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End Gate Series #1
A Moonlit Task
This ain’t your grandma’s cozy mystery! Retired librarian Nancy Moon never expected a tiger to jump on the hood of her car, nor did she expect to meet a dying witch in an alleyway. But when this widow agrees to fulfill the expiring woman's last wish, she must face her fears and venture into a world she knows nothing about. As Nancy delves deeper into a world of magic, mayhem, and monsters, she finds herself caught between saving herself and those she cares about. A Moonlit Task is an urban fantasy mystery novel with an epic plot set in a world of hidden magic and paranormal creatures. It is the first book in the End Gate Series by Tom Hansen. Readers of Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, and those who want an older protagonist in their fantasy will love this new twist on a familiar tale. Buy this book if you are tired of teenagers always saving the world!
226 pages, Paperback
Published January 27, 2017
22 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Tom Hansen
18 books14 followersFantastic worlds. Get-Off-My-Lawn attitude!
Tom Hansen is the writer and lover of all things fantasy. While he can’t seem to stick to a specific genre, you can rest assured that anything he writes will have that aspect of whimsy and world building that defines the fantasy genre.
His first series is the End Gate Chronicles is a modern-day urban fantasy following an older widow, who discovers her own magic late in life.
His second series, Enter the louVRe, is set inside a video game, where an evil AI has trapped players and stolen their memories. Now, our hero, a minotaur, must save the world from destruction if he is to have any hope of unraveling the AI’s plans and escape the game unscathed.
His third series, The Frost Fervor Concordance, is set in a fantastical frozen wasteland, where a young fisher comes home to find her village burned and her parents killed. The fire-headed mage must track down her kidnapped sisters and battle the tyrannical Frost Queen in order to keep her sisters safe.
Tom lives in Arizona with his dear wife, four children, and two cats. To follow Tom, check out his website or any of the link below: www.scarhoof.com
Tom Hansen is the writer and lover of all things fantasy. While he can’t seem to stick to a specific genre, you can rest assured that anything he writes will have that aspect of whimsy and world building that defines the fantasy genre.
His first series is the End Gate Chronicles is a modern-day urban fantasy following an older widow, who discovers her own magic late in life.
His second series, Enter the louVRe, is set inside a video game, where an evil AI has trapped players and stolen their memories. Now, our hero, a minotaur, must save the world from destruction if he is to have any hope of unraveling the AI’s plans and escape the game unscathed.
His third series, The Frost Fervor Concordance, is set in a fantastical frozen wasteland, where a young fisher comes home to find her village burned and her parents killed. The fire-headed mage must track down her kidnapped sisters and battle the tyrannical Frost Queen in order to keep her sisters safe.
Tom lives in Arizona with his dear wife, four children, and two cats. To follow Tom, check out his website or any of the link below: www.scarhoof.com
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 5, 2017
I absolutely love the main character Nancy, and her best friend Edna. It is not often that we get to read about older women having the same type of self discovery and adventures as we find in other urban fantasy stories. Instead of they typical young woman or man going through some changes and discovering something fantastic about themselves, we instead are witness to two older woman who have the fantastic thrust upon them, seemingly without any warning.
The story that follows as Nancy and Edna try to navigate the strange and curious tasks placed upon them is not only scary and intense, but fun and light-hearted at times, too. If you're looking for a great book that gives the urban fantasy genre some much needed substance and depth, look no further. I'm already excited for the next book featuring Nancy and Edna!
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of A Moonlit Task for my honest review. Thanks to Tom Hansen for this privilege.
The story that follows as Nancy and Edna try to navigate the strange and curious tasks placed upon them is not only scary and intense, but fun and light-hearted at times, too. If you're looking for a great book that gives the urban fantasy genre some much needed substance and depth, look no further. I'm already excited for the next book featuring Nancy and Edna!
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of A Moonlit Task for my honest review. Thanks to Tom Hansen for this privilege.
February 6, 2017
If you're looking for an unexpected UF, this is the story for you. Well written, full of twists and turns, you're guarenteed a witty, twisty-turny, intelligent ride.
June 14, 2017
This book was absolutely amazing! The amount of charm and relevant life experience an older protagonist brings to the story is very believable and enjoyable. Nancy and Edna's personalities complement each other so well and had me constantly staying up later than I typically would be just to see what the two of them would be up to. This is definitely the beginning of something great, I cannot wait for the sequel.
May 22, 2017
As the author says in this notes the book originally started as a thought experiment of Nancy Drew as a Grandma. And the book lives up to that... Nancy Moon could be the older (not necessarily more mature) version of the dating, curious, crime solving Nancy Drew that I loved growing up. Just not as sharp a deductive skills as the younger version. A fun urban fantasy perfect for a lazy weekend.
July 2, 2018
What if:
Nancy Drew grew older and
had unknown magical powers and
had a randy sidekick and
was threatened by a witch and
was attacked by a monstrous big cat
That's just the tip of the iceberg to this mesmerizing story.
Nancy Drew grew older and
had unknown magical powers and
had a randy sidekick and
was threatened by a witch and
was attacked by a monstrous big cat
That's just the tip of the iceberg to this mesmerizing story.
June 16, 2020
A slow moving book with a very standard world of magic thrown in. It's that dimension that saves the story from being plain boring. Perhaps as the series develops the writer will do better. Some interesting characters.
July 24, 2020
Definitely refreshing...
This little masterpiece had me hooked from the beginning. I managed to stay just a step ahead as the story developed, but it was a true pleasure. I want friends like these in my life.
Off to find the next installment
This little masterpiece had me hooked from the beginning. I managed to stay just a step ahead as the story developed, but it was a true pleasure. I want friends like these in my life.
Off to find the next installment
February 1, 2018
Should have liked this more than I did because of the age of the main characters. But not so much, Nancy just annoyed me, thankfully there was Edna.
June 13, 2017
You know what the world of fantasy (indeed, the world of genre fiction!) needs? More senior citizens. As proved by Tom Hansen in his delightful debut novel, A Moonlit Task, using older characters provides a twist to the run-of-the-mill, every-day young man or young woman story. There are so many complexities and nuances that are added by older, more mature characters that add a layer of fun and reality that has been missing from too much fantasy lately.
In the spirit of full disclosure (and of bragging rights), I am a good friend of the author and got to watch this book go from the idea phase to publication. I also had the chance to read this book when it was still in draft form. My review is based on an ARC of the book provided to me by the author. That being said, I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible.
In A Moonlit Task, Nancy Moon and her friend Edna, two ladies in their sixties who want nothing more than to get home in time to watch Dancing with the Stars, are thrown into a world of magic and intrigue. Along the way, Nancy discovers things about herself that have been hidden for decades, and Edna provides much needed comic relief.
In this first book of what promises to be a fun series, the reader only gets glimpses into the larger magical world as Nancy and Edna battle a mystical tiger and try to protect a young man from abuse, but there are plenty of hints at more to come. Having had a chance to peek through a rough draft of the sequel, I can state that the world is as good as you can hope.
However, at least for me, the world plays second fiddle to the characters, and both Nancy and Edna are excellent characters. Nancy is a solid lead, with just the right amount of personality to make her interesting and more than enough hidden shadows in her life to make her intriguing. Edna, Nancy's wise-cracking friend steals the show every scene she's in and is a delightful companion on the adventure, often pushing Nancy when she needs it and stepping up when Nancy needs backup. The two make a great pair and their relationship is what really moves the story forward.
More than anything, it is Nancy and Edna's everyday lives and how they are impacted by the events of the novel that really make this story fun. Their reactions to the extraordinary events never seem over-the-top or unrealistic, and their attempts to continue with their ordinary lives--making dinner, cleaning out an attic, watching Dancing with the Stars and so on--make them feel like real people, an extraordinary thing in a world of fantasy that his helped in no small part by their age.
The mystery of what is going on is also intriguing and the climax is appropriately satisfying. While this book is obviously meant to kick off a series and there is more to come, it also has its own, stand-alone story-arc. As a reader who is tired of having to wait for the next book to have any closure, I really appreciate Hansen's ability to bring things to an appropriate end while opening the door for the future.
The senior citizen thing may worry some younger readers, but it shouldn't. These are delightful characters that you will recognize and a fun story filled with magic and danger. It is more than enough to satisfy the most ardent of fantasy fans.
In the end, I really like this book and can't wait to see where the series goes after this one. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and who wants to read something a bit different.
In the spirit of full disclosure (and of bragging rights), I am a good friend of the author and got to watch this book go from the idea phase to publication. I also had the chance to read this book when it was still in draft form. My review is based on an ARC of the book provided to me by the author. That being said, I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible.
In A Moonlit Task, Nancy Moon and her friend Edna, two ladies in their sixties who want nothing more than to get home in time to watch Dancing with the Stars, are thrown into a world of magic and intrigue. Along the way, Nancy discovers things about herself that have been hidden for decades, and Edna provides much needed comic relief.
In this first book of what promises to be a fun series, the reader only gets glimpses into the larger magical world as Nancy and Edna battle a mystical tiger and try to protect a young man from abuse, but there are plenty of hints at more to come. Having had a chance to peek through a rough draft of the sequel, I can state that the world is as good as you can hope.
However, at least for me, the world plays second fiddle to the characters, and both Nancy and Edna are excellent characters. Nancy is a solid lead, with just the right amount of personality to make her interesting and more than enough hidden shadows in her life to make her intriguing. Edna, Nancy's wise-cracking friend steals the show every scene she's in and is a delightful companion on the adventure, often pushing Nancy when she needs it and stepping up when Nancy needs backup. The two make a great pair and their relationship is what really moves the story forward.
More than anything, it is Nancy and Edna's everyday lives and how they are impacted by the events of the novel that really make this story fun. Their reactions to the extraordinary events never seem over-the-top or unrealistic, and their attempts to continue with their ordinary lives--making dinner, cleaning out an attic, watching Dancing with the Stars and so on--make them feel like real people, an extraordinary thing in a world of fantasy that his helped in no small part by their age.
The mystery of what is going on is also intriguing and the climax is appropriately satisfying. While this book is obviously meant to kick off a series and there is more to come, it also has its own, stand-alone story-arc. As a reader who is tired of having to wait for the next book to have any closure, I really appreciate Hansen's ability to bring things to an appropriate end while opening the door for the future.
The senior citizen thing may worry some younger readers, but it shouldn't. These are delightful characters that you will recognize and a fun story filled with magic and danger. It is more than enough to satisfy the most ardent of fantasy fans.
In the end, I really like this book and can't wait to see where the series goes after this one. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and who wants to read something a bit different.
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January 6, 2017Author notes about the writing of "A Moonlit Task":
Writing is an interesting process. I also find it fascinating how much the story changes from your original idea. The initial seed of this storyline started as a thought experiment: what Nancy Drew would be like if she had grown up and was a grandmother?
As with most story seeds: I sat down and started writing something based on that nugget of story and saw where the story went.
Nancy is nearing her official retirement age from a library, as well as dealing with the loss of a deceased husband . Edna begs her to throw a big party to celebrate, and also to hire a junk company to help Nancy get rid of old stuff so she can move on from the loss in her life. At her retirement party Nancy meets an interesting man who happens to have a moving company and workers that could clear out the basement. She hires him.
While moving things out from the basement, the workers uncover a very old painting of a woman in a blue dress, hiding in the back corner of the basement. As they are about to load it on the truck, Nancy stops them and asks them to keep it, as she remembered this painting hanging in the library when she and Richard first married, but it had disappeared the next day.
The owner of the company flying into a rage because of all the things in the basement, he wanted that specific painting. Nancy gets rid of the men, goes in to sit down in front of the painting, and that's when she hears a voice...
Interesting how the story started with a thought experiment, progressed as run-of-the-mill mystery, then suddenly turned into a paranormal mystery.
That's when I became obscenely obsessed with the painting. I wanted to know everything about it. I then wrote a partial story from the perspective of the painting, while the party was going on and I knew what needed to happen. This needed to be urban fantasy.
And that's how the whole thing was born. I spent two years working on this novel. The first draft was tossed after getting initial critiques and I re-wrote the whole thing a second time, then six months of editing, followed by a whirlwind of post-production to get it up for pre-order. I'm well into the second and third books of this series now, and they'll be out soon. (Don't worry, the painting will be coming back, trust me).
-Tom
Writing is an interesting process. I also find it fascinating how much the story changes from your original idea. The initial seed of this storyline started as a thought experiment: what Nancy Drew would be like if she had grown up and was a grandmother?
As with most story seeds: I sat down and started writing something based on that nugget of story and saw where the story went.
Nancy is nearing her official retirement age from a library, as well as dealing with the loss of a deceased husband . Edna begs her to throw a big party to celebrate, and also to hire a junk company to help Nancy get rid of old stuff so she can move on from the loss in her life. At her retirement party Nancy meets an interesting man who happens to have a moving company and workers that could clear out the basement. She hires him.
While moving things out from the basement, the workers uncover a very old painting of a woman in a blue dress, hiding in the back corner of the basement. As they are about to load it on the truck, Nancy stops them and asks them to keep it, as she remembered this painting hanging in the library when she and Richard first married, but it had disappeared the next day.
The owner of the company flying into a rage because of all the things in the basement, he wanted that specific painting. Nancy gets rid of the men, goes in to sit down in front of the painting, and that's when she hears a voice...
Interesting how the story started with a thought experiment, progressed as run-of-the-mill mystery, then suddenly turned into a paranormal mystery.
That's when I became obscenely obsessed with the painting. I wanted to know everything about it. I then wrote a partial story from the perspective of the painting, while the party was going on and I knew what needed to happen. This needed to be urban fantasy.
And that's how the whole thing was born. I spent two years working on this novel. The first draft was tossed after getting initial critiques and I re-wrote the whole thing a second time, then six months of editing, followed by a whirlwind of post-production to get it up for pre-order. I'm well into the second and third books of this series now, and they'll be out soon. (Don't worry, the painting will be coming back, trust me).
-Tom
April 22, 2017
Loved the book!! Can't wait for the sequel! Get crackin', Mr. Hansen!!
April 28, 2017
It’s hard to find a different turn on anything in the urban fantasy market and this definitely gives it a shot, when Nancy Moon- who is at an age where you’d expect to be living in relative quiet, witnesses a brutal murder, gets involved in a mystery and discovers something life-changing about herself. Things are definitely not quiet for her, or her best friend Edna (who pretty mush steals the show in every scene she is in).
This wasn’t a perfect story- there were events and conversations that could have been smoother (especially the meeting with Linda and Nancy in the beginning) or that just fell a little flat, or off to me.
But, it was a solid start to what could be a very good series. It had a diverse cast (mostly of women) and I particularly liked that story was given a different spin on the usual action-based loner woman, to focus more on a mystery but with an underlying strong friendship at the core, instead.
That is not to say there wasn’t action scenes because it had those too, just not with Nancy kicking butt and taking names, other than by using her smarts.
Around the time, I’d start to wish Nancy wasn’t such an over-thinker, Edna would come steady that out- usually by getting them into to trouble. They were a nice balance for one another. If Nancy Drew grew up, and her best friend was Blanche from Golden Girls I think that would kind of describe these two and their relationship.
Despite some roughness, the book ended on a strong note with a big bang of an ending. I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes this, and admittedly also am curious to see if a certain tiger returns for the next book.
3.5
This wasn’t a perfect story- there were events and conversations that could have been smoother (especially the meeting with Linda and Nancy in the beginning) or that just fell a little flat, or off to me.
But, it was a solid start to what could be a very good series. It had a diverse cast (mostly of women) and I particularly liked that story was given a different spin on the usual action-based loner woman, to focus more on a mystery but with an underlying strong friendship at the core, instead.
That is not to say there wasn’t action scenes because it had those too, just not with Nancy kicking butt and taking names, other than by using her smarts.
Around the time, I’d start to wish Nancy wasn’t such an over-thinker, Edna would come steady that out- usually by getting them into to trouble. They were a nice balance for one another. If Nancy Drew grew up, and her best friend was Blanche from Golden Girls I think that would kind of describe these two and their relationship.
Despite some roughness, the book ended on a strong note with a big bang of an ending. I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes this, and admittedly also am curious to see if a certain tiger returns for the next book.
3.5
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews