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Yancy Lazarus #3.5
Flashback: The Morrigan
The year is 1998.
Yancy Lazarus—bluesman, gambler, mage, and professional fix-it man—has been working for the Guild of the Staff for over twenty-five years. Handling ugly problems no one else wants to touch. Mostly by breaking things, blowing ’em up, or otherwise meting out Guild-sanctioned justice, Rambo-style.
His next assignment will be his last.
A Guild operative, with a headful of dangerous secrets, has gone missing inside the court of the High Tuatha De Danann: ye olde Irish gods of badassery. Yancy—along with fellow wet-works man James Sullivan and Judge Ailia Levchenko—is dispatched to retrieve the missing operative or, barring that, make the perpetrators behind the operative’s disappearance pay a steep, bloody price for crossing the Guild.
But with pissed-off godlings gunning for him on every side, a little kidnapping might be the least of Yancy’s worries.
The Guild investigators are gonna have to navigate the murky waters of court politics, ferret out a traitor, and devise a way to put the kibosh on an inter-dimensional invasion if they want to avoid being murdered horribly. And even if they do get to the bottom of the diabolical mystery, nothing will ever be the same, because one of their number isn’t coming home …
Yancy Lazarus—bluesman, gambler, mage, and professional fix-it man—has been working for the Guild of the Staff for over twenty-five years. Handling ugly problems no one else wants to touch. Mostly by breaking things, blowing ’em up, or otherwise meting out Guild-sanctioned justice, Rambo-style.
His next assignment will be his last.
A Guild operative, with a headful of dangerous secrets, has gone missing inside the court of the High Tuatha De Danann: ye olde Irish gods of badassery. Yancy—along with fellow wet-works man James Sullivan and Judge Ailia Levchenko—is dispatched to retrieve the missing operative or, barring that, make the perpetrators behind the operative’s disappearance pay a steep, bloody price for crossing the Guild.
But with pissed-off godlings gunning for him on every side, a little kidnapping might be the least of Yancy’s worries.
The Guild investigators are gonna have to navigate the murky waters of court politics, ferret out a traitor, and devise a way to put the kibosh on an inter-dimensional invasion if they want to avoid being murdered horribly. And even if they do get to the bottom of the diabolical mystery, nothing will ever be the same, because one of their number isn’t coming home …
- GenresUrban Fantasy
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2016
40 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
James A. Hunter
75 books1,121 followersJames Hunter is a full-time ink slinger, a member of SFWA, and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Bibliomancer (The Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, an industry leader that specializes in publishing LitRPG, Fantasy, and selection Science Fiction.
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 17, 2017
This book finds me in an awkward position of trying to write a review which is functionally different from my review of Siren’s Song. Because I’m in much the same position
I like the story. I think it’s well written, I think it has a lot of action, a lot of excellent epic fight scenes and the whole awesome description of Vis and the Tuatha de Danaan. It was epic, it was action packed, it has some nice twists.
But it’s a story we know. It’s a story we know very well. It’s a story that pretty much underpins a lot of Yancy’s character. In fact it may be the defining moment of Yancy’s character
Before this book Yancy was a cynical, brutal but loyal member of the Guild of the Staff. He was their wetwork specialist, their fixer. This was the man who was called in for one reason – to break things and break people. This was the man who was hardbitten, cynical – but still very much a believer in what the Guild of the Staff represents
And then Ailia, the woman he loves, was abandoned by the Guild of the Staff after they faced the Morrigan and Yancy decided to turn his back on all of them. This in turn laid down the path which led to the main books
This isn’t the plot of this book I’m describing here. This is the plot that has been fundamentally clear since the beginning of the series. There’s no way it couldn’t be because this was who Yancy is. The whole reason why Yancy is where he is right now, the whole reason why Yancy began the series as the solo blues man he is is because of the events in this book
There was no way we couldn’t not know this story
There is no way we couldn’t know how this book ends.
We even know most of the details of this, who is involved and why.
