Smells Like Finn Spirit

Finn Fancy Necromancy #3

by Randy Henderson

Randy Henderson continues his dark and quirky urban fantasy series set in a world of arcane beings hidden among the mundane townies of Port Townsend, Washington

Finn Graymare is back in the final installment of Randy Henderson's Familia Arcana series.

Finn's re-adaptation to the human world is not going so well. He's got a great girlfriend, and is figuring out how things like the internet work, but he is still carrying the disembodied personality of Alynon, Prince of the Silver Demesne, the fae who had occupied his body during his imprisonment. And he's not getting along at all with his older brother. And oh, by the way, his dead grandfather is still trying to possess him in order to bring about Armageddon.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

448 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2017

About the author

Randy Henderson's "dark and quirky" contemporary fantasy series from TOR (US) and Titan (UK) includes Finn Fancy Necromancy, Bigfootloose & Finn Fancy Free, and Smells Like Finn Spirit.

Randy's short fiction has been spotted frolicking in places like Penumbra, Escape Pod, Realms of Fantasy, Every Day Fiction, and anthologies.

He is a grand prize winner of Writers of the Future, a Clarion West graduate, a relapsed sarcasm addict, and a milkshake connoisseur who transmits suspiciously delicious words into the ether from his secret lair in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are always fun, but holy cow was I blown away by this final volume. Everything was paced perfectly and the jokes flowed naturally and abundantly. I was so happy to see the completion of Finn's character done so well. Definitely a must read trilogy if you love the Pacific Northwest.

[Jennifer Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the second book in the series, but I still enjoyed it.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5.

It's a good end to the Finn Fancy trilogy.

[Rose by Another Name · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great writers can sprinkle their books with references that tickle the people who get them and fly unnoticed over the heads of those who don't, with both groups understanding and enjoying the story. This book is chock-a-block with references I didn't know and where knowing them was essential to understanding what was happening. They made early fight scenes seem entirely pointless and must have held the secret to how Finn knew his grandfather's evil plans and when they would happen. I reread sections trying to understand how he knew the things he knew and could never figure it out. The whole first half of the book felt a little boring, a little confusing, and like it wasn't actually going anywhere.

I kept reading because my sweetheart took the time to find this book for me (since I'd enjoyed the first 2 and since this one is out of print). And the second half of the book actually turned out pretty good. On par or even better than the first 2. We got to understand characters' backstories and motivations in ways that were interesting and entertaining. They made me care more about the characters, late in the game as it was. The ending was also satisfying.

If you feel you must know how Finn's story ends, you can safely skip to the midway point. You will be no more lost than you would be starting at the beginning and you will save yourself a series of nonsensical scenes that don't seem to advance the plot. Or maybe, if you know a lot (not some, A LOT) about 80s/early 90s culture, gamer references and fantasy books (movies?) the whole thing will be fun for you?

[E.M. Epps · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying tying-up of all the loose ends from the first two books! And it retains the humor of the other books, thank goodness. I do wish it had been about fifty pages shorter: there did seem to be an *awful* lot of running around from one fight to another.

We had to drive up and over Deception Pass to reach the island, as the ferries did not run so late. Pete drove the family hearse, with Vee and Dawn in the passenger seat. Me, Sammy, and Fatima sat in the backseat, while Father and Verna insisted on lying down in the far back. Silene, Sal, and the rest of the brightbloods were taking the fairy paths to Whidbey, much faster than this agonizingly long two-hour drive. Unfortunately, while much faster than driving, the fairy paths were bad for human health in much the same way shotgunning a bottle of vodka found in the ruins of Chernobyl while walking a tightrope over an industrial taffy stretcher was dangerous. Well, dangerous for anyone not possessed of a Fey spirit, that was.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randy Henderson third tale of necromancer Finn Gramayare has him trying to stop his grandfather, who has taken over his second cousin’s body, from causing a war between the Fey Realms and Earth. The best part is when he and his girl friend go in the Fey Realms where he Smells like Finn Spirit. (Hard from Tor) The dark Fey want him to fight for his life with his brother, and silver Fey just want him to prove his innocense. Tnhere’s a sort of silliness to the mythology, especially because the fay love to become fictional characters, but the plot is straight pulp with Finn and his girlfriend Dawn being constantly chased by all sorts of monsters all over the crazy parts of Seattle. Fun. Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt to me like the story just lost steam in the third volume—it certainly wasn’t as funny as the first two volumes (though there are a few zingers, see below, and inventive pop culture riffs), and there were so many tortured flashbacks, lengthy exchanges in the midst of supposedly frantic action, and needless ruminations that I found myself just skimming over whole paragraphs and pages. The author leaves a few dangling loose ends, bit I’m not sure I’ll be picking up any future sequels.

“Just because a centaur could use a toilet didn’t mean it was necessarily the best idea. I wasn’t sure they even made plungers for that job.”

Dawn leaned close and whispered, “So what’s the plan?” “I’ll know once my mouth starts moving,” I whispered back.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ends up the series nicely. It's hilarious and scary. Finn and crew careen through various hazardous situations on earth and various fey realms due mainly to his evil grandfather. It is not a standalone book; I read the second book two years ago and it took me a while to remember some of the previous events. Dawn has been bringing Finn up to date on the years he missed, so the cultural references (music and gaming) are up to 1992. I could see that I was missing a lot of those but even those missed ones looked funny.

[Melinda Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the entire series in a few days. I absolutely loved the first two. I enjoyed this one as well, although (spoiler alert) the second part in the Fey Realm, I got lost as to who was who.

And damn it, I wanted a happy ever after ending. I know it's dark fantasy, but I didn't like the ambiguity of the ending. I wanted Dawn and Finn to be skipping off to their own wedding.

[Groucho42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first Van Halen album was great. The second was exactly like it, so not as exciting. The third was another clone. No growth, no change. I lost all interest in Van Halen. I won't read any more of this series for the same reason.

[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

It didn’t quite sparkle as well as the previous books in this series and it took me awhile to get back into it, but this last volume was a most satisfactory read. The tone and feel of this books matched those in the series, and I especially enjoyed not having a stereotypical, cookie-cutter ending.

[Tisya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gotta say, I was really sad that it ended. Made the mistake of reading some parts while eating dinner and almost cried in my bibimbap. This isn't a detailed review but I would honestly love if there were ever any more books featuring Finn and gang.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this book similar on style to Dresden Files? Yes. Is it as well-written as Dresden? Parts, yes. Is it just as fun? Yes! Very fun series, you care about the characters, and it’s a nicely fleshed-out world.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great finale to the story of Finn, the most unfortunate Arcana to have ever existed. A great story with just enough open at the end to (hopefully) enable a continuation of the mood ever strikes the author!

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

For some reason just couldn't get into this one. Couldn't keep my interest.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun an satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The author has left some room for more stories so I hope he writes more Finn! :)

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series and this book. The 80s references are hilarious. I am sure I am missing 40% of them, but the ones I "get"make me laugh.
Solid action. Good characters

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing end to a terrific series.

[Chrys · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good finish to the trilogy. I really enjoy the quirky humour, and the references to popular 80s and 90s culture.
I highly recommend reading these.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soul energy is delicious, is what I took away from this. Another fascinating book by a lovely human being.

[¸.•*¨*•Gina *A Bookwyrm in Belgium*•*¨*•.¸ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to a highly enjoyable trilogy, or is it....?

[Phil Nicolle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good end to the series but felt somewhat rushed or compressed. Like large portions had been skipped or removed to finish on time.

[Timelord Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

End of series... felt overpacked, like the author knew he lacked a fanbase (to get mainstream publisher support, anyway) and wanted to resolve the story for his existing fans... bit of a shame...

[Sean Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride this series has been! But with most good rides, I wanted it to keep going. Such a cool world and characters that I would enjoy reading more about their (mis)adventures!

[Liz Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series, although some of the references were a bit lost on me. But the plot and characters were refreshingly creative and didn't feel trope-y.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third and final book of this fun (but not totally absurd) contemporary fantasy trilogy is the best of the bunch. Finn and his friends have to stop war and prevent a group of magical fascists led by Finn's dead grandfather (it makes sense in the book) from committing genocide on the fey. A series of memory flashbacks help explain how and why the bad guys became, well, bad guys. There's humor, romance, adventure, and cultural commentary to provide real-world relevance. Nicely done, Randy. Good job.

[David Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been good if Randy Henderson had an editor who had the guts to tell him that Finn is nothing but a whiny crybaby. The actual story is a lot of fun, but there is so much random exposition at times that call for action that this almost made it into the DNF shelf.

It's a real shame considering how much fun the first book was. The second one was OK, though this tendency was starting to manifest by that time, but for those who haven't yet taken the plunge, I'd either recommend ignoring this series entirely or just reading the first volume and stopping there.