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The Many Travails of John Smith #1
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication: Library Edition
The stakes are real. The mediator isn't.
"Investigation, Mediation, Vindication." That's how the Yellow Pages ad starts, and if it sounds like the sort of thing a drunk teenager might come up with . . . well, you'd only be wrong about the teenager part. John Smith owns San Diego's smallest private investigation firm, but he doesn't know the first thing about mediation. Or vindication.
On the other side of town, vampire Lucia Borghesi is having a terrible century. Stripped of her throne and banished from Italy, she's now somehow found herself in a dispute with the local demigod of nightmares and terror. And to top it all off, the long-time city mediator has been assassinated and her second-in-command just hired a human to fill that role.
If he wants to survive, John will need to prove his value to Lucia and her people while keeping that demigod from sucking San Diego into an unnamed hell dimension. And he'll have to work fast, because his beloved Corolla is parked curbside in Logan Heights, like an open invitation to the neighborhood's graffiti enthusiasts.
"Investigation, Mediation, Vindication." That's how the Yellow Pages ad starts, and if it sounds like the sort of thing a drunk teenager might come up with . . . well, you'd only be wrong about the teenager part. John Smith owns San Diego's smallest private investigation firm, but he doesn't know the first thing about mediation. Or vindication.
On the other side of town, vampire Lucia Borghesi is having a terrible century. Stripped of her throne and banished from Italy, she's now somehow found herself in a dispute with the local demigod of nightmares and terror. And to top it all off, the long-time city mediator has been assassinated and her second-in-command just hired a human to fill that role.
If he wants to survive, John will need to prove his value to Lucia and her people while keeping that demigod from sucking San Diego into an unnamed hell dimension. And he'll have to work fast, because his beloved Corolla is parked curbside in Logan Heights, like an open invitation to the neighborhood's graffiti enthusiasts.
Audio CD
First published May 19, 2020
251 people are currently reading
550 people want to read
About the author
Chris Tullbane
20 books211 followersChris began as a gleam in someone’s eye, but birth and childhood were quick to follow. He’s been fortunate enough to live in Spain, Germany, and all over the United States of America, and is busy planning a tour of the distilleries of Scotland.
He currently lives in Nevada with his angelic wife and ever-expanding whisky collection and occasionally ventures outside to peer upwards, mutter to himself about ‘day stars’, and then scurry back into the house.
Chris is the author of two series; The Murder of Crows and The Travails of John Smith. He frequently shares new content on his author website at https://christullbane.com.
He currently lives in Nevada with his angelic wife and ever-expanding whisky collection and occasionally ventures outside to peer upwards, mutter to himself about ‘day stars’, and then scurry back into the house.
Chris is the author of two series; The Murder of Crows and The Travails of John Smith. He frequently shares new content on his author website at https://christullbane.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
February 7, 2025
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication
By Chris Tullbane
This story grabbed me right away and held my attention to the very end. A secret world of creatures sharing our world. A pair of these groups need a mediator, and all the othe known mediators have been killed. The one clan save John Smith, mortal, from crab creatures, as the crabs came to kill him. They want to keep him safe. Non-stop action book with interesting characters and humor scattered generously.
By Chris Tullbane
This story grabbed me right away and held my attention to the very end. A secret world of creatures sharing our world. A pair of these groups need a mediator, and all the othe known mediators have been killed. The one clan save John Smith, mortal, from crab creatures, as the crabs came to kill him. They want to keep him safe. Non-stop action book with interesting characters and humor scattered generously.
November 29, 2022
John Smith, a private investigator in San Diego, places an ad in the Yellow Pages, that says, “Investigation, Mediation, Vindication.” When vampire Lucia Borghesi finds herself in a dispute with a local demigod of nightmares and terror, a mediator is required. Unfortunately, their regular mediator has been assassinated, so a human mediator will have to do. John finds himself not only a target but smack-dab in the middle of a supernatural squabble.
The tale that unfolds has snark, suspense and magical Nintendo remotes. John Smith knows nothing about mediation and vindication, but he’s just finished a PI course. He lives at home, doesn’t have a girlfriend and Comicon is ruined when he is attacked outside.
I enjoyed the world building as we learned about the supernatural world alongside John. There is a romantic thread which falls in the slow burn category and I’m curious to see how it develops.
John is a such a fun character. I imagined him as John Black, a nerdy gamer who’s slightly overweight and still lives with his parent’s house. Juliette is a snarky vampire who refers to John as “little bird.” There is a full cast of characters, but all are unique and easily identifiable like Lord Beel, who calls himself Bill and is a seven-foot asparagus with a drawn maker mouth and carrot nose!
Joel Richards brings voice to John Smith and this cast of characters enhances the snark, suspense, and developing relationships.
The perspective is all John and filled with culture references wrapped in mystery, suspense and snark. I cannot wait to listen to the next one. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
The tale that unfolds has snark, suspense and magical Nintendo remotes. John Smith knows nothing about mediation and vindication, but he’s just finished a PI course. He lives at home, doesn’t have a girlfriend and Comicon is ruined when he is attacked outside.
I enjoyed the world building as we learned about the supernatural world alongside John. There is a romantic thread which falls in the slow burn category and I’m curious to see how it develops.
John is a such a fun character. I imagined him as John Black, a nerdy gamer who’s slightly overweight and still lives with his parent’s house. Juliette is a snarky vampire who refers to John as “little bird.” There is a full cast of characters, but all are unique and easily identifiable like Lord Beel, who calls himself Bill and is a seven-foot asparagus with a drawn maker mouth and carrot nose!
Joel Richards brings voice to John Smith and this cast of characters enhances the snark, suspense, and developing relationships.
The perspective is all John and filled with culture references wrapped in mystery, suspense and snark. I cannot wait to listen to the next one. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
May 17, 2023
A lot of fun! I'm looking forward to the next one!
The audio definitely enhanced my enjoyment!
The audio definitely enhanced my enjoyment!
May 21, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and author Chris Tullbane for allowing me to read this book in return for my honest review.
4+ stars. Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is a comedy urban fantasy book, which to be honest, is not my usual reading. However Chris Tullbane has knocked it out of the park with this one. Wacky and hilarious, I highly recommend this book.
The story centres around haphazard private investigator, John Smith who unwittingly finds himself mediating between a house of noble Vampires and the Demigod of nightmares. Being the only surviving mediator, will John be able to save San Diego from all out war?
4+ stars. Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is a comedy urban fantasy book, which to be honest, is not my usual reading. However Chris Tullbane has knocked it out of the park with this one. Wacky and hilarious, I highly recommend this book.
The story centres around haphazard private investigator, John Smith who unwittingly finds himself mediating between a house of noble Vampires and the Demigod of nightmares. Being the only surviving mediator, will John be able to save San Diego from all out war?
October 14, 2024
If I die here, my corpse will be gorgeous
May 3, 2021
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication (I'm already tired of typing that) is comedic urban fantasy gold. The story follows private investigator hopeful John Smith, who has an unfortunate genealogy of a long line of John Smiths. Let's be honest; there's a lot of unfortunates about John Smith. He still lives with his parents, he hasn't had a girlfriend in years (might be due to #1), and he's just found himself caught up in a potential war between a noble vampire House and the demigod of nightmares. He's casually enjoying a local Comicon when he's attacked by crab people and kidnapped by vampires for his own good. As it turns out, in one night of drunken bad choices, John posted an ad stating that he was in the business of investigation, mediation, and vindication, and after a hit on all the mediators in San Diego, he's the only mediator left.
John is a fantastic character. He's nerdy, witty, twenty pounds out of shape, and way over his head. John has absolutely no magic or really any job skills for that matter. One moment he's trying to survive paying the rent on his business in the not-so-great side of town, the next he's trying not to be killed by the vampires and prevent San Diego from being sucked into a Hell dimension. Pretty much the only thing is he's got going for him is a big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up. He does, however, seem to have an innate ability to avoid vampire whammies, to the displeasure of the vampires.
There are a lot of secondary characters but they still manage to be unique for such a large cast. The snarky, vampire Juliette who wears Ramones t-shirts and nicknames John "little bird", thanks to his shower singing, is fantastic. However, the real character not to miss is the demigod of nightmares and terrors, Lord Beel-Kasan—who just happens to be a seven-foot-tall asparagus with coal for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and a magic marker drawn mouth—and goes by Bill. Yes, Bill (as if that's the weirdest thing admit that sentence). Thanks to John's immunity to supernatural mumbo jumbo, that's how Bill appears to him. Apparently, to others, he's enormously more frightening. Even without arms or legs, asparagus demigod Bill somehow steals the show.
From the chapter titles like "In Which Hell is Being Stuck Somewhere With the Wrong Person", to the fact that the war might be started over a classic Nintendo, humor is obviously the main driving force in this urban fantasy. Ridiculous and irreverent, it still manages funny without quickly nosediving into annoying. John is a huge nerd so a lot of the dialogue is low brow. For example, after being kidnapped by the vampires, his inner dialogue is trying to decide on names to call the vampires. He settles on "manpire" and "femmepire" and he's really proud of himself for coming up with the second. Sometimes the banter takes a bit too long for the sake of the joke, which drags the novel down a bit, but it definitely gets better the further into the plot it goes.
It's nice to have an urban fantasy series where the MC truly has no idea what he is doing. There are no magical abilities or black belts in martial arts. No weaponry expert or military background. Just a dorky smart-mouthed guy named John who has stumbled into the paranormal world.
Website | Twitter | Pinterest
John is a fantastic character. He's nerdy, witty, twenty pounds out of shape, and way over his head. John has absolutely no magic or really any job skills for that matter. One moment he's trying to survive paying the rent on his business in the not-so-great side of town, the next he's trying not to be killed by the vampires and prevent San Diego from being sucked into a Hell dimension. Pretty much the only thing is he's got going for him is a big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up. He does, however, seem to have an innate ability to avoid vampire whammies, to the displeasure of the vampires.
There are a lot of secondary characters but they still manage to be unique for such a large cast. The snarky, vampire Juliette who wears Ramones t-shirts and nicknames John "little bird", thanks to his shower singing, is fantastic. However, the real character not to miss is the demigod of nightmares and terrors, Lord Beel-Kasan—who just happens to be a seven-foot-tall asparagus with coal for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and a magic marker drawn mouth—and goes by Bill. Yes, Bill (as if that's the weirdest thing admit that sentence). Thanks to John's immunity to supernatural mumbo jumbo, that's how Bill appears to him. Apparently, to others, he's enormously more frightening. Even without arms or legs, asparagus demigod Bill somehow steals the show.
From the chapter titles like "In Which Hell is Being Stuck Somewhere With the Wrong Person", to the fact that the war might be started over a classic Nintendo, humor is obviously the main driving force in this urban fantasy. Ridiculous and irreverent, it still manages funny without quickly nosediving into annoying. John is a huge nerd so a lot of the dialogue is low brow. For example, after being kidnapped by the vampires, his inner dialogue is trying to decide on names to call the vampires. He settles on "manpire" and "femmepire" and he's really proud of himself for coming up with the second. Sometimes the banter takes a bit too long for the sake of the joke, which drags the novel down a bit, but it definitely gets better the further into the plot it goes.
It's nice to have an urban fantasy series where the MC truly has no idea what he is doing. There are no magical abilities or black belts in martial arts. No weaponry expert or military background. Just a dorky smart-mouthed guy named John who has stumbled into the paranormal world.
Website | Twitter | Pinterest
November 23, 2021
I swear every time I read a Tullbane book I get irritated.
Irritated by the choices made, irritated by the situation, but mostly irritated by how much I love it come the end. The whole framework is always well balanced and relies on small details to drive it forward. Add in a healthy amount of snark and you have a Tullbane book. I hate that I love them so much, but I do.
Irritated by the choices made, irritated by the situation, but mostly irritated by how much I love it come the end. The whole framework is always well balanced and relies on small details to drive it forward. Add in a healthy amount of snark and you have a Tullbane book. I hate that I love them so much, but I do.
October 2, 2020
There are weird and wacky stories, and there are those that work well only in that exact combination. When I started reading this book, I found it entertaining. The deeper I got into the story, the narration had me laughing out loud so many times!
It is probably hard to believe, but I found this book about an average private detective getting caught up in an underworld infested with ‘magical creatures’ in San Diego hilarious.
It starts off innocuously enough with our Mr John Smith walking sedately to his office building when he is suddenly under attack. Things continue along that vein while he constantly challenges authority in the most absurd manner. The introspection and the asides were funny to me too. I am not sure if it was the timing of my reading it or the book in itself, but I enjoyed myself.
It has all the characters from fantasies playing cameos, but I should let the book do the introductions. The predominant ones who are the major players throughout the storyline are Vampires.
It is not, in any form or fashion a book to be taken seriously or read by someone on something in the more severe style. It should be read how it’s written- flippantly, for maximum effect. At least, that has been my experience.
The cover page was the thing that drew me to the book in the first place, and I must say it is engaging in its simplicity.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on how hard I laughed during the reading
It is probably hard to believe, but I found this book about an average private detective getting caught up in an underworld infested with ‘magical creatures’ in San Diego hilarious.
It starts off innocuously enough with our Mr John Smith walking sedately to his office building when he is suddenly under attack. Things continue along that vein while he constantly challenges authority in the most absurd manner. The introspection and the asides were funny to me too. I am not sure if it was the timing of my reading it or the book in itself, but I enjoyed myself.
It has all the characters from fantasies playing cameos, but I should let the book do the introductions. The predominant ones who are the major players throughout the storyline are Vampires.
It is not, in any form or fashion a book to be taken seriously or read by someone on something in the more severe style. It should be read how it’s written- flippantly, for maximum effect. At least, that has been my experience.
The cover page was the thing that drew me to the book in the first place, and I must say it is engaging in its simplicity.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on how hard I laughed during the reading
April 29, 2020
I was lucky enough to get an advanced readers copy of a new comedic urban fantasy called Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane. I'm not going to lie, the first thing that drew me to this book was the cool cover (see below). It reminded me of the post apocalyptic game, Fallout so I was intrigued enough to click and see what it was all about.
On a side note: I have been having a weird reading slump recently, which is especially weird considering the world is in lockdown and I have had all the time in the world to read. My brain is feeling fuzzy and I can't concentrate on things for long periods of time, so books that don't hook me instantly are getting chucked into a DNF pile pretty darn quickly.
So when I saw this described as a comedy, I thought to myself I need something easy and light hearted to get me out of this slump and so I had a lot of hope for this.
Quick note: This review will be written as a bit of a running commentary of my thoughts whilst reading and explaining the plot. So be aware it will have spoilers. Skip to the 'What I did and didn't like' and the conclusion if you don't want spoilers.
In the first chapter we meet a normal, mediocre private investigator with the worlds most boring name, John Smith. He attends comic con to people watch which is his favourite pastime (I can relate to this massively) and then gets chased by two men dressed like crabs. They seemingly want to hurt him for some reason unbeknownst to John and eventually they catch him, but a mysterious female stranger shows up and kicks their butt. But here's where it starts to get weird because the crab people bleed green blood as they die and the stranger rips one of their heads off and rides off on the body. What?
Not gonna lie I'm loving it so far, I read the first chapter in about 3 minutes and I hope it just keeps getting weirder cause I'm totally in the mood for nonsense and the title of Chapter two is literally called In which the world gets weirder, so I'm buzzing!
So the mysterious woman reveals herself as Anastasia Dumenyova and had been sent to save John before the crab men could kill him for advertising himself in the yellow pages as a Mediator. John confesses to having wrote this ad over a year ago when he had had more than a few pitchers of beer, and was not, as he had proclaimed, a mediator. It turns out that John Smith has been living, like most other humans, completely unaware that there are many other intelligent (and some not so intelligent) species also sharing planet earth. And a treaty was made to ensure that these other creatures hid themselves and never tried to go to war with each other species or humans without first trying to resolve the matter via, you guessed it, a mediator. So mediators were on a kill list for some of these creatures, so that they can freely fight without having to solve their issues like humans. I'm loving how sarcastically well John is taking all this ridiculous news, likening it to all of the books he had read in fantasy worlds and how it was sticking to the script.
Anastasia turns out to be a vampire and makes it pretty clear that if John doesn't agree to mediate between the fighting species then the whole of San Diego (John's home town since childhood) will turn to ashes. So with (VERY little) persuasion he follows her (a complete stranger vampire) to her vampire house (has he learned NOTHING from vampire books, seriously?) to meet her queen and gets his arse severely kicked for what he thinks is not showing the Queen respect. It was actually for somehow resisting compulsion. Here he learns that vampires are unsurprisingly ridiculously attractive, very strong and not very tolerant to his sarcasm.
The vampires explain that there is a demigod of nightmares called Lord Beel-Kasan, who literally feeds off the terror of every sentient being in California and who appears to everyone as their worst fear. This demigod has accused the vampires of stealing something that belongs to him and unless they return it he will send each of them to hell. The problem being, no one knows what the demigod thinks they stole. Cue John Smith the Mediator. I love his initial thoughts when told this information, he panics about the fact that he had been a terrible catholic growing up and worries his god will punish him. But what I find brilliant is that because the demi god manifests differently to every person he meets people have no idea what to expect. So when John meets him he manifests as a literal piece of Asparagus with drawn on eyes and mouth. By now John has become accustomed to things being seriously weird so just shrugs it off and even shrugs it off when the asparagus demi-god Lord Beel-Kasan reveals that the item the vampires stole from him is a magical Nintendo entertainment system (yes really!) So John tries to calm the vegetable by agreeing to finding the Nintendo and setting it all right. I'm not going to go into the plot anymore because I don't want to give away anything more but the quote below could help with what to expect!
What I liked:
-Pacing was brilliant from the start, which I really appreciate. We don't spend ages following John in his mediocre life before crabs try to kill him, we jump straight to the juicy bits.
-The running commentary in Johns narrating that basically says every funny, sarcastic or ignorant thought that comes into his head. A few times this made me actually laugh out loud. At one point him and Bill the Demigod are getting drunk in a bar and he has a random thought about his hamster that died when he was a child, sheds a tear and then never mentions it again. I love it. John is an idiot, he says some seriously stupid stuff and falls in love with every woman he meets but I'll call him a loveable idiot. He just seems so normal, in the literal sense of the word that makes it very easy to follow his reactions to all the weird stuff going on.
-This feels more like a parody of an urban fantasy, poking fun at its tropes which I was just totally in the mood for so this worked for me. Bravo.
-John says the phrase 'Heterosexual life partners' which made me chuckle as it's what Jay calls Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob strike back one of my favourite movies. (Completely irrelevant to this review, just thought I'd mention it to see if anyone else got this reference?)
-I have decided that Bill (Lord Beel-Kasan) is my favourite character. He is just so silly and happy go lucky and random and I love all the different names he calls John. I fancast Will Ferrell to play him (think Mugatu in Zoolander but nicer.)
-The dialogue in this book is just top. Love how they flow, how differently each character responds to John. They all feel so individual. Amazing.
What could be improved:
-Didn't get much of a sense of world building at all really although good characters and dialogue did kind of make up for this.
-I genuinely loved this so much I can't think of much else to say that was negative other than a few tiny spelling errors and a mix up with some of the chapter numbers. But literally nothing to take away from the tremendous writing.
Conclusion:
It's books like this that make me really appreciate the wonderful gift the internet has given us in anybody being able to publish their work without going down the usual route of traditional publishing companies. It means authors like Chris Tullbane who is a really talented writer can get his work out into the world. Will this book win any awards? No, I doubt it. Did I enjoy it? Yes and I certainly would read the sequel as long as includes the same great banter and a bonkers plot. It deserves to be read by anyone who enjoys a laugh and can appreciate this book for what it is. Something I certainly recommend if you are bored in quarantine or in a bit of a reading slump. This easy enjoyable read has lifted my spirits and put me in the mood to keep reading. And to the author: If you send out any physical arcs or need someone to read the sequel I'm right here!! P.s I hope Juliette is in the sequel because I love their sarcastic chemistry.
Thanks for reading my review, if you liked it will be able to see more on my website. Click here to see it , you may also find some other cool stuff on there too because I make book sleeves.
On a side note: I have been having a weird reading slump recently, which is especially weird considering the world is in lockdown and I have had all the time in the world to read. My brain is feeling fuzzy and I can't concentrate on things for long periods of time, so books that don't hook me instantly are getting chucked into a DNF pile pretty darn quickly.
So when I saw this described as a comedy, I thought to myself I need something easy and light hearted to get me out of this slump and so I had a lot of hope for this.
'She flipped through several sheets of varying colour and size and handed me a torn yellow scrap of paper. IT was a yellow pages ad. That was weird enough as it was. Even weirder? It was mine.'
Quick note: This review will be written as a bit of a running commentary of my thoughts whilst reading and explaining the plot. So be aware it will have spoilers. Skip to the 'What I did and didn't like' and the conclusion if you don't want spoilers.
In the first chapter we meet a normal, mediocre private investigator with the worlds most boring name, John Smith. He attends comic con to people watch which is his favourite pastime (I can relate to this massively) and then gets chased by two men dressed like crabs. They seemingly want to hurt him for some reason unbeknownst to John and eventually they catch him, but a mysterious female stranger shows up and kicks their butt. But here's where it starts to get weird because the crab people bleed green blood as they die and the stranger rips one of their heads off and rides off on the body. What?
Not gonna lie I'm loving it so far, I read the first chapter in about 3 minutes and I hope it just keeps getting weirder cause I'm totally in the mood for nonsense and the title of Chapter two is literally called In which the world gets weirder, so I'm buzzing!
So the mysterious woman reveals herself as Anastasia Dumenyova and had been sent to save John before the crab men could kill him for advertising himself in the yellow pages as a Mediator. John confesses to having wrote this ad over a year ago when he had had more than a few pitchers of beer, and was not, as he had proclaimed, a mediator. It turns out that John Smith has been living, like most other humans, completely unaware that there are many other intelligent (and some not so intelligent) species also sharing planet earth. And a treaty was made to ensure that these other creatures hid themselves and never tried to go to war with each other species or humans without first trying to resolve the matter via, you guessed it, a mediator. So mediators were on a kill list for some of these creatures, so that they can freely fight without having to solve their issues like humans. I'm loving how sarcastically well John is taking all this ridiculous news, likening it to all of the books he had read in fantasy worlds and how it was sticking to the script.
'I'd read fantasy books that started out this way. A hidden bloodline. Secret Powers. Women way more attractive than the protagonist warranted. The hitman crabs were admittedly a new wrinkle, but everything else was going precisely according to script.'
Anastasia turns out to be a vampire and makes it pretty clear that if John doesn't agree to mediate between the fighting species then the whole of San Diego (John's home town since childhood) will turn to ashes. So with (VERY little) persuasion he follows her (a complete stranger vampire) to her vampire house (has he learned NOTHING from vampire books, seriously?) to meet her queen and gets his arse severely kicked for what he thinks is not showing the Queen respect. It was actually for somehow resisting compulsion. Here he learns that vampires are unsurprisingly ridiculously attractive, very strong and not very tolerant to his sarcasm.
"Sorry about that, but she's not my Queen." I Shrugged. "Disobedience is kind of an American pastime."
The vampires explain that there is a demigod of nightmares called Lord Beel-Kasan, who literally feeds off the terror of every sentient being in California and who appears to everyone as their worst fear. This demigod has accused the vampires of stealing something that belongs to him and unless they return it he will send each of them to hell. The problem being, no one knows what the demigod thinks they stole. Cue John Smith the Mediator. I love his initial thoughts when told this information, he panics about the fact that he had been a terrible catholic growing up and worries his god will punish him. But what I find brilliant is that because the demi god manifests differently to every person he meets people have no idea what to expect. So when John meets him he manifests as a literal piece of Asparagus with drawn on eyes and mouth. By now John has become accustomed to things being seriously weird so just shrugs it off and even shrugs it off when the asparagus demi-god Lord Beel-Kasan reveals that the item the vampires stole from him is a magical Nintendo entertainment system (yes really!) So John tries to calm the vegetable by agreeing to finding the Nintendo and setting it all right. I'm not going to go into the plot anymore because I don't want to give away anything more but the quote below could help with what to expect!
'In the past week, I'd been beaten and strangled. I'd been blown up by a car bomb and had my blood drained by a painfully sarcastic femmepire. I'd even been thrust from one dimension into another through a whirling shadow vortex in the sky.'
What I liked:
-Pacing was brilliant from the start, which I really appreciate. We don't spend ages following John in his mediocre life before crabs try to kill him, we jump straight to the juicy bits.
-The running commentary in Johns narrating that basically says every funny, sarcastic or ignorant thought that comes into his head. A few times this made me actually laugh out loud. At one point him and Bill the Demigod are getting drunk in a bar and he has a random thought about his hamster that died when he was a child, sheds a tear and then never mentions it again. I love it. John is an idiot, he says some seriously stupid stuff and falls in love with every woman he meets but I'll call him a loveable idiot. He just seems so normal, in the literal sense of the word that makes it very easy to follow his reactions to all the weird stuff going on.
-This feels more like a parody of an urban fantasy, poking fun at its tropes which I was just totally in the mood for so this worked for me. Bravo.
-John says the phrase 'Heterosexual life partners' which made me chuckle as it's what Jay calls Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob strike back one of my favourite movies. (Completely irrelevant to this review, just thought I'd mention it to see if anyone else got this reference?)
-I have decided that Bill (Lord Beel-Kasan) is my favourite character. He is just so silly and happy go lucky and random and I love all the different names he calls John. I fancast Will Ferrell to play him (think Mugatu in Zoolander but nicer.)
-The dialogue in this book is just top. Love how they flow, how differently each character responds to John. They all feel so individual. Amazing.
What could be improved:
-Didn't get much of a sense of world building at all really although good characters and dialogue did kind of make up for this.
-I genuinely loved this so much I can't think of much else to say that was negative other than a few tiny spelling errors and a mix up with some of the chapter numbers. But literally nothing to take away from the tremendous writing.
Conclusion:
It's books like this that make me really appreciate the wonderful gift the internet has given us in anybody being able to publish their work without going down the usual route of traditional publishing companies. It means authors like Chris Tullbane who is a really talented writer can get his work out into the world. Will this book win any awards? No, I doubt it. Did I enjoy it? Yes and I certainly would read the sequel as long as includes the same great banter and a bonkers plot. It deserves to be read by anyone who enjoys a laugh and can appreciate this book for what it is. Something I certainly recommend if you are bored in quarantine or in a bit of a reading slump. This easy enjoyable read has lifted my spirits and put me in the mood to keep reading. And to the author: If you send out any physical arcs or need someone to read the sequel I'm right here!! P.s I hope Juliette is in the sequel because I love their sarcastic chemistry.
Thanks for reading my review, if you liked it will be able to see more on my website. Click here to see it , you may also find some other cool stuff on there too because I make book sleeves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2025
2.5 - 3.0 stars. Dresden-lite. Overly quippy. Learned in the Author’s Note that this was Tullbane’s first novel - and it shows. That said, having read some of his other stuff, I know he very much improves as a writer, so plan to continue with series.
April 27, 2021
Updated Apr.27, 2021, after my 2nd reading in prep'n for "John Smith #2"
So much funnier the 2nd time around! I continue to be a YUGE fan of CT's writing style - so fluid without any hint of overdramatization and chock full of humo(u)r! Funny, funny stuff with some honest-to-goodness real life vampire and 'other' goodness thrown in to boot! Without succumbing to unnecessary aggrandizement, this is the best urban fantasy I've enjoyed in a long time and certainly any without giant Space Turtles involved!
----------
4+ stars! I enjoyed the absolute hell out of this book! And for an urban fantasy book, that's saying a lot!
Let's face it: urban fantasy books featuring some kind of detective-slash-do-gooder-of-various-talents are rather well represented. And let's not get started on how many of those are SUPPOSED to be funny but wind up being just dreadful in that department. Successful guffawing included or not, I probably have at least 2 dozen or more of this genre on my overall list here on goodreads after keeping track of things these past years. Are they all good? Oh hell no. Is Chris Tullbane's new book good? Oh hell yeah. From my own list, I'd definitely put this up there with Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" somewhat uneven series or perhaps Nick DeWolf's limited catalogue (both he and Tullbane being at the top of my 'new writers to watch list'!).
I really enjoy Tullbane's style from what I've seen so far (2 novels and 2 novellas), where I would say he creates very intriquing situations and then supports his tales with some damn fine prose as well as that rarest of rare talents, again, referring to a find dose of some good humor to boot. His writing style is nothing I'd call overtly or unnecessarily ... oh what's a good word... eloquent (urgh?) but he still manages to successfully fill his tales with a much appreciated level of intelligence and thrills without succumbing to the tired clichés of this particular niche in the fantasy genre. Conclusion? The guy tells a good story, how's that?
If I had to pick for nits through the rubble (mild spoiler), sure, there were a couple of aspects of "IMV John Smith #1" I might hark on. First, the story is very linear, that is, we're in Mr. Smith's head from page 1 and we don't deviate from being with him, in him or however else you want to refer to it until we're done. I generally find stories that include others' thoughts or even a good side-bar plot to be a tad more interesting than just that kind of laser-like focus. Secondly, I appreciate this book was initially written in 2013 and even as Tullbane points out, there are some things that read a little dated. Maybe when you have teenage kids, seven years seems longer than it is to a lot of other folks, but I noticed "stuff". I think the one bit that struck me the most was the reference to "Game of Thrones" that felt really dated. No, not the Chargers aside, no one has cared about them being either in or out of San Diego in eons. But yeah, I might have made it a little more actual in that regard. You know, mention the Padres still suck, the Orange Monkey Butt in the WH still sucks and seems to be suffering from syphillitic dementia, that kind of thing...