So despite all the action and the power and the roaring fighting, I have almost the same level of frustration I have with Sirens - I know this story.
Read More
I like the story. I think it’s well written, I think it has a lot of action, a lot of excellent epic fight scenes and the whole awesome description of Vis and the Tuatha de Danaan. It was epic, it was action packed, it has some nice twists.
But it’s a story we know. It’s a story we know very well. It’s a story that pretty much underpins a lot of Yancy’s character. In fact it may be the defining moment of Yancy’s character
Before this book Yancy was a cynical, brutal but loyal member of the Guild of the Staff. He was their wetwork specialist, their fixer. This was the man who was called in for one reason – to break things and break people. This was the man who was hardbitten, cynical – but still very much a believer in what the Guild of the Staff represents
And then Ailia, the woman he loves, was abandoned by the Guild of the Staff after they faced the Morrigan and Yancy decided to turn his back on all of them. This in turn laid down the path which led to the main books
This isn’t the plot of this book I’m describing here. This is the plot that has been fundamentally clear since the beginning of the series. There’s no way it couldn’t be because this was who Yancy is. The whole reason why Yancy is where he is right now, the whole reason why Yancy began the series as the solo blues man he is is because of the events in this book
There was no way we couldn’t not know this story
There is no way we couldn’t know how this book ends.
We even know most of the details of this, who is involved and why.
So despite all the action and the power and the roaring fighting, I have almost the same level of frustration I have with Sirens - I know this story.
Read More
May 20, 2016
This is it, Yancy fans. This is the Flashback we've all been waiting for. We all know the story: The Morrigan takes over Yancy's love, Ailia, and the Guild does nothing. We've been chomping at the bit to see how it went down since Yancy first dropped this bomb on us in Strange Magic, and The Morrigan does NOT disappoint. It's everything Yancy fans could've hoped—fun, fast-paced, exciting, insane, and ultimately heartbreaking.
Hunter does a rare thing at the beginning of this Flashback—rather than launching right into the action, he settles us into a lazy morning with Yancy and Ailia, and gives us time to fall in love with their relationship and with Yancy's Ukrainian gal pal. By the time they leave for Yancy's final Guild mission, the emotional stakes are off the charts.
From the first time the Morrigan appeared on the page until the end, I couldn't stop reading. Every second she wasn't taking over Ailia's body felt like borrowed time. The Morrigan would step close to Ailia and I would tense up. Then she would step away and all the breath would whoosh out of my lungs, Ailia would live to fight one more page.
And the battles—oh, man! You think Yancy has fought some epic, world-ending fights against insurmountable odds before? You ain't seen nothing yet! I've reread this book three times now because it's so good.
This Flashback is so satisfying, in an awful way that makes you want to ask the writer "How could you do that to Yancy?!" It's the best Yancy story so far, which is really saying something considering the books that have come before, and it sheds new and crazy lights on the end of Wendigo Rising while setting the stage for the next book in the Yancy Lazarus series.
What I'm trying to say is this: If you're a Yancy fan at all, you are going to love The Morrigan, so get it already.
Hunter does a rare thing at the beginning of this Flashback—rather than launching right into the action, he settles us into a lazy morning with Yancy and Ailia, and gives us time to fall in love with their relationship and with Yancy's Ukrainian gal pal. By the time they leave for Yancy's final Guild mission, the emotional stakes are off the charts.
From the first time the Morrigan appeared on the page until the end, I couldn't stop reading. Every second she wasn't taking over Ailia's body felt like borrowed time. The Morrigan would step close to Ailia and I would tense up. Then she would step away and all the breath would whoosh out of my lungs, Ailia would live to fight one more page.
And the battles—oh, man! You think Yancy has fought some epic, world-ending fights against insurmountable odds before? You ain't seen nothing yet! I've reread this book three times now because it's so good.
This Flashback is so satisfying, in an awful way that makes you want to ask the writer "How could you do that to Yancy?!" It's the best Yancy story so far, which is really saying something considering the books that have come before, and it sheds new and crazy lights on the end of Wendigo Rising while setting the stage for the next book in the Yancy Lazarus series.
