Urban Fantasy series' discussion

Our third book to be chosen for the *Unique Book Feature* is:

The Man Who Crossed Worlds
By Chris Strange



This was nominated by another group member who said:
"I think the setting is unique and the magic system and character is unique. It's a bit on the dark and gritty side without going over into the "gloom." This is a male character that managed to be different."

What Reviewers are saying:

-"This is the type of urban fantasy I like reading - loud characters packed full of personality for us to get to known, weird and wonderful magic for us to learn about, and pulpy action scenes for us to ogle at. The Man Who Crossed Worlds is a bold statement by author Chris Strange, a story that goes hard from the start, never backs down, and finishes with a bang."

-"A great urban fantasy mystery novel! With an interesting new theme, creepy new race and a so-not-a-hero hero, this is a fun, fast paced, twisty read. I look forward to reading more of Miles Franco and his world, starting with the short story The Man Who Couldn't be Bought."

-"Tunneling was completely new to me and totally novel. It’s a fascinating concept that intrigued me. I thought it was a very interesting device to introduce into a book."



BLURB:

THE MAN WHO CROSSED WORLDS

Heart-pounding, stomach-kicking, and noir-drenched, The Man Who Crossed Worlds is urban fantasy with a twist of pulp and served in a dirty glass.

All freelance Tunneler Miles Franco wants is a bit of freedom and a couple of bucks to rub together. So when the cops haul him downtown for illegally smuggling the natives of another dimension to Earth, he'll take any chance he can get to stay out of the pen. And funnily enough, the cops have just the job for him.

A mysterious interdimensional drug-smuggler is staking his claim on Miles' city, and a drug war is about to kick off that will make the city look like the set of a post-apocalyptic horror movie. As a Tunneler, Miles knows all about interdimensional transport, and the cops need his help cutting off the drug lord's supply before it reaches Earth.

But it doesn't take long playing police lapdog before Miles realizes this ain't no ordinary drug he's dealing with. Snooping around in gang business is a dangerous job in a city where everyone's on the take and the gangsters play for keeps.

And there are a lot of ways a nosy Tunneler can disappear.

This is a good, solid noir read. There was a possible female interest, but like all good noir, if that works out in any form, it isn't going to be an easy path. I bought book 2 but haven't read it yet!

There's something about the way he writes women that just sets my teeth on edge. Talking about women as "warm and soft" thatwould "cuddle up to you real nice, purring like a kitten" if you were "lucky" took me completely out of the story. The fact that so much of the story was driven by his need to be a hero to a lolita-standin, and how he wrote the villains just added salt to the wounds.

Yeah, yeah, I know, "noir". But of the three unique feature books, this is the first that left me flat and disappointed.

Vroom wrote: "There's something about the way he writes women that just sets my teeth on edge. Talking about women as "warm and soft" thatwould "cuddle up to you real nice, purring like a kitten" if you were "lu..."

Guess you can't win them all!

Maybe the next pick will be another winner.