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Harmony Black #2
Red Knight Falling
Fresh from their victory over the Bogeyman, FBI agent Harmony Black and her team, Vigilant Lock, face a new type of threat: one from beyond the stars.
They’d always heard the Red Knight was an urban legend: in 1954, three years before Sputnik launched, a mysterious satellite was sighted circling Earth, though no power on the planet had such technology.
But the Red Knight is real, and what’s more, it’s inextricably linked to a supernatural force no one yet understands. Like a moth to a flame, this dark presence collides annually with the airborne satellite. Except this year the Red Knight is on course to crash-land…in Oregon.
Vigilant Lock sets out to find the crash site and secure the remnants before the mysterious power is drawn to Earth. But they soon discover the mission is far from straightforward—and they aren’t the only ones tracking the Red Knight. To stop a deadly occult threat, Harmony and her team must use all their resources: technology and sorcery, science and magic. Fortunately, Harmony has only begun to discover her growing power.
They’d always heard the Red Knight was an urban legend: in 1954, three years before Sputnik launched, a mysterious satellite was sighted circling Earth, though no power on the planet had such technology.
But the Red Knight is real, and what’s more, it’s inextricably linked to a supernatural force no one yet understands. Like a moth to a flame, this dark presence collides annually with the airborne satellite. Except this year the Red Knight is on course to crash-land…in Oregon.
Vigilant Lock sets out to find the crash site and secure the remnants before the mysterious power is drawn to Earth. But they soon discover the mission is far from straightforward—and they aren’t the only ones tracking the Red Knight. To stop a deadly occult threat, Harmony and her team must use all their resources: technology and sorcery, science and magic. Fortunately, Harmony has only begun to discover her growing power.
326 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2016
381 people are currently reading
1721 people want to read
About the author
Craig Schaefer
50 books1,314 followersCraig Schaefer's books have taken readers to the seamy edge of a criminal underworld drenched in shadow (the Daniel Faust series), to a world torn by war, poison and witchcraft (the Revanche Cycle), and across a modern America mired in occult mysteries and a conspiracy of lies (the Harmony Black series).
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
September 26, 2018
Minus:
Lots of outsized plot potholes, complete with unbelievable shit going on.
Pluses
Characters of character
Originality
Volatile dynamics
Illegal government conspiracies
Clandestine stuff happening around the clock, overall good pacing.
Q: When you’re part of an illegal government conspiracy, your actual job description gets hazy. For example, say you and your team take a few days of leave time and fly to Boston to hunt down the man who killed a fellow agent. If you’re working off the books, but the books don’t officially exist in the first place, have you really gone rogue, or are you just putting in unpaid overtime? (c)
Q: “I don’t mind giving up my day in the sun so other people can have theirs.” I glanced sidelong at her. “Are you psychoanalyzing me?”
She smiled. “Old habits.” (c)
Q: She hung up, glowering at her phone.
“You know the only thing more irritating than another black-bag department interfering with one of my covert ops?” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“The legitimate government interfering with one of my covert ops. Can’t talk to ’em, can’t shoot ’em, either. And if we get tossed in jail or a brig, you know Vigilant’s not going to spring us. That’s why we’re called deniable assets.” (c)
Q: Who do you work for? Who sent you?”
“The Mormons,” Jessie said. “We’re getting really aggressive on the door-to-door thing. Have you made your decision for Christ?” (c)
Lots of outsized plot potholes, complete with unbelievable shit going on.
Pluses
Characters of character
Originality
Volatile dynamics
Illegal government conspiracies
Clandestine stuff happening around the clock, overall good pacing.
Q: When you’re part of an illegal government conspiracy, your actual job description gets hazy. For example, say you and your team take a few days of leave time and fly to Boston to hunt down the man who killed a fellow agent. If you’re working off the books, but the books don’t officially exist in the first place, have you really gone rogue, or are you just putting in unpaid overtime? (c)
Q: “I don’t mind giving up my day in the sun so other people can have theirs.” I glanced sidelong at her. “Are you psychoanalyzing me?”
She smiled. “Old habits.” (c)
Q: She hung up, glowering at her phone.
“You know the only thing more irritating than another black-bag department interfering with one of my covert ops?” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“The legitimate government interfering with one of my covert ops. Can’t talk to ’em, can’t shoot ’em, either. And if we get tossed in jail or a brig, you know Vigilant’s not going to spring us. That’s why we’re called deniable assets.” (c)
Q: Who do you work for? Who sent you?”
“The Mormons,” Jessie said. “We’re getting really aggressive on the door-to-door thing. Have you made your decision for Christ?” (c)
December 20, 2023
🛰️ We're Off to See the Wizard Hunt Falling Satellites Buddy Reread (WOtStWHFSBR™) with the MacHalos and Stuff 🛰️
Previous rating: 4 stars.
New rating: 3.1245664 stars. Bad, bad Sarah, shame on me and stuff. I think I should unleash the crustaceans on my little self for showing such despicable lack of respect to Awesome Mr Schaefer and stuff.
➽ And the moral of this reread is: Too much urban, not enough fantasy. Too many plot holes and characters acting out of, um, character, not enough coherence. Too much mundane stuff, not enough ass-kicking shenanigans. Too much Harmony, not enough Danny Boy. (Sorry, what? I have the wrong series, you say? And your point is?) Too much Flat Boring as Fish Cody (FBaFC™), not enough Yummiliciously Yummilicious Fontaine (Y²F™). But still, Schaefer it is, and Schaefer it bloody shrimping remains. So QED and stuff.
Get it? Good. Clever, clever Little Barnacles.
[February 2017]
• Chick-mance is Slightly Awesome and Paperclips are Somewhat Underrated Buddy Read (CiSAaPaSUBR™) with Nafeeza, Robin and Cathy •
✉ Personal, extremely private message to POTUS #45 that should have been:
Now that I have so beautifully dealt with the technicalities, let's talk about this marginally entertaining little book here. You'll have to forgive me, my Lovely Arthropods, but I am afraid I will have to do the List Thing (LT™) once again here. I know, I know, I've been doing this a lot lately, but the murderous crustaceans' cousins from the Mariana Trench have been staying with us since last week and things have been pretty hectic around here. All that raucous slaughter 24/7 is a whole lot of fun, but it's taking most of my preciously nefarious time (or is it nefariously precious time? I forget). Anyway, this is why you should read this moderately interesting little book here:
① Craig Schaefer is slightly awesome.
The end.
Hahahaha. I'm so funny sometimes, I crack my little self up.
② Craig Schaefer writes the coolest, most realistic, most complex female characters in the history of coolest, most realistic, most complex female characters.
③ This series features the mostest wondrousest revolutionary concept ever: the chick-mance! Whereby two UF chicks can actually be actual friends! I kid you not. Our two relatively scrumptious heroines here do indeed support and look out for each other. Okay, so my little heart is black and withered, which means I should find this disgusting display of repugnant friendship totally distasteful. Let me reassure you, my Little Barnacles, I do. I am just commending my dear Mr Schaefer on his refreshingly rebellious idea here. And this might come as a surprise to you, but I am actually beginning to like this whole loathsome friendship business. Honestly, I am. Why? Because it apparently entails beating the crap out of your BFF to make her see the light. And that, my Tiny Arthropods, is something that makes my little black and withered heart go all, well, you know, black and withered and stuff.
"Does this have anything to do with the color of my heart," you ask? No, why? It should? You people are weird.
④ As I so brilliantly demonstrated in the fascinating pre-review down there ↓↓ this series shouldn't be called Harmony Black. It should be called Jessie Temple. Because Jessie steals the show. Invariably. Because Jessie is snarky. Because Jessie is groovy. Because Jessie can get a little batty. And because Jessie is deliciously beastly. And that is yummy . So Poof! Gone! Harem! (PGH™) and stuff.
⑤ I don't want my girl Harmony to be jealous here, so she's going to get her own little captivating paragraph too . Harmony takes after her daddy, Craig Schaefer: she is slightly awesome. Because she doesn't bullshit. Harmony is upfront and tells it like it is. Whether you want to hear or not. And whether it's good for her to tell you or not. And that's pretty, you know, cool and stuff. Plus, Harmony is getting less straightlaced by the second. I mean, she was kind of despicably strict and uptight in book 1, but thanks to my girlfriend Jessie's deliciously terrible influence, she's beginning to loosen up. One thing that bothers me though: Harmony seems to have a very low opinion of shrimps. And that is rather distressing. Mr Schaefer, we need to talk.
⑥ Luscious bad guys and gals galore! Lying, conspiring, scheming, treacherous individuals aplenty! Homicidal maniacs everywhere! Moral compasses optional! And theshrimp on the paella icing on the cake: one of the mostest awesomest bashit crazy psychopathic bitch in the history of mostest awesomest bashit crazy psychopathic bitches! Rarely have I come across an evil nemesis I want to kill dead soooooo badly. I just cannot wait for her final hour to come. And if I could take part in the gory festivities, I would feel super special and be sincerely honored and stuff. Thank thee kindly, Mr Schaefer.
Now I am sure you are allrelieved this is almost over wondering why I gave this book a slightly lower rating than I did the previous one. And although I don't really have time to answer your surprisingly pertinent question, I will anyway. Because I'm marvelous like that. Sometimes. Soooo, I didn't like this instalment as much because it was a bit lacking in the yummy demon department. The story was most excellent and entertaining and exciting and got appropriately bloody and twisty and stuff, BUT. Without the Deviously Cunning Demon Factor (DCDF™), it just wasn't the same. Harmony's Jessie's team is pretty tasty, and their banter is quite scrumptious, but I miss my boyfriend Fontaine and my girl This One Nyx. Bring them back in the upcoming instalment, You Who Should Have Been POTUS #45 (YWSHBP#45™), bring them back!
» And the moral of this Satellites Suck and I Hate Everything Space Related but Craig Schaefer is Slightly Awesome so There You Go Crappy Non Review (SSaIHESRbCSiSAsTYGCNR™) is: Mr Schaefer, abducting practically all the characters you create is getting exhausting. Tell you what: I will no longer bother doing the Poof! Gone! Harem! (PGH™) on them. No I won't. I'll just kidnap you instead. Ha.
• Book 1: Harmony Black ★★★★
• Book 3: Glass Predator ★★★
• Book 4: Cold Spectrum ★★★★
• Book 5: Right to the Kill ★★★
• Book 6: Black Tie Required ★★★★
· Book 7: Never Send Roses ★★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
This series should have been named Jessie Temple, not Harmony Black. I mean, how could a hilariously snarky, deliciously beastly, slaughterously educated (yes, that is a thing) girl not steal the show? Impossible, my Little Barnacles, impossible! Jessie dear, it was so wise of my little self to do Pre-Emptive Kidnapping Thing (PEKT™) on you while I was reading book 1! You know how it goes, don't you? Harem. High Security Wing. NOW.
►► Full Yeah I Know this is a Miserably Low Rating for a Craig Schaefer Book but I Have a Valid Excuse Yes I Do No I Won't Tell You What it is Why Well Because Life Sucks and Stuff Crappy Non Review (YIKtiaMLRRfaCSBbIHaVEYIDNIWTYWiiWWBLSaSCNR™) to Come.
Previous rating: 4 stars.
New rating: 3.1245664 stars. Bad, bad Sarah, shame on me and stuff. I think I should unleash the crustaceans on my little self for showing such despicable lack of respect to Awesome Mr Schaefer and stuff.
➽ And the moral of this reread is: Too much urban, not enough fantasy. Too many plot holes and characters acting out of, um, character, not enough coherence. Too much mundane stuff, not enough ass-kicking shenanigans. Too much Harmony, not enough Danny Boy. (Sorry, what? I have the wrong series, you say? And your point is?) Too much Flat Boring as Fish Cody (FBaFC™), not enough Yummiliciously Yummilicious Fontaine (Y²F™). But still, Schaefer it is, and Schaefer it bloody shrimping remains. So QED and stuff.
Get it? Good. Clever, clever Little Barnacles.
[February 2017]
• Chick-mance is Slightly Awesome and Paperclips are Somewhat Underrated Buddy Read (CiSAaPaSUBR™) with Nafeeza, Robin and Cathy •
✉ Personal, extremely private message to POTUS #45 that should have been:
Now that I have so beautifully dealt with the technicalities, let's talk about this marginally entertaining little book here. You'll have to forgive me, my Lovely Arthropods, but I am afraid I will have to do the List Thing (LT™) once again here. I know, I know, I've been doing this a lot lately, but the murderous crustaceans' cousins from the Mariana Trench have been staying with us since last week and things have been pretty hectic around here. All that raucous slaughter 24/7 is a whole lot of fun, but it's taking most of my preciously nefarious time (or is it nefariously precious time? I forget). Anyway, this is why you should read this moderately interesting little book here:
① Craig Schaefer is slightly awesome.
The end.
Hahahaha. I'm so funny sometimes, I crack my little self up.
② Craig Schaefer writes the coolest, most realistic, most complex female characters in the history of coolest, most realistic, most complex female characters.
③ This series features the mostest wondrousest revolutionary concept ever: the chick-mance! Whereby two UF chicks can actually be actual friends! I kid you not. Our two relatively scrumptious heroines here do indeed support and look out for each other. Okay, so my little heart is black and withered, which means I should find this disgusting display of repugnant friendship totally distasteful. Let me reassure you, my Little Barnacles, I do. I am just commending my dear Mr Schaefer on his refreshingly rebellious idea here. And this might come as a surprise to you, but I am actually beginning to like this whole loathsome friendship business. Honestly, I am. Why? Because it apparently entails beating the crap out of your BFF to make her see the light. And that, my Tiny Arthropods, is something that makes my little black and withered heart go all, well, you know, black and withered and stuff.
"Does this have anything to do with the color of my heart," you ask? No, why? It should? You people are weird.
④ As I so brilliantly demonstrated in the fascinating pre-review down there ↓↓ this series shouldn't be called Harmony Black. It should be called Jessie Temple. Because Jessie steals the show. Invariably. Because Jessie is snarky. Because Jessie is groovy. Because Jessie can get a little batty. And because Jessie is deliciously beastly. And that is yummy . So Poof! Gone! Harem! (PGH™) and stuff.
⑤ I don't want my girl Harmony to be jealous here, so she's going to get her own little captivating paragraph too . Harmony takes after her daddy, Craig Schaefer: she is slightly awesome. Because she doesn't bullshit. Harmony is upfront and tells it like it is. Whether you want to hear or not. And whether it's good for her to tell you or not. And that's pretty, you know, cool and stuff. Plus, Harmony is getting less straightlaced by the second. I mean, she was kind of despicably strict and uptight in book 1, but thanks to my girlfriend Jessie's deliciously terrible influence, she's beginning to loosen up. One thing that bothers me though: Harmony seems to have a very low opinion of shrimps. And that is rather distressing. Mr Schaefer, we need to talk.
⑥ Luscious bad guys and gals galore! Lying, conspiring, scheming, treacherous individuals aplenty! Homicidal maniacs everywhere! Moral compasses optional! And the
Now I am sure you are all
» And the moral of this Satellites Suck and I Hate Everything Space Related but Craig Schaefer is Slightly Awesome so There You Go Crappy Non Review (SSaIHESRbCSiSAsTYGCNR™) is: Mr Schaefer, abducting practically all the characters you create is getting exhausting. Tell you what: I will no longer bother doing the Poof! Gone! Harem! (PGH™) on them. No I won't. I'll just kidnap you instead. Ha.
• Book 1: Harmony Black ★★★★
• Book 3: Glass Predator ★★★
• Book 4: Cold Spectrum ★★★★
• Book 5: Right to the Kill ★★★
• Book 6: Black Tie Required ★★★★
· Book 7: Never Send Roses ★★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
This series should have been named Jessie Temple, not Harmony Black. I mean, how could a hilariously snarky, deliciously beastly, slaughterously educated (yes, that is a thing) girl not steal the show? Impossible, my Little Barnacles, impossible! Jessie dear, it was so wise of my little self to do Pre-Emptive Kidnapping Thing (PEKT™) on you while I was reading book 1! You know how it goes, don't you? Harem. High Security Wing. NOW.
►► Full Yeah I Know this is a Miserably Low Rating for a Craig Schaefer Book but I Have a Valid Excuse Yes I Do No I Won't Tell You What it is Why Well Because Life Sucks and Stuff Crappy Non Review (YIKtiaMLRRfaCSBbIHaVEYIDNIWTYWiiWWBLSaSCNR™) to Come.
May 13, 2020
*** 4.44 ***
A buddy read with the UF fiends @ BB&B!!! We need to solve the little demon problem we seem to have....
"...“When you're part of an illegal government conspiracy, your actual job description gets hazy. [...] If you're working off the books, but the books don't officially exist in the first place, have you really gone rogue, or are you just putting in unpaid overtime?” ..."
This was very exciting, as most CS books have proven to be. I have come to enjoy his style of storytelling and love the characters he creates. Special Agent Harmony Black is somewhat reminiscent of Sculley in The X-Files, and this is the biggest compliment I can think of. She is a bit stiff, straight-laced and still completely open to mystery, magic and the demons that are infesting our world. So, she is working for a super-secret agency together with a wolf-like lady who is hilarious at all times, a psychological profiler who happens to be in a wheelchair, and a hormonal teenager who is thinking with his "head" and the rest of the time tries to be their communications and data retrieving genius. Only this time the job needs a NASA type of specialist, or at least someone who knows space rocket flying stuff. So after the first dude that their boss sends to help does not "work out", Harmony calls on her somewhat ex-boyfriend and space engineering college drop-out, deputy sheriff Cody, currently hot stuff:):):) And obviously he used to be a boy scout, because he was "Always Prepared!!!". This is the group who this time around has to save the world from an evil entity in space who is about to crash on Earth... Good luck saving the world, when there are at least 3 more major players trying to reach said entity for reasons of their own, some of them nefarious...
"...“C’mon, clock’s ticking. Let’s go pick a fight with an evil billionaire wizard.” ..."
This is all I can say without giving anything away. For the rest, you guys have to read the book and the series yourselves! You will not regret it!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come:)
A buddy read with the UF fiends @ BB&B!!! We need to solve the little demon problem we seem to have....
"...“When you're part of an illegal government conspiracy, your actual job description gets hazy. [...] If you're working off the books, but the books don't officially exist in the first place, have you really gone rogue, or are you just putting in unpaid overtime?” ..."
This was very exciting, as most CS books have proven to be. I have come to enjoy his style of storytelling and love the characters he creates. Special Agent Harmony Black is somewhat reminiscent of Sculley in The X-Files, and this is the biggest compliment I can think of. She is a bit stiff, straight-laced and still completely open to mystery, magic and the demons that are infesting our world. So, she is working for a super-secret agency together with a wolf-like lady who is hilarious at all times, a psychological profiler who happens to be in a wheelchair, and a hormonal teenager who is thinking with his "head" and the rest of the time tries to be their communications and data retrieving genius. Only this time the job needs a NASA type of specialist, or at least someone who knows space rocket flying stuff. So after the first dude that their boss sends to help does not "work out", Harmony calls on her somewhat ex-boyfriend and space engineering college drop-out, deputy sheriff Cody, currently hot stuff:):):) And obviously he used to be a boy scout, because he was "Always Prepared!!!". This is the group who this time around has to save the world from an evil entity in space who is about to crash on Earth... Good luck saving the world, when there are at least 3 more major players trying to reach said entity for reasons of their own, some of them nefarious...
"...“C’mon, clock’s ticking. Let’s go pick a fight with an evil billionaire wizard.” ..."
This is all I can say without giving anything away. For the rest, you guys have to read the book and the series yourselves! You will not regret it!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come:)
November 6, 2016
“Let’s face it, Temple. In our line of work, clinical psychopathy is an asset.”
The second book in Harmony series went quite quickly for me. Harmony and her great team are planning another great adventure. This time some space-stuff is *Lots of eye rolling* Oh come on space-stuff. I tolerate you just because of Harmony and her team! *Sighs* Ok Mr. Schaefer, I can suffer a little bit to have my playdate with Harmony :S
The phrase “Red Knight Falling” describes the main conception of this book. Though the idea to is not so new and fresh. I’ve met it in “Men in Black 3” In fact Harmony reminds me of agent Kay (professional, experienced leader, reliable and restrained a little bit) and Jessie – agent Jay (funny, a little bit crazy, strong, mouthy, no-rules-for-me-please person).
But only Harmony matches the clothing code :D Sadly, Harmony and her team haven’t any flashing memory erasers :) No need to worry, this book has Awesome!
Ok, now lets get back to my playdate :) Oh what an awesome playdate it was! There was a lot of scheming going on. The team had to save the world once more. And Mr. Schaefer prepared a tasty mind-blowing surprise: an old crazy character from the past is back and this personality makes so much fun, annoying almost everybody, showing great magical power and leaving a broken heart on the way. The plot was amazing, with all the intrigues, mystery, non-stop action, thriller, powerful military forces, evil mercenaries, some magic, some monsters, espionage, treason, crazy twists and interesting historical spices! Of course there was violence and blood, but Harmony and her team planned to kick lots of asses, so it’s right about time to get ugly (Thanks for that Mr. Schaefer ;) You’re very kind <3). There are lots of evil forces lurking around and I can’t separate the best one. I liked them all! Also I liked the touch of history in this book. The German conspiracy theories and the cold war secrets made my history fan tremble with joy inside.
Because of these things, this book was more engaging for me comparing it to the first book in the series. The characters’ professional development () and the entertaining cat-and-mouse play are the core in this book. Harmony and her team aren’t flawless super heroes, but they show that they care about the world and they can stand all the evil in their way. Also this book had great loyalty, leadership, morals and relationships challenges, which really had an overpowering effect on the characters’ lives.
Harmony and Jessie are great partners and they make the series shine.
“Since when do FBI agents carry pieces like this?” he said, dragging his fingertip across the acid-marred serial number. “This is a hitter’s gun. I’ll ask again: Who do you work for? Who sent you?”
“The Mormons,” Jessie said. “We’re getting really aggressive on the door-to-door thing. Have you made your decision for Christ?”
Though I longed for some no-work free time for them and their team, just to know them better. That could add more believability to the characters, make them stronger and more complex.
There is even a hint to some romantic relationship starting, but no quick HEA or some rolling in bed. I liked that as all the sudden love can spoil characters to me. Just romance and cute moments.
I’ll definitely wait for the third book to be as great as this one or maybe better :)
“Damn.” Kevin winced, smoothing his rumpled hair. “That hurt.”
“Yeah. Stupidity should be painful. That’s how you learn not to be stupid.
November 21, 2016
This second book in the Harmony Black series was every bit as enjoyable as the first. It was packed with the exact same mix of action, humour, likeable characters, and engaging plot that I've come to expect from a Craig Schaefer book.
Harmony and her Vigilant Lock team were back with a new mission: saving the world! This time the threat was a vast supernatural entity that is drawn annually to the Red Knight, an orbiting satellite. The creature has become top priority as its annual visit to the Red Knight is due in less than a week and the Red Knight satellite has just crashed to earth in Oregon. Harmony and her team are dispatched to the crash site with instructions to secure the wreckage and discover why the entity is drawn to it. Unfortunately they are one of a number of people who are all racing to the crash site to grab a piece of the wreckage for their own purposes.
As always the story was a lot more fun than it sounds. I loved the banter between Harmony and her team-mates. We also got to visit places like the Bast Club and to meet a few familiar faces from the Faust series as well as a host of interesting new characters.
All in all I really enjoyed this story. The ending was satisfying but also hinted at future issues for Harmony and her team.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Christina Traister did a great job with the audio. Initially I was a little disappointed with her voice for Jessie but now that I've had time to grow accustomed to it I find I quite like it.
Harmony and her Vigilant Lock team were back with a new mission: saving the world! This time the threat was a vast supernatural entity that is drawn annually to the Red Knight, an orbiting satellite. The creature has become top priority as its annual visit to the Red Knight is due in less than a week and the Red Knight satellite has just crashed to earth in Oregon. Harmony and her team are dispatched to the crash site with instructions to secure the wreckage and discover why the entity is drawn to it. Unfortunately they are one of a number of people who are all racing to the crash site to grab a piece of the wreckage for their own purposes.
As always the story was a lot more fun than it sounds. I loved the banter between Harmony and her team-mates. We also got to visit places like the Bast Club and to meet a few familiar faces from the Faust series as well as a host of interesting new characters.
All in all I really enjoyed this story. The ending was satisfying but also hinted at future issues for Harmony and her team.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Christina Traister did a great job with the audio. Initially I was a little disappointed with her voice for Jessie but now that I've had time to grow accustomed to it I find I quite like it.
April 3, 2018
Sale Alert 03Apr18: Amazon daily deal $1.99
A buddy read with….
So the series is named for Harmony Black and true this is all from her PoV but she is clearly not the star. No offense to the uptight and super repressedSkullyHarmony, she might be the glue that holds a team together but she is definitely not the most interesting person there. Hard to compete with the rest of the Scooby Doo squad since one of them was raised by a serial killer and might have part of a wolf god in her, the other hacked the mob and ended up in witsec and he is only nineteen and the final member of the crew might be in a wheelchair but she will run circles around you with her psychological insight. Harmony didn’t stand a chance.
Jessie is by far my favorite character in this book. She totally steals the show with her past and her snarky sarcastic wit. She is the leader of the team but that is more because she is willing to make the hard calls without hesitation than anything else.
I love it when she is talking smack to the bad guys and she is the perfect one for Harmony to play off of since she is straight as an arrow. Together they are a great team and the Wo-Mance between them is strong. So strong that if they had a kissing scene I’d be into it for sure (I don’t think it is going in that direction AT ALL, I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind).
There is a ton of action in this series so far and not in just a fight scene capacity but just in the story, plot and characters are always moving and something is always happening. There just isn’t much sit around and talk about your feelings time, in a good way because I get a little bored when it is just fight scene after fight scene.
There is a smidge of romance happing sort of and Cody make a reappearance in this one as well. I’m not sure what I think about them as a couple. Cody is super likable and he is a small town cop that recently learned there is a lot of paranormal stuff out there. But he is super goody-two-shoes. This would normally not be a problem for me, I like nice guys. BUT…Harmony is the straightest shooter in her group too and even though she makes the hard calls from time to time she is still pretty goody-two-shoes as well so I’m not shipping it yet because they are a little too similar in a lot of ways. Plus I’m holding out a little hope that Fontaine from book one gets in on a little Harmony action. We will just see where that whole thing leads.
There are some hints to a bigger plots behind the mission that the crew went on that were very intriguing. I definitely interested in knowing who some more of the players are and who Nyx’s mother might be.
Schaefer definitely has my attention as an Urban Fantasy writer now and I’m going to check out his other series Daniel Faust because so far everything has been interesting, original and fun. Another great installment to the series.
A buddy read with….
“Seriously,” he said. “I really want to know. Why don’t we get gadgets? This is some straight-up James Bond stuff.”
Jessie snatched the pen out of his hand, tossing it over to me. “Because Jason Bourne can kick James Bond’s ass, little man, and that’s how we roll: car chases and parkour.”
“Couldn’t we do car chases and parkour with gadgets?”
So the series is named for Harmony Black and true this is all from her PoV but she is clearly not the star. No offense to the uptight and super repressed
Jessie is by far my favorite character in this book. She totally steals the show with her past and her snarky sarcastic wit. She is the leader of the team but that is more because she is willing to make the hard calls without hesitation than anything else.
“And thinking about the human cost, for me, is something that takes genuine effort. It’s not part of my mental process. Harmony, I was raised by a serial killer. I was eleven years old and helping him lure in victims, because that’s what I was taught to do. One time? On my thirteenth birthday? He made me hold the knife.I’m not the kid I was back then, but don’t you dare think I was never her. What I’m saying is, I’m nobody’s goddamn moral compass.”
“I didn’t ask you to be.”
“But I am asking you to be,” she said. “You care about people. You try to do the right thing, even when it costs you. You believe in big ideas, like honor and compassion and justice. Even when it makes you look like a damn fool.”
I love it when she is talking smack to the bad guys and she is the perfect one for Harmony to play off of since she is straight as an arrow. Together they are a great team and the Wo-Mance between them is strong. So strong that if they had a kissing scene I’d be into it for sure (I don’t think it is going in that direction AT ALL, I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind).
“For the record,” she said, “you ever slap me again, we’d better be having rough sex at the time or you are in serious trouble.”
“I think I’d be in serious trouble either way.”
There is a ton of action in this series so far and not in just a fight scene capacity but just in the story, plot and characters are always moving and something is always happening. There just isn’t much sit around and talk about your feelings time, in a good way because I get a little bored when it is just fight scene after fight scene.
There is a smidge of romance happing sort of and Cody make a reappearance in this one as well. I’m not sure what I think about them as a couple. Cody is super likable and he is a small town cop that recently learned there is a lot of paranormal stuff out there. But he is super goody-two-shoes. This would normally not be a problem for me, I like nice guys. BUT…Harmony is the straightest shooter in her group too and even though she makes the hard calls from time to time she is still pretty goody-two-shoes as well so I’m not shipping it yet because they are a little too similar in a lot of ways. Plus I’m holding out a little hope that Fontaine from book one gets in on a little Harmony action. We will just see where that whole thing leads.
There are some hints to a bigger plots behind the mission that the crew went on that were very intriguing. I definitely interested in knowing who some more of the players are and who Nyx’s mother might be.
“Let’s talk about what happened in Talbot Cove, instead,” Linder replied. “I told you I was sending a Vigilant team in there and to keep it clear of hostiles so they could get their work done. You knew. And you know who else showed up in town right around the same time as my people? Nyx ended up in Temple’s report. By name. Given that she’s a goddamn demonic bounty hunter, I had to assign her a Hostile Entity designation. Then I flew home to Richmond for a couple of days. Guess who was waiting for me, in my living room, with my daughter sitting on her lap.”
“Nyx?”
“Nyx’s mother,” Linder said, eyes hard as flint. “And she’s pretty pissed off right now, considering her little girl is officially on Vigilant’s hit list.”
Schaefer definitely has my attention as an Urban Fantasy writer now and I’m going to check out his other series Daniel Faust because so far everything has been interesting, original and fun. Another great installment to the series.
March 14, 2019
Red Knight Falling by Craig Schaefer and narrated by Christina Traister continues the series in this book 2. With an evil from beyond our planet, lots of mysteries to solve, more creatures like Jessie, a nosy reporter, and an object to return to space before the Earth is invaded by something unspeakable....just another job!
Very exciting and crazy good! Lots of suspense and action! Love the narration too!
Very exciting and crazy good! Lots of suspense and action! Love the narration too!
March 22, 2018
4 Stars
Craig Schaefer delivers again. I’ve now read 7 books that he has written and they have all been consistently entertaining.
Red Knight Falling picks up not long after the end of the last book. Harmony and the rest of the team are given a new mission of the highest priority. A satellite, somehow linked to a powerful hostile entity, is falling to Earth and Vigilant Lock is tasked with recovering the downed satellite. They aren’t the only ones interested, however, and it isn’t long before they encounter other hunters. Their mission soon becomes even more complicated and sends them traveling all over the country as they race against the clock to avoid disaster.
Like all of Schaefer’s books I’ve read, RKF was just fun. All of Schaefer’s book are fast paced, entertaining reads. The action was non-stop as Harmony and the team raced squared off against a variety of threats both mundane and magical. The banter from the first book was back, and I thought Schaefer did an excellent job fleshing out several of the characters. The only member of the team that still feels a bit flat to me is April. As a bonus, one of the characters from the first book makes an appearance and ends up playing a big role in events.
RKF was a bit different than the first book in the series. Where the first book was more of a mystery that meshed some horror elements with urban fantasy, RKF was closer to a straight up action book. Schaefer’s brand of urban fantasy is also a bit different from the admittedly small amount I’ve read in the genre. There aren’t the usual vampires and werewolves and overall the variety of supernatural beasties is fairly limited. Magic plays a critical role but is often presented as just another tool, and good bits of the book read almost like a Brad Thor style thriller. It worked though, and kept me entertained all the way through.
I’ve already got the next 2 books on my kindle and am looking forward to reading what happens next.
Craig Schaefer delivers again. I’ve now read 7 books that he has written and they have all been consistently entertaining.
Red Knight Falling picks up not long after the end of the last book. Harmony and the rest of the team are given a new mission of the highest priority. A satellite, somehow linked to a powerful hostile entity, is falling to Earth and Vigilant Lock is tasked with recovering the downed satellite. They aren’t the only ones interested, however, and it isn’t long before they encounter other hunters. Their mission soon becomes even more complicated and sends them traveling all over the country as they race against the clock to avoid disaster.
Like all of Schaefer’s books I’ve read, RKF was just fun. All of Schaefer’s book are fast paced, entertaining reads. The action was non-stop as Harmony and the team raced squared off against a variety of threats both mundane and magical. The banter from the first book was back, and I thought Schaefer did an excellent job fleshing out several of the characters. The only member of the team that still feels a bit flat to me is April. As a bonus, one of the characters from the first book makes an appearance and ends up playing a big role in events.
RKF was a bit different than the first book in the series. Where the first book was more of a mystery that meshed some horror elements with urban fantasy, RKF was closer to a straight up action book. Schaefer’s brand of urban fantasy is also a bit different from the admittedly small amount I’ve read in the genre. There aren’t the usual vampires and werewolves and overall the variety of supernatural beasties is fairly limited. Magic plays a critical role but is often presented as just another tool, and good bits of the book read almost like a Brad Thor style thriller. It worked though, and kept me entertained all the way through.
I’ve already got the next 2 books on my kindle and am looking forward to reading what happens next.
February 7, 2017
Urban fantasy often falls into what I think of as 'gym reads.' They tend to be light-weight philosophically, action-focused with streamlined writing. Good gym reads are well written enough that they don't remind me I'm pedaling or stepping away in repetitive motion, and great ones may even get me working harder with adrenaline, or keep me on the machine longer than I planned. Schaefer's Daniel Faust series is definitely one of the latter, so I was looking forward to giving his spin-off series starring Agent Black. This is the second book in the series, improving somewhat on the first.
Holly Black is back for her second mission with the Vigilant Lock, a secret arm of the government created to deal with occult threats. Actually, first they have an unofficial mission: hunting down the tech genius who orchestrated the death of former team member Mikki. Things go a little off the rails and the team ends up in hot water with their boss after someone gets cell phone footage of a team member running over a suspect. Further recriminations are put on hold for their real mission: recovering the Red Knight satellite that seems to attract a hostile unknown entity.
Action is steady, if not always logical. The team heads to Oregon, posing as civilians while they narrow in on the landing site. Things go haywire when other unknown agencies, mercenaries, and Dark Forces become involved. They end up flying to Florida, to Chicago and California as part of the mission to prevent the apocalypse, dealing with double agents, a boss that occasionally seems to work against them and trouble in their own unit. The ending was satisfactory and paves the way for the next mission.
Characters feel like any standard team operation show. We have the prodigy, awkward computer geek, the wheelchair-bound psychologist who provides the logical thought (I think?), the Almost-Dark-Side berserker and Harmony. There are side involvements regarding personal dating-type relationships with some of the team members (of course, not the logician) to give them a little more depth, but for me it felt rather single note. I enjoyed Jessie's personality, however, and would happily give a spin-off with her a shot.
Every now and then, a world-building problem intrudes, much as in the first book. My first misstep was at 12% when one of the team members asks Harmony, who is a witch, "Do you miss it?... The days when you didn't know what you know. The bliss of ignorance. You can't see the world like they can, not anymore." Seeing as how Harmony's father was killed and her mother taught Harmony witchcraft, and she worked for years with the Bureau, including chasing down the miscreant Faust, I'm puzzled where this sentiment came from. More importantly, at one point Harmony and teammate Jessie decide to investigate a supernatural 'neutral zone.' They encounter a rather powerful demon that controls the building and they proceed brazenly, threatening to take it into custody, shoot or torture it for information. All while above a room full of folk with magic powers, in a neutral territory. I hate it when lead characters are TSTL.
Still, it was an enjoyable distraction, but I'm definitely looking forward to return to the Faust series. Recommended for those times you want lots of UF action without overt sexism.
Holly Black is back for her second mission with the Vigilant Lock, a secret arm of the government created to deal with occult threats. Actually, first they have an unofficial mission: hunting down the tech genius who orchestrated the death of former team member Mikki. Things go a little off the rails and the team ends up in hot water with their boss after someone gets cell phone footage of a team member running over a suspect. Further recriminations are put on hold for their real mission: recovering the Red Knight satellite that seems to attract a hostile unknown entity.
Action is steady, if not always logical. The team heads to Oregon, posing as civilians while they narrow in on the landing site. Things go haywire when other unknown agencies, mercenaries, and Dark Forces become involved. They end up flying to Florida, to Chicago and California as part of the mission to prevent the apocalypse, dealing with double agents, a boss that occasionally seems to work against them and trouble in their own unit. The ending was satisfactory and paves the way for the next mission.
Characters feel like any standard team operation show. We have the prodigy, awkward computer geek, the wheelchair-bound psychologist who provides the logical thought (I think?), the Almost-Dark-Side berserker and Harmony. There are side involvements regarding personal dating-type relationships with some of the team members (of course, not the logician) to give them a little more depth, but for me it felt rather single note. I enjoyed Jessie's personality, however, and would happily give a spin-off with her a shot.
Every now and then, a world-building problem intrudes, much as in the first book. My first misstep was at 12% when one of the team members asks Harmony, who is a witch, "Do you miss it?... The days when you didn't know what you know. The bliss of ignorance. You can't see the world like they can, not anymore." Seeing as how Harmony's father was killed and her mother taught Harmony witchcraft, and she worked for years with the Bureau, including chasing down the miscreant Faust, I'm puzzled where this sentiment came from. More importantly, at one point Harmony and teammate Jessie decide to investigate a supernatural 'neutral zone.' They encounter a rather powerful demon that controls the building and they proceed brazenly, threatening to take it into custody, shoot or torture it for information. All while above a room full of folk with magic powers, in a neutral territory. I hate it when lead characters are TSTL.
Still, it was an enjoyable distraction, but I'm definitely looking forward to return to the Faust series. Recommended for those times you want lots of UF action without overt sexism.
February 22, 2017
2/20/17 Buddy Read with my fellow demon
February 26, 2017
I am a little undecided, if I liked the story more or less than that of the first book. The first book was more classic horror setting, while the second one was a bit more sci-fi. And then straight police procedural/thriller with supernatural elements thrown in. It's done well and the supernatural merges smoothly with the rest. It doesn't just feel like an afterthought or a little add-on. Could be more of it though, for my taste.
The world-building could be a bit more detailed as well for me, but what is there is done well. I am guessing it is going to take a few more books to develop all the plot bunnies that are here.
I am a little disappointed in the lack of character development. We have the same four team members fighting the good fight. I have trouble remembering the name of the main character telling the story. That can't be good, right? And there is no expansion on Jesse's background or skills either. Alice is almost non-existent. Kevin gets some page time, but isn't developed either. I hope we will get to see some of the characters from book one in the next book again.
So, yes, entertaining read, good action, good plot. Gets a star deducted for lack of character development. It's all a bit one-dimensional. Lots of potential though...
The world-building could be a bit more detailed as well for me, but what is there is done well. I am guessing it is going to take a few more books to develop all the plot bunnies that are here.
I am a little disappointed in the lack of character development. We have the same four team members fighting the good fight. I have trouble remembering the name of the main character telling the story. That can't be good, right? And there is no expansion on Jesse's background or skills either. Alice is almost non-existent. Kevin gets some page time, but isn't developed either. I hope we will get to see some of the characters from book one in the next book again.
So, yes, entertaining read, good action, good plot. Gets a star deducted for lack of character development. It's all a bit one-dimensional. Lots of potential though...
May 25, 2016
Harmony Black is back. Fresh off of foiling a supernatural entity that preyed on children in her home town, Special Agent Black finds herself and her team assigned to confront a threat far greater. A mysterious satellite - the Red Knight - is in a steadily decaying orbit and will crash down to Earth in weeks - if not days.
Recovering a sattelite should be no problem, right? Well, unfortunately, this satellite has an occult purpose. It shields the Earth from a Cthulhu-esque entity from between realities. If this seal isn't back in space when the entity returns to Earth than we're all in deep, deep trouble. To make matters worse there are all sorts of unscrupulous people that are also after the seal.
The main story-line follows Harmony and her team as they pull at the threads in seam of the mystery. They encounter challenges, uncover their rivals, and somehow power through. For the most part it works. I like the fact that Harmony and her team never use magic as a blunt instrument a la Harry Dresden. Instead, like Daniel Faust in the same universe, they use a much more subtle application. In the end, it is about unraveling a mystery and magic is just one tool in their arsenal - not the only trick up their sleeves. Also nice are the drive-bys of places we've visited with Daniel Faust - the club and appliance repair shop in Chicago, for example. If you've read the Danile Faust books it helps to flesh out the universe and make it more real.
Unfortunately, the book, in my opinion, just didn't rise to that next level. I'm a big fan of the authors, but this just felt more pedestrian to me. Harmony and her colleagues remained characters in a book rather than people that I know. They just didn't jump off the page at me. Also, I really dislike these apocalyptic story lines where the end of the world is the alternative to failing. Why can't we just have neat little stories that just happen to involve magic and demons and etc.? Why is the fate of the Earth always on the line?
Three stars out of five. If you're a fan of the author, then, yes, by all means pick it up now. If you like Urban Fantasy as a genre, then, yes, pick it up as well - just don't be prepared to have your socks blown off.
Recovering a sattelite should be no problem, right? Well, unfortunately, this satellite has an occult purpose. It shields the Earth from a Cthulhu-esque entity from between realities. If this seal isn't back in space when the entity returns to Earth than we're all in deep, deep trouble. To make matters worse there are all sorts of unscrupulous people that are also after the seal.
The main story-line follows Harmony and her team as they pull at the threads in seam of the mystery. They encounter challenges, uncover their rivals, and somehow power through. For the most part it works. I like the fact that Harmony and her team never use magic as a blunt instrument a la Harry Dresden. Instead, like Daniel Faust in the same universe, they use a much more subtle application. In the end, it is about unraveling a mystery and magic is just one tool in their arsenal - not the only trick up their sleeves. Also nice are the drive-bys of places we've visited with Daniel Faust - the club and appliance repair shop in Chicago, for example. If you've read the Danile Faust books it helps to flesh out the universe and make it more real.
Unfortunately, the book, in my opinion, just didn't rise to that next level. I'm a big fan of the authors, but this just felt more pedestrian to me. Harmony and her colleagues remained characters in a book rather than people that I know. They just didn't jump off the page at me. Also, I really dislike these apocalyptic story lines where the end of the world is the alternative to failing. Why can't we just have neat little stories that just happen to involve magic and demons and etc.? Why is the fate of the Earth always on the line?
Three stars out of five. If you're a fan of the author, then, yes, by all means pick it up now. If you like Urban Fantasy as a genre, then, yes, pick it up as well - just don't be prepared to have your socks blown off.
August 12, 2020
This second installment in the Harmony Black series gets another 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) but for somewhat different reasons than for the series debut. In that review (see https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) I was complaining about the meager character development of Kevin and April, two members of the team of four that comprise the Vigilant Lock cell led by Jessie Temple and starring our first-person narrator Harmony Black.
In this sequel not only do we get to know Kevin and April as fully dimensional characters--we also get serious consideration of characters' personal ethics in Harmony's one-on-one talks with April, Jessie, and especially Cody, the local cop from the first book who's called in to travel with the team. Some very hard issues are confronted, and I guess the best way to say it is that Cody's relationship with Harmony matures considerably.
Everything I've said so far takes this sequel head and shoulders above the debut, but other elements were a little disappointing. I'd been looking forward to seeing two of my favorite characters from the first book, the highly entertaining demons Nyx and Fontaine, and they're totally absent. Instead, we have human occultists doing great evil (and at least one of them trying to make up for past evil), and I found them kind of boring. There's just a bit of demonic possession (a minor character). And the believability factor is even more troublesome here than in the first book.
As promised in the publisher's blurb there is indeed a mysterious supernatural force from outer space, and the team joins others to race against the clock to prevent the end of life on Earth or something like that. Most of the book is a fast-paced, very suspenseful adventure with many participants acting at cross-purposes (or simply trying to kill one another), and trust is hard to maintain among the ones who struggle to cooperate on this crucial mission. These strictly human interactions, I thought, were quite well written.
On the paranormal side, Harmony's control of the water element increases and Jessie's inner beast takes over at least once; there's a pyrokinetic adversary, and a new character has a useful superpower. And there's a fascinating retake of World War II from the occult side. But most of the time it's purely mundane physical action even though it's focused on one powerful magical item that I can't tell you about. Overall, exciting to read and after a certain point I couldn't put it down.
In this sequel not only do we get to know Kevin and April as fully dimensional characters--we also get serious consideration of characters' personal ethics in Harmony's one-on-one talks with April, Jessie, and especially Cody, the local cop from the first book who's called in to travel with the team. Some very hard issues are confronted, and I guess the best way to say it is that Cody's relationship with Harmony matures considerably.
Everything I've said so far takes this sequel head and shoulders above the debut, but other elements were a little disappointing. I'd been looking forward to seeing two of my favorite characters from the first book, the highly entertaining demons Nyx and Fontaine, and they're totally absent. Instead, we have human occultists doing great evil (and at least one of them trying to make up for past evil), and I found them kind of boring. There's just a bit of demonic possession (a minor character). And the believability factor is even more troublesome here than in the first book.
As promised in the publisher's blurb there is indeed a mysterious supernatural force from outer space, and the team joins others to race against the clock to prevent the end of life on Earth or something like that. Most of the book is a fast-paced, very suspenseful adventure with many participants acting at cross-purposes (or simply trying to kill one another), and trust is hard to maintain among the ones who struggle to cooperate on this crucial mission. These strictly human interactions, I thought, were quite well written.
On the paranormal side, Harmony's control of the water element increases and Jessie's inner beast takes over at least once; there's a pyrokinetic adversary, and a new character has a useful superpower. And there's a fascinating retake of World War II from the occult side. But most of the time it's purely mundane physical action even though it's focused on one powerful magical item that I can't tell you about. Overall, exciting to read and after a certain point I couldn't put it down.
March 20, 2018
This series just keeps getting better!
Red Knight Falling was about a mysterious satellite that is falling back to Earth. Well, have no fear guys because Harmony and her team are on this shit. Well.. once they figure out what the hell they are looking for and why the hell they are looking for it. Oh, and just to make it even more exciting.. there are other people looking for this thing as well.
I love Harmony so much! Her friendship with Jesse basically brings sunshine into my dull life at work. I pretty much zoomed through this audio and then took my sweet time coming up with comments and then sort of just forgot about this review. Oops! Well, hopefully I can do this book justice because it was amazing! I was highly entertained the entire time and basically on the edge of my seat (whether it was from being excited and wanting to know what was going to happen next in my audio book or I just had to pee... badly).
Loved everyone in this book.. but Micky.. Mickey? I don't know how to spell the crazy psychotic girls name but it's that. She was so weird. Her accent probably made her more crazy than she was. I was always suspicious of her and her "Death" in the first book.. but then wasn't really surprised when she randomly showed up in the book as the villain. She was a good villain I just felt so bad for Kevin. Thank god Jesse kicked her ass - over and over again.
Besides that, I loved that Cody tagged a long for a little of this book. Okay, a lot more than a little. BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH. I'm shook. He better come back to my girl Harmony.. or we are going to have some major problems buddy!
Then the epilogue blew my mind and of course got me hooked on the next book. I haven't even started that audio and I already know I'm going to love it too!!
Overall, I loved this book. I was never bored and I also never thought the pacing was slow. Loved the new mystery and now I'm wondering what the hell Harmony and her scooby gang are in for in the next book. Bring it on!
Red Knight Falling was about a mysterious satellite that is falling back to Earth. Well, have no fear guys because Harmony and her team are on this shit. Well.. once they figure out what the hell they are looking for and why the hell they are looking for it. Oh, and just to make it even more exciting.. there are other people looking for this thing as well.
I love Harmony so much! Her friendship with Jesse basically brings sunshine into my dull life at work. I pretty much zoomed through this audio and then took my sweet time coming up with comments and then sort of just forgot about this review. Oops! Well, hopefully I can do this book justice because it was amazing! I was highly entertained the entire time and basically on the edge of my seat (whether it was from being excited and wanting to know what was going to happen next in my audio book or I just had to pee... badly).
Loved everyone in this book.. but Micky.. Mickey? I don't know how to spell the crazy psychotic girls name but it's that. She was so weird. Her accent probably made her more crazy than she was. I was always suspicious of her and her "Death" in the first book.. but then wasn't really surprised when she randomly showed up in the book as the villain. She was a good villain I just felt so bad for Kevin. Thank god Jesse kicked her ass - over and over again.
Besides that, I loved that Cody tagged a long for a little of this book. Okay, a lot more than a little. BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH. I'm shook. He better come back to my girl Harmony.. or we are going to have some major problems buddy!
Then the epilogue blew my mind and of course got me hooked on the next book. I haven't even started that audio and I already know I'm going to love it too!!
Overall, I loved this book. I was never bored and I also never thought the pacing was slow. Loved the new mystery and now I'm wondering what the hell Harmony and her scooby gang are in for in the next book. Bring it on!
June 23, 2020
I’ve been loving the Harmony Black books so far and I was intrigued after the first book to carry on with the next in the series. Another great story and loved the plot and getting to know more of the characters. Definitely going to have to read the next one now after the ending! Glad I continued after the first one and I can’t wait to read more!
March 9, 2022
This was a fast paced and exciting read. I love strong female leads, and Schaefer has given us two in Harmony and Jessie. They're so badass!
Also, c'mon, Harmony... stop denying lady loving ways! *fingers crossed that Harmony's queer*
Also, c'mon, Harmony... stop denying lady loving ways! *fingers crossed that Harmony's queer*
August 24, 2017
“Red Knight Falling” is the second in the Harmony Black series, and continues the story of the black ops team “Vigilant Lock” as the team struggles to save the world from occult forces. In this case, saving the world is literal, not figurative!
Harmony Black was initially a character in another of author Craig Schaefer’s series, and the first “Harmony Black” book brought her onto a secret government team (Vigilant Lock) to fight against supernatural villains. The second book continues with supernatural forces, but shifts emphasis to how Vigilant Lock fits in with, and battles against, other known and unknown secret government teams, mercenaries and megalomaniac supervillains. There are twists and turns with nearly every chapter, and Harmony, Jesse, April and Kevin learn some surprising things about loyalty and trust!
While Harmony expresses attraction to small town cop Cody, she still confounds lesbian Jesse with her choice of attire. I continue to have hope that Harmony and Jesse may yet become partners beyond the team relationship!
I enjoyed “Red Knight Falling” even more than the first “Harmony Black”. Both the author and the narrator did fantastic jobs, and I highly recommend the audiobook! 4.8* rounded to 5* for GR
Harmony Black was initially a character in another of author Craig Schaefer’s series, and the first “Harmony Black” book brought her onto a secret government team (Vigilant Lock) to fight against supernatural villains. The second book continues with supernatural forces, but shifts emphasis to how Vigilant Lock fits in with, and battles against, other known and unknown secret government teams, mercenaries and megalomaniac supervillains. There are twists and turns with nearly every chapter, and Harmony, Jesse, April and Kevin learn some surprising things about loyalty and trust!
While Harmony expresses attraction to small town cop Cody, she still confounds lesbian Jesse with her choice of attire. I continue to have hope that Harmony and Jesse may yet become partners beyond the team relationship!
I enjoyed “Red Knight Falling” even more than the first “Harmony Black”. Both the author and the narrator did fantastic jobs, and I highly recommend the audiobook! 4.8* rounded to 5* for GR
November 19, 2018
5 Stars
Red Knight Falling Harmony Black #2 by Craig Schaefer is the second book in a series that is tailor made for my likes. I cannot get enough urban fantasy detective stories these days and Harmony Black strikes all the right chords.
This book are has hot FBI lead agents. Paranormal story lines. A witch or two. A sleeping beast. Demons and things that go bump in the night. And what makes this one so freaking fun is it is a story about a beast in space wanting to consume the earth.
I loved the characters, the writing, the world, and the story..
Red Knight Falling Harmony Black #2 by Craig Schaefer is the second book in a series that is tailor made for my likes. I cannot get enough urban fantasy detective stories these days and Harmony Black strikes all the right chords.
This book are has hot FBI lead agents. Paranormal story lines. A witch or two. A sleeping beast. Demons and things that go bump in the night. And what makes this one so freaking fun is it is a story about a beast in space wanting to consume the earth.
I loved the characters, the writing, the world, and the story..
January 5, 2021
Another solid entry in the Harmony Black series. And of course, it ends on a cliffhanger, prepping the way for the next book in this story arc.
July 24, 2023
A fast paced exciting sequel, action-packed, and the occasional twist thrown in. The story balances quite well with character interactions although it's very much focused on the reconnaissance mission story regarding a magical cum scientific artifact. We get some shady history of the space race during the cold war era, and the ramifications of binding occult and science together in order to enhance America as a superpower, and a nefarious billionaire with his own dark schemes.
As far the story goes, our group of protagonists' main task is to secure the magical McGuffin from falling into wrong hands, and preventing an alien god to enter Earth. There are other players as well, and coincidentally one supposedly dead character returns alive and harrangues the entire team in a terrible manner. Harmony and Jessie, although they're strong, able, and confident, they don't understand the game yet that's being played by forces beyond their ken, and they learn some lessons along the way.
There's a lot of action here, fire and blood in the mix. Also, a sinister reference to one of Daniel Faust's Nemesis. Particularly, the epilogue chilled me as a reader. I wonder, if everything is a manipulation on the Enemy's part, and I'm jumping straight to the other novels, as there are a whole lot of secrets to uncover.
As far the story goes, our group of protagonists' main task is to secure the magical McGuffin from falling into wrong hands, and preventing an alien god to enter Earth. There are other players as well, and coincidentally one supposedly dead character returns alive and harrangues the entire team in a terrible manner. Harmony and Jessie, although they're strong, able, and confident, they don't understand the game yet that's being played by forces beyond their ken, and they learn some lessons along the way.
There's a lot of action here, fire and blood in the mix. Also, a sinister reference to one of Daniel Faust's Nemesis. Particularly, the epilogue chilled me as a reader. I wonder, if everything is a manipulation on the Enemy's part, and I'm jumping straight to the other novels, as there are a whole lot of secrets to uncover.
January 23, 2018
Harmony Black is back. There’s little rest for the Vigilant Lock, a secret op created to deal with occult threats. As usually things go off the rails and a simple side-job turns into saving the world kind of job. Team members must recover the Red Knight satellite that seems to attract a hostile unknown entity. The thing is there’s more than one group of people interested in the satellite and its content.
Mayhem follows.
As usually action is steady, loud and violent. Maybe not 100% logical but I didn’t expect it to be. I have to admit, though, that the ending was a bit irritating.
Characters develop a bit and there’s more focus on Kevin – awkward computer prodigy and Jessie who’s one of her kind. April stays in the background. While the characters aren’t really bad I can’t help but notice they lack chemistry and charm of Daniel Faust gang. Truth is I’m not particularly keen on Harmony. She’s a bit dull. On the other hand, Craig Schaefer plays a long game. All of his books and their meta plot interconnect. That’s why I plan to continue with Harmony Black series.
All in all, it was an enjoyable and fast pulp read. If you look for Urban Fantasy with strong female characters, it’s the series to consider. Just don't overanalyze this book.
Mayhem follows.
As usually action is steady, loud and violent. Maybe not 100% logical but I didn’t expect it to be. I have to admit, though, that the ending was a bit irritating.
Characters develop a bit and there’s more focus on Kevin – awkward computer prodigy and Jessie who’s one of her kind. April stays in the background. While the characters aren’t really bad I can’t help but notice they lack chemistry and charm of Daniel Faust gang. Truth is I’m not particularly keen on Harmony. She’s a bit dull. On the other hand, Craig Schaefer plays a long game. All of his books and their meta plot interconnect. That’s why I plan to continue with Harmony Black series.
All in all, it was an enjoyable and fast pulp read. If you look for Urban Fantasy with strong female characters, it’s the series to consider. Just don't overanalyze this book.
March 12, 2017
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Red Knight Falling is the second volume in the Harmony Black series and chronologically takes place after the events of book 1 (Harmony Black) and The Killing Floor Blues. The previous book focused on Harmony and at the same time did an admirable job of setting up the series while also giving us a detailed look into Harmony's past. This book the author decides to switch it up and gives us a look into another character's past. Who it is, I'll leave for the readers to read and find out.
The story begins with an urban legend about a satellite titled Red Knight which was seen in Earth's orbit in 1954. Three years before the first official satellite "Sputnik" was even launched. The urban legend is real as our "circus team" finds out to their dismay and it's crashing somewhere in Oregon. The team is forced to scramble and try to find out who or what is causing its eventual crash. They also discover that there's something out there in space that is drawn to the Red Knight and they will have to see who or what that thing is and what is its connection to the Red Knight. Thus begins the second volume of the Harmony Black series and it is as much action-packed as its predecessor if not more. There are betrayals, double-agents and some big plot twists for the overall series. Infact one prominent big plot point is tied to something that was mentioned very minutely in the first Harmony Black volume. I enjoyed how the author made this book much different than the previous one and yet provided us with so much more.
Red Knight Falling has a very adventure-thriller feel to it and this was starkly different from the horror-thriller feel of its predecessor. The plot very much feels like a James Rollins adventure thriller and Craig Schaefer makes sure that his signature touches such as multiple plot twists, a multivariate character cast and a storyline that will confound, are all present. This book also ties in nicely with a previous Daniel Faust book and it was very, very intriguing to visit those characters and locations but from Harmony's perspective. This check-in will be very much appreciated by readers of the Daniel Faust series as they get to see those characters and locations after the events of that book and will gain a deeper insight about them.
This book also features Cody's return however he as a character didn't quite strike my fancy. His role though is important to the events of this book and for Harmony as well. The biggest positive about this book was all the secrets it reveals as well all showcasing how this series ties into the Daniel Faust series as well as the author's political fantasy series (The Revanche Cycle). This is the first book to make this connection such a blatantly open one. For readers who haven't read the other books/series, not to worry, it will be still be intriguing to read about. However they won't be able to make certain connections/insight that the readers of the other books will make so effortlessly. There's also the background revelations about one of the Circus team members after Harmony's turn in the first book, however their backstory doesn't quite seem as interesting.
Lastly the book ends on a big, big note and I can't stress enough how much that will make you want to read the next book. The downsides though are that while this book has all the aforementioned positives but the main character on whom the spotlight is turned upon, is not as enticing as Harmony. The only other downside I could think is of is that the book kind of takes on a romantic sub-plot for one of its protagonists. This sub-plot however doesn't feel organic and seems to be attached for a specific purpose. I hope the author clarifies this situation in the third book.
CONCLUSION: Red Knight Falling is a cracker of a sequel that takes on the positives of its predecessor and builds up on it to provide a bigger, and better read. While there are a couple downsides, they don't really detract much from the overall enjoyment. It's still a fun read that has me very, very excited for the future volumes of this series.
October 18, 2017
This is the second book in the Harmony Black series, and pretty much seals Craig Schaefer as an author I'm going to carry on reading.
In Book 1 (Harmony Black), Schaefer introduces Harmony properly (she's a side-character in Schaefer's Daniel Faust series) and also the Vigilant Lock black-ops FBI team. In Red Knight Falling, he expands Harmony's world and introduces what is probably going to be a multi-book story arc in addition to the Red Knight plot.
I have to say, I really like Harmony's character. She's a professional, not some kind of loose cannon. She does her job, and she does it well. I also like the fact that Schaefer has written two female characters who work together, and are becoming friends. I hope he resists the temptation to add sex to the mix. Interestingly, I think Harmony is a better leader than Jessie - Jessie might be louder and more dramatic and showy, but it's Harmony who keeps her mind on the job. I'm wondering where Schaefer will go with that.
And so, on to the next book....
In Book 1 (Harmony Black), Schaefer introduces Harmony properly (she's a side-character in Schaefer's Daniel Faust series) and also the Vigilant Lock black-ops FBI team. In Red Knight Falling, he expands Harmony's world and introduces what is probably going to be a multi-book story arc in addition to the Red Knight plot.
I have to say, I really like Harmony's character. She's a professional, not some kind of loose cannon. She does her job, and she does it well. I also like the fact that Schaefer has written two female characters who work together, and are becoming friends. I hope he resists the temptation to add sex to the mix. Interestingly, I think Harmony is a better leader than Jessie - Jessie might be louder and more dramatic and showy, but it's Harmony who keeps her mind on the job. I'm wondering where Schaefer will go with that.
And so, on to the next book....
May 21, 2020
My problem with this book was twofold.
1) I was just reading it so I could get back to the Daniel Faust series. So I begrudged every minute I wasted on Harmony.
2) The plot does this . . .
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and then
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and then
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory . . .
You get the idea. I was skipping paragraphs like mad.
Though the end is fine, as it must be in a genre series like this, getting to the end was repetitive and predictable. Particularly bad considering the characters--I don't care about any of them. In the absence of character development, a few plot twists that I cannot figure out in advance would be welcome.
Sorry to all you Schaefer fanatics out there. The Schaefer book I read before these two Harmony Blacks was Daniel Faust #5, which was a five star read for me. These first two Harmony books? Meh.
1) I was just reading it so I could get back to the Daniel Faust series. So I begrudged every minute I wasted on Harmony.
2) The plot does this . . .
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and then
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and then
-there's a bunch of chasing and fighting and they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory . . .
You get the idea. I was skipping paragraphs like mad.
Though the end is fine, as it must be in a genre series like this, getting to the end was repetitive and predictable. Particularly bad considering the characters--I don't care about any of them. In the absence of character development, a few plot twists that I cannot figure out in advance would be welcome.
Sorry to all you Schaefer fanatics out there. The Schaefer book I read before these two Harmony Blacks was Daniel Faust #5, which was a five star read for me. These first two Harmony books? Meh.
March 19, 2021
Well, I went 4 stars but let's call this one 3.5. The Harmony Black series continues. This is the 2nd in the series and (of course) the second I've read. I must say it's not quite as good as the first. The story is still interesting, the characters fairly well drawn and so on. However the plot here gets a bit disjointed.
Of course we start in a situation where...wait a second, that would be a spoiler. Okay hold on.
Anyway thus there is a plausible reason for the disjointedness of the storytelling. Like me you'll just have to live with it.
So, not bad, not great but a good read overall. I'll plan to follow up the series, just not right now. I need a break I think. By the way watch out for Jesse, she's nice and reliable and a good alley but tends to go feral...
Enjoy.
Of course we start in a situation where...wait a second, that would be a spoiler. Okay hold on.
Anyway thus there is a plausible reason for the disjointedness of the storytelling. Like me you'll just have to live with it.
So, not bad, not great but a good read overall. I'll plan to follow up the series, just not right now. I need a break I think. By the way watch out for Jesse, she's nice and reliable and a good alley but tends to go feral...
Enjoy.
September 26, 2022
Dear Harmony, and Harmony's Self-Righteousness:
The knowledge that the Space Thing is in fact was good stuff, but something tells me it won't stay out there forever, even with . I liked getting to see Kevin's character development. But overall, this team is so haphazard in their execution that it makes me shudder. The judgmental attitudes of this team (ahem, Harmony and Jessie) drive me up a wall. Getting that very "We are authority figures and thus above the law and any type of common sense" vibe again.
As usual, the nods to various characters in Dan's world cheered me up.
The knowledge that the Space Thing is in fact was good stuff, but something tells me it won't stay out there forever, even with . I liked getting to see Kevin's character development. But overall, this team is so haphazard in their execution that it makes me shudder. The judgmental attitudes of this team (ahem, Harmony and Jessie) drive me up a wall. Getting that very "We are authority figures and thus above the law and any type of common sense" vibe again.
As usual, the nods to various characters in Dan's world cheered me up.
February 8, 2018
1. More than a decent book, enjoyed it.
2. Stopping here
The third book promises antagonists with amplified abilities and significantly increased demand for torture /pain. There was enough torture and evil in this book. Concerned with sliding more into horror as time goes on - it's not my idea of an entertaining read although there are many who love it. If you don't mind dark aspects getting darker with each book, this series is one for you.
2. Stopping here
The third book promises antagonists with amplified abilities and significantly increased demand for torture /pain. There was enough torture and evil in this book. Concerned with sliding more into horror as time goes on - it's not my idea of an entertaining read although there are many who love it. If you don't mind dark aspects getting darker with each book, this series is one for you.
November 22, 2024
So much fun and if I hadn’t been sick and sleeping a LOT it wouldn’t have taken me this long to finish. Lots of bad guys, lots of danger, and good guys that are often on the edge of being bad made this fast and exciting and full of surprises. Harmony and friends don’t get much of a break before the next crisis hits them. The supernatural makes this so entertaining. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
August 25, 2017
3.5*
If I’d rated this book before reading the next one - it would be 3*, so my genuine advice is to read #2 and #3 back to back.
I still had fun but the mystery is less interesting and engaging than in the first book. Also we are introduced to so many new secret government organisations, occult groups and power players – it spreads attention thin and diminishes the suspense. This does pay off in the following book. And there is some nice humour.
If I’d rated this book before reading the next one - it would be 3*, so my genuine advice is to read #2 and #3 back to back.
I still had fun but the mystery is less interesting and engaging than in the first book. Also we are introduced to so many new secret government organisations, occult groups and power players – it spreads attention thin and diminishes the suspense. This does pay off in the following book. And there is some nice humour.
October 17, 2018
4.25/5 stars
I liked this book a little less than the first one. In this book, one of my least favorite traits of Craig Schaefer's writing reared it's ugly head. Craig Schaefer has a tendency to add new plots and antagonists without resolving previously added plots and villian's. It gets tiresome to read about villians getting away over and over again while new ones are continuously added. This is also a problem in his Daniel Faust series as well and I just wish he would keep his stories a little bit less chaotic.
Oh and I'm also really not a fan of the romance in these past two books. Harmony's potential partner is just so dull and I find myself hoping that this particular subplot falls off a cliff. I caught myself rolling my eyes and sighing at least twice while reading this book, both because of the romance plot.
I liked this book a little less than the first one. In this book, one of my least favorite traits of Craig Schaefer's writing reared it's ugly head. Craig Schaefer has a tendency to add new plots and antagonists without resolving previously added plots and villian's. It gets tiresome to read about villians getting away over and over again while new ones are continuously added. This is also a problem in his Daniel Faust series as well and I just wish he would keep his stories a little bit less chaotic.
Oh and I'm also really not a fan of the romance in these past two books. Harmony's potential partner is just so dull and I find myself hoping that this particular subplot falls off a cliff. I caught myself rolling my eyes and sighing at least twice while reading this book, both because of the romance plot.
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