The Stringer

The Ustari Cycle

by Jeff Somers

Learn the Words. Get the blood. Rule the world. A stand-alone short story in the Ustari Cycle. Most people never learn what a Stringer is—and their lives are better for it. Lem, however, gets to learn about them and possession by alien intelligences the hard way. A must-read in the gritty supernatural series that includes We Are Not Good People from the "exhilarating, powerful, and entertaining" (Guardian) storyteller of the Avery Cates series.For blood mages, the twenty-first century means hiding in the shadows, keeping society unaware of their incredible powers. The power-hungry sort plot quietly to manufacture tragedies bloody enough to give them the gas they need to cast something monumental. Lem and Mags, down-and-out bosom buddies to the end, try to be good, bleeding nobody but themselves, skating by on small Cantrips, cons, and charms. So when the siren song of easy money comes their way in the form of helping out a friend, clearly no good will come of it. Blood mages are not good people. And neither are Stringers—alien intelligences that can take over a body and run it ragged. they aren’t subtle, aren’t content to skulk in the shadows, and aren’t a houseguest anyone wants. Lem is about to learn what a possession hangover feels like—if Mags and his more tentative allies can figure out how to stop the demon without killing him. This ebook also contains an excerpt of We Are Not Good People.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

Jeff Somers (www.jeffreysomers.com) began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has published nine novels, including the Avery Cates Series of noir-science fiction novels from Orbit Books (www.avery-cates.com) and the Ustari Cycle series of urban fantasy novels. His short story “Ringing the Changes” was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2006, his story “Sift, Almost Invisible, Through” appeared in the anthology Crimes by Moonlight edited by Charlaine Harris, and his story “Three Cups of Tea” appeared in the anthology Hanzai Japan. He also writes about books for Barnes and Noble and About.com and about the craft of writing for Writer’s Digest, which will publish his book on the craft of writing Writing Without Rules in 2018. He lives in Hoboken with his wife, The Duchess, and their cats. He considers pants to always be optional.

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying these novellas as a nice way to dip into the Ustari world a bit more, as I've very much enjoyed Somers' style since the Avery Cates books really connected with me. This one was good!

[Patrick Lefebvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining book.

Another good story from Jeff Somers.

Now, if you haven't read "We are not good people" yet... well,ehhh... go ahead and read it first. Yeah yeah... go ahead...It's OK, we'll wait for you...

OK.
So.

To me, "We are not good people" went straight to the short list of some of my all time favourites. I totally fell in love with the characters, the universe and the magic. I very much connected with the desperation, with the feeling of living your life always running one step behind, through blood, guts and a slippery garbage, always going uphill, never catching a break and rarely making the right choices along the way. I could identify with the feeling of living in a world of violence and raw deals while trying to keep a conscience alive.

This book remains in the same tone, although at the end a glimmer of hope seems to present itself... I guess we'll find out in the next one.

It is a character driven book and said characters are so well written that at the end I felt like I knew them, like they were real people. I found that the friendship between the two main characters felt very real and touching. It's the main motivation that keeps the characters and story going and the story respects that very well.

This instalment fits nicely in the universe he created in the previous books. The universe and its rules remain very consistent as do the characters. You could read all the instalments in one go, as if they were all the same book, no jarring changes.

However, when I finished "We are not good people", I desperately searched for more because I didn't want the story to end, I wanted it to keep going. Unfortunately at the time, I found out I was destined to wait. The ending of this episode left me feeling similar, but not quite as satisfied. I felt that it was too short, or maybe too thin would be a better word. Somehow this story left me feeling that some avenues were left unexplored, some characters had more to say. I don't have specific examples (because I'd have to go back and fetch names and quotes and I'm too lazy to do that) but I felt like there were numerous strings left un-pulled. The story almost moved too fast and I wish I'd had time to look at the scenery some more before the end of the ride.

Don't get me wrong, I'll take "moves too fast" over "why are you telling me this" any day of the week... but I feel like the author moved to story a bit too fast to let me savour it completely. That is why 4 stars instead of 5... sorry. (My Canadiandess forces me to apologise)

That's my review and I'm sticking to it.
Get this book, the ride it offers is WAY more than worth the price of admission. (I keep telling him on Facebook that he should charge more but he just brushes me off every time)...

Looking forward to the next one.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally we have two novelettes from Jeff Somers that are prequels to intense tale of blood magicians, We Are Not Good People. Lem Vonnegan and his huge sidekick Mags are magicians who have resolved not to use other people’s blood for their magic the way the master mages do. The Stringer (ebook from Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc) is about a master mage determined to destroy civilization and bring back mage power by demon possession. Last Best Day (ebook) tells how Lem is kidnapped and Mags has to get him back by using a spell that gives information about anything, but will kill him if he asks too many questions. Both tales are very noir and as intense as the novel. Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved revisiting this world.

The characters go about their dirty lives, which are made even dirtier by their magic. Lem's episodes of magically induced PTSD/déjà vu were a nice touch. Can't wait for the next book.