Half-human Cal Leandros and his brother, Niko, aren't exactly prospering with their preternatural detective agency. Who could have guessed that bus...
read full description
reviews
Feb 25, 2008
Schnaucl
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
2 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Feb 21, 2008
Rachel
rated it: 
OMG I love these books... I can't wait for the next one! Madhouse was just as angsty and melodramatic as the previous two in the series, but the edge of self-aware irony elevates it from goth to highly entertaining. This series is much like Joan Vinge's Catspaw meets S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, with all the demons of hell thrown in. Big grin. :D
This book, being the third in the series, was more about character development and trying some new directions -- the overarching plot do More...
This book, being the third in the series, was more about character development and trying some new directions -- the overarching plot do More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 19, 2008
Sammy
rated it:
Third book in the series of Cal and Niko, two brothers in NYC that run a underground supernatural detective agency of a sort, with reluctant help from Goodfellow, a Puck of ancient age and a murky past.
As always, the book opens with a bang - in the first 60 pages, they meet a host of grandmothery spider creatures, a demon chicken, and discover that Scottish mass murder has been resurrected. Oh, and the Met Museum is overseen by a Valkerie. For a good reason.
This serie More...
As always, the book opens with a bang - in the first 60 pages, they meet a host of grandmothery spider creatures, a demon chicken, and discover that Scottish mass murder has been resurrected. Oh, and the Met Museum is overseen by a Valkerie. For a good reason.
This serie More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 25, 2010
Jo
rated it: 
Cal and his older brother Niko Leandros partner with vampire girlfriend Promise in a private detective/whatever else is needed business. An old evil is reborn and plans to reek havoc on the unsuspecting NYC dwellers. Robin Goodfellow their friend the puck, has a hit on him as big as his ego.
Cal is coming to terms with what he is. He made decisions on the man he is going to be and he is a Man. He is breaking hearts in his path especially his own.
It was funny and suspenseful thril More...
Cal is coming to terms with what he is. He made decisions on the man he is going to be and he is a Man. He is breaking hearts in his path especially his own.
It was funny and suspenseful thril More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 23, 2011
Shawn
rated it:
Cal Leandros and his brother Niko have been on the run and relying on only one another for years now. Finally, after confronting Cal's "relatives" they have set up roots in New York City with a few new trusted friends. Madhouse, is the third book in the series and I enjoy the narrator, Cal, a snarky sarcastic twenty year old with lots of angst and a huge amount of hero worship for his older brother. In Cal's eyes Niko can do no wrong and has god-like perfection in all skills, looks, mo
More...
Dec 06, 2011
Nightfall
rated it:
I didn't entirely enjoy this book, tho I have no complaints about this particular book specifically (except, maybe, that I feel she overdoes the recap on the previous books) - it's more of a series problem. The monster in this book was scary, new things were learned about some of our main characters, romantic relationships made new twists and turns, new powers were explored... So it was a decent episode as a standalone story, and it moved the series overall along nicely. My problem lies in the f
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 17, 2011
Krystal
rated it:
Summary: When nonhuman serial killer Sawney Bean is brought back to life, Cal and Niko Leandros juggle their quest to stop Sawney with their commitment to eliminate a threat to Robin Goodfellow's life.
Review: Thurman throws something extra into the mix this time. Rather than only having one plot that could take up a whole novel, she uses two--the Sawney Bean plot, and the Robin Goodfellow assassin subplot. I kept expecting these two stories to run together and become one entity, but th More...
Review: Thurman throws something extra into the mix this time. Rather than only having one plot that could take up a whole novel, she uses two--the Sawney Bean plot, and the Robin Goodfellow assassin subplot. I kept expecting these two stories to run together and become one entity, but th More...
May 28, 2009
Kim
rated it:
This is a particularly gruesome installment in the Cal and Niko Leandros series, but still really good. Thurman's use of traditional mythology is as iconoclastic as always, but here the author ventures into dismantling non-supernatural legend as well. Cal and Niko are hired to take care of a little problem that has arisen at the Museum of Natural History---apparently the legendary Scottish murderer and cannibal, Sawney Beane, has mysteriously come back to life. Add in a threat to Robin Goodfe
More...
Aug 24, 2011
Joey
rated it:
A little slower on the pick-up than the previous two books, it took me a while to get into this one. Eventually it picks up, and the villain of the story makes for an engrossing challenge, but the realities of this being an ongoing series takes away any real sense of urgency or peril. The characters that could die - that, if you ask me, SHOULD have died for the emotional weight it would have placed on Cal - don't... because they're the supporting cast. You can't just kill Willow or Xander off th
More...
Nov 13, 2011
Hazel
rated it:
Madhouse is the third installment in the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman and in my opinion, the best one so far. I loved the story. It was full of action and plenty of page time with each character. Ms. Thurman really found Cal's voice in this book. I felt like more story was told and less internal monologuing by Cal. Though books one and two were really good, they were so full of sardonic monologuing that I couldn't get through the pages without going back and re-reading the conversation to
More...
Sep 30, 2010
Ami
rated it:
I'm a bit torn on how to rate this book ...
What I like
+ Cal still being snarky. I'm still amused on his thoughts. Some of them are REALLY FUNNY!
+ A subplot related to Robin; because I love that oversexed puck
+ Less George. I don't like her. I don't know why. She's creepy
+ Delilah is interesting :)
+ Is there possibility of a puck and a peri ... K-I-S-S-I-N-G in the next book? *grin*
What I dislike
+ The subplot of Robin actually makes the More...
What I like
+ Cal still being snarky. I'm still amused on his thoughts. Some of them are REALLY FUNNY!
+ A subplot related to Robin; because I love that oversexed puck
+ Less George. I don't like her. I don't know why. She's creepy
+ Delilah is interesting :)
+ Is there possibility of a puck and a peri ... K-I-S-S-I-N-G in the next book? *grin*
What I dislike
+ The subplot of Robin actually makes the More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 18, 2011
L-D
rated it:
The third book in this series, Cal and Nik find themselves up against an army of revenants led by Sawney Beane, A Scottish mass murderer that has come back to life after 500 years as dust and ash. Sawney is actually a Redcap, a Scottish-English lengend that were rumored to murder travelers and then stain their hair with their victim's blood. An action-filled plot, I STILL could not learn to like Cal. This is the first series I've read where I like the books but feel "meh" about the p
More...
Sep 29, 2009
Abby
rated it:
Well, it's official: I love the Cal Leandros Series. I really do. With an ever-expanding cast of bad guys from the world of monsters, I love that Rob Thurman goes above and beyond the vampires/werewolf/demon thing and even expands on those classic figures of paranormal fiction.
But most of all? Most of all, I love Cal. As the narrative voice in the series, that's a pretty important thing. He has a wonderfully gritty, snarky way of thinking, angsty and self-aware. I've gone on about it in my More...
But most of all? Most of all, I love Cal. As the narrative voice in the series, that's a pretty important thing. He has a wonderfully gritty, snarky way of thinking, angsty and self-aware. I've gone on about it in my More...
Oct 07, 2010
Lin
rated it:
"Breaking promises. Sometimes you break them little, and sometimes you break them big. This was going to be fucking huge."
The gang (yes now there's a gang) take on an insane redcap.
Loved:
Really cool insane bad guy
Cal's powers: He was wondering why he couldn't have his own comic book, well now he can.
The humor is still brilliant, snarky and sarcastic.
Robin's incest jokes
Cal just watching a bar fight
Cal hugged Robin, just awww
More...
The gang (yes now there's a gang) take on an insane redcap.
Loved:
Really cool insane bad guy
Cal's powers: He was wondering why he couldn't have his own comic book, well now he can.
The humor is still brilliant, snarky and sarcastic.
Robin's incest jokes
Cal just watching a bar fight
Cal hugged Robin, just awww
More...
Nov 07, 2009
Summer
rated it:
In Madhouse, Cal and Niko are still getting into trouble as usual. Promise gets the boys a gig through a friend at a museum. Something has escaped the museum that should not have been able to. Turns out it was an ancient serial killer known for his numerous victims and cannibalistic tendencies. While trying to catch this murderer, another problem arises when Cal's new boss tips them off that someone has put a hit out on Robin. Robin can't even remember how many people's he's pissed off enough to
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 28, 2010
Brenda
rated it:
Rob Thurman is the Mistress of Sarcasm. Truly, she can sling the sarcasm hard enough to slice off an arm or leg. Madhouse is no exception, and her wit had me laughing to myself as I read. Here are a few quick examples from the book with the character who is thinking or saying it before the quote:
Cal: Niko was a teacher's assistant at NYU (pity the kid who walked late into one of his classes-decapitation is a big deterrent for tardiness.)
Goodfellow: Gods save us. I haven't More...
Cal: Niko was a teacher's assistant at NYU (pity the kid who walked late into one of his classes-decapitation is a big deterrent for tardiness.)
Goodfellow: Gods save us. I haven't More...
Jul 04, 2008
Mare
rated it:
I really loved this book. Mostly because I loved how all the things that have happened in the first two books are finally catching up with our main protagonist and he has to deal with it. Highly recommend this series if you like urban fantasies.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 27, 2010
Susan
rated it:
Cal and Niko just keep encountering Trouble (note the Capital T). This is a whole new take on the Sawny Beene history, tho...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 30, 2009
Fangirl
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 04, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
So much more fun than the last one, probably because Cal was actually participating in his life instead of unconsciously trying to end it. I did figure out who the big bads were within a couple of chapters of starting, but that didn't bother me since I read these more for the journey than the destination. Niko was fun, Promise actually spoke occasionally, and Robin emoted in non-leering ways -- I'm really enjoying watching his character evolve. Also, Ishiah - squee!
I wish I hadn't More...
I wish I hadn't More...
Jan 12, 2010
Tara
rated it:
If the sign of a good book is leave them wanting more, then this is a great book. It practically ended mid sentence. Ok, not really but it felt like it. That was some cliffhanger. If the 4th book wasn't already out, I might hurt someone. A solid 4 1/2 stars, (if we could only do half stars!!), not quite perfect but pretty darn close.
The books in this series are getting better and better. The writing has improved and the characters have developed. I do have to keep reminding my More...
The books in this series are getting better and better. The writing has improved and the characters have developed. I do have to keep reminding my More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 30, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
This series just keeps getting deeper, darker and meatier as it continues.
Cal - On one page I want to give him a righteous ass whuppin' for all his wrong-headed thinking, then on the next, I want to bring him home and make him forget all his troubles. It must be a written law in Urban Fantasy that when a supernatural falls in love with a human, he suddenly becomes an expert on behaving in an utterly repellent fashion...and it's all for the girl's own good...GAH! Half human men can be More...
Cal - On one page I want to give him a righteous ass whuppin' for all his wrong-headed thinking, then on the next, I want to bring him home and make him forget all his troubles. It must be a written law in Urban Fantasy that when a supernatural falls in love with a human, he suddenly becomes an expert on behaving in an utterly repellent fashion...and it's all for the girl's own good...GAH! Half human men can be More...
Oct 04, 2009
Kati
rated it:
The Sawney Beane case was interesting and I loved the part that focused on Robin, his past and his relationship with Ishiah. But!
Everything else felt like watching a merry-go-round, for real. They went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked... Someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed. Cal bemoaned Georgina More...
Everything else felt like watching a merry-go-round, for real. They went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked... Someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed. Cal bemoaned Georgina More...
Feb 05, 2010
Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress"
rated it:
Yet again, I'm blown away with the third Cal Leandros book. To me, these books are powerful. They have so much intensity as far as human emotions and struggles. Not a book that could bore me, by any means.
As anyone who has followed my reviews on this series probably has surmised, I adore Nik, who is Cal's older brother. But I find I am falling more and more in love with Cal. He is really turning into a remarkable man. He's lethal as a warrior. He's smart and resourceful. And he h More...
As anyone who has followed my reviews on this series probably has surmised, I adore Nik, who is Cal's older brother. But I find I am falling more and more in love with Cal. He is really turning into a remarkable man. He's lethal as a warrior. He's smart and resourceful. And he h More...
8 comments
like
(9 people liked it)
May 19, 2009
Tammy
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 14, 2009
Kami
rated it:
This is the third book in the Cal Leandros series and the third one I've read. I think the momentum of the series is slowing down a bit. I still like it, but I didn't like this one as much as I liked the first two. I like the wolf Delilah, though. Cal decides that for her own safety it is best to give up George. Which is sad. She refuses to look, so she doesn't know what will happen between them, because that would be cheating. But he does have a point, with evil creatures hunting him, being his
More...
Nov 04, 2010
Sasha
rated it:
As wonderful as the book that preceded it. I could understand Cal's choices and followed (to a large extent) his emotional arc. I love that it was action packed and funny to boot. Here they meet a villain who is really hard to kill - a worthy opponent. I like that his 'powers' don't come easily to him. I like that it's accompanied by blood and discomfort. That makes him seem more normal, more relatable. I will take a breather before tackling number 4, but I will definitely be tackling number 4.
More...
Jul 09, 2009
Epeeblade
rated it:
This book was just ok. When a character ceases to grow or change, in an attempt to keep a series going, that's a problem. Cal doesn't learn anything in this book. He alienates his love interest for no good reason. The plot is shady and parts of it seemed tacked on. Never mind some of the odd sentence constructions that had me scratching my head.
Too bad because I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. I probably won't be checking out the fourth.
Too bad because I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. I probably won't be checking out the fourth.
Feb 28, 2009
Michele
rated it:
They say the third time is the charm, and I have to say I really liked this one. Both Cal and Robin Goodfellow have to deal with some personal issues, in the midst of hunting a revived legend who is leaving a trail of gore and bodies in his wake. The violence and graphic descriptions are upped a bit in this one, but not too over-the-top. The cliff-hanger at the end only whetted my appetite for the next one.
Aug 30, 2010
Laura
rated it:
My least favorite of the series thus far -- a bit less plot, a bit more sensation and cliche, and I found Robin's subplot disappointing in the end. Plot resolution was very similar to that of Moonshine (#2), so that didn't help, either.
On the other hand, this had one of the better instances of a cliffhanger ending I've seen. I will look for #4, because I enjoyed the first two and everyone can have an off book.
On the other hand, this had one of the better instances of a cliffhanger ending I've seen. I will look for #4, because I enjoyed the first two and everyone can have an off book.
