Hungry Ghosts

Eric Carter #3

by Stephen Blackmoore

Necromancer Eric Carter's problems keep getting bigger. Bad enough he's the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, has come back -- and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places. As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade, Carter is slowly turning to stone.

To make matters worse, both gods are trying to get Carter to assassinate the other. But only one of them can be telling him the truth and he can't trust either one. Carter's solution? Kill them both.

If he wants to get out of this situation with his soul intact, he'll have to go to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, and take down a couple of death gods while facing down the worst trials the place has to offer him: his own sins.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Horror, Audiobook, Magic

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 7, 2017

About the author

Stephen Blackmoore is the author of the noir / urban fantasy Eric Carter series (DEAD THINGS, BROKEN SOULS, HUNGRY GHOSTS, and FIRE SEASON), about a necromancer in modern-day Los Angeles.

You can find him online at stephenblackmoore.com, or follow him on Twitter at @sblackmoore.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shelving. Not entertained by the escalating body count. It opens with a meeting with a local drug lord, moves on to a motel and the body count goes into the dozens. They go hopping into the underworld and an awful island of dolls and then I stopped caring during the surrealistic journey through the Underworld. This one feels very much like the style of Simon Green: less character, more surreal, over-the-top violence. Uninteresting.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

· Book 1: Dead Things ★★★★
· Book 2: Broken Souls ★★★★
· Book 4: Fire Season ★★★

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hungry Ghosts
(Eric Carter #3)
by Stephen Blackmoore
I am so loving these books! I have bought them on Chirp when they were on sale. I had the paperbacks already but I love the audios with a variety of narrators. This series is a fantasy lovers dream books! A variety of ghosts, necromancy, old gods, magic, lots of action, and I love books that have wit and humor thrown in!
On to the next book!

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno ya Eric esta cansado de convertirse en Jade cada vez que tiene que utilizar sus poderes y sin querer toca los de Mictlantecuhtli. Así que esta decidido a acabar con esto de una buena vez, pero para eso tiene que encontrar a Tabitha y que ella le ayude a buscar otra forma de entrar a la Mictlan y allí poder deshacerse de ambos dioses. Pero podrá hacerlo antes de convertirse en Jade? Que tendrá que hacer para llegar allí? Tabitha lo ayudará?

Este libro me decepcionó un poco, esperaba que nuestro héroe hubiera madurado un poco, que quizás hubiera aprendido a usar sus poderes un poco mejor, o que por lo menos, tuviera una conexión mas profunda (románticamente) con Tabitha. Pero nada de eso ocurrió, fue prácticamente lo mismo que el libro anterior, pero agregándole una cantidad de mitología azteca que resulta confusa para los que no conocemos nada de eso. Por lo menos puedo decirle que si quieren dejar la serie hasta aquí, no hay problema, casi todos los temas se cerraron, y eso es lo que yo voy a hacer.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize I had an Aztec-god sized hole in my reading wish list, but I guess I did.

Fortunately for me, reading this filled me up and made me smack my lips and I didn't even have to sacrifice anyone to get the meal! Yay!


This short novel, like the other Eric Carter novels, is extremely fast-paced and generally furious. The whole Jade bit was pretty awesome and the whole playing gods off of each other was even better. This is one of those good examples of handling a story resolution without all the totally overpowered hero bits. :)

Quite satisfied.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackmoore's Eric Carter series is necromancy noir, with the two previous books set mostly in Los Angeles. Therefore, it was only fitting that I read the latest book while skirting the LA area on a day-long road trip.

There was a long wait between the second and third books in this series, but wow, Blackmoore made it all worthwhile. This novel is intense, gory, and grim, and provides a perfect ending for the trilogy. Eric Carter is a callous man, but that's a necessary survival technique for a man who is a magnet for all things ghostly and foul. The events of the previous books resulted in his marriage to Santa Muerte--and there was no honeymoon. Carter's working on a tight deadline to end his unholy matrimony, as his body is changing in a decidedly unpleasant way. The action of the book ventures from Los Angeles and into Mexico, and to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead. Blackmoore did his research--and cites sources in a note--and his book feels fresh compared to other dark urban fantasy books.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one less than the first two books. Frankly I got lost with all the Aztec mythology and there was just way too much Tabitha, who I couldn't care less about. And no Gabriela. Bring back the Bruja! There are apparently three more Eric Carter books coming and I'd certainly like to continue to follow him on his dark adventures but I'm hoping we're done with all the Santa Muerte and Tabitha story arc. However, the fact that Eric still has the wedding ring - and why the hell is he even still wearing it?! - I'm not holding my breath. I'll do some recon on reviews of the next book when it comes out but if either character is back, I might have to give the rest of the series a pass.

[Apriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been 4 stars, I think, but the bit where the author made up some horrible shit about a real person with no evidence that I can find just rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn’t really enjoy the rest of the book.

[Phillip III · Rating 5 out of 5]

HUNGRY GHOSTS is the 3rd book in the Eric Carter series, and will be released in just a few days. Here's the thing, if you are like me you can't start reading Book 3 without having read Books 1 & 2. I got my hands on Book 3, but couldn't begin there. So I first read DEAD THINGS, and then BROKEN SOULS before diving into HUNGRY GHOSTS. Read each book in a day. Three days. Three books. Know why I read them so fast? Because they were awesome. All three. That's why.

Eric Carter is a necromancer, an exterminator. He kills ghosts, and demons, and gremlins for a living. Magic runs in the family. After his parents died in a fire, his sister brutally murdered, and his best friend killed, you could say life hasn't been a bed of roses for this gritty mage. Magic hasn't made his life better. It's only forced him to live his life alone.

In HUNGRY GHOSTS, Eric is finally dealing with his marriage. It wasn't love that made him tie the knot. It was information. While hunting for the thing responsible for his sister's murder, Eric made a deal with the Queen of the Dead. It cost him big time. Their bond was a marriage, making Eric the King of the Dead. Problem is, the queen's old ex isn't dead. Not really.

Eric and the old king are linked. Slowly Eric is turning into jade. Stone. And the old king, who was all jade, is acquiring flesh. The old king wants Eric to kill the Queen. Claims she's playing him to get what she wants. Trouble is, the queen wants Eric to kill the old king once and for all, purporting the god can't be trusted.

Eric knows he is a pawn in some game, a piece in the middle of an old lover's quarrel, but he doesn't care. He wants the marriage annulled, and his life --pathetic as it was-- back. He finds he is left with only one option. Kill both the Queen and the old King. The only real issue arises when one realizes there might not be an easy way to kill gods.

"Revenge is one hell of a motivator." With the help of a fellow necromancer, Eric embarks on a journey to recover an obsidian dagger. This is perhaps the only weapon with enough power to permanently kill a god. The journey leads him into Aztec realms, and Mist walls where Eric is forced to face demons head on. His own personal demons. Exiting from the mist is almost unheard of . . . And yet into the mist he must go, as the answers he seeks are on the other side.

HUNGRY GHOSTS has enough twists and turns to give me whiplash, that's for sure! It is an amazing third installment in the series (and hopefully not the last). There is something about the way Blackmoore writes that just resonates with the way I most enjoy reading. Taut sentences, with an almost machine gun burst of phrases. Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta ... it just sucks you in! Downfall? I read all three books in three days. How long will I have to wait for Blackmoore's next book? (I can answer that. Too long).

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series,
and The Vaccination Trilogy

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Even though this is a sequel review, I will remain very vague with character and event references to avoid spoilers even for the previous two books)

In my opinion, this book really cleaned up a lot of the issues with the first book and bounced back from what I saw as a step back in the second book. Many of the issues that bugged me in the first book (some sloppy prose, an unlikable protagonist, crummy characterization, etc.) are improved, in some cases quite drastically. The premise of this book also feels a lot more significant and appropriate for the series than the second book and avoided some of its pitfalls in my eyes.

Eric is much more likable as a protagonist and in this book hits the point I think he was meant to in earlier installments. It almost feels like a retcon that Eric suddenly has a conscience in this book compared to the others. He's always struck me as a sort of antihero, a guy doing good things who gets his hands dirty or has questionable methods. Usually though, those characters are still likable in a sense because they have some kind of code or they at least consider, reflect on, or justify the bad things they've had to do. If they do shrug those things off, they do it in a way that's consistent, to show that it just doesn't bother them as something that's wrong for them to do. Previously, I've felt like Eric was kind of a tool, but just shrugged it off with the excuse that "yeah, I guess I'm kind of an asshole" (ie having basically no problem stealing random people's cars and only sometimes bothering to take a bad person's car instead of a random victim) while half-assing his reflection or justification for those actions that he clearly thought were messed up with little more than "huh, that was kinda messed up." While a bit of that is still here (like in the last book when 30 people are murdered by a villain as collateral damage and he barely thought about it, he still doesn't have too much concern for collateral damage at a few points), he mostly reflects on the things he has to do or the harm they'll cause and even puts his foot down. Without spoiling anything, he does things that cause a detriment to him or will bite him in the ass one day, solely on principle because he wants to lessen the suffering of others or not cause harm to innocents. He's by no means a saint, and these for the most part are not hard moral decisions, but these conscious choices to take others into account make him more redeemable. Previously, he felt more like a bad guy that sometimes does good things when it lines up with his personal goals. He also feels a bit more like a real person and lays off some of the over the top edginess (using "fuck" in every sentence, ranting about how grimdark everything is, etc.), while still sufficiently maintaining the gloomy tone that the novels are built around.

The other characters are also much improved. The primary villains are a bit uninteresting personality-wise, but they do at least have somewhat interesting conflicts, plans, and motives, which make up some in the interest factor. As well, while I'm not sure I enjoyed how small a cast this book had, its focus on just 3-4 characters helped to solidify and flesh out the characters in my mind a lot more than in the first book when the minor characters didn't feel like they had much personality or agency. I didn't really like the other lead in this book very much, but she didn't feel as flat as some of the minor characters in the first book (this was also an improvement evident in Broken Souls).

One of my favorite things about this book is that it really explored the Aztec mythology more. Admittedly, that's a tradition that I'm not especially well-read on, so I can't speak to the accuracy of it in this book beyond some of the basic myths mentioned, but it was at least interesting and felt fresh. I've been thinking that this series should capitalize more on this element since it's more unique in the genre and makes sense for a North American Urban Fantasy to take on a local flavor rather than just importing European myths as if colonialism has completely shaped supernatural presences in the "New" World. I think there was probably a bit too much world building for some readers' tastes, so I can see this being a turn-off for some, but I personally really enjoy when Urban Fantasy delves into its lore, so that was a big plus for me.

I'm a bit ambivalent on this last point, but the plot took on a much different shape in this novel than the previous two with this one being more adventure novel than noir mystery. This book acts as the conclusion to a sort of first Eric Carter trilogy (at the time of this writing, this book, which connects plotwise to the previous two titles, is the last book out, though I believe more books are in the pipeline) and accordingly has a more climactic style that has Eric going after his enemies proactively instead of just hanging out in LA and waiting for a mystery to crop up. This leads him all over Mexico on an Adderall-fueled ass-kicking roadtrip. He starts off the book by hunting down various leads in the local cartels in search of answers of how to gain entry to the underworld. After eventually getting the answers he needs, much of the novel covers his journey through the Aztec underworld and confronting his enemies in a final showdown. Normally, I tend to feel let down by these types of adventure plots. They always sound exciting in theory, but I end up getting bored with them in practice and much prefer something in a city or something with lots of character interactions. This was an exception though. I liked the format in this book in part because it explored the lore, which I enjoyed. But it also gave Eric an opportunity to face some of his inner demons, which fleshed out his character in a more humanizing way (which was sorely needed) while also exploring the world and stakes. I did feel like the climax was a bit...well, anti-climactic, especially for the conclusion (?) to this arc of the series, but for the most part, the plot was pretty good, allowing for a mystery plot interwoven with the action and adventure in a way that was engaging. The actual ending I thought was a touching character moment, but it was tainted by the fact that I think the whole basis for it stemmed from something Eric just forgot to do in book 1, which left me with a weird taste in my mouth.

Overall, I think this book was the best book of the series so far. Some of my reasons are likely a bit more subjective and won't work for everyone, but I was on the fence with this series after the previous book and this one grabbed my interest once more. I'm not exactly sure where the story goes from here as the ending was a bit ambiguous (somewhat wrapping up everything, but with uncertainty as to finality), but I'm definitely interested in reading the next one. While there were some relatively serious issues, such as the ending, that prevent this from being a 5 star for me, I feel comfortable giving it 4 stars and really enjoyed the read.

[Melliane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mon avis en Français

My English review

This is the third volume of the series and I am glad to know that some new novels will come later! We find Eric Carter in the continuation of his adventures. Indeed, he is looking for Tabitha to try to understand exactly her role. It’s not easy and he does not know what he’ll do when he finds her. However, they will team up and they will go to land that few people have walked on. Because what is most important for Eric is to discover what he must do with these two gods.

I had a good time with this story, although I admit that this one is not necessarily as good as the other two. I do not know why but it is true that this volume is a little different in its construction. In the first two, even though Eric did not really know what to do, he had a line and goals. Here, however, it’s a little different. Indeed, he seems rather lost and he advances without really knowing what to do. But this is only a detail because it is always a real pleasure to follow our hero and the author will allow us to discover more about the universe and the mythology. He will also propose reversals of situations that I had not seen coming and I am very curious to see what will happen thereafter!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what's next for Eric. Hopefully things will start to look up!

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Hungry Ghosts, as with most urban fantasy it is best to begin at the start. Eric is slowly turning to jade, and it seems both Santa Muerte and her ex, the Aztec King of the Dead, want him to nix the other. Eric isn’t sure who to believe, but he is racing against the clock. Each time he taps into the powers he’s been given, he loses a little more of himself. Now that he has the weapon, he’ll need to travel to Aztec land of the dead.

This was a clever tale and my favorite of the trilogy involving Santa Muerte. I love the way the author blends old gods, necromancy, ghosts and more into his tale. While I was vaguely familiar with Santa Muerte, I found the Aztec land of the dead and Eric’s journey fascinating.

The mystery of why the Queen of the Dead set things into motion and what she ultimately wants was intriguing. We see character growth from Eric. Oh, he is still jaded, but perhaps he’s forgiven himself a little. The build up to the end kept me listening. I was impressed with how it all unfolded. We are given a bit of an epilogue that left enough of a hook me into wanting more. I’ll be curious to see what Eric does next in Fire Season.

Rudy Sanda did a stellar job of capturing the tone and characters of this series. He is perfect as the voice of Eric bringing forth his gruff personality, doubts, fears and anger. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

[I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review]

Hungry Ghosts is a wonderful addition to the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore. The book follows Eric, who is a necromancer that is trying to avenge his sister's death. The basic plot reveals several spoilers for books 1 and 2 in the series, so I will try to gloss over plot details. However, Eric is running ragged because of several factors, and his quest takes him from L.A. down through many parts of Mexico.

The book is very dark and at times violent and bloody. Eric is fighting tenaciously to survive, and has a devil-may-care attitude toward his enemies. However, rest assured that he is fighting for good and enjoy the rocky path that leads him to the climax.

I was fascinated by the weaving of several Aztec (Nahautl) gods and goddesses into the storyline. The names may be long and hard to pronounce, but the personalities of these characters jumped off the page. Most were menacing, and there were several hidden agendas. However, Eric blasts through the story with guns (and magic) blazing, in several instances to severe detriment to his health.

I particularly liked Eric's interactions with Tabitha. She is a past love interest, and now serves to simultaneously help-yet-perhaps-hinder his goals. Again, avoiding spoilers to previous books, but the tension between Eric and Tabitha is emotional and serves to propel the reader through the storyline.

One highlight is a scene where Eric is forced to confront his past decisions and mistakes. He comes to terms with some of the tumult in his life, and the scene is quite powerful.

The end of the book is almost an epilogue, but serves as a catharsis for three-books-worth of pain, second-guessing, betrayal, mistakes, and loneliness. I greatly enjoyed the book (and the series thus far) and highly recommend it.

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this series is the literary equivalent of eating an entire bag of Doritos and washing it down with an ice-cold can of Mountain Dew. Big fan.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 4 out of 5]

all reviews in one place: night mode reading ; skaitom nakties rezimu

Eric Carter series are growing on me, fast. Read Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore, third book, and whilst it wasn’t as interesting as the previous one, it was still very entertaining.

My Opinion: Not a fan of books where characters are just walking towards a goal for far too long, as they need time to think and present the reader with some previously unseen bits of personality. Luckily, Eric’s personality is great, so it wasn’t dull, even if I did wish now and again that some of those gods and whatnots would stop talking for a moment. Solid writing allowed for good quantity of world-building, and autonomous characters, even when they were somehow bound to one another, and had full right to… Blur, I guess. The author didn’t choose the easy road, and I’m a happy reader because of it.

A solid 4 out of 5, not as good as the previous one, but not boring yet.

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is probably my least favourite of the three. All the books has been a fun enjoyable ride, easy to digest. Necromancy, some blood magic, bit on the trash-side. Eric getting his ass kicked too many times (seriously death god powers or not, he should not have survived the second book). Eric is also asshole #1 but I also love him, with all his snark and sarcasm. Why I didn't like this one just as much as the previous two is because I expected more in the outcome regarding Santa Muerte and Mictlantecuchtli. But then, I also read this book exhausted from work, sleep deprived to the moon and back and having a mother of a headache. I'm excited to see what future books plan for Eric.

[Leane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackmoore continues from book #2 and keeps the suspense building and the twisty plotting changing as Eric deals with the aftermath of the previous 2 books. He continues to be a formidable and compelling URN and the world-building is superb and continues to be an immersive experience. Action-packed. The deep dive into all things Aztec was educational and enjoyable but I did have to try to not always pronounce those names in my head. Tone varies from humor to blood-cold fear, and I will search for the 4th in the series as I want to see if the conclusion is the ending I think it is for some things but not for others. See review of the 1st in the series: Dead Things (2013) for more on this series. And, I repeat myself, but this series is an excellent readalike for Jim Butcher’s Dresden series, Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan, and Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series where magic and murder create mayhem.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

No, no, no! Hugely disappointing!

The majority of this book is nothing more than a recap of the first two books in the series, and the scant amount of new content is downright corny, if not simply ludicrous.

After coming close to rating the first two books as five-star reads, and the fact I've purchased the entire series to date, nine books, I feel so cheated by this offering. Like Blackmoore just gave me a swift kick in the nads and walked away laughing his ass off.

I hope to the gods this is just a glitch and we get back to the Carter world I love in book four.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. That ending...not the best. I mean, there are still so many things we don't know, and it's unclear if this is the last book in the series. Other than that, it was action-packed, dark, and full of gods. Not my favorite in the series, but still good.

[Kev · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

A fun series. Didn't blow my mind, but it was an enjoyable enough way to pass the time.

[Kathy (Kindle-aholic) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eric Carter series is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series, and is up there among my favorite books of all time. Today I am talking about book 3. HUNGRY GHOSTS. If you aren't caught up in this UF/Noir series, you should know that while I try to keep my reviews as spoiler-free as possible, if you're reading a review for book 3, chances are you'll get some spoilers for previous books.

Short and sweet review: Fantastic book 3 that keeps the action flowing, the magic always interesting, and the stakes rising. We see some familiar faces, get some questions answered, some unanswered, can't wait for book 4.

Eric has already lost his sister, his best friend, everyone he ever cared about. He has seriously pissed off his allies, and he is turning to jade because of a deal he struck with Santa Muerte way back in book 1. Dude has nothing left to lose, so how do we start book 3? By heading to Mexico and taking on cartel members, of course. Action, action, action and then we find ourselves in the land of the dead for Santa Muerte's followers. All the while, Eric is on a race against time - to figure out who to trust and who to kill before he turns to jade permanently.

I must say, I love figuring things out just before Eric does.

Also posted review at: https://teabbooks.blogspot.com/2017/0...

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 4 1/2 stars.
The book is dark, and at times, violent and bloody. Eric is fighting to survive, and his attitude toward his enemies is tough and hard at times. This includes Tabitha. But the novel is good and hooked me enough to keep reading it. What did bother me was his tough attitude and lack of emotions, which he has to be feeling from the way he was betrayed, especially from Tabitha. He does start to deal with those emotions once they meet each other down in Mexico City.

If you enjoy action adventure mixed with the supernatural and gods and goddesses, then the Eric Carter books are for you.


Read the rest of the review at http://www.ismellsheep.com/2017/02/bo...

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story with lots of action. The characters are more than just cookie-cutter that you sometimes get with action-packed stories. The dramatization of story is much better than most audiobooks. It has some sound effects and multiple people doing different roles so the voices for the characters sound very different and that makes it easier to identify who is who.

A very enjoyable urban fantasy.

[Jill]

I have not actually read this, but marking "read" is the only way I could post this.

Update from the author's site on the delay...

An Update On Hungry Ghosts

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As with the prior two - basically Harry Dresden as a necromancer, even down to the deceased parents with secrets, superhero-like power, excessive Catholic/Jewish guilt to work through, sarcasm and self-depreciating humor, and non-stop ongoing TBDs re what happened and what will happen.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eric got rid of his problem.

[Patrick St-Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading both Dead Things and Broken Souls, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into Stephen Blackmoore's Hungry Ghosts. Like its two predecessors, this third volume reads like the episodic early Dresden Files installments. Still, it looks as though we've reached the end of the first story arc of this paranormal and gritty noir murder mystery series. Time will tell what the author has in store for us in the subsequent books.

As was the case with the previous novels, expect blood and gore and a somewhat engaging protagonist, but not as endearing as Harry Dresden. Eric Carter continues to grow on the audience, but he remains a good-hearthed asshole with a knack for seeing everything he touches turn to shit. It's been fun for three books, no question, but I feel that it's time for the main protagonist to start getting his act together so that we don't lose interest.

Here's the blurb:

Necromancer Eric Carter’s problems keep getting bigger. Bad enough he’s the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, has come back — and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places. As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade, Carter is slowly turning to stone.

To make matters worse, both gods are trying to get Carter to assassinate the other. But only one of them can be telling him the truth and he can’t trust either one. Carter’s solution? Kill them both.

If he wants to get out of this situation with his soul intact, he’ll have to go to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, and take down a couple of death gods while facing down the worst trials the place has to offer him: his own sins.

I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, what I hate the most about urban fantasy works is that the market demands that they be short and relatively fast-paced reads. As a result, the first couple of installments are always parsimonious on the worldbuilding front. So far, Blackmoore did a good job explaining how necromancy works and how Carter can use his powers. Sadly, very little has been said about how the magical world at large and the theology underpinning it actually work. In Hungry Ghosts, the author finally unveils many secrets pertaining to Aztec/Mexican mythology. Having such Mayan and Mexican cultural influences gives the Eric Carter books a somewhat unique flavor. Problem is, I'm not sure we know enough three books into this series to get any idea where the story is going. Then again, the same could be said of the Dresden Files at the same juncture.

Given his propensity to turn every bad situation into a worse one, Eric Carter is an easy protagonist to root for. Once more, he's a foul-mouthed smartass who gets beaten to a pulp way too many times in the span of such a short novel, but there is still something about him that makes you care for the poor fool. He acts like an idiot for the most part because he's trying to protect those he loves without realizing that he's alienating them in the process. He has been running from his past for a long time and now it's finally caught up to him. As mentioned, as entertaining as he is, I guess that the time has come for some character growth to help him become a more balanced individual. In Broken Souls, Gabriella made for a nice addition to the supporting cast, and fleshing out Tabitha was also an improvement. Hungry Ghosts mostly features Carter and Tabitha, and I have a feeling that a more diverse cast would have been beneficial. Gabriella truly helped make the previous novel more interesting.

In Dead Things and Broken Souls, Blackmoore captured the LA noir setting extremely well. Most of the action in this one occurs in Mexico and Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, so the vibe is totally different this time around. Having said that, the Aztec underworld and the island of dolls were pretty cool. Can Carter somehow find a way to kill both Santa Muerte, his wife and patron saint of death, and Mictlantecuhtli, her ex-husband and the Aztec king of the dead, before he turns to jade and is forced to spend eternity in that prison? But how can he kill a god, let alone two of them, without dying in the process?

As I said earlier, it appears that we have reached the end of the first act. If you are looking for a gritty urban fantasy series featuring a deeply flawed male lead, the Eric Carter books are definitely for you. There is potential for bigger and better things to come, and the ending of Hungry Ghosts certainly leaves the door open for a lot more. It remains to be seen whether or not Stephen Blackmoore can up his game and elevate this series to another level. Will the fourth volume raise the bar, or will it be more of the same? We will see. . .

For more reviews, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

[Krissys Bookshelf Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Stephen Blackmoore
Title: Hungry Ghosts
Series: Eric Carter
Cover Rating:
Silver Star

Book Rating:
4 Stars



About the Book:
Necromancer Eric Carter's problems keep getting bigger.

Bad enough he's the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli has come back and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places.

As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade Carter is slowly turning to stone.

To make matters worse both gods are trying to get Carter to assassinate the other, but only one of them can be telling him the truth. And whichever god is left standing Carter's likely to suffer the consequences.

Carter's solution? Kill them both.

If he wants to get out of this situation with his soul intact he'll have to go to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, and take down a couple of death gods while facing down the worst the place has to offer him: his own sins.



My Thoughts:
This is the first book I've read by the author but it was fantastic. Number three in the Eric Carter series I was really impressed with the cast, the world and everything that Blackmoore created.

I'm actually really antsy to read the previous books in this series because I want to know everything.

There is so much going on, so much packed into this book that its hard to take it all in.

I know I'm missing a large chunk of what took place in the previous installments but it was easy enough to follow without having done so and to my giddy pleasure there was enough here to completely enthrall me.

I think Blackmoore will be a new favorite. I can't wait to read more.



Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher via Netgalley.. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

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[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biggest strength of this series so far and this book didn't let up on that front. Especially Carter and Tabitha descending into Mictlan and journeying through the Aztec underworld, it made for a very evocative setting with the surreal landscapes and the strange creatures encountered in the underworld.

The resolution to this first arc with Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacíhuatl's rivalry was interesting, if a little out of left field. I may have missed something that foreshadowed that the Aztec death gods intended Eric to kill them both and that would cause them both to be reborn in Eric and Tabitha . Though that didn't really seem foreshadowed it did make a lot of sense for Mic and Mic to constantly antagonize Eric when their goal was to get him to kill them.

I do wish that Eric had developed more relationships that stretched across books. As it is, many of the characters that show up in a book die in the same book. Even Tabitha seemed to be a non entity in the second book which makes her impact on the plot feel minimal. Like she's definitely a big deal and key to the Aztec gods' plots but Tabitha herself isn't built up enough for me to be too concerned about her at the end.

Honestly, Eric has a similar problem where I never get a chance to see him being human or just interacting with a friend that I'm never super invested in his fate. He's always on the job so I don't get much view of his personality beyond 'snarky, angry jerk'. And heck, he's a necromancer, maybe that's just his personality but I was very detached from Eric and his ultimate fate.

So, I've been enjoying the ambience and the fast pace of these books but I hope Eric develops enough of a human side for me to care about him or other people going forward in this series.