But those were minor points. This is a fun book and if you've never had the opportunity to hang out with an omnipotent stalk of asparagus before, well, you don't know what you've been missing! I command you meat sacks to read this book!
So much funnier the 2nd time around! I continue to be a YUGE fan of CT's writing style - so fluid without any hint of overdramatization and chock full of humo(u)r! Funny, funny stuff with some honest-to-goodness real life vampire and 'other' goodness thrown in to boot! Without succumbing to unnecessary aggrandizement, this is the best urban fantasy I've enjoyed in a long time and certainly any without giant Space Turtles involved!
----------
4+ stars! I enjoyed the absolute hell out of this book! And for an urban fantasy book, that's saying a lot!
Let's face it: urban fantasy books featuring some kind of detective-slash-do-gooder-of-various-talents are rather well represented. And let's not get started on how many of those are SUPPOSED to be funny but wind up being just dreadful in that department. Successful guffawing included or not, I probably have at least 2 dozen or more of this genre on my overall list here on goodreads after keeping track of things these past years. Are they all good? Oh hell no. Is Chris Tullbane's new book good? Oh hell yeah. From my own list, I'd definitely put this up there with Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" somewhat uneven series or perhaps Nick DeWolf's limited catalogue (both he and Tullbane being at the top of my 'new writers to watch list'!).
I really enjoy Tullbane's style from what I've seen so far (2 novels and 2 novellas), where I would say he creates very intriquing situations and then supports his tales with some damn fine prose as well as that rarest of rare talents, again, referring to a find dose of some good humor to boot. His writing style is nothing I'd call overtly or unnecessarily ... oh what's a good word... eloquent (urgh?) but he still manages to successfully fill his tales with a much appreciated level of intelligence and thrills without succumbing to the tired clichés of this particular niche in the fantasy genre. Conclusion? The guy tells a good story, how's that?
If I had to pick for nits through the rubble (mild spoiler), sure, there were a couple of aspects of "IMV John Smith #1" I might hark on. First, the story is very linear, that is, we're in Mr. Smith's head from page 1 and we don't deviate from being with him, in him or however else you want to refer to it until we're done. I generally find stories that include others' thoughts or even a good side-bar plot to be a tad more interesting than just that kind of laser-like focus. Secondly, I appreciate this book was initially written in 2013 and even as Tullbane points out, there are some things that read a little dated. Maybe when you have teenage kids, seven years seems longer than it is to a lot of other folks, but I noticed "stuff". I think the one bit that struck me the most was the reference to "Game of Thrones" that felt really dated. No, not the Chargers aside, no one has cared about them being either in or out of San Diego in eons. But yeah, I might have made it a little more actual in that regard. You know, mention the Padres still suck, the Orange Monkey Butt in the WH still sucks and seems to be suffering from syphillitic dementia, that kind of thing...
But those were minor points. This is a fun book and if you've never had the opportunity to hang out with an omnipotent stalk of asparagus before, well, you don't know what you've been missing! I command you meat sacks to read this book!
May 30, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC!
4.5/5 actually!
Watch my full review here
4.5/5 actually!
Watch my full review here
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and author Chris Tullbane for an ARC of this book for an honest review!
°。°。°。Summary°。°。°。
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane is a fun and hilarious fantasy novel that sweeps you away into lovable main characters John Smith's thoughts and feelings as he tries to navigate a fantasy world full of creatures he never knew existed. Its a comedy book, and I often found myself laughing out loud at John's quips.
John Smith, a PI in San Diego, takes out a dunk ad claiming he is willing to work in investigation, mediation, and vindication. This quickly turns into a mistake as he is hunted by crab men and kidnapped by vampires. A war between vampires and a demigod is going to happen and soon if John can't mediate a peace between them.
°。°。°。Characters°。°。°。
John Smith is so cute! I love his no f's given attitude when dealing with vampires (a species that had proven time and time again they could kill him.) His inner monologue, which takes us through the story, is full of sharp one liners that never seemed to fail for me. He is not the typical chosen one in a book, he is not fit, is totally broke and has no redeeming qualities really.
Another character that I truly loved was Juliette, a "femmepire" (female vampire) that is tasked with watching over John as he mediates. Juliette's sarcasm bites deep (see that vampire joke I slipped in there ;) ) She is a total bad a$$ that gets it done. Her character development is incredible in the book as well. I love the changes that she goes through (especially with her relationship with John) but she still stays true to her inner self which is important.
°。°。°。Plot°。°。°。
This book seems like a satire of your normal fantasy book, it makes a lot of jokes at the expense of vampires and the fantasy world they inhabit. I think that though this books had a slowish pace to it, it made sense considered we learned things at the rate that our protag John Smith is, and he is left out a lot. Once the action started though, about halfway through the book, I really started having fun.
Though there were moments that the jokes seemed to bog me down a little bit, they were still funny. There were also moments where seriousness was ruled more important than joking, and I was grateful for a reprieve. The action in this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was caught up in it. I had to force myself to relax I was so tense for John and Juliette.
°。°。°。Overall°。°。°。
I enjoyed this book! It's one of those books I would suggest if you are stuck in a reading slump (like I was when I picked it up)
One of my favorite things about this book is the chapter titles. They actually have quirky titles and it that much harder to put the book down at the end of the chapter.
A well deserved 4 stars! :))
°。°。°。Summary°。°。°。
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane is a fun and hilarious fantasy novel that sweeps you away into lovable main characters John Smith's thoughts and feelings as he tries to navigate a fantasy world full of creatures he never knew existed. Its a comedy book, and I often found myself laughing out loud at John's quips.
John Smith, a PI in San Diego, takes out a dunk ad claiming he is willing to work in investigation, mediation, and vindication. This quickly turns into a mistake as he is hunted by crab men and kidnapped by vampires. A war between vampires and a demigod is going to happen and soon if John can't mediate a peace between them.
°。°。°。Characters°。°。°。
John Smith is so cute! I love his no f's given attitude when dealing with vampires (a species that had proven time and time again they could kill him.) His inner monologue, which takes us through the story, is full of sharp one liners that never seemed to fail for me. He is not the typical chosen one in a book, he is not fit, is totally broke and has no redeeming qualities really.
Another character that I truly loved was Juliette, a "femmepire" (female vampire) that is tasked with watching over John as he mediates. Juliette's sarcasm bites deep (see that vampire joke I slipped in there ;) ) She is a total bad a$$ that gets it done. Her character development is incredible in the book as well. I love the changes that she goes through (especially with her relationship with John) but she still stays true to her inner self which is important.
°。°。°。Plot°。°。°。
This book seems like a satire of your normal fantasy book, it makes a lot of jokes at the expense of vampires and the fantasy world they inhabit. I think that though this books had a slowish pace to it, it made sense considered we learned things at the rate that our protag John Smith is, and he is left out a lot. Once the action started though, about halfway through the book, I really started having fun.
Though there were moments that the jokes seemed to bog me down a little bit, they were still funny. There were also moments where seriousness was ruled more important than joking, and I was grateful for a reprieve. The action in this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was caught up in it. I had to force myself to relax I was so tense for John and Juliette.
°。°。°。Overall°。°。°。
I enjoyed this book! It's one of those books I would suggest if you are stuck in a reading slump (like I was when I picked it up)
One of my favorite things about this book is the chapter titles. They actually have quirky titles and it that much harder to put the book down at the end of the chapter.
A well deserved 4 stars! :))
August 9, 2020
I purchased this book expecting a silly story. Instead I got… well, a silly story. BUT all the sillys and crazys are blended together to create the perfect paranormal mystery humor book. I had no idea such a thing existed. Yes, I used the P word and I will be using it again.
Basically, John Smith has a few too many drinks and places an ad in the yellow pages for his services: Investigation, Mediation, Vindication. Enter the killer crabs. And the vampires. And the demigod of nightmares and terror. (Bill is my favorite.) It doesn’t stop there.
The genius of this book lies in John Smith’s perceptions of his surroundings and his reactions to all the stuff thrown at him. And man, do they do a lot of throwing in this book. Once you’ve read it, you can laugh along with me every time you hear the word mahogany from here on out.
Unlike a lot of books I’ve read with a dozen or more significant characters, I wasn’t overwhelmed in the slightest. I knew each and every one of them and had no trouble remembering who was who. This is a perfect example of the line between showing and telling in literature. Because I was there. In that world. Seeing it all. Through the eyes of John Smith who was telling the story to me. It would have been a decent story without him, but it was his voice and his humble yet “whatever” attitude, his observations and opinions, and loveable snark, that made the book absolute magic and oh-so enjoyable.
It is a perfectly written story that manages to weave together elements of the paranormal, fantasy, mystery, and humor genres seamlessly. And yes, I just used the P word for the third time if you are keeping track. Perfect.
On a side note, I was fortunate enough to begin reading this book during one of the most stressful weeks I’ve had in recent history. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Except for this book. Every time I had the opportunity to pick it up and continue reading it, I was given a reprieve from all my real life problems and worries. I found myself smiling or snickering out loud. I doubt any other book could have held my attention during this time, never mind lift my spirits.
Do I recommend this book? YES! I recommend it to all readers looking for that perfect story. (That’s five perfects, I know.) Literally, all humans or asparaguses or vampires or crab people in this dimension or any other. I am on my way to get another copy because I would like to share it with my husband. No one touches my copy.
Basically, John Smith has a few too many drinks and places an ad in the yellow pages for his services: Investigation, Mediation, Vindication. Enter the killer crabs. And the vampires. And the demigod of nightmares and terror. (Bill is my favorite.) It doesn’t stop there.
The genius of this book lies in John Smith’s perceptions of his surroundings and his reactions to all the stuff thrown at him. And man, do they do a lot of throwing in this book. Once you’ve read it, you can laugh along with me every time you hear the word mahogany from here on out.
Unlike a lot of books I’ve read with a dozen or more significant characters, I wasn’t overwhelmed in the slightest. I knew each and every one of them and had no trouble remembering who was who. This is a perfect example of the line between showing and telling in literature. Because I was there. In that world. Seeing it all. Through the eyes of John Smith who was telling the story to me. It would have been a decent story without him, but it was his voice and his humble yet “whatever” attitude, his observations and opinions, and loveable snark, that made the book absolute magic and oh-so enjoyable.
It is a perfectly written story that manages to weave together elements of the paranormal, fantasy, mystery, and humor genres seamlessly. And yes, I just used the P word for the third time if you are keeping track. Perfect.
On a side note, I was fortunate enough to begin reading this book during one of the most stressful weeks I’ve had in recent history. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Except for this book. Every time I had the opportunity to pick it up and continue reading it, I was given a reprieve from all my real life problems and worries. I found myself smiling or snickering out loud. I doubt any other book could have held my attention during this time, never mind lift my spirits.
Do I recommend this book? YES! I recommend it to all readers looking for that perfect story. (That’s five perfects, I know.) Literally, all humans or asparaguses or vampires or crab people in this dimension or any other. I am on my way to get another copy because I would like to share it with my husband. No one touches my copy.
April 27, 2021
The Many Travails of John Smith is my new favorite series!!!! I actually read the second book in the series first after I discovered Blood is Thicker Than Lots of Stuff on NetGalley. I enjoyed that book so much that I just had to start from the beginning, So, I immediately grabbed Investigation, Mediation, Vindication and jumped in. Wheee!!!!
An exiled vampire queen. A vegetable demigod. A magic Nintendo. A skilled mediator. Well, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
John Smith (Yes that’s his name) is not having much luck in his choice of careers as a private investigator in San Diego. As luck would have it, his Yellow Page ad that he wrote as a drunk teenage "Investigation, Mediation, Vindication" lands him an interesting job. Only it’s not his Investigation services that are required but rather his mediation skills. What mediation skills?! He better learn quick because his services are need to prevent a demigod from sucking San Diego into an unnamed hell dimension. Yikes!
AHHHH! Once I started reading, I found food and sleep were way over-rated because the situations John found himself are hilarious. John is in way over his head when the very lovely Anastasia rescues him from the not so cos-play crab men. And it just goes downhill from there for him. Really, with an opening like that, I knew I was in for a wild ride. Funny without being silly, John’s near-death escapades lured me in and completely snatched my attention. Quite a few characters to absorb, and as much as I loved them all, it was when we met Bill that I knew I was completely hooked with author Chris Tullbane golden nugget of a series. Don’t expect to figure out who stole the Nintendo. Just stir back and enjoy the insanity of Investigation, Mediation, Vindication.
Stars: 5
An exiled vampire queen. A vegetable demigod. A magic Nintendo. A skilled mediator. Well, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
John Smith (Yes that’s his name) is not having much luck in his choice of careers as a private investigator in San Diego. As luck would have it, his Yellow Page ad that he wrote as a drunk teenage "Investigation, Mediation, Vindication" lands him an interesting job. Only it’s not his Investigation services that are required but rather his mediation skills. What mediation skills?! He better learn quick because his services are need to prevent a demigod from sucking San Diego into an unnamed hell dimension. Yikes!
AHHHH! Once I started reading, I found food and sleep were way over-rated because the situations John found himself are hilarious. John is in way over his head when the very lovely Anastasia rescues him from the not so cos-play crab men. And it just goes downhill from there for him. Really, with an opening like that, I knew I was in for a wild ride. Funny without being silly, John’s near-death escapades lured me in and completely snatched my attention. Quite a few characters to absorb, and as much as I loved them all, it was when we met Bill that I knew I was completely hooked with author Chris Tullbane golden nugget of a series. Don’t expect to figure out who stole the Nintendo. Just stir back and enjoy the insanity of Investigation, Mediation, Vindication.
Stars: 5
February 28, 2022
Fun book!
Twenty-five-year-old John Smith (the seventh, no less) is an unlikely hero. His fledgling private-eye business doesn't bring in enough to earn a living, and he's still living with his parents. His life changes when he's attacked by giant crabs in trench coats and his life is saved by a vampire. Through a process of elimination (literally) John is forced into the role of mediator in a conflict between an imperious vampire house and a demi-god of nightmares and terror.
It sounds dark, and the story contains scenes of violence aplenty, but the tone of this book is actually rather light and upbeat. The unassuming John seems to have no obvious skills, but he's a likeable guy with a gift for taking things in stride without falling apart. This book is filled with humor, much of it at John's expense. I loved the banter between John and the perpetually teenaged vampire Juliette, but my favorite character in this book is the somewhat childish and surprisingly fun-loving "Bill"--the aforementioned demi-god of nightmares and terror--who appears to John in the form of a giant animated stalk of asparagus.
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication moves along at a nice rapid pace from the first sentence to the last, never bogging down. Set in beautiful sunny San Diego, it's the perfect book for reading at poolside or while lying on a towel at the beach. Make sure you put on plenty of sun screen before you start, because you'll forget yourself in this book and the time will fly right by.
Twenty-five-year-old John Smith (the seventh, no less) is an unlikely hero. His fledgling private-eye business doesn't bring in enough to earn a living, and he's still living with his parents. His life changes when he's attacked by giant crabs in trench coats and his life is saved by a vampire. Through a process of elimination (literally) John is forced into the role of mediator in a conflict between an imperious vampire house and a demi-god of nightmares and terror.
It sounds dark, and the story contains scenes of violence aplenty, but the tone of this book is actually rather light and upbeat. The unassuming John seems to have no obvious skills, but he's a likeable guy with a gift for taking things in stride without falling apart. This book is filled with humor, much of it at John's expense. I loved the banter between John and the perpetually teenaged vampire Juliette, but my favorite character in this book is the somewhat childish and surprisingly fun-loving "Bill"--the aforementioned demi-god of nightmares and terror--who appears to John in the form of a giant animated stalk of asparagus.
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication moves along at a nice rapid pace from the first sentence to the last, never bogging down. Set in beautiful sunny San Diego, it's the perfect book for reading at poolside or while lying on a towel at the beach. Make sure you put on plenty of sun screen before you start, because you'll forget yourself in this book and the time will fly right by.
September 22, 2021
Wow, just wow.
John Smith, a private investigator gets sucked into being a mediator between a group of vampires and a demigod of nightmares.
I read a lot of Urban Fantasy written by Indie authors. Some of them are meh, others are good, and then there are the rare ones like this book that are just plain amazing. The author’s prose is exceptionally good, to the point he could write about something mundane like a trip to Walmart and I’d probably buy the book.
The small complaint I have with Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is the early part of the book is a bit slow as it focuses more on world-building and character development than moving the plot forward. Thankfully the humor in the writing makes the slow start enjoyable. Once you get into the middle and end parts of the book, the pace picks up and keeps you turning the page.
The book is more of a mystery than an action thriller, but it really works well in this setting. I found the book reminded me of Drew Hayes and the Fred the Vampire Accountant series as the character interactions are what makes the books great.
I’m ending this review as I have Blood is Thicker Than Lots of Stuff (book 2 of the series) sitting on my Kindle beckoning to me.
John Smith, a private investigator gets sucked into being a mediator between a group of vampires and a demigod of nightmares.
I read a lot of Urban Fantasy written by Indie authors. Some of them are meh, others are good, and then there are the rare ones like this book that are just plain amazing. The author’s prose is exceptionally good, to the point he could write about something mundane like a trip to Walmart and I’d probably buy the book.
The small complaint I have with Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is the early part of the book is a bit slow as it focuses more on world-building and character development than moving the plot forward. Thankfully the humor in the writing makes the slow start enjoyable. Once you get into the middle and end parts of the book, the pace picks up and keeps you turning the page.
The book is more of a mystery than an action thriller, but it really works well in this setting. I found the book reminded me of Drew Hayes and the Fred the Vampire Accountant series as the character interactions are what makes the books great.
I’m ending this review as I have Blood is Thicker Than Lots of Stuff (book 2 of the series) sitting on my Kindle beckoning to me.
December 14, 2021
Ok, so average GR rating is accurate. It is definitely a self-published deal (writing wise)... And normally I would not be ok with that, it could do with some smoothing/editing - towards the end I felt the cast of characters/plot got a bit convoluted, but it was just so much fun.
And the main character is just really goofy/likeable but not in a TSTL way. But more in a, yeah I have a friend like this and I could totally see him behaving this way. Basically it was written like the character was real and familiar and just telling you what happened. It's not flashy, just fun and satisfying.
There were also some adorable/hilarious side characters.
Funny, fast and my time was well spent.
(I didn't not get this through one of those beta reader services, - but got it as a recommendation on AMZ and saw how high the ratings were. read through KU.) THIS IS FUNNY. If you like Funny and UF - READ IT.
And the main character is just really goofy/likeable but not in a TSTL way. But more in a, yeah I have a friend like this and I could totally see him behaving this way. Basically it was written like the character was real and familiar and just telling you what happened. It's not flashy, just fun and satisfying.
There were also some adorable/hilarious side characters.
Funny, fast and my time was well spent.
(I didn't not get this through one of those beta reader services, - but got it as a recommendation on AMZ and saw how high the ratings were. read through KU.) THIS IS FUNNY. If you like Funny and UF - READ IT.
July 5, 2020
Thanks NetGalley and autor Chris Tullbane for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I found it a quite enjoyable experience!
I really liked how the book shows a satirical view on the description of the characters. It's funny, but balanced, especially whe the narrative turns to a more serious direction.
I liked the characters, by the way, and John shows a huge evolution throughout the book, without loosing his essence. His self-deprecating way of being funny, plus his honesty and ethical sense made me relate to him (notwhithstanding the whole "emasculation" thing).
I wanted something funny, and that's what I got. It made me laugh so much, that even the moments of violence, that could have been a problem to me, were somehow easier to read, and I recommend to everyone who likes a nonsensical humor and supernatural narratives.
I really liked how the book shows a satirical view on the description of the characters. It's funny, but balanced, especially whe the narrative turns to a more serious direction.
I liked the characters, by the way, and John shows a huge evolution throughout the book, without loosing his essence. His self-deprecating way of being funny, plus his honesty and ethical sense made me relate to him (notwhithstanding the whole "emasculation" thing).
I wanted something funny, and that's what I got. It made me laugh so much, that even the moments of violence, that could have been a problem to me, were somehow easier to read, and I recommend to everyone who likes a nonsensical humor and supernatural narratives.
August 5, 2022
After I finished the Murder of Crows series, I knew I needed to read more of Tullbane’s books. His writing style is casual without being obnoxious, and he’s funny. This book was fun. The main character is the kind of guy who would be a loser (and have accepted it) if not thrust into extraordinary circumstances that reveal there’s more to him than he ever would’ve guessed. What I like most about this book is that, despite following a pretty predictable trope, it doesn’t follow the trope into a story where he becomes the savior. The only reason I didn’t rate it 5 stars is just because it wasn’t able to suck me into a reading black hole. However, I really enjoyed reading a book that wasn’t so intense that I could put it down and pick it up at my leisure. It’s a good series for when you want something light and fun to read when you have time. I’ll definitely be reading the rest.
November 1, 2022
I love the idea behind this novel. Multiple fantasy races live side by side with humans without humans knowing it. Occasionally these groups come into conflict with each other. When they do, they use a mediator to try and resolve the problems peacefully because when open warfare breaks out, cities often get destroyed.
At the start of this novel, every mediator in San Francisco is murdered except one—an incompetent PI with no practical experience and no knowledge that anyone but humans live in the world. If he fails, it is likely the whole city will be destroyed.
