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Strangetown Magic #1
Swift
The vampire was squashed as flat as my hair on a bad day, and the troll had his eye on me next. Then I nearly got killed because of a pigeon, and then I forgot the bloody shopping. I knew the rest of the day would suck.
It did. I got a call. I had a job.
With the city still in chaos after the Rift spat out more Strange than we could cope with, and me seriously reconsidering my role as Justice, I get dragged down deep into the dark underbelly of all things magical.
Things go from bad to worse as I chase a way too hot shifter monster across the scarred landscape of ground zero, a mystery reveals itself that threatens our already tenuous future, and everything unravels as violence escalates.
It doesn't help that a demon who thinks fo' shizzle is the latest in street talk insists on tagging along, the dark elves are amassing on the other side, and I almost lost Mr. Moppet.
Whatever, I'm a five-hundred-year-old witch and I'm gonna clean up this city no matter what.
I'm Swift, and I'll show them Justice.
Welcome to Strangetown.
It did. I got a call. I had a job.
With the city still in chaos after the Rift spat out more Strange than we could cope with, and me seriously reconsidering my role as Justice, I get dragged down deep into the dark underbelly of all things magical.
Things go from bad to worse as I chase a way too hot shifter monster across the scarred landscape of ground zero, a mystery reveals itself that threatens our already tenuous future, and everything unravels as violence escalates.
It doesn't help that a demon who thinks fo' shizzle is the latest in street talk insists on tagging along, the dark elves are amassing on the other side, and I almost lost Mr. Moppet.
Whatever, I'm a five-hundred-year-old witch and I'm gonna clean up this city no matter what.
I'm Swift, and I'll show them Justice.
Welcome to Strangetown.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2016
69 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Al K. Line
83 books182 followersAl K. Line is a British author who lives in rural England with his wife, son, and dogs.
When asked to describe himself for this bio all we got was the following:
"Who am I? Degrees, jobs, living in other countries, fighting squirrels, cuddling monkeys, amused by penguins, all the usual stuff."
When asked to describe himself for this bio all we got was the following:
"Who am I? Degrees, jobs, living in other countries, fighting squirrels, cuddling monkeys, amused by penguins, all the usual stuff."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2017
Different and engaging
July 12, 2016
Things have been very different on Earth since the Rift opened and left lots of different creatures, including demons, elves, and trolls, who everyone calls the Strange, from many different places. Some Earth residents also went where the creatures came from, probably never to be seen again. Swift has been a magic user, or witch, on Earth for a very long time, and she does fine as a Justice, someone who polices the new creatures who do magic, including the magic users who had already been here. But her latest assignment doesn’t seem right. She must take care of a shifter named Pumi who had killed a child, but everyone she knows and trusts tells her he’s a wonderful, stand-up guy, who does a lot to help those in need. Why would her boss lie to her? Is there more going on than she realizes? She must get to the bottom of what’s going on before it’s too late for everyone.
I have read this author before, and I quite like his other series, the Dark Magic Enforcer Series. I was very excited to see this book, which is the first in a new series, by him. Overall, the book was a good book, but like the first book in the Dark Magic Enforcer series, there were a couple minor problems. The details of the world were scattered throughout the book, with new information told a long time after it would have been useful. Sometimes, in some books, that can be done with no repercussions. However, with this book, most of the details of the world would have been better served at the beginning as some minor confusion would have been cleared up right away instead of at the end. Second, the action was so non-stop, for the most part, it was hard to get caught up and figure out what was going on. The book started with a bang (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) and never stopped. Again, this made learning the “rules” and how things work in this world harder than they needed to be. Now, for the good parts! I really liked the main and side characters. They were different and interesting, and I am looking forward to learning more about them and their history, especially the Queen. The plot was intriguing, and I didn’t see the end coming. And, no cliffhanger; I like them, but I know other people don't! All-in-all, this book and series does seem to have lots of potential, and I am glad to be here at the start. 3 ½ stars rounded up to 4. Recommend!
Thanks to the author for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review. This same review will be posted on both Goodreads and Amazon.
I have read this author before, and I quite like his other series, the Dark Magic Enforcer Series. I was very excited to see this book, which is the first in a new series, by him. Overall, the book was a good book, but like the first book in the Dark Magic Enforcer series, there were a couple minor problems. The details of the world were scattered throughout the book, with new information told a long time after it would have been useful. Sometimes, in some books, that can be done with no repercussions. However, with this book, most of the details of the world would have been better served at the beginning as some minor confusion would have been cleared up right away instead of at the end. Second, the action was so non-stop, for the most part, it was hard to get caught up and figure out what was going on. The book started with a bang (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) and never stopped. Again, this made learning the “rules” and how things work in this world harder than they needed to be. Now, for the good parts! I really liked the main and side characters. They were different and interesting, and I am looking forward to learning more about them and their history, especially the Queen. The plot was intriguing, and I didn’t see the end coming. And, no cliffhanger; I like them, but I know other people don't! All-in-all, this book and series does seem to have lots of potential, and I am glad to be here at the start. 3 ½ stars rounded up to 4. Recommend!
Thanks to the author for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review. This same review will be posted on both Goodreads and Amazon.
July 6, 2016
Full disclosure – I received a free copy of this book from the author as part of his “A-Team” in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome to Strangetown
Things have been really crazy since the Rift… a magical explosion of sorts that tore through the town, leaving strange alien beings behind and scooping up unsuspecting Normal and Strange alike. After the Rift, the cops won’t even touch this place, so it’s up to Swift and the other Justices of the Queen Witch to keep the Strange in line. Strangetown definitely lives up to its name too with no end of Human and Alien. On a good day, you may see a few demons in the grocery aisle or even spot a Yeti or a Tree Sprite, but be warned – not all Strange are to be trusted.
This is Swift’s world; half a century and running and things definitely have been smoother. After having narrowly escaped being pummeled by a troll riding elf (that vampire wasn’t so lucky) Swift is summoned to another job. There is a child killer on the loose and Swift must find him and deal with him. Even the Strange have standards.
Sounds easy, right? Having set upon the task, Swift finds herself soon aiding the accused to prove his innocence and unravel the mystery behind the girl’s murder and the ever increasing gathering of elves at Ground Zero.
As far as first books in a series go, I liked this one but I must say that having come fresh off of the Dark Magic Enforcer series, I had a bit of difficulty getting into Swift and her world. While some of the concepts were similar there were also vast differences. I did love the idea of morphing, retro smack talking demons, and that shower scene was definitely something else! The additional dimension of the totally opposite but equally badass sister coming onto the scene also played nicely into the story. I think the main hindrance for me was while it moved fast it may have moved too fast, as it took a while for me to settle in and really start to enjoy the story. I’m hoping since this book sort of mainly revolved around a crisis waiting to happen that in book 2 we can slow down and take a leisurely tour of Strangetown. Something tells me though that if Strangetown is anything, it is not “leisurely” and while the pace may be less breakneck, there will still be plenty of fires for our Justice to put out.
Welcome to Strangetown
Things have been really crazy since the Rift… a magical explosion of sorts that tore through the town, leaving strange alien beings behind and scooping up unsuspecting Normal and Strange alike. After the Rift, the cops won’t even touch this place, so it’s up to Swift and the other Justices of the Queen Witch to keep the Strange in line. Strangetown definitely lives up to its name too with no end of Human and Alien. On a good day, you may see a few demons in the grocery aisle or even spot a Yeti or a Tree Sprite, but be warned – not all Strange are to be trusted.
This is Swift’s world; half a century and running and things definitely have been smoother. After having narrowly escaped being pummeled by a troll riding elf (that vampire wasn’t so lucky) Swift is summoned to another job. There is a child killer on the loose and Swift must find him and deal with him. Even the Strange have standards.
Sounds easy, right? Having set upon the task, Swift finds herself soon aiding the accused to prove his innocence and unravel the mystery behind the girl’s murder and the ever increasing gathering of elves at Ground Zero.
As far as first books in a series go, I liked this one but I must say that having come fresh off of the Dark Magic Enforcer series, I had a bit of difficulty getting into Swift and her world. While some of the concepts were similar there were also vast differences. I did love the idea of morphing, retro smack talking demons, and that shower scene was definitely something else! The additional dimension of the totally opposite but equally badass sister coming onto the scene also played nicely into the story. I think the main hindrance for me was while it moved fast it may have moved too fast, as it took a while for me to settle in and really start to enjoy the story. I’m hoping since this book sort of mainly revolved around a crisis waiting to happen that in book 2 we can slow down and take a leisurely tour of Strangetown. Something tells me though that if Strangetown is anything, it is not “leisurely” and while the pace may be less breakneck, there will still be plenty of fires for our Justice to put out.
September 5, 2016
Quick
I decided to give this a go after having read previous books by this author and am glad that I did. It's a quick, fun read with a decent plot, good pacing and interesting characters. Well worth a try.
I decided to give this a go after having read previous books by this author and am glad that I did. It's a quick, fun read with a decent plot, good pacing and interesting characters. Well worth a try.
November 22, 2016
I mostly kept reading this because the one-liners were pretty funny. Plot-wise the story was lacking. Character-wise the characters felt severely underdeveloped.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews