Sometimes fear of the dark can keep you alive. Grey and Koda have a lead on the supplier of Redrum X—a new strain of the deadly drug that creates UV resistant vampires. Preventing the streets of New York City from being flooded with the mindless creatures was only the first step. Each night as darkness falls, body counts rise. Someone or something has made nights in the city…fatal. Grey must find who or what is doing the killing and stop them. He only has one clue. Rumors of a Mr. Dark are being whispered in the streets. Is this Mr. Dark responsible for the deaths? Now together with Koda, Grey will enter a world no Night Warden has encountered. A world of darkness no one has escaped. Can a dark mage wielding a darker blade bring light to save others?
Orlando Sanchez has been writing ever since his teens when he was immersed in creating scenarios for playing Dungeon and Dragons with his friends every weekend. An avid reader, his influences are too numerous to list here. Some of the most prominent are: J.R.R. Tolkien, Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Lee Child, George Lucas, Andrew Vachss, and Barry Eisler to name a few in no particular order. The worlds of his books are urban settings with a twist of the paranormal lurking just behind the scenes and generous doses of magic, martial arts, and mayhem. Aside from writing, he holds a 2nd and 3rd Dan in two distinct styles of Karate. If not training, he is studying some aspect of the martial arts or martial arts philosophy. He currently resides in Queens, NY with his family and can often be found in the local Starbucks where most of his writing is done. Please visit his site at: www.OrlandoASanchez.com for more information about his books and upcoming releases.
Enjoyable read. I’m not sure what else to say I got distracted and read another book half way through. It wasn’t holding my attention but I think that was more me than the book. I’ve been struggling with my reading options lately 🤷🏻♀️
Same universe as Montague and Strong series. I recommend reading that one first (the order I mention in my review for book one of the night warden series) then branching out. Although you can read this series on its own, if you do, start from the beginning, I think you will miss a lot if you read this book as a stand alone.
A series I will continue. I love the concept of the Night Wardens and I love love love Grey and his entire entourage.
The author is amazing at building a world, giving it depth and then creating series within it, lending it yet more depth.
Three things pull me out of this series and is a larger issue with his writing overall.
The movie quotes. No longer endearing. They serve to more stand in as an inability to come up with witty dialogue. It's getting really old.
Another is a nitpick I encounter with my own beta reading.
Floor is inside, ground is outside. If you are fighting on the street and you land on your ass, you've hit the GROUND. Or even PAVEMENT or ASPHALT. If you're in a library and you land on your ass, you've hit the FLOOR. Or the MARBLE TILE.
The third thing that rankles is the obvious references to Jim Butcher's Dresden series. Author, please please please stop mentioning him. No one really cares. It does nothing for the already rich world you've created. Please stop.
I had hoped that after reading all current books in the Montague & Strong series, these two Night Warden books and the Two Division 13 that he would have better proofreading. But still, after all those years of writing, he has wonky formatting, misplaced punctuation, and sometimes two different speakers in the same paragraph. There are paragraphs where the wrong word is used, sometimes a phrase is used twice in the same sentence and many repetitive unusual words that make them stand out as they're too close together.
Yes, nitpicky, but I would expect better if these books are even being edited. Or that his beta readers would pick up on that.
But, that said, the story is good, most of the characters in the world are sound and deeply developed and that does cover a multitude of sins in this minor issues.
I couldn't get enough of this book! Shadowstrut was one of the most exciting books that I have read in a while. It was full of intrigue, excitement and thrills. Grey is a very strong warrior and his moral backbone runs very deep. He has a deep commitment to help those that he deems everyone else has forgotten. He chances everything to help those he cares deeply. He sees what needs to be done and his singular focus helps him achieve the impossible. This books is chock full of magic and is, at its core, a story of overcoming your fears and doing what needs to be done, regardless of the personal cost. I could not put this books down once I started to read it. That is a testament to how well written and exciting this book is!
Shadowstrut...what can I say except that is is an excellent read. Grey is on the case again with Koda, his apprentice. A creature that uses fear to overcome his victims is on the loose and mages are dropping like flies as he possesses them and then leaves them dead. Grey is determined to stop the killings, but first he has to figure out what the creature is because it surely isn't human. Ronin, character who was in a spin off of one of the stories comes from Division-13 complicates Grey's life, friends from the Montque and Strong series such as Uncle Dex, Roxanne, Aria and others make appearances to add depth and spice to the story. This is a series that you paranormal lovers out there shouldn't miss. I know I won't. Onward and upward Night Wardens. Let the good times...or monster's heads roll.
I couldn't get enough of this book! Shadowstrut was one of the most exciting books that I have read in a while. It was full of intrigue, excitement and thrills. Grey is a very strong warrior and his moral backbone runs very deep. He has a deep commitment to help those that he deems everyone else has forgotten. He chances everything to help those he cares deeply. He sees what needs to be done and his singular focus helps him achieve the impossible. This books is chock full of magic and is, at its core, a story of overcoming your fears and doing what needs to be done, regardless of the personal cost. I could not put this books down once I started to read it. That is a testament to how well written and exciting this book is!
One of the last Night Wardens, if not THE last Night Warden, Grey Stryder, faces his biggest challenge yet. He barely has time to recover from his last misadventure with his apprentice and Warden-in-training, Koda, when he must face the greatest evil he has faced to date. What Grey thought was his greatest strength, turns out to be his biggest weakness and he must find a way to deal with the realization before he and his crew face off against this new source of darkness. Can he let the past go, in order to have a future, or will he end up making the ultimate sacrifice and try to save the day and the world while holding on tightly to the past and all its mistakes? Grab your copy today to find out if an ancient Night Warden can learn to let go and live...
Yet another fantastic read from Orlando Sanchez. He helps feed my addiction for fun, humorous, fast paced, entertaining, well written books with great world building and characters who make sense. And are not the perfect 18 year old with all sorts of knowledge and experience which annoys the living crap out of me. These are characters who have worked, studied, and put in the time to understand and get the most out of their various skills & I love that. Can't recommend the book, series, or author enough.
For those of us who were jonesing for a Grey Strider fix, our wait is over. Grey and Koda return to battle the evil forces of Redrum infiltrating the mage community in another non-stop action adventure. This time, the monsters are meaner, the stakes are higher, and Grey and Koda will really have to work on their teamwork to make it out alive. As always, the character driven story is fast paced. The setting is gritty and detailed. The bad guys play for keeps.
Great Book you'll want to finish in one sitting and beg for more
A fantastic sequel to wander and a welcome addition to the Montague and Strong back catalogue (this is a book tied in to characters from the series) you don't necessarily need to have read the Montague and Strong books to enjoy this but if you haven't id recommend them. Orlando is a brilliant author who will make you connect to his characters with a pop culture reference that'll make you smile and is very passionate about his work which can be seen in his writing.
Without losing any of the snark or drive from the first Night Warden book, Mr. Sanchez draws us right back into the fray. We worry for our beloved Grey and crew, and learn our worry is well justified. Koda is growing, learning there is more then she thought to being a Night Warden, and her old mentor is making sure she feels the deficit. Grey is learning he has more to live for then he imagined. Now if he can just stay alive for it. Great read!!
As if the rummers plaguing the city weren't bad enough, now Grey has to face a new strain of Redrum, and a dark mage leaving broken bodies of magic wielders in his wake. He and Koda try to face down the threat, all while he tries to come to grips with his tortured soul and his bond to a dark sword. But can they successfully face down fear itself? Full of gritty action and humor that has made this one of my favorite series.
Truly an amazing storyteller whose creative imagination has given me hours and hours of flat out javambrosious reading pleasure. Great anti hero, fabulous supporting cast and just enough overlap with the MOB to keep this plane running smoothly... Truly cannot wait for another book, story, novella - hell I’ve even take an ode - involving any of the characters who reside in Orlando’s world.
What can I say about this latest release from the fantastic mind of Orlando Sanchez. Written with his usual descriptive brilliance you are transported into this world where all things magic exist. A whirlwind of a ride as Grey’s story continues. Read the previous books in the series to get the context then sit back read and enjoy.
Shadowstrut is a fantastic 2nd book continuing The Night Warden series which intertwines in the same world as Sanchez's Montague and Strong Case Files series and Division Thirteen series.
Sanchez creates well developed characters and weaves exciting, action packed stories filled with lots of intrigue around those characters.
I really enjoyed the cross-series snarkiness by, between and the characters and sub-characters. Of course, if you haven't read the other series, the snarkiness probably won't entertain you quite as much. I guess that means you need to go read the other series right quick then. Yup!
Most of the time series spin offs are either too reliant on the original and feel incomplete or the attachment to the main story is weak and seems to be just a hook to grab new readers. The night warden books are well developed and well integrated with the main series at the same time. Excellent read and i highly recommend
I like this series almost as much as the Montague and Strong series. This spin-off series is about night warden Grey, Koda, and Frank and Cole, with lots of cool character crossover to the main series. It's darker, snarktastic, with lots of possible mage, or world ending situations for Grey and company to try to resolve! Enjoy!
This book was an excellent follow up to the first. Plenty of action for night warden Grey and. His apprentice Koda. We get to see a little more of Frank the fearsome dragon. We also get a little more insight into Grey and Koda’s world before they met. Nicely done.
This rating fits this book perfectly. The characters Grey,Koda,Aria,Roxanne,and especially TK, who is only egualed, possibly by her spouse, are all badasses. The Tenebrous was an unusual addiction of evil personified. The action was riveting,thrilling, and awe inspiring. Thank you for another suspenseful journey.
As usual, Grey manages to set everyone against him, and comes up with another suicidal plan to solve things. Good story, and some great action! But I gotta say, I read both Grey novels while recovering from a killer migraine, and I don’t recommend that — the migraine descriptions are uncomfortably accurate.
This was an interesting second book in this series. I enjoyed the characters, both new and familiar. I liked learning more about Frank and Cole remains a mystery. The ending was interesting because the final cast wasn’t what the story hyped it up to be. I hope there will be another night warden story.
I love our Night Warden! He's broken, crass and very opinionated. He's not a perfect hero, he'd laugh at you if you called him that. But he runs into trouble not away from it. Ours great fun seeing him interact with Mr Tea and Crumpets!! I'd love a bigger cross over!!!! It could be fun!!
Fluffy the Fear-Caster - love it! I think that I will name my next dog that. And cannotflage? Or snarkasm? I love how Orlando uses real NYC landmarks in his books. This book is so great and so funny that I could not put it down.
Another amazing offering in the Night Warden series which I gratefully devoured. Grey, his bloodthirsty sword, and Koda have their work cut out for them as they battle hybrid UV resistant rummers and Fluffy the creepy neighborhood fear caster. I'm already hungry for the next book in the series.
Absolutely love Grey & Koda ...It's darker than M&S yet at times the darkness allows the humanity & inherent goodness of the darker characters to shine ...just don't kill him please ??? Looking forward to much more Grey .
Reader beware, if you have delved into this world in the past, when you read this book you will understand the headline. I actually cried at one point in the book and I am thought of as being kind of heartless.