My name is John Cook, and my life began the day my heart stopped beating.
King Oberon is betrayed by the Queens of Faerie and imprisoned in Mab’s dungeon.
Give a man no way out, and eventually, no price is too high for revenge. That stands doubly true for a king. Nobody puts Obee in a corner...cell. So, the raging king forms a malevolent alliance, letting everyone know that if he can’t wear the crown....
No one will. The world be damned.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Court has sent their deadliest assassin to execute John by any means necessary - with the intent of smothering all of creation in absolute blackness. And there is some featureless, creepy black cat seeming to stalk our friendly neighborhood vampire. Aren’t they bad luck?
With the fate of the entire universe on the line, will John have the strength to withstand the darkest collective forces of the known and unknown universe? Can he scale that figurative mountain? Or will crippling self-doubt weaken his grip and send him plummeting down into a trench of endless agony and overwhelming despair?
Oh, and John gets a shiny new hammer and a snazzy suit. Except it might be more of a curse than a blessing. Because he’s pretty sure it’s trying to take control of his body and mind....
And a vampire out of control can turn city streets into rivers of blood.
My name is Hunter, and I’m a wordaholic. I’m also about to break the fourth wall…of your mindhole. Because there is a true story behind this…well…story.
It begins with two best friends who grew up together, breaking rules and raising hell as they shaped each other’s personalities into the shameless assholes they are today. Well, at least for one of them, but I’ll get to that in a moment. These two boys—let’s call them Hunter and John—were all but inseparable. John excelled at creating music powerful enough to make angels weep and being the funniest asshole in Texas while Hunter dabbled—poorly, I might add—in his humble writings. Because they were self-declared brothers from other mothers, John respected Hunter’s humble writings as much as I—I mean Hunter (stupid third person perspective)—respected John’s musical magic. John’s tunes could have changed the world, one day…
One fine day, after reading one of Hunter’s horrifically detailed short stories about a serial killer, John asked Hunter to write a story about him.
“Hell yeah, dude! What do you want to be?” Hunter asked, brimming with honor and biting back a very manly squee.
“A vampire,” John responded with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “But not one of those sparkly ones. A true bad ass!”
“Done!” Hunter crowed with a smile and an accompanying high five.
“No, dude. Promise. Promise you’ll write and finish a book about me. You are the most prolific writer of our generation!” John said. (Something like that. I might be paraphrasing a little, but you get the gist of it). “I would consider it an honor to live on for eternity with your words as my life’s blood.”
Hunter agreed, never to realize the weight of that promise until one Sunday morning when John’s mother called, crying incoherently.
John…had died.
Hunter was left in a cold world without his best friend and doppelgänger. Hunter still thinks about that moment to this day. How the morning light crept through the bedroom window while Hunter stared at the ceiling, noticing how the popcorn texture created cruel, jagged shadows. How everything started to blur as his chest was crushed beneath the weight of what he was hearing, each word stacking heavily upon the other until only fitful, ragged gasps of air could escape his throat. Only fiery tears existed, especially after the horrific realization that Hunter now had to make some of the hardest phone calls of his life to the circle of friends who orbited around John’s solar pull.
Their star was no more, leaving their universe a colder and darker place.
John not only left Hunter, but a friend named Valenta as well. There was also Nathanial and Depweg. The friends were each stricken numb with the loss of such a beloved flare of life. But…
When the three found out that Hunter was keeping his promise to write the greatest story ever told—starring their dear friend, John—they demanded to be a part of the adventure. Each of them immediately knew what type of supernatural character they wanted to play in this urban fantasy eulogy. It would be a funeral pyre of words, and their fictional personas would be John’s pallbearers.
So please, as you read the following pages, feel free to laugh. Laugh at the situations John is placed in and his dickish dialogue to those around him, because John is 100% in this story without alteration (albeit he is a vampire). Laugh and let his memory live on inside the theater of your mind. Like he does in ours.
Thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my beating heart, for giving my best friend the chance to live again. You are part of this magical ritual, and that would make him the happiest man in the…well, wherever the hell he is.
The Preternatural Chronicles are the adventures of John the Vampire, an Irish vampire who works for the Catholic Church (sort of) to redeem his soul of the hundreds he's killed over the years. After three books, you probably know whether or not you like this series or not. Still, I think this is the best of the ones I've read so far.
Oberon, King of the Light Fae, has been overthrown by his wife and rival Queen Mab. Imprisoned, he makes a Satanic pact with the Shadow Fae and begins a plot to conquer all of the dimensions. John rushes into a plan to save the world from the fae and ends up losing a decade of life. When he returns, he is confused and missing his friends. A new all-powerful Nordic vampire hunter has scattered them and possesses a personal beef with John. This is some of the highest stakes the Chronicles have had and test our hero to the limit.
