Librarian's note: An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found: here
Following on last year's award-winning dark fantasy series, Quincy Harker is back, and the stakes are higher than ever.
Collecting four novellas into one volume, The Cambion Cycle sees Harker and his cohorts battling bigger threats, teaming with legends of folklore, and trying to save the world from a demonic horde. All with snark, flair, and heaping helpings of bloodshed and mayhem.
The Cambion Cycle collects the following -
Heaven Sent The origin of Harker's guardian angel Glory
Heaven's Door There's a murderer on the streets of Charlotte, but he's killing angels!
Heaven Help Us Harker is on the run, and nothing is as it seems in this small town.
Heaven Can Wait Can Harker and the Shadow Council save the world from a demon invasion?
John G. Hartness is a teller of tales, a righter of wrong, defender of ladies’ virtues, and some people call him Maurice, for he speaks of the pompatus of love.
He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.
In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.” In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.
For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In
The Cambion Cycle Quincy Harker Year Two By: John G. Hartness Narrated by: James Anderson Foster These books bring in even more wonderful characters! I didn't think it was possible! Please read in order! Read Quincy Harper Year One first. It has the first four books. This has books 5-8. Creatures of myth, legend, talk tales, etc live in this world. Quincy is the main character and his "Uncle Luke" is Dracula. Yep, it's that kind of fun book! Quincy fights what regular cops cant, underworld creatures! Those that make it to this world he sends them back or destroys them. He has help in these books. They are dealing with half demon/half human people. Some look like the average person until it's too late. Lots of action, intrigue, snarky dialogue, giggles from me, gore, magic, demons, and angels. Other critters too! Lots of unpredictable situations and supernatural activities. Narration was terrific!
Still fun, but the inevitable romance between asshole Quincy and Strong Female (TM) Flynn was predictable as fuck, and often as cringy.
This one has a few typos and, for some reason, retcons Agent Smith into a bad guy who's a cambion (son of a demon and a human, for those who didn't play D&D as kids or aren't versed in obscure demonology), when in the previous book he was one of the good guys and some baddie even implies that he's a fae or something similar. The Shadow Council, which feels like a discount League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is a bit of a letdown, and there are some errors in the narrative that an editor should have caught, like the fact that when Quincy is hiding in Lockton under an assumed name, the witch he meets under said assumed name for some reason starts calling him Harker despite the fact that she doesn't know him by that name and in the next chapter Quincy himself is annoyed at being recognized and called by his real name by a demon.
Liked the previous one better, and 120 year old British-born Quincy is becoming increasingly hard to buy as someone who's up to date in pop culture for a (nerdy) guy of his apparent age, but still is a complete badass.
Still, Harry Dresden is a bigger asshole and doesn't own it like Quincy.
A pretty good continuation of the series, but I didn't like it as much as the first book.
The thing I liked most about the first book was that it was made out of short stories/vignettes, and none of the cases felt like they overstayed their welcome.
Not so with this "cycle", which is really just one, overly long story broken into parts.
The new characters were interesting - the grandson of John Watson and the great-granddaughter of John Henry - and the case itself wasn't bad, but it felt too familiar and, really, it just needed to be edited and be tighter with less repetition in both plot line and dialogue.
(Also, I forgot to mention this in my review for the first book, but there are definite typos in both books so far. I know it's a self-pubbed, and it's good for a self-pub - one of the better ones I've encountered - but the typos and wrong word usages still kind bug me.)
Anyway -
I'll probably be continuing the series, but not straight away. I could see myself burning out real fast on these if I tried to binge them.
***
Collects:
Heaven Sent - the origin of Harker's guardian angel Glory Heaven's Door - there's a murderer on the streets of Charlotte, but he's killing angels! Heaven Help Us - Harker is on the run, and nothing is as it seems in this small town. Heaven Can Wait - Can Harker and the Shadow Council save the world from a demon invasion?
About the Book: Someone is hunting down people with supernatural blood in their veins, specifically those whose one parent was either an angel, or a demon. They brutally kill them, and leave Harker a message. A message out of blood, guts, and remnants of soul. And, worst of all is that Harker has already seen all this before. Back then having stopped it through sheer luck…
My Opinion: Author has a great, smooth writing style where between high-strung action there’s moments of respite and planning. Characters don’t loiter about, taking more time talking than doing things. Everything’s in very, very good balance, I just can’t stress that enough. Additionally I noticed there’s these… Little repeated things, sentences, jokes. Not repeated per page, but from another book, another story told before. This created a lovely little dynamic, where it almost feels like the reader and the author have inside jokes now. Again, takes balance to get there. Lots of humor, unbelievably colorful epithets and insults, well written action and protagonists. The only thing I had a small issue with were side characters who were not so small as to warrant such template-writing.
First Year/Cycle was an anthology of episodic stories that had beginnings, middles, and ends... this threw that out of the window in favor of hyperconnected stories that were parts of a whole, with cliffhangers, or basically ending in the middle of stories to jump into a flashback story... not what I was expecting...
It was ok. Frankly I liked the first novella of the Quincy Harker series the most. The four novellas in this collection were decent, but even the characters lost some of what made them interesting to me. Dialogue at some points was pretty bad. Some situations seemed forced and I won't even mention the inconsistencies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
John Hartness does it again with this great second book in the Quincy Harker series! As with the other “Year” books, this is a collection of multiple novellas consolidated into a single volume. It starts with a prequel story about how Quincy first met his guardian angel, Glory. Then we get to see a series of stories delving deeper into a world of monsters, demons, magic and chaos.
I love that the stories allow us to get deeper into the side characters that we didn’t know much about. We learn some more about Luke, Gabby, Flynn, and even Smith. I also enjoyed the progressing relationships Q has with his friends and, especially, Flynn. We even get to see a change of scenery from Charlotte, NC to Lockton, OH and eventually Atlanta. It’s a very unique progression that matches the story progression quite well. I also enjoyed a new literary device that Hartness used to tell the story when Q and Flynn were apart. It was interesting to see two different perspectives in the same story. The writing continues to offer a fair mix of crazy, over the top fights, hilarious pop culture references, detective work, low and high brow jokes and countless kick ass heroes.
I have few complaints about this series as I feel the author does a great job at keeping the story in line and going directions that are sometimes expected and sometimes not expected. One negative, is that sometimes the writing follows a predictable recipe despite offering some gotcha moments. Quincy is here > bad stuff happens > Quincy kicks ass > baddie has friends that show up > Quincy does something stupid > someone bails him out > Flynn is pissed off > Quincy almost dies > someone saves him > repeat. While it’s never the exact same story, I would like some more variety in the stories.
Despite this complaint, I still loved this story. I almost died laughing at Mort as a cat. I liked the path Quincy took and I want to see where else it goes.
This batch of short stories, and I use that term loosely, was written differently than those in book 1. Instead of actually having multiple shorts stories with different situations going on, book 2 was more like one continuous story, just broken up into multiple sections. It was still a great listen, but it wasn't the same as book 1. Additionally, I couldn't help but wonder if the author had originally planned on releasing these stories individually because there was a lot of repetition when it came to such things as who Quincy's uncle was-Dracula, his lineage-great having vampire DNA, his shoes that he loves, etc.
Moving on, I loved all the new characters introduced and can't wait for book 3 to come out. Again, overall, it was a great story.
I love the narrator. He does such a fantastic job, especially with the Quincy character. He has this easy-going, natural flow to his narrating, making it seem as though he's just talking as opposed to reading from a script. I consider that to be a big plus when it comes to narrating. I'm definitely interested in hearing more by this narrator.
Questions/Comments:
There's a part when Flynn wakes up in Quincy's bed after having a long night and realizes that he sleeps in the nude. She already knew this in book 1 though.
So, in part one (I think), Quincy is at the park fighting the tree creature. He ends up taking his shoes off because he loves them and doesn't want to see them get ruined. Makes sense. Yet, in part 2, the reader learns that Quincy actually has several pairs of the same shoes. So in reality, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal if the park pair had been ruined because he has a lot of backups.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Quincy’s adventures are exciting and this Year Two novel maintains and possibly exceeds Year One in the craziness of the adventures. The book is well paced and the author does a great job of keeping the secondary characters relevant to the story. I enjoyed the links to others worlds and classic novels such as Dracula and Frankenstein. Adam “Frankenstein’s monster” became one of my favorite characters quickly as he came into story. I look forward to reading more of Quincy and ready for the answers on Glory and what is next for her.
In this set of stories you many surprises and plot twists but it is awesome how the stories flow and connect together. You will read about serial killers who are trying to open gates to hell and finally one trying to destroy earth trying to open a path to heaven via hell. Lots of action, mystery, humor and romance. Meet Adam, who is Frankenstein ‘s creation, and help from unusual sources. The connections to famous people is perfect. What is upsetting is the loss of two great characters. Read these stories which I highly recommend and I enjoyed this book!
I bought Year One on a whim early last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but this book is what sold me on the series.
All of my favorite characters-Harker, Becks, Glory, Luke, Renfield-are back, and the continuation of the storylines kept me engaged and hungry for more. I couldn't put this book down!
A great second installment to a fantastic series, and it sets up nicely for what is to come in Year Three.
This was a fantastic book, and I would recommend to anyone that loves urban fantasy and snarky humor.
Love the Quincy Harker series! Definitely recommend the audio version, as I tease my hubs that I have a serious "voice crush" on the narrator! Usually not into shorts, but this was great because you get 4 back to back stories. Love Glory, and I can't help thinking Q is just breaking her Angel heart a bit. There are some serious shockers in this one! Get ready! If you haven't read the series yet, start with year - 1 first and I envy you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The tension, gore, and mystery ramps up in this second collection. Just a note that the story arc is a long one this time that continues even beyond the year 3 volume (with 4 not out at the time of this review, argh!). Tons of twists and some real and surprising losses make this a much more dramatic storyline! One unfortunate detractor is the poor proofing that seems to pop up in indie pub books like this series. It was really distracting at times.
Year two is better than year one by leaps and bounds (and year one wasn't exactly a slouch) - the writing is tighter, the villains more evil, the stakes higher, and action greater. It really all comes together incredibly well, from the first novella providing backstory to the final novella fighting the Big Bad and the costs paid.
If year three continues this exponential growth of danger and growth in storytelling delivery, my kindle might explode.
As usual , Mr. Hartness has crafted a story of angels, characters of folk tales, humans, werewolves, vampires and added the 21st century to make an engaging story that keeps you turning the pages long after you should have retired for the night. I enjoy the snarkiness, and humor. A warning- the f word is used a lot. I am not a fan of it being a 70 year old woman, but the stories are so engaging that it is a really minor thing. Read and enjoy
I read the first book more than 3years ago and it stuck with me.. Finally I got around to reading this one and I am only disappointed that it took me so long to read it. I love a good story but this far exceeded my expectations. I I honestly don't know why I am drawn to Quincy Hacker and his story but, he is the perfect flawed human to be the defender of all that is good. This is truly an entertaining story of good vs evil.
God is gone yark angels are gone and Quincy and his team of people are left to defend the world. Another great book in an already amazing collection I would suggest anyone who is a big fantasy fan to read this lots of great magic great fight scenes demons and angels what else could you ask for. Maybe the main character being the nephew of Dracula I can't wait to read the next one
Another great installment of the adventures of Quincy. I hate little novellas because they leave me wanting so much more, so I love that this is a collection 4 giving me enough to quench my thirst. I can't wait for the next one. This is an entertaining book. Once again I recommend the audio version for the fantastic narrator.
Wow... take a trip to hell on earth. Just when you think Hartness can't go any deeper with his writing you turn the page. What an amazing collection that tangles magic, religion, fact and fiction all into one tantalizing tale of suspense and action. He brings together histories greatest descendants and "Monsters" to battle evil. Another must read.
I loved "Year One" of the Quincy Harker books. Five stars. This one was so much better! Seriously! The action was bigger, but more importantly the comedy was so much bigger. It takes a truly sick mind to have Count flipping Dracula announce, "These aren't the droids you're looking for." My sick mind adored it. If you like snarky, smartass humor, you will too.
He is irreverent, not human and so full of snark he could be a Doctor Who companion. I love this series. If you are a fan of Supernatural, Dracula, Harry Dresden, or any other modern wizards. Or just a geek in general you will love Quincy Harker.
While entertaining, I felt these books lacked the polish of the first bookful of novellas in the series. I have it 4 stars because this book was a solid 3.5 and the first one was a solid 4.5. Mr Hartness did a good if hurried job with these. Is it fair to rate the second and not the first? No. I will be going back to do just that. Solid work 3.5.
Great book (novellas). The author always keeps you guessing as to what is coming. Overall it was very funny with lots of random historical/literary/sci-fi references that keep the book super entertaining as well as advancing the characters. Terrific read!
As I have come to expect from these books, there was much carnage and death along with figures from literary history like Adam (read the book to find out who he really is). Hartness blends it all seamlessly.
Without giving any spoilers, you will just have to read the book to know why my title is "Yay!". Great book, great series, can not wait to continue with the journey of Harker and Flynn and the rest of the gang! John G. Hartness....you ROCK!
Not To Kill a Mockingbird, but it isn’t trying to be. But if you are looking to pick up something that you will enjoy and might wake up your partner by laughing too loud, this is your huckleberry. Really enjoy this series.