Three stories from New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter, starring shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock.
In Snafu, a young Jane shows up for her internship with a securities firm. But before she even gets her foot in the door, she’s accosted by two street toughs and is forced to draw on her new-found Beast-magic to defend herself…
In Black Water, Jane encounters a dire situation involving an escaped prisoner and endangered hostages. With a helpful—and oddly sane—werewolf, Jane goes after the criminals, but can she stop them in time to bring the kidnapped women home alive?
In Off the Grid, Jane goes on what looks like a simple mission for the Knoxville blood-master—finding a missing Mithran. Her search leads Jane to a young woman named Nell, a woman with a scarred past and a strange power, a woman who may hold the key to saving the missing vampire, if Jane can convince her to assist.
Includes an exclusive preview of the Jane Yellowrock novel, Broken Soul, coming October 2014 from Roc!
Snafu and Off the Grid are never before published. The story Black Water was previously published as an Audible Audio Edition.
Faith Hunter's Junkyard Cats novella series is available in Audible, eBook, and "ridiculously expensive" (her words) trade paperback books at this time.
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
Very short--probably less than 10 pages. Hmmm . . . 18 y.o. Jane's first day on the security job training. First 10 min. really . . . But that's all you need to see all the reasons we love Jane. #kickass
Merged review:
Black Water - 4.0 stars
Feeling responsible for the kidnapping of two women (b/c the kidnapper busted out jail seeking revenge after someone on Jane's team killed his werewolf sister), Jane enlists the help of Sarge (from BENEATH A BLOODY MOON) and his monster dog in a rescue mission.
I want to know 3 things:
1. How is it exactly that Sarge is sane? 2. How are Sarge and Christabel able to communicate with monster dog? 3. WHAT THE BLOODY HECK IS CHRISTABEL??!
Snafu - 3.5 stars
Very short--probably less than 10 pages. Hmm . . . 18 y.o. Jane's first day on the security job training. First 10 min. really . . . But that's all you need to see all the reasons we love Jane. #kickass
Off the Grid - 4.5 stars
At Dragon Con 2014 (and 2015), I went to a bunch of Faith's panels. In one of them she talked about a new series she's working on. I was excited about this for numerous reasons, the two biggest being:
1. New Faith Hunter series--YAY. 2. It takes place in Oak Ridge.
For those of you that don't know, Oak Ridge is in Tennessee, near Knoxville. It's also where the first atomic bomb was made.
One of my dads has lived in Andersonville, part of the same county that Oak Ridge is in, for about 20 years, and has been working at Y-12 for the last 6 or 8 years.
I am fascinated by this place.
I have been fascinated by this place since I was a teenager.
In this story we meet Nell Nicholson Ingram, who is the heroine in Hunter's new series. I'm not sure what she is exactly, but my money's on her having some kind of Fae in her ancestry, and the only thing I love more than Native American folklore is the Fae.
Black water is about an hour long (audible). I am not a fan of the French boy Rick & was happy he wasn't physically present during the story. Overall it was a fun short read. I rate it 4 stars.
Off the grid was also about an hour long (audible). This is a never before published short. The French boy was again brought up during this story & seems to be an essential part of the possible set up in a spin off series. I'm not sure I'll read that spin off being I dislike Ricky Bo. I rate this a 5.
Snafu is not available for audio. I'm still debating on if I want to read it badly enough to buy the full vignette. Maybe in the future. I give this book a 4.
Black Water is a compilation of three short stories from the world of Jane Yellowrock. Snafu and Off the Grid are new, while Black Water was previously released in audio format. The stand-out is Off the Grid in which Jane joins forces with Nell to rescue a vampire taken prisoner by a religious cult.
That story on it's own makes this compilation worth-while. Black Water was OK but I bought it when it was first released as audio, and Snafu was interesting but honestly nothing to write home about.
So 3 Stars on the strength of Off the Grid and quite a bit of excitement that Faith Hunter will be giving Nell her own series, starting sometime in 2015. I'll even go out on a limb and encourage fans of Faith Hunter to get Black Water just for that little snatch of back story.
This story takes place after she leaves the children's home and takes her first PI job. Short and sweet.
Merged review:
Anthology
1. Black Water. Man, most of these short stories are gruesome. Not in the descriptions but in what is not said. It has a happy ending (for me). 4 stars
2. Snafu. This story takes place after she leaves the children's home and takes her first PI job. Short and sweet. 4 stars
3. Off the Grid. The short stories are pretty sad/sick with the victims having a horrible story. This fit right in. I loved that the bad guys didn't get away. 4 stars
This anthology is a collection of two new and one previously published Jane Yellowrock stories. One of the new ones is really short. Here’s a breakdown:
Black Water – This is one of the two longer novellas. It’s set just after the events of “Beneath a Bloody Moon,” a short story in the Jane Yellowrock World Companion (before the beginning of Black Arts.) And it was previously released in audio.
Jane is on her way back home after her job is done hunting a werewolf pack in that story, when she learns that the job is not quite done. It seems a werewolf has broken out of prison and he is looking for payback for Jane’s role in the death of his sister. Jane returns to the small town she had just left behind to deal with the aftermath. You see, the man has kidnapped two young women –and he has targeted Rick’s family members in his search for Jane.
Jane teams up with Serge, an off the grid werewolf and sets out to give the man the confrontation he’s been searching for. It was an all-action story. And it faithfully maintained the tone of the full length books, from Jane’s internal dialogue with Beast, to her growing familial ties with Eli and the Kid, to her annoying and self-destructive pseudo-relationship with Ricky Bo. The man was only a voice on the phone and I was still able to hate him.
There is never much doubt that Jane will save the day, but that makes it no less fun watching her do it.
Snafu – This story is significantly shorter. It is just a glimpse of Jane as she begins her PI internship. It’s interesting to see her as a young woman. She is excited about starting a new chapter of her life. But she is still tough as nails and sharp as a tack.
Off the Grid – Set after the events of Black Arts, here Jane is in North Carolina, to help a vampire clan at Leo’s behest. A perverted religious cult has kidnapped one of their Mithrans and Jane is tasked to get her back. During her mission, she meets a special woman who escaped from the cult and may be able to help. The story is pretty good, but I felt like it was more of a vehicle to introduce us to Nell, who will be the main character in Faith Hunter’s next series. Maybe Rick will move permanently to those books. One can only hope.
Overall, I enjoyed the collection, but I felt like it was pretty short. It also included a preview for Broken Soul, which will no doubt leave readers excited for the next installment.
A must for fans waiting the next novels. It's made of a cute vignette of a 18 yo Jane and two short stories, one of which introduced the new heroine from the author's next series. I am really intrigued, but if Ricky Bo is going into it I'm not sure I am that interested. I haven't forgotten nor forgiven. :)
Black Water consists og three Jane Yellowrock novellas rolled into one volume, some of which you'll find in other anthologies as well.
In Snafu, a young Jane shows up for her internship with a securities firm. But before she even gets her foot in the door, she’s accosted by two street toughs and is forced to draw on her new-found Beast-magic to defend herself… Aaand that's about it. Very short story, easily forgettable. I give it 2 ☆.
In Black Water, Jane encounters a dire situation involving an escaped prisoner and endangered hostages. With a helpful—and oddly sane—werewolf, Jane goes after the criminals, but can she stop them in time? Readers beware, while this story can be read as a standalone novella it is actually the continuation of Beneath A Bloody Moon, so make sure to read that one first. 3.5 ☆
In Off the Grid, Jane goes on what looks like a simple mission for the Knoxville blood-master—finding a missing Mithran. Her search leads Jane to a young woman named Nell, a woman with a scarred past and a strange power, a woman who may hold the key to saving the missing vampire, if Jane can convince her to to assist... And she really should, since a crazy cult is keeping underage girls prisoner and subject them to sexual abuse. This is one of those stories where the lines are blurred. Humans act as monsters while the vampires show great companion for the most vulnerable among us. Righteous fury; thy name is Yummy. (You'll have to read the story to understand the reference.) According to Faith Hunter, Nell will get her own series this year, but Nell didn't make enough of an impression on me to make me want to learn more about her. 3.5 ☆
Contiene: Black Water -- Weres asesinos en los pantanos. Ya habia leido esta historia en otra antologia, y es muy interesante. Y entretenida.
Snafu -- Jane en una especie de 'entrevista' para su primer trabajo. Es casi un drabble.
Off the Grid. -- Leo envia a Jane para trabajar con una de las Ming (sip, otra vez las mentadas y misteriosas Ming, de las que nunca se dice nada , pero aparecen siempre metidas en dramas vampirescos). Han secuestrado a una de sus vampiresas nada menos que por un culto de esos que encierran, controlan y golpean mujeres y niños. Es la introducción de Nell, quien tendrá una nueva serie "Soulwood", una sobreviviente con cierto toque sobrenatural que por las insinuaciones debe tener sangre fae o algo parecido. Hasta ahora ella me gusta, creo que veré de que va su serie.
Black Water is three novella length stories of Jane Yellowrock's adventures.
Each story takes place during a different time in her life. One story is 18 year old Jane just starting out. Another story takes place when she is still realizing the extent of her abilities tracking down a vile, escaped prisoner. The final story takes place right before the vampire delegation arrives from Europe.
If you are a fan, you'll love the insight into Jane. If you never read any of the Yellowrock series: 1. what are you waiting for and 2. this is a great way to introduce yourself to the character and get a feel for the series.
I'm a fan and really enjoyed this quick, enjoyable, action packed stories to hold me over till the next book comes out.
I keep waiting for one of these Jane Yellowrock stories to really suck ......... still waiting. These stories were exceptional even by Jane's standards and since I am a confirmed revenge junkie there were some of the best stories tinged heavily with a revenge vibe I have read in a long time.
The first is about a couple of escaped convicts that capture two innocent women and beat them and worse while Jane is in town, talk about your seriously bad luck, you don't even want to know how bad an idea that was for those boys.
The next story is just a short intro into how Jane went from getting out of an orphanage to learning to be a PI, and the guy who taught her (and I have a hint that says we will see him again), just a quick short tale of two more boys who were equally as stupid but lived to tell about it :)
The final short story is called Off The Grid and we meet Nell, once again someone we are going to see again I am told, but this story brings up two of Jane's most hated types of people, women beaters and child abusers. Yea, boy, fun times to be had by all unless you are part of that unfortunate group, Beast hates people that harm kits (all children human or otherwise are "kits" to Beast):)
The rest is a couple of chapters of the new book Broken Soul: A Jane Yellowrock Novel which are great but tend to just make you want what you don't have so be prepared that if you read it that the novel won't be released until 7 Oct 2014.
Bottom Line: A feast for revenge junkies and fans of well placed justice, not to mention meeting some new folks we are going to see again in the future. Highly recommended and 5 Stars as usual, Jane never gets old for me.
18-year-old Jane has "a little snafu" when she shows up to ENDERS SECURITY AND PRIVATE INVESTIVATIONS INC for her paid internship interview. She may be young, but she's already into boots and bikes and becoming a badass.
Merged review:
“Black Water” 4-stars *Takes place after BLOOD TRADE and before BLACK ARTS Jane Yellowrock is back in the very deep South, near Houma, this time chasing a human predator, racing to save the lives of the two women he has kidnapped.
- Curious minds gotta know ... What is Christabel?"
"Snafu" 3.5 stars * Snippet about Jane's transition from living in the children's home to life as a P. I.
18-year-old Jane has "a little snafu" when she shows up to ENDERS SECURITY AND PRIVATE INVESTIVATIONS INC for her paid internship interview. She may be young, but she's already into boots and bikes and becoming a badass.
“Off the Grid” 4.5 stars Jane is in Knoxville to do a favor for the her boss, the chief fanghead of the southeast US. It’s supposed to be an easy investigation, but a very important vampire has gone missing and Jane is drawn into the search. This is where Jane meets Nell Nicholson Ingram for the first time.
I'm really intrigued and looking forward to Nell's story in Faith Hunter's new series, Soulwood.
A nice set of 3 ss to tide the faithful reader over until Oct. 7. The first story, 'Black Water', was an addendum to a previous case, and 'Snafu' was an intriguing look back at an 18 year old Jane and her first job as a PI.
The best story was the last one, 'Off the Grid', where the reader is introduced to the mysterious Nell, who is to have her own series in 2015. Jane hooks Nell up for a job with ex-bf Rick LaFleur and PsyLED. I had always thought that Jane would end back up with Rick, but now I'm wondering if Hunter has other plans for his character in the new series. I hope Jane meets someone new, because I'm not a big fan of ANY of the men or possibilities in her life at this time.
Quick first story on Jane and her first getting her first job in a bad part of town. This got me right back to remembering who Jane is and her dual personality. I really enjoyed it and will read a few more of the novellas before going to the next book in the series. I put it down a couple years back.
Black Water is a collection of three short stories from the Jane Yellowrock series and written by Faith Hunter, which was collected and published after Black Arts, but takes place during various moments in the timeline. To avoid spoilers, it is best to read this anthology after Black Arts as there is one story "Off the Grid" takes place some time after the seventh book.
"Black Water" (★★★★☆) has Jane Yellowrock recruiting interesting and disturbing characters to find two kidnapped women, who were taken by an escape prisoner with a grudge with Jane Yellowrock, because she killed his sister, who was a werewolf, in one of the raids that she executed. This short story takes place after Blood Trade.
"Snafu" (★★★★☆) has a young Jane Yellowrock showing up for her internship with a securities firm. However, before she even gets her foot in the door, she is accosted by two street toughs and is forced to draw on her new-found Beast-magic to defend herself. This short story take place prior to Skinwalker.
"Off the Grid" (★★★★☆) has Jane Yellowrock teaming up with a reluctant Nell Ingram to find missing vampires that has been captured by the God's Cloud of Glory Church – the cult that Nell Ingram was born into, raised, and eventually renounced. This short story takes place after Black Arts from the Jane Yellowrock series and prior to Blood of the Earth of the Soulwood series.
For the most part, I really like these short stories, while one does not really need to read this book to continue with the series, it is highly worth it, to get the greater sense of the Jane Yellowrock universe. All the short stories were written well and comparatively speaking about the same level of enjoyment for me. "Off the Grid" is especially wonderful considering it introduced the character Nell Ingram, who is the protagonist of the spin-off series Soulwood.
All in all, Black Water is a wonderful collection of short stories that expands and strengthens the fictional universe. It expands the stories of major characters, relationships, and introduces new characters that expand this wonderful universe.
I would read anything Faith Hunter writes. Action is very fast, you just don't know what is around the next corner. Love all her series. They are like potato chips, can't stop after one.
I love Faith Hunter. She is one of my favorite authors. Her plots are great, her characters are great and reading her stories is addictive. You cannot put them down .... I dare you.
I loved these short stories. Getting to read about Jane when she was just starting out was great. It was also really interesting to read about how Jane and Nell met, I have been wanting to read the Nell books for awhile, but wasn't sure how they connected, now I know!
It takes so much effort to find all these short stories for longer series. I wish that more authors put them in whole books for those of us who come to the storyline later in the series. I keep trying to get cat tales but Kindle doesn't like it for some reason
My favourite short story in Black Water would definitely be Off the Grid - a nice little introduction to Nell Ingram before I start reading the Soulwood series. The other 2 short stories were good reading as well, would have loved if Snafu was just a little bit longer.
This assortment of stories should be required reading for all Jane Yellowrock fans! They give some very interesting back-story that tells you more about Jane and how she came to be the kick-ass Enforcer she is.
This sparked the novella rabbit hole and while I'm still not a fan of novellas/short stories (Snafu was just WAY TOO SHORT) I did think these were better and lent more to the overall plot/series. I still have more to track down but these ones I did enjoy (minus some of the editing mistakes).
Although this book does not continue the story of Jane it is a welcome break from all the exciting stories that has happened to Jane in previous books. I really enjoyed this book although it did include characters from original story it also was diverting from the main characters.
Faith Hunter is hands down one of the best urban fantasy fiction writers I have ever read. I have bought every one of her books and short stories, pre-order any coming book, and eagerly await her next book.