As usual, this book is full of pop culture references and hilarity from our snarktastic hero. I like the relationship he is developing with Lily and also the new characters. I also enjoyed the threat from Oberon. I was a bit put off by the use of Dungeons and Dragons villain Lolth but if anyone could put an end to her it was John.
The third book of John the Vampire. This book made me laugh, made me cry, gave me hope, then made me cry again.
John has to go through a situation that he definitely wasn't expecting, and neither was I. He has to adapt to the new reality, and because he is John, he needs to save the world and his friends while doing it, and boy, does he have shit luck lol
I love the characters, and how with every book you discover more about them and their motivations and their fears. And with every book, the family grows. I can't wait to keep learning about them and their adventures.
If you haven't read the books, you need to do it now!
In this third book of the Preternatural Chronicles, John has Fae assassins looking to end his existence. This is part of larger campaign by the Shadow Court to end all life on Earth. John needs to stay alive and will need the help of his friends to save the planet.
Hunter Blain has impressed me with his ability to write stories in which he breaks rules and yet still makes it work. In his first book, almost half the book was flashbacks, which usually I hate, and yet I loved that book. In this story, he jumps years ahead due to the John spending time in the Fae lands and time passing differently on Earth. Messing with the timeline of a story is another thing I usually do not like, and yet once again he pulls this off flawlessly.
The best part of the story was the ending. I won’t spoil it, but there were some cool twists which I really enjoyed. Probably one of the better endings I’ve read in a long time.
What can I say without revealing spoilers? Answer: not much. Two words echo after this read - game changer. Covering a surprising span, this story knocks you senseless as events nobody (except maybe the author, and that's only a maybe) could predict transpire with the trademark style we expect, blending unique action peppered with hilarity, but cutting it with sadness, self-awareness, and the catastrophe of consequence.
I, much like our beloved anti-hero, am left utterly speechless after reading this latest foray into the wacky world of John. Hunter proved with the first two that he could bring the humor and action in spades. With the third book he brought the feels. I’m not ashamed to admit that I teared up (manly tears! Big, fat, strong tears of pure testosterone and muscle!!) more than once.
Blaine proved that nothing and no one is safe in the world of John Cook. Much like the humor, nothing is off limits. The stakes (pardon the pun) have never been higher. Get ready for questions to be answered, hearts to be broken, and nails to be bitten down to nubs.
And, well, if you look at the shadows and darkness with just a bit more trepidation while reading SoaD...who could really blame you?
I enjoy John, but sometimes like with his friends I get a bit tired of his wit. This was a very active adventure in his undead life. Really liked that he finally got into Shape near the end, now he actually does have a ripped body and good physique.
Well that was a freaking ride man. The references are strong with this one! Emotional tear jerker laugh out loud heart breaker. Cant wait to get to the next book!
Poor John. The constant reiteration of "you're given nothing more than you can handle" is kind of sad when you think about it. John is broken down so often, you have to wonder "why?" He's a likeable vampire, trying desperately to do the right thing, why? It makes for brilliant storylines, but also it's unbelievably sad reading.
Great story! the more changes that happen the larger the scope of what is happening grows. The growth of the characters is amazing,and I am looking forward to the next.
This book is long, so be warned. It's well written, lots of action and snark, and tells a really good tale. You should read the previous books to know what's happening.
Great series so far. While I don't really read the books (I listen to them) I like having the ebooks to read along some and go back when I think I missed something. Are there any plans to put MOONLIGHT EQUILIBRIUM to audible?
If this was a netflix, this episode would be the one you can't miss.
Knowing this is only book 3 of 13, John and his friends have already had so many crazy adventures that it only whets the appetite for more to come. This entry in the series left me entertained and maybe a bit drained by so much happening but in a good way like when you binge season one of an amazing show in one day .
No doubt my heart was ripped out and handed back to me
Hunter Blaine, not really sure if I like you right now. Boggled my mind, ripped out my heart and then saved me. No wonder everyone yells at John. I can't wait to see what adventure awaits in book 3.
Hunter's wit,humor,and very descriptive imagery shine bright as the sun in this,the third of the series. I'm certainly glad I found out about his work.
How to describe this epic adventure in a short succinct way.....
Take Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay, M. Knight Shyamalan and sprinkle it all with fairy dust and you'll get close to Shadow of a Doubt.
This is Hunter's biggest and most ambitious outing to date - with characters you love, villains you will hate, and a stomach that hurts from laughing so hard.
My favourite of the series so far - so if you've enjoyed your favourite dead drama queen so far.... You ain't seen nothing yet!
Wow, it really hits the fan in this third Preternatural Chronicles entry. John's friends are missing or... Fae is a wreck and Earth - Midworld - is next. How can the last (ish) vampire expect to take on a freaking black hole? Especially when that vampire is John Cook, the most adequate and moderately buff vampire in history?
I struggled with my strong dislike of the main character through books 1 and 2, sticking in there through half of book 3 hoping he would become more likeable. That change did come but at great price. I like where the series is going and Hunter's writing is getting better with each book.
Shadow of a Doubt, the 3rd book of the Preternatural Chronicles series by Hunter Blain, was a surprise at every turn. The story still follows our urban fantasy super-hero, John Cook, but it leads to a very dark place for him.
Blain did not follow his own typical pattern with this book. His trademark humor and movie references were still present but usually, it did not belong within the content of the story filled with shadows and evil.
I love all the various plot angles that Blain uses to keep the reader engaged in the action. With a central storyline of John trying to resolve issues in his world and with his friends, he visits the Fairey dimension twice with startling consequences. Consequences that John learns to resolve within himself by discovering that his strength sometimes comes through weakness. John also realizes that he can no longer lean on his crutch, his predatory self, in life situations. The value of trust and his small circle of friends become more important than ever.
The story of John is not over. A new journey is paved before him. Because of Blain’s vivid story and fine writing, I am now invested in this world and the many colorful and unique characters that fill it.
Will John find what he seeks the most and will he survive the journey that he takes to find success? I look forward to seeing what Blain does in future books as well as the genius approach that he will use.
Well.. what can I say about this particular book in the series. For 1 thing I can say that there was definitely some stuff that wasn’t cool or copacetic in my book. I won’t go into detail about it, but let’s just say that once you read thru either the whole book or a large chunk of it.. you’ll know. However, as I expected, John gets into his fair share of trouble in this particular book. Oddly enough, or maybe not, but in my opinion, John kind of caused it, some may say that he didn’t have a choice really, but who’s to say who’s really right or not. In the end, our anti-hero if you will, comes out of the end result, stronger & wiser then before. Only.. to end up in another situation, of which I honestly hope that there is a happy middle when it comes to the options expressed in this book.
I love these books. This is a biased review of someone who loves to read and just really enjoys this world and the characters in it. John is awesome! He is also a five year old stuck in a grown up body. I can relate. I said "DAMN IT, JOHN!" at least 20 times this book. Soooo much happened. I mean like two seasons of the Netflix show (that will be coming soon, I just know it). Thank you Hunter! This was great. Luke, your performance was even better than the last time. Absolute magic.
P.S. I really really don't like Lilly. I know, I'm suppose to be this impartial reader but damn it, I don't like her. I give her evil looks when she comes around (she can feel it, I know she can).
I chose this rating due to the fact that you are taking an incredible journey, with characters that are truly diverse, as well as presenting a novel look at old monster stereotypes. The characters are given humanity through their actions. The readers become invested in the action between the"heroes" and " villians". I really love thus boo and eagerly await the next one.
Don't read these if you have to work early in the morning- Impossible to put down !! A dark and captivating story with a MC you want to hug,strangle, have a drink with, and want as a best friend. Lots of laughs, tears, and character growth in this journey. I have a "plan" 😂😂 ...to read the next book NOW!
This maybe the best book in the series so far. John is normally a character that is immature and in this book he starts moving past his insecurities that play a major part in that. He takes some losses in this one and becomes a better person because of it. Hunter thank you for the porcelain throne scene.
I never thought I would find another author I am as addicted and obsessed with other than Shayne Silvers but Hunter Blain is Shayne's faternal twin of brilliance!! I absolutely adore his character John Cook and after losing my mom\lil best friend recently, these books have given me laughter & peace. I'm a fan for LIFE.
Slightly different story than the first two books in this series, with more action and less of the comedy and emotion in the first two, until this amazing author blew my mind with the character growth and metaphors for mundane life. or is that analogy… metaphor, analogy… meh… you get the picture, or you will if you read this amazing book! Thanks Hunter!!!
Okay...John is getting to be a bit of a muchness. I enjoyed the book and I might return to the series later but he's a bit on the over powered side now. I do appreciate the character growth -- vampire Deadpool can only go so far and after a while it gets old. Enjoyed the story though.
Didn't think I'd get hooked into this series so fast. But here we are 3 books later and I can't get enough! I love the characters and how relatable they are ( so to speak) but I find myself laughing and crying right along with them. Including the butt clenching moments.