The Enchanter

Lawson Vampire #0.5

by Jon F. Merz

An early Lawson novel that takes place before The Fixer pairs him with his old mentor Zero for an assignment in Madagascar with roots running back to World War II.MEET LAWSON.A cynical, wise-cracking vampire charged with protecting the Balance - the secret existence of a race of LIVING vampires that have evolved alongside humanity for thousands of years.A FIXER.Part-spy, and part-commando -- James Bond with fangs. Lawson mixes shrewd cunning with unmatched lethality to get his job done. He tries his best to dismantle conspiracies, dispatch bad guys, and live long enough to get home.THE MADAGASCAR MATTERHitler's plan to ship Jews out of fortress Europe to the remote island nation where they would be systematically eliminated.HJELMA Fixer sent to infiltrate Hitler's inner cordon of supporters who ended up going over to the other side.ZEROThe wise mentor to Lawson, one of the Service's most accomplished Fixers, paired with Lawson to head to Madagascar and put an end to Hjelm once and for all.ESMERALDAAn Enchanter wise in the ways of sorcery and beguiling. Her skills are awesome to behold.Journey back in time to years before THE FIXER when Lawson was still a younger Fixer agent. Join him and Zero as they make their way through the tangled conspiracies of a terrible war, a mysterious island nation, and adventures too incredible to be missed. The novel runs approximately 81,000 words. Praise for Jon F. "Lawson is more like Jason Bourne than Dracula, making this a vampire mystery with broad appeal." --Booklist"A powerful novel by a man who knows the turf already." -NYT Bestselling author Robert. B. Parker"Jon F. Merz's novels move at a break-neck pace, twisting through a landscape of thrills and terror." -- Douglas Clegg, author of The Infinite and The Priest of Blood"...a fine stalking session in vampire-noir land...a series and talented writer I'll be sticking with all the way." -- Mort Castle, author of The Strangers and On Writing HorrorPraise for Jon F. Merz's THE KENSEI (A Lawson vampire Novel #5):"If James Bond, True Blood and Kill Bill created a mutant hybrid of a book, it would be The Kensei. A bullet train slice 'em, dice 'em mixture of action, suspense, and vampire ninjas. Did I mention vampire ninjas?"--Jason Pinter, bestselling author of The Fury and The Darkness"The Kensei is an action novel with real bite. Vampires, Yakuza killers, crooks and animal-monster hyrbids. Jon F. Merz brings his A-game and then ratchets it up to a whole new level of supernatural action. Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of The Dragon Factory and Patient Zero"In The Kensei, Jon F. Merz seamlessly welds gritty detail with myth and legend to create a thrill ride into the shadow-world lurking beneath modern Japan. Lawson's fight against evil has bone-crunching authenticity. Plus, it has vampires, ninjas, and vampire ninjas. What more could anyone ask?"--Christopher Farnsworth, author or Blood OathAbout The F. Merz is a writer with over a dozen published novels, a producer for New Ronin Entertainment and a trained black belt ninja. He has taught defensive tactics to civilian crime watch groups, police, military units, and agencies like the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons.

Genres: Vampires

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2011

About the author

As a writer, Jon has published over 40 novels with major publishers like Kensington's Pinnacle Books, St. Martin's Press, and many more. He is also the author of eleven installments in the internationally bestselling adventure series Rogue Angel (2006-present) with Harlequin's Gold Eagle line. His short fiction story "Prisoner 392" (appeared alongside Stephen King in FROM THE BORDERLANDS, 2004, Warner Books) earned him an Honorable Mention in 2004's Year's Best Fantasy & Horror edited by Ellen Datlow. Jon has also co-authored two non-fiction books: LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER with Nancy Merz Nordstrom (2006, Sentient Publications) and THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ULTIMATE FIGHTING with Rich "Ace" Franklin (2007, Alpha Books/Penguin/Putnam).

Jon is perhaps most famous for his Lawson Vampire series of supernatural action novels starring the Fixer Lawson, a jaded anti-hero charged with protecting a race of living vampires from exposure. There are currently six novels (The Fixer, The Invoker, The Destructor, The Syndicate, The Kensei, The Enchanter) two novellas (Slave to Love, The Courier) and five short stories (The Price of a Good Drink, Interlude, Red Tide, Rudolf the Red Nosed Rogue, Enemy Mine) in the series with many more adventures yet to come.

Jon's latest novel is the new Shadow Warrior series debuting in September from Baen Books. Book 1, UNDEAD HORDES OF KAN-GUL is due out September 3rd in stores everywhere.

Jon also publishes his backlist independently. You can find his ebooks on Amazon: http://bit.ly/jonfmerz Barnes & Noble's Nook store: http://bit.ly/bnjonfmerz and on Kobo: http://bit.ly/kjonfmerz

As a producer, Jon has formed New Ronin Entertainment with longtime friend Jaime Hassett to create television and feature film projects in the New England area. Their first project is THE FIXER, a new supernatural action series based on Jon's Lawson Vampire novels. Filming of the pilot begins in 2013.

Jon has studied authentic Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu/Ninjutsu for over twenty years under Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center. He has also trained with senior Bujinkan instructors both in the United States and Japan. During a trip to Japan in February 2003, Jon earned his 5th degree black belt directly from the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi. In addition to traditional training, Jon has also taught defensive tactics to a wide range of clients, including civilian crime watch groups, police and EMS first responders, military units, and federal organizations including the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons.

In his past, Jon served with the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, and handled executive protection for a variety of Fortune 500 clients.

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, in all fairness I really shouldn't give this book five stars. The problem (with me) is that I have become attached to Lawson and to Jon Merz's writing style. I'm not going to go into the many reasons to read this series. If you really want to know, just read my other reviews. Everything I said about his writing holds just as true here. It was a treat to see a younger, greener Lawson as he goes after the baddies in his less than perfect, not yet James Bond fashion. Still with plot twists and surprises I've come to expect but seldom predict this book could hold its own as a stand alone or even an introduction to the series.

So... Why should I NOT give The Enchanter five stars? Editing. I have to wonder if the manuscript passed through the hands of an editor before it was published. If you're a stickler for those sorts of details (including at least one anachronism) you'll notice them. If you have chronic OCD, they'll drive you nuts. I got over the editing by the second chapter, but still noticed it throughout the book. I chose not to let those little details bug me, but it did make for a more choppy reading experience than Merz's previous title, The Kensei.

Still, if you're a Lawson fan, you will certainly not be disappointed. This is yet another excellent read and has me holding my breath until the next installment.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this an interesting spy/intrigue story, though kind of farfetched and not my cup of tea. But I like Lawson’s sense of human, so I’m going to read one more book before I decide to quit the series.

Also I find very little that has anything to do with vampires other than that they say are, drink blood (which Lawson doesn’t like) and live a long time. Otherwise they seem to live pretty normal lives with wives, kids, etc. just secret from the humans. Also vampires should be strong (able to carry someone for long distance with no trouble) and not have any trouble breaking ropes.

Quick Thoughts: 1) Merz need to edit his spell check. I’m finding a lot of misused, wrong word used and wrongly spelled words. i.e.: idle instead of middle, clichZ instead of cliché, barley instead of barely, etc. When one shows up it causes a blip in my reading that throws the story off.

Fave Scenes: hiding under the log, ‘landing’ the plane, the water tunnel and the Kalanoro & the cell door.

[Eric Troup · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fault for starting in the middle

A vampire James Bond? What’s not to like?

This is my first foray into the Lawson series, and despite its taking place prior to the events of the first novel, it is far from the first Lawson story. I liken it to the 2006 Casino Royale film. It stands on its own, but I’m sure there are many Easter eggs for those who’ve been with the series since original publication. I admit that many of the questions I struggled with as I was reading stemmed from playing catch-up with the Lawson character and setting.

I’ll say this for author Jon F. Merz: he knows how to tell a great adventure story! Except where it drags a wee bit toward the end, this novel moves at a breakneck pace! Chapters are short and punchy, nearly always ending on a cliffhanger. My kind of storytelling, to be sure!

I’ll definitely be eating more of this series, and more of this author! Good times ahead!!!

[June B Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Enchanter

Another excitingly fast moving adventure. A plot that keeps the reader enthralled. A do not put down novel. The novel was quick and easy to read.