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Jonathan Shade #6
Wizard's Nocturne
A MURDER IN LAYERED TIME In the conclusion of the three-volume time travel sequence, Jonathan Shade is sent back to 1926 to kill an upstart wizard named Henry Winslow. Henry wants to die because in order to achieve his goal of immortality, he must first achieve resurrection. PAWNS IN A LARGER GAME Jonathan Shade and Kelly Chan are part of a larger plan playing out across time, and while Henry Winslow is a major player, there's someone else acting as the mastermind, and his name is Jonathan Shade. Shade's plan relies on changing the way things happened in the twenties...but if things change too much, there won't be a future to which any of them can return.
172 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 30, 2017
Wizard's Nocturne (Jonathan Shade #6) by Gary Jonas is the third and last book in the time travel series of Jonathan and Kelly. They are now in 1926, this is when Ester had originally died. Jonathan is trying to save her from dying in the manner she died before so she can live a long life. He is also trying to survive himself and save Kelly. There are so many surprises in this one, I can't say too much but I really liked it. Great way to end even although so much heart ache happened in this series.
March 5, 2017
Wow. What a twisted time line. lol. Hats off to the author for keeping it all straight and in line, keeping the events and time streams straight as they are different each lived. And he kept me up on what was happening with each character in a way that I didn't feel it was repeated or adding unnecessary information, it all works in with the story.
I know Gary always has a sly way of changing everything in a story. It all fits and smoothly moves along yet still surprises me.
****FULL REVIEW****
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review at my request.
Jonathan has raised Henry to be a good man, but things will go on as they should. Henry will die. This version of Henry also has a great interest in Egyptian magic, and in immortality. Our Jonathan is old, but there is more in the works here as a younger Jonathan arrives to do what he's to do. Jonathan fights the powerful Henry Winslow, but doesn't know if he can defeat him. Jonathan has learned many things over the years and is wiser with age.
So glad to be listening to Joe again! He IS Jonathan Shade. Joe voices the attitude and personality of the characters just as I would hear them with the cues given in words by the author. We get two versions of Jonathan at the same time and Joe's voicing of both fits each Jonathan. One's older and wiser in what he says, the other is younger and hotter with his words and actions. Joe slips into the characters with ease and I believe his voice to be them. By this point in the series, Joe has perfected the seamless narration and he's part of the book. There are NO distractions from the story, only adding a new dimension to the story through voice.
There is a moment with Henry and Jonathan that was so touching that my eyes welled up. It was perfectly places with the build up of their relationship and gave me the feel that the big moment was coming for Henry. Well done.
Jonathan found a friend and more in Henry as he raised him to be a good man. He's told Henry much of what's to come. Sure there are a few details that Jonathan held back, but the major outcome of what's to happen this day and change Henry's life was always known to Henry. They have planned for this. We don't know all the plans, but we get to know them as Jonathan goes through the actions of bringing things together this day. We even see the interaction with Rayna.
It's neat seeing how time and events overlap. We see some events from Jonathan's side that connect with Rayna's events in previous books. Very cool! We didn't get as much from Rayna's POV in previous books, but what we did get was powerful and memorable because I wanted to know what came of her in this time, it resurfaces here and we learn.
I know Gary always has a sly way of changing everything in a story. It all fits and smoothly moves along yet still surprises me.
Wow. What a twisted time line. lol. Hats off to the author for keeping it all straight and in line, keeping the events and time streams clear as they are different with each character living their own time line. And he kept me up on what was happening with each character in a way that I didn't feel it was repeated or adding unnecessary information, it all works in with the story.
This book ends the three book arch with Jonathan and Winslow, so you really need to read the previous two books, but not necessarily the first three books.
What changes made affect the future? Jonathan is doing a few things different, so will it change the world and time Jonathan was from?
I really enjoy Gary's twists at the end, he lived up to my expectations. I'm ready to see what is next in Jonathan's life.
I know Gary always has a sly way of changing everything in a story. It all fits and smoothly moves along yet still surprises me.
****FULL REVIEW****
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review at my request.
Jonathan has raised Henry to be a good man, but things will go on as they should. Henry will die. This version of Henry also has a great interest in Egyptian magic, and in immortality. Our Jonathan is old, but there is more in the works here as a younger Jonathan arrives to do what he's to do. Jonathan fights the powerful Henry Winslow, but doesn't know if he can defeat him. Jonathan has learned many things over the years and is wiser with age.
So glad to be listening to Joe again! He IS Jonathan Shade. Joe voices the attitude and personality of the characters just as I would hear them with the cues given in words by the author. We get two versions of Jonathan at the same time and Joe's voicing of both fits each Jonathan. One's older and wiser in what he says, the other is younger and hotter with his words and actions. Joe slips into the characters with ease and I believe his voice to be them. By this point in the series, Joe has perfected the seamless narration and he's part of the book. There are NO distractions from the story, only adding a new dimension to the story through voice.
There is a moment with Henry and Jonathan that was so touching that my eyes welled up. It was perfectly places with the build up of their relationship and gave me the feel that the big moment was coming for Henry. Well done.
Jonathan found a friend and more in Henry as he raised him to be a good man. He's told Henry much of what's to come. Sure there are a few details that Jonathan held back, but the major outcome of what's to happen this day and change Henry's life was always known to Henry. They have planned for this. We don't know all the plans, but we get to know them as Jonathan goes through the actions of bringing things together this day. We even see the interaction with Rayna.
It's neat seeing how time and events overlap. We see some events from Jonathan's side that connect with Rayna's events in previous books. Very cool! We didn't get as much from Rayna's POV in previous books, but what we did get was powerful and memorable because I wanted to know what came of her in this time, it resurfaces here and we learn.
I know Gary always has a sly way of changing everything in a story. It all fits and smoothly moves along yet still surprises me.
Wow. What a twisted time line. lol. Hats off to the author for keeping it all straight and in line, keeping the events and time streams clear as they are different with each character living their own time line. And he kept me up on what was happening with each character in a way that I didn't feel it was repeated or adding unnecessary information, it all works in with the story.
This book ends the three book arch with Jonathan and Winslow, so you really need to read the previous two books, but not necessarily the first three books.
What changes made affect the future? Jonathan is doing a few things different, so will it change the world and time Jonathan was from?
I really enjoy Gary's twists at the end, he lived up to my expectations. I'm ready to see what is next in Jonathan's life.
January 13, 2021
I enjoyed this book but not as much as the previous books which is a shame because this is the conclusion of the trilogy (make sure you read or listen to books four and five before jumping into this one). I don't know if it was the time travel or having two Jonathan's but I must admit I got a bit lost what was happening and why they did certain things. It's not because I had a big break between each book, guess what I have been doing for the last three days. Maybe it was because over the course of the three books a lot has happened and people have switched sides, it certainly contains a lots of twists and plenty of action, so I will certainly enjoy listening to it again.
Jonathan stuck in time has to wait it out for the world to catch up with him but he hasn't been idol as he grows old. In fact he has been raising the man he was sent to kill, can he bring about change by being a father? Henry Winslow's three entities are set to return and with this also sees a younger Jonathan, Kelly and Naomi arriving in the 1920's. Has Jonathan done enough to set about changes to the time line to make sure all his friends survive? Time will tell.
I am a big fan of audio books so really appreciate a a good narrator and Joe Hempel is firmly up there with some of the best, in my opinion.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Jonathan stuck in time has to wait it out for the world to catch up with him but he hasn't been idol as he grows old. In fact he has been raising the man he was sent to kill, can he bring about change by being a father? Henry Winslow's three entities are set to return and with this also sees a younger Jonathan, Kelly and Naomi arriving in the 1920's. Has Jonathan done enough to set about changes to the time line to make sure all his friends survive? Time will tell.
I am a big fan of audio books so really appreciate a a good narrator and Joe Hempel is firmly up there with some of the best, in my opinion.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
February 28, 2017
Note: This is Book 6 in the series and I recommend reading at least the previous 2 books as there are major things that happened in those books that both explain and affect characters’s decisions in this book.
This book takes place in New York 1926 roughly 50 years after the previous book, Sunset Spectres. The Jonathan Shade from the previous book that decided to raise the young Henry Winslow long ago changed his name to John Eastman. Now Henry is a man in his prime and he and John are in business together and have a good relationship. However, John knows from his previous timeline that his younger previous self, Jonathan Shade, is due to show up and kill this version of Henry Winslow. Also, his once-girlfriend Reina is due to show up as well, from a different time jump. Things are about to get very, very complicated.
This was a fun book and while there are many things I liked about it, I did feel all the time traveling stuff got jumbled and was difficult to keep track of. I wanted a time jump map. Still, with that confusion I got enough enjoyment out this book to want to continue the series.
First, I like that John gave 50 years of his life to raise Henry in a loving environment, giving him the basis to become a good human being instead of the evil Henry Winslow that Jonathan Shade and crew have been trying to stop from becoming immortal. John is the mastermind in this tale, knowing some key specifics about how things will go down with the time jumps. In short, he’s trying to keep everyone he cares about alive. As we know from the previous book, one of his best friends died back in 1877. Now he just might have the chance to change that.
As John’s friends and even Jonathan start popping into 1926, none of them seem to recognize him as a much older version of Shade. This allows him to manipulate things. John and Henry have been leading members in an occult group for many years and John has set in motion a plan to initiate a new member, which will give John access to this man’s stunning find – the Emerald Tablets. These ancient artifacts are the source of the immortality spell that the evil Henry Winslow is trying to enact. 1926 is the stage for his final step in that spell.
This story had little bits of sentimentality laced through it everywhere. For instance, a vibrantly alive Esther is doing quite well as Mr. Eastman’s secretary. John knows he probably shouldn’t have hired her, based on his past experience with her ghost, but he couldn’t turn her down. Plus this way John believes he can ensure that Esther, alive or dead, doesn’t fall in love with him and suffer a broken heart for decades. I liked these little nods to characters we lost in previous books. Yet their appearances and different reactions/interactions with various characters also added to muddying the timelines and making it difficult to keep things straight.
Along with all the scheming that takes place in this book, the story wraps up with a decently long action sequence. Some people get what’s coming to them and, as always with this series, some good folks perish as well. This time they weren’t characters that I was heavily invested in so my heart didn’t ache like it did at the end of Sunset Spectres. There’s a lovely afterglow in which some things are explained and the surviving characters make plans to have lovely lives. I am pleased that my favorite characters are still alive and kicking though I do wonder what the author will do next. What a mess with the timelines!
I received a free copy of this audiobook.
The Narration: Joe Hempel is just simply great at this series. I really enjoyed him giving voice to the older, wiser John Eastman and the younger, still cocky Jonathan Shade. As always, his Kelly Chan and Esther are great. His emotional scenes, such as that between John and the good Henry, were very touching.
This book takes place in New York 1926 roughly 50 years after the previous book, Sunset Spectres. The Jonathan Shade from the previous book that decided to raise the young Henry Winslow long ago changed his name to John Eastman. Now Henry is a man in his prime and he and John are in business together and have a good relationship. However, John knows from his previous timeline that his younger previous self, Jonathan Shade, is due to show up and kill this version of Henry Winslow. Also, his once-girlfriend Reina is due to show up as well, from a different time jump. Things are about to get very, very complicated.
This was a fun book and while there are many things I liked about it, I did feel all the time traveling stuff got jumbled and was difficult to keep track of. I wanted a time jump map. Still, with that confusion I got enough enjoyment out this book to want to continue the series.
First, I like that John gave 50 years of his life to raise Henry in a loving environment, giving him the basis to become a good human being instead of the evil Henry Winslow that Jonathan Shade and crew have been trying to stop from becoming immortal. John is the mastermind in this tale, knowing some key specifics about how things will go down with the time jumps. In short, he’s trying to keep everyone he cares about alive. As we know from the previous book, one of his best friends died back in 1877. Now he just might have the chance to change that.
As John’s friends and even Jonathan start popping into 1926, none of them seem to recognize him as a much older version of Shade. This allows him to manipulate things. John and Henry have been leading members in an occult group for many years and John has set in motion a plan to initiate a new member, which will give John access to this man’s stunning find – the Emerald Tablets. These ancient artifacts are the source of the immortality spell that the evil Henry Winslow is trying to enact. 1926 is the stage for his final step in that spell.
This story had little bits of sentimentality laced through it everywhere. For instance, a vibrantly alive Esther is doing quite well as Mr. Eastman’s secretary. John knows he probably shouldn’t have hired her, based on his past experience with her ghost, but he couldn’t turn her down. Plus this way John believes he can ensure that Esther, alive or dead, doesn’t fall in love with him and suffer a broken heart for decades. I liked these little nods to characters we lost in previous books. Yet their appearances and different reactions/interactions with various characters also added to muddying the timelines and making it difficult to keep things straight.
Along with all the scheming that takes place in this book, the story wraps up with a decently long action sequence. Some people get what’s coming to them and, as always with this series, some good folks perish as well. This time they weren’t characters that I was heavily invested in so my heart didn’t ache like it did at the end of Sunset Spectres. There’s a lovely afterglow in which some things are explained and the surviving characters make plans to have lovely lives. I am pleased that my favorite characters are still alive and kicking though I do wonder what the author will do next. What a mess with the timelines!
I received a free copy of this audiobook.
The Narration: Joe Hempel is just simply great at this series. I really enjoyed him giving voice to the older, wiser John Eastman and the younger, still cocky Jonathan Shade. As always, his Kelly Chan and Esther are great. His emotional scenes, such as that between John and the good Henry, were very touching.
September 6, 2018
I loved getting to hear all about there being two Jonathan Shades. The entire layered time part is pretty awesome. You got your usual Jonathan sass throughout this book along with the interestingness of a second Jonathan hanging around and all the excitement going on making this a really great story. I love how it was layered with the previous two books to all become clear and getting a "behind the scenes" look at what was going on. Joe did an amazing job narrating and as long as he's narrating I have to listen to the rest of the series.
March 24, 2020
Final part of the time travel trilogy and it's an older and wiser Jonathan Shade who is trying to fix time, aided by a younger different time Shade and Kelly. Another good book, will be interesting to see how the new dynamic will work in the next book.
July 2, 2023
The conclusion of the time travel trilogy is quite convoluted. There's magic of course, and Willis's third incarnation is coming to take over his dead body.
February 4, 2017
( Format : Audiobook)
""Magic. You gotta love it!""
For a wizard with no magic of his own (other than that of being impervious to the magic of other people), Jonathan Shade really gets about a bit. Currently stuck in1926 at the grand old age of 85 (as he says, "Getting old sucks, and not in a good way"),, he still has to perform his mission, the destruction of the would-be immortal. Of course, this is complicated by his having brought up Henry like his own son ...
But help, of a kind, is at hand in the form of a youthful Jonathan and some of the gang, including Kelly, arriving back in time to accomplish the actual murder. Yes, it does help to have read the two preceding books in.this time travelling trilogy within the Jonathan Shade series, but not essential: the twists and turns might be mind bogglingly elaborate but it's such a fun story it is easy just to go along with the plot without trying to test the theories.
As with the previous Shade books, the dialogue is tight, often funny, lots of memorable one liners and the characterisations are good. This time the story is recounted entirely in the first person, again, from the point of view of Jonathan Eaton, the name Shade the older is using during his prolonged stay in his past. As always, Joe Hempel is Shade, slick talking, quick thinking and devious: his narration is perfection. Could have been tricky having to voice two Jonathan's, but Mr.Hempel overcomes this effortlessly, somehow differentiating between the two whilst still maintaining the voice of Jonathan for both. So impressive.
This is such a fun series, I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrills and spills and a tiny touch of magic with their action. A big thank you to the rights holder who gifted me a copy of Wizard's Nocturn, via Audiobook Boom. It certainly brought some extra magic into my life. Hope there is more to come.
""Magic. You gotta love it!""
For a wizard with no magic of his own (other than that of being impervious to the magic of other people), Jonathan Shade really gets about a bit. Currently stuck in1926 at the grand old age of 85 (as he says, "Getting old sucks, and not in a good way"),, he still has to perform his mission, the destruction of the would-be immortal. Of course, this is complicated by his having brought up Henry like his own son ...
But help, of a kind, is at hand in the form of a youthful Jonathan and some of the gang, including Kelly, arriving back in time to accomplish the actual murder. Yes, it does help to have read the two preceding books in.this time travelling trilogy within the Jonathan Shade series, but not essential: the twists and turns might be mind bogglingly elaborate but it's such a fun story it is easy just to go along with the plot without trying to test the theories.
As with the previous Shade books, the dialogue is tight, often funny, lots of memorable one liners and the characterisations are good. This time the story is recounted entirely in the first person, again, from the point of view of Jonathan Eaton, the name Shade the older is using during his prolonged stay in his past. As always, Joe Hempel is Shade, slick talking, quick thinking and devious: his narration is perfection. Could have been tricky having to voice two Jonathan's, but Mr.Hempel overcomes this effortlessly, somehow differentiating between the two whilst still maintaining the voice of Jonathan for both. So impressive.
This is such a fun series, I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrills and spills and a tiny touch of magic with their action. A big thank you to the rights holder who gifted me a copy of Wizard's Nocturn, via Audiobook Boom. It certainly brought some extra magic into my life. Hope there is more to come.
January 14, 2017
Review originally published at http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...
I was offered a free copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
This is the much expected conclusion to the time travel series. We left Jonathan taking care of Henry Winslow and approaching the moment where Reina travels to the past. Despite Jonathan's efforts, things take a turn for the worse and he will have to fix it and make everything fit in the great scheme of things.
I was looking forward to this book and see how things were going to end up. I confess that I had little issues following the twists and paradoxes inside the time travel timelines. Try to have the previous two books fresh in your mind, since there is no introduction summarizing the previous events, and that mixed with the complexity of the story in this book may get you listening again to some passages to completely grasp it. There was a lot of explaining at the end of the book, but things fit nicely and I was satisfied with it all.
Joe Hempel's narration was spot on, as usual, giving the right voice to each character, and transmitting all the emotions from the narration. These books would not be the same without him.
I recommended this series to my boyfriend, since I have been obsessed by them in the last months. He is not into audiobooks, so he went for the Kindle edition, and you know? He finished the nine books during the Christmas holidays! I just hope the last three get released soon as audiobooks. I am impatient to know what is next for Shade and his friends.
Review originally published at Lomeraniel Audiobookreviews.
I was offered a free copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
This is the much expected conclusion to the time travel series. We left Jonathan taking care of Henry Winslow and approaching the moment where Reina travels to the past. Despite Jonathan's efforts, things take a turn for the worse and he will have to fix it and make everything fit in the great scheme of things.
I was looking forward to this book and see how things were going to end up. I confess that I had little issues following the twists and paradoxes inside the time travel timelines. Try to have the previous two books fresh in your mind, since there is no introduction summarizing the previous events, and that mixed with the complexity of the story in this book may get you listening again to some passages to completely grasp it. There was a lot of explaining at the end of the book, but things fit nicely and I was satisfied with it all.
Joe Hempel's narration was spot on, as usual, giving the right voice to each character, and transmitting all the emotions from the narration. These books would not be the same without him.
I recommended this series to my boyfriend, since I have been obsessed by them in the last months. He is not into audiobooks, so he went for the Kindle edition, and you know? He finished the nine books during the Christmas holidays! I just hope the last three get released soon as audiobooks. I am impatient to know what is next for Shade and his friends.
Review originally published at Lomeraniel Audiobookreviews.
January 1, 2017
This was another entertaining novel in the Jonathan Shade world. The book has action, suspense, and a healthy dose of fantasy and supernatural. This is the 6th book in the series, and I have read all the previous books. I have to admit that while this book was still good and entertaining, I find that my interest in waning a bit. Don't get me wrong - I'm still glad I read it, and I will continue to read the books in the series - but I'm not sure how much of my continuation of the series is just to get a sense of completion, or if it is for true enjoyment. I like the characters and the humor throughout the book. I think this is an interesting series, especially for those fond of supernatural fantasy. I listened to the Audible audio version of the book narrated by Joe Hempel. I think Hempel's narration skills keep getting better as the series progresses. He gives unique voices to the characters and keeps the story moving along.
December 20, 2016
This 6th book in the Jonathan Shade series culminates the time travel trilogy. This story captivated me from the start, it takes you on a complex journey of intrigue, action, manipulation and converging time lines. There are twists within twists in this story, and at times they are a little hard to follow but in the end it leads to an interesting and satisfying finish. Joe Hemple did good job of narration in the audiobook, his pace was just right and the voices he used for the characters are appealing and consistent from one book to the next. I really enjoyed the humour and relationships of the characters in this story, their friendship and love traverses time and you can not help but be attached to to them. I will look forward to hearing the next audiobook to see where the changes that happened in this story will lead. I received the audiobook at no cost and under no obligation.
February 4, 2017
The Last Book?
This book was the last in the series,sad to say.
All of the characters were well developed and interesting.
Overall, The story line had several twists and turns and was a great conclusion to the series.
Joe Hempel did well with the narration as usual.
Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."
February 3, 2017
Awesome
What a crazy ride. My head is still spinning from those last 3 books. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!
What a crazy ride. My head is still spinning from those last 3 books. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!
August 14, 2016
Probably the most flawed book of the series, if only because the author does more "Story-explaining" than "Story-telling", it wraps things up rather nicely in the end, though, and carries into the next novel.
August 2, 2015
Yeah
What an excellent series . Keep writing Gary. We're reading. I think I have a huge crush on Kelly. Word.
What an excellent series . Keep writing Gary. We're reading. I think I have a huge crush on Kelly. Word.
September 11, 2015
Couldn't stop
I stayed up all night to finish this book and I'm exhausted but satisfied. Great story and great characters. Loved it. So, what happens next?
I stayed up all night to finish this book and I'm exhausted but satisfied. Great story and great characters. Loved it. So, what happens next?
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews