Fixer

The Ustari Cycle #0.5

by Jeff Somers

Learn the Words. Get the blood. Rule the world. A stand-alone short story in the Ustari Cycle. The heroes of We Are Not Good People learn what “down and out” truly feels like when a massive debt forces one of them into the role of Fixer... in New Jersey. Check out the gritty supernatural series from the "exhilarating, powerful, and entertaining" (Guardian) storyteller of the Avery Cates series.The underground few who practice blood magic—casting with a swipe of the blade and a few secretive Words—are not good people. Lem and Mags live in this world, and they try to be good, try to skate by on Cantrips and charms and scratch out a meager existence without harming anyone…much. But when a con goes bad, it can go really, really bad, and suddenly unsavory types are holding your leash. Lem and Mags hit such a snag, and with his Gasam (teacher-master) unwilling to help, he’s stuck fixing jobs for a Jersey boss. He’d like to think that with a fat enough Bleeder (those who bleed to fuel their boss’s magic) he’s come up with a second, better con to get out of their predicament. But sometimes elbow grease and sweat are worth more than even blood. And luck is worth even more than that. This eBook also contains an excerpt of We Are Not Good People.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Jeff Somers (www.jeffreysomers.com) began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has published nine novels, including the Avery Cates Series of noir-science fiction novels from Orbit Books (www.avery-cates.com) and the Ustari Cycle series of urban fantasy novels. His short story “Ringing the Changes” was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2006, his story “Sift, Almost Invisible, Through” appeared in the anthology Crimes by Moonlight edited by Charlaine Harris, and his story “Three Cups of Tea” appeared in the anthology Hanzai Japan. He also writes about books for Barnes and Noble and About.com and about the craft of writing for Writer’s Digest, which will publish his book on the craft of writing Writing Without Rules in 2018. He lives in Hoboken with his wife, The Duchess, and their cats. He considers pants to always be optional.

Reviews

[Matt Handle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a pre-release copy of this one and for those of you waiting until July 7, you're in for a treat. Lem, Mags, Hiram, and Heller are all here in a short story that adds some background as to how the lowly magi, Lem and Mags, got into the predicament that kicks off Trickster and the soon-to-be-published expansion of that story, We Are Not Good People. Like all of Somers' work, Fixer is gritty, vulgar, and the sort of well-told, engrossing tale that pulls you in on page one and doesn't let you go until you've greedily absorbed every word.

[Matt McRoberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

FIXER is a great little tidbit to get people started on what will be a great novel We Are Not Good People. FIXER gets you a little introduction to some of the main characters in the upcoming novel.

Also it's a free short story so well worth giving a chance.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adults please..language

Hate when I read a book and find out that it's a series and I am reading them out of order but I fell in love with this guy and Mags tender heart in the hard world of magic they live in. Will be backing up for Book 1 of this one and then on to Book 3.

[Rawan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short little intro into this new world. I've never heard of the Ustari Cycle before, but this sparked my interest, so I might just try to pick up the first book some time soon.

The prequel doesn't really explain what things are or who anyone is, which was slightly confusing. I'm hoping the first book does because otherwise... it won't be a pleasant reading experience.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the world building in this novella – it was a fantastic reality of blood magic and chaos. There was a whole underbelly of magic and mayhem that I can’t wait to dive deeper into. And that’s not accounting for the great character building of Lem and Mags. Blood magic isn’t a new concept in the stories that I read, but the way that it is portrayed is entirely new. I love that it is all built on a seedy underbelly of blood and life. All of which is transactional.

Lem is a fascinating narrator, one that I want to get to know more of. I love that, when there are constant bad decisions to be made, he chooses to do the “right thing”. All driven, of course, by his love of Mags. Love that the simplicity of Mags and the way he sees the world is what makes a man who could potentially be evil be a good man. And one that I want to get to know more of.

This is a fantastic prequel to The Ustari Cycle, I can’t wait to see how the occurrences in this story lead to a world of hurt for Lem and Mags. Forced servitude, blood trading and all sorts of horrible nonsense are going to be incredibly fun and interesting to read about!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fixer, prequel for the We Are Not Good People story, is a short story in which real magic, blood magic, exist even though it isn't known to everyone. It is used for a more seedy purpose.

We the reader glimpse this secret world as we follow along with Lem Vonnegan and his trusted companion Mags as they pull random cons here and there aided by the little knowledge he was able to gather.

This story sets up a larger story in which he must face the consequences of a botched job he was forced to overseas to pay back a huge monetary debt he owed.


Note: Below are a few terms you may wanna learn if you choose to read this story.

Mages - Powerful magicians who usually have underlings to serve and do their biddings. Think crime boss.

Ustari - A general term for those who wield magic.

Urtuku - intern; magician assistant.

Enustari (Archmage) - People with this title are more powerful, more dangerous and to be more than the standard mages.

[AJourneyWithoutMap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fixer (The Ustari Cycle) by Jeff Somers is a teaser to We Are Not Good People (The Ustari Cycle) which is slated for October release. It is a foretaste of the real book that is coming soon, and introduces readers to the main characters and their world. Short, entertaining and absorbing, Fixer takes a look at the background story of how the magi Lem and Mags are pulled into the situation which they find themselves in.

Jeff Somers’ storytelling skill comes to the fore in this short but enticing book that will leave readers anxiously waiting for We Are Not Good People.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the second book fairly imminent I'd expected this short novella to bridge the first two books, instead it's a prequel which serves as a good introduction and a short appetizer for the series proper. Mainly set-up then and probably aimed more at pulling in new readers but I already enjoy the company of these characters enough that it's a very welcome extra helping. Time will tell if I grow to love this series as much as I do the Avery Cates books, but it's off to a great start.

[Danette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fixer is an enticing chapter from an upcoming novel, We Are Not Good People, set to publish in October. Somers is an exciting author and this preview sets the stage for what will no doubt be an exciting thriller involving blood letting, a bit of magic, and of course, the end of the world! Don't. Miss. It!

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty urban fantasy with an interesting world of magic-users. Somers's main characters tend to start desperate, and it's never a clean ride. But anyone's who is fighting to "get back to zero" is compelling, and the relationship between Lem and Mags is a sweet, strange bonus.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Lem and Mags

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Jeff Somers.
This is a nice taster, a prequel before Trickster, to whet the appetite before his new book in October

[Eileen Wickham · Rating 4 out of 5]

tree friends

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute/gruesome short story explaining a little bit about how Lem got into his mess in the first book.