What I'm trying to say is this: If you're a Yancy fan at all, you are going to love The Morrigan, so get it already.
May 24, 2016
Ah, yes. Yancy, the man is explained. Often it’s betrayal that creates in us the stoic and hardened attitude of “rode hard and put away wet.”
This was a tough read for me and the author knew it. He warned me, but I had to see for myself. I love Yancy and it was hard to see the man he was being betrayed. Kind of like watching a TV show and yelling “Watch out!!”
He wasn’t innocent by any stretch of the imagination as he was “The Fixer”. It’s a cool name but the job was not all it was cracked up to be. I guess it rang bells in my life because it seems like everyone is blindsided at some point. Like I said, it was a tough read for someone who really hates pain falling upon the best characters.
This was a tough read for me and the author knew it. He warned me, but I had to see for myself. I love Yancy and it was hard to see the man he was being betrayed. Kind of like watching a TV show and yelling “Watch out!!”
He wasn’t innocent by any stretch of the imagination as he was “The Fixer”. It’s a cool name but the job was not all it was cracked up to be. I guess it rang bells in my life because it seems like everyone is blindsided at some point. Like I said, it was a tough read for someone who really hates pain falling upon the best characters.
October 16, 2018
The story behind the story
This flashback tells us what happened to Ailia and about Yancy's run in with the Morrigan. It also gives a little more detail about Yancy's job before he left the Fist and his working with James Sullivan.
This flashback tells us what happened to Ailia and about Yancy's run in with the Morrigan. It also gives a little more detail about Yancy's job before he left the Fist and his working with James Sullivan.
November 3, 2017
So good
I can't say enough good things about this writer. He knows how to grab you bend keep you coming back for more!
I can't say enough good things about this writer. He knows how to grab you bend keep you coming back for more!
December 20, 2021
Flashback intra book rather than inter book so I DNFed at "16 days earlier"
April 29, 2018
The Morrigan
Love this Novella,the violence,the sheer power of the feelings of awe,disgust, and sorrow for Yancy. He is treated much like something you would pick off the bottom of your shoe. Writing at it's best, I cannot complement the Author enough. Fab
Love this Novella,the violence,the sheer power of the feelings of awe,disgust, and sorrow for Yancy. He is treated much like something you would pick off the bottom of your shoe. Writing at it's best, I cannot complement the Author enough. Fab
June 2, 2016
Flashback: The Morrigan: A Yancy Lazarus Novella by James Hunter is the book Yancy Lazarus followers have been waiting for. Even if you have never read any of Hunter's books, you will love this book. There is so much action and imagination in his stories- the magic, the creatures, the places, the plot, the fantasy itself is fresh. In this story Hunter takes us back to the past and shows us how Yancy gets some of his snarky attitude, well he had plenty before, but this made him even more paranoid of the Guild. He is sent to the Fey's High Court with other members of the Guild and things do not go well at all. Did the Guild think they would? Fast paced action, but still showed the loving relationship Yancy had with Ailia. Great characters, great plot, and as usual Yancy has the witty and snarky dialogue going on to the end. Hunter's stories get better and better. Loved it! Received this book for a honest review and it in no way effected my review or rating, it is just a great book!
May 30, 2016
Yancy rides again
Another great effort by Mr. Hunter. My only regret is the short length. This books takes Yancy to a critical crossroads in his life. Very exciting battle scene at the end.
Looking forward to the sequel.
Another great effort by Mr. Hunter. My only regret is the short length. This books takes Yancy to a critical crossroads in his life. Very exciting battle scene at the end.
Looking forward to the sequel.
June 16, 2016
Oh my goodness, the best yet!
I've been following the series and I've just finished reading this novella. This one is shocking! Can't wait for the next one!
I've been following the series and I've just finished reading this novella. This one is shocking! Can't wait for the next one!
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July 15, 2017Read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews