  In a matter of days Mercy will face multiple enemies, and some of them will hide in the shadows as long as they can.  Mercy is no stranger to werewolves and their politics, but even her knowledge of dominance and social rules wont be enough to stop her walking into a war that no one saw coming.  

Moon called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series, and after reading all the books in publishing order to date, I decided to snoop around and see if I could find a list of the books in the recommended reading order rather than the published order as there are some books that seem to be published slightly out of order. Armed with my list I decided to start reading from the start to see if I liked the series as much the second (or in this case third) time around.  The answer is yes, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first book in the series again - even though I could remember a good deal about what happened I was able to suspend the memories and enjoy the book like I was reading it for the first time again.  

This is a thoroughly believable world and Mercy makes one incredible anti-hero - she isn't perfect, she has a temper, and she enjoys rubbing people up the wrong way just a little too much.  Re-reading the series makes me realise that Briggs has been very clever in the way that she introduces certain aspects of her world - because Mercy tries to puzzle things out against her own experience we learn some of the "facts" as she remembers or studies what she already knows.  I know that I love the rest of the series which makes it even better re-reading the series - because I know I am going to like the next book!  If you have not already read this series then I highly recommend you give it a go - you wont be disappointed.

The recommended reading order is:

And to fill in the gaps there are some new (and old) short stories in:
  • Shifting shadows: Stories from the world of Mercy Thompson

If you like this book then try:
  • Tinker by Wen Spencer
  • Night shifted by Cassie Alexander
  • Kitty and the midnight hour by Carrie Vaughn
  • Dark descendant by Jenna Black
  • Burning water by Mercedes Lackey
  • Blood price by Tanya Huff
  • Urban shaman by C.E. Murphy
  • Spiders bite by Jennifer Estep
  • Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison
  • Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway

Reviewed by Brilla

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