I like the main character and I really like the demigod of nightmares. This story could have been great. Unfortunately, it is at least twice as long as it should be, and that extra length really dragged this novel down. Most of its charm comes in the hero responding to the supernatural and the demigod of nightmares trying to make himself understood. The mystery at the heart of the story was transparent from moment one. Before we even learned what item was stolen to precipitate the crisis, I had identified the culprit and the culprit’s motivations. That wouldn’t have been bad if the novel had been significantly shorter, but it isn’t, and I quickly reached the point (even before we met the demigod of nightmares) where I just wanted the book to be done. Fortunately, the demigod brightened things up for a while. And the stolen item is quirky enough to be worth a couple of laughs, but it wasn’t enough to salvage things and make this book the great novel it should have been.
So I give the author lots of points for a fun idea with a couple of great characters, but wish desperately that he could have found an editor to help him make the idea work.
At the start of this novel, every mediator in San Francisco is murdered except one—an incompetent PI with no practical experience and no knowledge that anyone but humans live in the world. If he fails, it is likely the whole city will be destroyed.
I like the main character and I really like the demigod of nightmares. This story could have been great. Unfortunately, it is at least twice as long as it should be, and that extra length really dragged this novel down. Most of its charm comes in the hero responding to the supernatural and the demigod of nightmares trying to make himself understood. The mystery at the heart of the story was transparent from moment one. Before we even learned what item was stolen to precipitate the crisis, I had identified the culprit and the culprit’s motivations. That wouldn’t have been bad if the novel had been significantly shorter, but it isn’t, and I quickly reached the point (even before we met the demigod of nightmares) where I just wanted the book to be done. Fortunately, the demigod brightened things up for a while. And the stolen item is quirky enough to be worth a couple of laughs, but it wasn’t enough to salvage things and make this book the great novel it should have been.
So I give the author lots of points for a fun idea with a couple of great characters, but wish desperately that he could have found an editor to help him make the idea work.
June 28, 2020
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy of this book.
Actual rate: 3.50 stars
This book wasn't what I expected, but at the same time it was.
Plot-talking, it quite surprised me: knowing that this was a humor book, i didn't expect it to have such a well-thought story, with interesting worldbuilding and characters.
On the other side, I knew that the "humor" part was going to be a hit or miss (and most probably the latter), but fortunately it was enough entertaining to make me want to finish this book. I really really liked how this novel basically portrayed classic fantasy tropes under a comic light, making you see how ridiculous they can be.
The funny parts, though, often created the flaw that made me lower the rate: the rhythm of the book was too slow, it often dragged just for the sake to say a joke or two about how a place or a person looked. I think that if a few of the useless puns were avoided, the book would have flown more easily.
Overall this was a very interesting novel, I would describe it as the perfect book for someone who is looking for something articulated but also light to distract theirselves for a while.
Actual rate: 3.50 stars
This book wasn't what I expected, but at the same time it was.
Plot-talking, it quite surprised me: knowing that this was a humor book, i didn't expect it to have such a well-thought story, with interesting worldbuilding and characters.
On the other side, I knew that the "humor" part was going to be a hit or miss (and most probably the latter), but fortunately it was enough entertaining to make me want to finish this book. I really really liked how this novel basically portrayed classic fantasy tropes under a comic light, making you see how ridiculous they can be.
The funny parts, though, often created the flaw that made me lower the rate: the rhythm of the book was too slow, it often dragged just for the sake to say a joke or two about how a place or a person looked. I think that if a few of the useless puns were avoided, the book would have flown more easily.
Overall this was a very interesting novel, I would describe it as the perfect book for someone who is looking for something articulated but also light to distract theirselves for a while.
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August 8, 2021If you liked "Big Trouble In Little China", or similar titles...
Very amusing once i gave it a chance to get truly started. Lots of references to cult classic movies and pop culture icons. Whether deliberate or not, it is quite the ironic send up of the whole paranormal utban fantasy genre. Even though i am a fan of that same genre, i did enjoy this book and will certainly read the rest of the series.
I am very glad to discover a new (to me) author that has a different view of the classic tropes
Very amusing once i gave it a chance to get truly started. Lots of references to cult classic movies and pop culture icons. Whether deliberate or not, it is quite the ironic send up of the whole paranormal utban fantasy genre. Even though i am a fan of that same genre, i did enjoy this book and will certainly read the rest of the series.
I am very glad to discover a new (to me) author that has a different view of the classic tropes
September 16, 2021
Mediation, vampires and a whole lot of fun
This is one of the best, comedic yet serious start of an urban fantasy that i have read this year. Fans of Simon Strong should appreciate the self deprecating humor as John Smith relates his introduction to the paranormal in San Diego. I am really looking forward to the next book and hoping John Smith continues to both grow and remain true to his values as he learns that it is not too late to possibly make something of his life, if he survives.
This is one of the best, comedic yet serious start of an urban fantasy that i have read this year. Fans of Simon Strong should appreciate the self deprecating humor as John Smith relates his introduction to the paranormal in San Diego. I am really looking forward to the next book and hoping John Smith continues to both grow and remain true to his values as he learns that it is not too late to possibly make something of his life, if he survives.
August 11, 2023
I'm not really sure how to rate this. If I was 12 I probably would have enjoyed it more, but I found that eventually the banter and the jokes became annoying rather than endearing. I think of it as new adult, (but I'm a reader not a marketing expert so maybe that's incorrect) or 80's frat boy lit and although it started as kinda fun the immaturity of the characters and the unreasonableness of their behaviors became overwhelming.
It is fast paced, action packed, I think well written. I'm just not the audience for it
It is fast paced, action packed, I think well written. I'm just not the audience for it
August 18, 2021
I picked this out as a new author for me. I had no idea how funny it would be. John Smith is just like guys I grew up with in San Diego. Dude, you nailed the beach attitude, even as far away from the beach as Chula Vista, (Hello, Monserate St., long time, no see.) I am looking forward to reading more Supernatural adventures from OB Pier to PB Strand and everything on either side. Thank you, Chris for bringing me alittle home town heartache and smiles.
May 11, 2022
from hard sell to overjoyed
Okay, so. I was on the fence when I read the blurb but I needed a break from the absolute trash I generally love to read and once upon a time, I also loved UF so I gave it a go. I'm so glad I did because I haven't read a good UF series since The Hollows and or Sookie Stackhouse and this was on that level for me and I'm excited to get deeper into the series that I can't believe I missed.
Okay, so. I was on the fence when I read the blurb but I needed a break from the absolute trash I generally love to read and once upon a time, I also loved UF so I gave it a go. I'm so glad I did because I haven't read a good UF series since The Hollows and or Sookie Stackhouse and this was on that level for me and I'm excited to get deeper into the series that I can't believe I missed.
May 13, 2021
Fantastic series, now with 2 books. Both books are a great bunch of fun. Tullbane gives us a great character, with realistic faults and realistic issues. Tullbane also provides a logical reason for why this character is able to succeed when others don't. I loved it and can't wait to read more about John, Tiny Flower and Bill (oh the vampires are ok too).
May 20, 2021
I wanted to like this book SO MUCH MORE than I did. Tullbane has a great sense of humor and a way with words. I also really liked his vampire lore. I just could. not. get. past. how immature the main character came across. He's supposed to be 25, but in a lot of scenes comes off like a teenager. Alas, this just wasn't quite the book for me.
November 8, 2021
College dropout John Smith is leading an unexciting life when comicon attacks
I laughed out loud at John Smith's adventures as he discovers vampires and other legendary creatures living in sunny San Diego. He seems almost magically able to survive various attacks on his life and have a good doing it. I loved this book.
I laughed out loud at John Smith's adventures as he discovers vampires and other legendary creatures living in sunny San Diego. He seems almost magically able to survive various attacks on his life and have a good doing it. I loved this book.
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