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Codex of Souls #2
Heartland
The second novel of the Codex of Souls furthers explores the strange occult world first introduced in Lightbreaker. Mark Teppo's vision of a magical underworld is a non-stop adventure that continues to bring new light to the occult origins of our history. Markham returns to Paris where he lost his love, and nearly his life. The ancient order of manipulative magicians that once cast him out is now in turmoil . . . a turmoil made all the greater by the swaths of destruction that Markham tried to avert in the Pacific Northwest. Teamed with an unlikely partner, Markham seeks to overturn the corrupt remains of an order no longer able to police its own practitioners. Yet, he can't escape the feeling that he's still just a pawn in a larger game.
- GenresUrban FantasyFantasy
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
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About the author
Mark Teppo
94 books102 followersMark Teppo has written more than a dozen novels across a number of genres. He's a book-seller, paper-hoarder, and troublemaker. Not necessarily in that order.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 21, 2017
Always been a sucker for a snarky outsider made series. This book and the series is no exception. One of the biggest things I've loved as I got into this series is just the sense of realism. I mean, I know magic exists. But, it doesn't feel like the magic ever jumps the shark and becomes super otherworldly. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy magical stories like that, but that's when I've got a high fantasy book in my hands. When it comes to a more urban fantasy story, the more believable, the better. I'm not gonna lie though. After having the first one set in the PNW, I was a little heartbroken with this one being set in Paris. But to each their own.
March 9, 2014
The second in a series, and in many ways, a better book than the first, in my opinion. Where the first book was a whogonnadoit adventure, this one is a political thriller, with main character Markham having to confront the skeletons in his closet and in his heart, while forcing the people around him to do the same. No wonder he's persona non grata in so many places....
In many ways, this is a smaller, more intimate book than the first in the series. It concentrates primarily on the events surrounding the change in leadership of the occult society Markham used to belong to, and yes, Markham is the monkey wrench tossed into that set of workings. His actions in the previous book directly affect the circumstances in this one, which was a bit confusing at first, as I'd read the first a year ago, and had some trouble recollecting some of the people and events from it (keeping a copy on the shelf makes for good reference material.) That said, this book is definitely a different breed of beast. Teppo displays the scope of his occult knowledge, deftly weaving it through the piece and adding his own embroidery to the threads he is using to create a richly-textured tapestry of cause, effect, and connivance (absolutely pun intended.)
Where the book falters for me is in the prophecies tossed around like so many ping-pong balls. I gather that Teppo means for them to tease and tantalize and obscure, but he doesn't do unreliable narrator as well as I believe this technique would require, and I figured out who would become the next heirophant well before even the trip out to Mont St-Michel, which means the tension for at least the last half of the book suffered. That said, he had enough going on, even in the talking heads sections, that I was willing to go along for the ride. Not all authors can do this for me, so well done.
Also, Markham needs to match against his own weight class, or higher, more often. The brothers Vaschax were less than impressive, even when supported by henchmen. Just sayin'.
All in all, a chewy book. I liked it, and am looking forward to the next in the series.
In many ways, this is a smaller, more intimate book than the first in the series. It concentrates primarily on the events surrounding the change in leadership of the occult society Markham used to belong to, and yes, Markham is the monkey wrench tossed into that set of workings. His actions in the previous book directly affect the circumstances in this one, which was a bit confusing at first, as I'd read the first a year ago, and had some trouble recollecting some of the people and events from it (keeping a copy on the shelf makes for good reference material.) That said, this book is definitely a different breed of beast. Teppo displays the scope of his occult knowledge, deftly weaving it through the piece and adding his own embroidery to the threads he is using to create a richly-textured tapestry of cause, effect, and connivance (absolutely pun intended.)
Where the book falters for me is in the prophecies tossed around like so many ping-pong balls. I gather that Teppo means for them to tease and tantalize and obscure, but he doesn't do unreliable narrator as well as I believe this technique would require, and I figured out who would become the next heirophant well before even the trip out to Mont St-Michel, which means the tension for at least the last half of the book suffered. That said, he had enough going on, even in the talking heads sections, that I was willing to go along for the ride. Not all authors can do this for me, so well done.
Also, Markham needs to match against his own weight class, or higher, more often. The brothers Vaschax were less than impressive, even when supported by henchmen. Just sayin'.
All in all, a chewy book. I liked it, and am looking forward to the next in the series.
December 22, 2011
Heartland (The Codex of Souls) [return]Mark Teppo[return](2009), Paperback, 425 pages, Release 26 Jan 2010[return][return]**Want spoilers??** None here today![return][return]Mark Teppo’s second book in The Codex of Souls picks up at the end of the cleverly crafted bridge just past the end of Lightbreaker. He crafts a dark tale of twisted intrigues, using an encyclopedic array of magickal and physical disciplines; tarot to Qabalah, spell-casting to sword fighting. [return][return]There is a richness of language and image not seen in Lightbreaker, and a complexity of characters more fully made real. References to well-documented historic and esoteric source materials are well presented and integrated in such a way that it is not a challenge to suspend belief. What is a challenge, however, is trying to anticipate where the story will take you – just about the time I thought I knew there would be a new fork in the path which might lead to an entirely different end.[return][return]I look forward to new works by this author. He writes engagingly and accessibly, but with sufficient depth and color to create a positively vivid word picture.[return][return]Well Done![return][return](Because Amazon doesn't have .5 star increments this work is granted +.5 stars vs Librarything.com review)
November 26, 2014
Mark Teppo starts out the second offering in his Fantasy Noir series with action, and doesn't let up until you both crash panting to the floor in the final pages.
If you like urban fantasy, buy it. If you like magic, buy it. If you like action, buy it. Those copies are for your friends to read, so buy one for yourself and enjoy the ride.
If you like urban fantasy, buy it. If you like magic, buy it. If you like action, buy it. Those copies are for your friends to read, so buy one for yourself and enjoy the ride.
August 3, 2009
Read in manuscript.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews