Brightblade

The Morgan Detective Agency #1

by Michael Suttkus, C.T. Phipps

Psychic. Superhero. Spy. Detective. Bounty Hunter. Ashley Morgan has been many things and failed at all of them. The twenty-eight-year old has her whole life ahead of her but has already resigned herself to working a dead end job bringing in the debt-ridden supernatural criminals of New Detroit. A chance encounter with the vampire sheriff reveals a secret that motivates her to change her life forever: her long-missing brother Arthur is alive (in a manner of speaking).

Ashley sets out on a quest to not only find him but also deal with old lovers, treacherous criminals, a magic sword, and a quest to raise an ancient vampire from the dead.

Brightblade is set in the same world as the Red Room series, The Bright Falls Mysteries, and Straight Outta Fangton.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Audiobook, Contemporary

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2018

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brightblade
The Morgan Detective Agency, Book 1
By: C.T. Phipps, Michael Suttkus
Narrated by: Heather Costa
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary. I am going to love this new series! This is a world with vamps, shifters, witches, and more. Our main character is a bounty hunter which is quite different from normal bounty hunters! There is lots of action, supernatural creatures, magic, great world building, fun and unique characters, a sword with an Angel in it, and great interactions between the characters.
The narration is excellent too! Really enjoyed this and look forward to following this series!

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRIGHTBLADE is the start of the fourth series of the UNITED STATES OF MONSTERS universe. Previous series include prequel RED ROOM series, STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON, and the BRIGHT FALLS MYSTERIES. Basically, they chronicle the fallout from the supernatural coming out into the public in 2008 and the subsequent decade of changes this involved.

Brightblade follows Ashley Morgan, raised by the Red Room to be a soldier against the supernatural, only to lose her job right after graduation since the undead were now citizens rather than targets. Stuck in a dead-end job bringing in supernatural bail jumpers and solving petty crimes, she receives a lead on her missing brother after ten years as well as a gift of a magic sword that thinks she could do better with her life.

Lots of fun guest stars like Alex Timons (I was a Teenage Weredeer), Samvrutha Mitra (100 Miles and Vampin'), and more. I hope everyone checks this one out for the usual collection of pop-culture, badass heroes, horrible monsters, and wacky hijinks.

[Aubrey Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action-Packed Bounty Hunting

An extremely fun and interesting story that is definitely worth reading. Plenty of supernatural creatures, monsters, and magic. Looking forward to the sequel!

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of the various books C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus have co-written. When I heard that Michael would be taking lead on a new series set in the United States of Monsters universe, I was ecstatic, and happily took an offered review copy. I can happily say that not only does it fit into the universe, but charts in own course, adding new layers to what they have been creating in other books in the universe.

PLOT SUMMARY

Ashley Morgan is a bounty hunter working with her partners at a bail bonds in New Detroit, which is where the vampires made their base of power after they came out into the open when they bailed out the government in the economic crash of 2008. With the vampires and other supernaturals gaining legal status, the Red Room, who policed the hidden supernatural world, find themselves out of a job. This leaves people like Morgan's family suddenly without support and at loose ends. In Morgan's case, she took her status as a Bright, which means she has mental abilities, and tried to become a costumed superhero. Having telekinesis and being an empath apparently weren't enough to get the job done, so she quit that.

Morgan's firm specializes by bailing out supernaturals. Unfortunately, when they skip bail, it means vanilla humans cant go get them. Its up to Morgan and her team to bring them back and collect. After the capture of a bail jumper goes sideways, the vampire sheriff shows up to take him into custody, in exchange for information about where Ashley's missing brother is. Planning on following up, Ashley has to take an artifact they were paid for a job to the supernatural's bank for deposit. Unfortunately, that's the exact moment three supernatural's decide to rob the bank for another artifact. This leads to a battle between Ashley and the three robbers, who manage to get away, with Ashley being injured.

Ashley wakes up in a strange room, feeling unusual. It turns out that she's at her brother's apartment over the club he owns. She also discovers that she almost died, and had to be saved with vampire blood from her brother, who is now a vampire, thus making her a dhampir. This is awful news to Ashley, who was raised to hate vampires. Ashley finds out the reason for the bank robbery, which was to get an artifact that can raise a dead vampire lord, who can use the wand to turn vampires human again, something the vampires will do anything to avoid. This leads Ashley and her brothers group into conflict with a powerful vampire family bent of gaining power, who will stop at nothing to gain it. It doesn't help that one of the main conspirators is one of Ashley's ex's, who apparently was even worse than she seemed. Ashley and crew must stop them before they bring about the end of the vampire nation, all while keeping Ashley from turning full vamp herself. Ashley needs all her abilities, both old and new, to survive until the end, with a lot of twists and turns along the way.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

Like anything having to do with Michael Suttkus and C.T. Phipps, characters are what drive the story. Ashley is such a well written character, strong, determined and vulnerable by turns. She has deep prejudices ingrained in her by growing up in the Red Room environment, but struggles to be honest and fair. Her hatred of vampires is so at odds with what her brother has become, and it's that conflict that helps driver her actions. Her bonding a mystical weapon also creates some funny moments, as she now has a rather loud "conscience" pushing her to do the right things. The other characters are also so much fun. From Arthur, Ashley's vampire brother, to Alex, her wizard ex, the secondary characters get so much care and development. they get fully fleshed out. The villain of the story actually has very little face time in the book, so doesn't get as much first hand attention, but is discussed at length throughout the book.

The world building is definitely sold. It expands upon the world created in Straight Outta Fangton, Esoterrorism and I Was a Teenage Weredeer. The fall of the Red Room is explained more in this one than the others, with some more of the ancillary work done there explained. New Detroit is expanded on past where its been shown before, really giving a look into the various territories the city is split into. It is definitely an expanded world ripe for future stories.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Any time you spin off a series with new characters, it has a chance of failing. Luckily, they took what worked with the other books in this universe, namely excellent characters, snappy dialogue and a fast paced plot and created a great addition to the universe. If you like any other books by these authors, you'll like this one. I think it has a lot of appeal for any fans of urban fantasy, and has lots of potential places to go.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

This is the first book in a new series, but set in a very familiar world (Phipps has a lot of series set in this world, Secret Files of the Red Room, Bright Falls Mysteries and Straight Outta Fangton, which is dubbed The United States of Monsters Universe). Ashley Morgan is a PI and Bounty Hunter. Her parents were part of the Red Room. She also has a real dislike of vampires. And this most recent case, puts her right into the thick of them.

Ashley is a “bright”, which means she is more than human. She has very strong empathic power and is able to tell when people are telling the truth based on how they’re feeling when they’re talking. She even tried her hand at being a superhero for a bit, but that didn’t work out so well.

This is a fun story. I loved learning more about these characters and really want to spend more time with them. I also got to see some characters from other series. Peter Stone, the main character from Straight Outta Fangton. I love Peter and I will take any time I can spend with him, even if he has only a small part here. Alex, from Bright Falls series, has a larger part. He is Ashley’s ex-boyfriend and a wizard. Ashley also has a sword that is inhabited by an angel. I really liked the angel.

I do love an investigative type story (be it cop drama or PI style investigations). This one is a fun one with a paranormal style. You can read this story without having read the other series, though there are spoilers in this book that will tell you about events in other series.

This has the humor that I’ve come to expect from Phipps and Suttkus. Like always, I love the pop culture references. This is the first time I’ve heard a Smurfs reference in a book (it was my favorite cartoon as a kid. I still have a ton of those little figurines). Most of the pop culture references are a bit more on the nerdy sci-fi angle, but I love when there are others.

While I think you could follow along if you started with this series, I would probably recommend starting with the Bright Falls Mysteries or Straight Outta Fangton if I were to give you a recommendation on where to start this Universe.

Narration
This is my first listen from Heather Costa. I really liked her narration. I thought she did a good job bringing out the personality of the characters. If I was going to fault her, it would be that the voice of the sword sounded female to me. It was later when I heard Ashley refer to it as “him” that I realize it wasn’t a female angel. That being said, I really liked her narration and would listen to her again.

**I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Trevor Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

On my blog this will have 4.5 stars. My only complaint would be it was to short!! Or maybe I should try to not binge read books in one sitting anymore? Anyway Full review to come soon but in the mean time if ya want to read / listen to a fantastic ....... Not sure what genre to call it except maybe all of them.... Lets say an Urban Paranormal (Hold the Romance) Vampire Superhero Angel Detective Fantasy with more then a dash of Comedy, Well than this is the book for you!

[M.K. Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me be very clear up front: I did not love this book. It was, in my opinion, a lore heavy entry into the United States of Monsters Universe (USMU), but just an okay story. Now, for those who look at the overall stars and maybe the first couple of sentences, you may wonder why I gave this book a 4/5. Well, here it is: World Building.

Phipps and Suttkus bring us the adventures of Ashley Morgan in this book. And as the description tells you, she is a jack of all trades. Already familiar with the supernatural world, she is thrust into a comedic/action adventure where she encounters the titular bright blade, which then pushes her deeper into this world of monsters and myth.

The problem for me was that the adventure was . . . formulaic, and the story, as well as meaningful character development, was sacrificed so that the USMU world could be further fleshed out. What do I mean by that? Well, Ashley isn’t really much different that Phipps and Suttkus’ Jane Doe from the Weredeer books. Snarky, comedic, vulnerable as the scene dictates, sassy, and oh so geeky. (Although, Ashley claims she is not a geek, despite playing D&D and video games.) Remember how Jane wields a gun with an angel in it? Well, Ashley has a sword with an angel. Remember how Jane had that relationship with the Men in Black Wizard guy? So did/does Ashley. You know how Jane has magic powers? So does Ashley. Remember how Jane has quippy back-and-fourth’s with supporting characters at a TV’s Buffy pace? So does Ashley. See where I’m going with this? While I liked Ashley, a lot actually, I just felt that she never found her own unique voice. And maybe it is my issue with not seeing her in her own book and instead looking at the whole context of the USMU. But it is my hope that in further books, Ashley will step out of Jane’s shadow and be her own character.

So, with my negatives out of the way, I want to focus on the positives. The world. You see, CT wrote a book a while back called Esoterrorism. If you like Simon Green’s Drood books, I highly recommend you check it out. That book was in it’s own universe when CT was under a different publisher. But, he liked it so much, that he massaged the USMU to incorporate the mysteries of The Red Room. And that is where this book excels. Combining Weredeer, Fangton, and Esoterrorism into a (mostly) cogent universe where actions in one book have impact in another. And that is no small task. Just ask the MCU. Having read (nearly) all the other USMU books, I was delighted to see plots and characters woven in. This level of work takes a more than just a competent writer. It takes someone who loves their world so much that you can see it, touch it, and breathe it. But in order to do that, many of Brightblades characters go off on exposition tangents. Which, again, does not service the story of Ashley Morgan.

Another shining positive to this book was Heather Costa’s narration. Her vocal work really elevated the material and kept me listening. The pace of her reading met the story’s flow and her ability to switch from character to characters, especially in the dialogue heavy scenes, was great! Through her, I felt Ashley’s pain and laughter, a true mark of a talented narrator.

So, I give the world building a 5. The story a 3. Thus, my average is a 4. As a writer myself, (Check out my Technomancer, Shadow Master, Hammer of Witches, Agents of MORTAL books . . plug plug) I hate it when a reviewer will tank a book with a bad score leaving behind a review that appears to be valid “criticism” but reads like a self-important manifesto.

And yes, the irony is not lost on me. But you see, I’m not some keyboard warrior, too afraid to tell the author what I think directly. I told Charles all of this at length over the phone. You see, Charles and I are friends and he in fact gave me a copy to review. In order to push one another, we have to be honest with one another.

But long story short, just because this wasn’t my favorite book of his, doesn’t mean I won’t stop reading his work. And in the same breath, if you love this book, then great. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum. I will of course read any sequel to Ashley’s adventures and look forward to seeing her come into her own.

[MagePro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tying it all together
C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus have written many novels in seemingly different worlds, but Brightblade (Morgan Detective Agency Book 1) ties it almost all of them together without question. The Red Room Files (solely Phipps), Fangton series, the Bright Falls Mysteries series and now the Morgan Detective Agency series all take place in the same world at (relatively speaking) the same time (United States of Monsters). I won’t get into how this group relates to the Wraith Knight, Agent G, Cthulhu Amageddon series, or even the exploits of a starfaring viscount. All of that info can be found on Phipps blog; United Federation of Charles.
But, Brightblade feeds the connections to you that connect all the dots and a full history lesson of the world, feeding you in firehose-to-the-mouth fashion. The funny part is, you don’t feel too overwhelmed by it as it flows like it was meant to. I believe that this is the way the two tried to catch everyone up on the world instead of having to read all the other books first. Getting the lay of the land is important in a shared universe. A daunting task to be sure! We hear about and journey with characters from the other books and know how much has gone on before, but readers new to the United States of Monsters might have trouble gaining so much information this way.
This is unexpected and slightly out of style for our dynamic-duo of writers… a departure from the usual where this information is delivered through fun and games and most importantly, nearly transparently. For us readers who have been looking for a timeline or chronological reading order based on the events that have occurred in this shared world, Suttkus and Phipps put in some overtime. I believe that there were some things that could have waited until the second book in this series to spill, but once the flow starts and you get used to it, a few more facts about the world doesn’t hurt. The only reason I mention this is because someone else will and throw a hissy fit.
Now, the cool part! Some of the combat sequences, behind the scenes actions and the aftermath of both are considered in amazing details. The combat quickly flowed in the same way it would in a Role Playing Game where players make bad rolls, do the wrong things and just barely managed to survive. OK, it was much more streamlined than some of those old games. It reminded me of so many very exciting games I played in my youth. I had a very geeky smile on my face through it all.
Some of the characters in the book, could barely stand at the end of the combat, but with healing magic they are back in action by the next scene with no ill effects. I have a feeling that there will be a price to pay later on and our heroes are going to pay dearly when they least expect it. (no, this is not advanced knowledge) I know in my gaming experiences, we ALWAYS ran out of healing and went into combat horribly disadvantaged. It made our victories that much more sweet. This was something I was looking forward to seeing in Brightblade.
The introduction of a telepathically talking blade that the narrator, Heather Costa made so amusing and irritating at the same time, was a high point for me. I would agree that the revelation of its powers could have been put off until the next book and the banter I was hoping for just between Ashely and it would be kept private for a while. But, when you throw in telepathic vampires, wizards and bloodsworn that all seem to have telepathy (that just barge in on anyone’s mind) got a little confusing at times as I tried to remember who could and who could not join in on this telepathic communication. Still, the typical humor associated with the Suttkus/Phipps team came through and it made me feel right at home in a quirky-snark-ridden landscape.
Did the book stand on its own? After taking some time of stand back from my ready adoration of Heather Costa and the Suttkus/Phipps team, I’d have to give a begrudging ‘yes’ to that. I had to go back and look at some old Mike Hammer-style books to see how they gave out tons of information. As I suspected, they too used this fire-hose-feed method as well if it had any reliance on a previous book/story. So, keeping with the concept of a detective story (albeit set in a highly unfamiliar world), they did their very difficult job and stayed in that style. It may have been something that other writers would have run away from screaming in terror. Truly, an impressive feat gentlemen.
Making Ashley Morgan sound tough-as-nails detective/bounty hunter seemed to come easy for Heather Costa. There were some confusing times when Ashley wavered in character and was sorely tempted to fall into a ‘dame to be rescued,’ but Heather Costa kept her strong and never whining as she should be. I almost felt Costa was more in tune with the character than I was. Thank goodness!
While there were times that could have been confusing as to what was going on (especially in circumstances that were purposefully confusing), Heather came through like a polished trooper and executed the acting demands in her usual finesse’ that not many can match. No, I’m not a huge fan of Heather at all. I have to wonder if she spent 30+ hours listening to all the other stories to hear how the other actors (Cary Hite, Jeffrey Kafer, Arielle DeLisle) delivered the characters that appeared in this episode of the United States of Monsters. She grabbed the nuances of each and made them compatible with the other renditions of each character. She could switch from the softness of one of the female characters to the hard-edged virility of some of the male parts. Nothing really slowed her down. Many narrators struggle to switch so seamlessly. Simply amazing performance! Thank you Heather!
I am forced to admit that this was not their best collaboration effort. I’m also not sure I can say it felt rushed. There were times that I wanted them to go into more detail of the aftermath of a situation and we jumped to the next scene. But, that’s OK. If it doesn’t reinforce the story or tell more of what needs to be told, many scenes end up on the ‘cutting room floor.’ It’s times like this that I wonder if there are some cut scenes that would make for some very interesting reading. Better yet, we might see some of these scenes in the next ‘issue’ as either a flashback or another opportunity to glimpse into the minds of the heroes (not sure I can really use that word for this group, but it’s as close as I can come).
Overall, I was tempted to lower my 5 star rating to a 3 due to the fire-hose feeding effect and the introduction of the overly powerful sword, but between the excitement to see the next in the series or how the Morgan Detective Agency is going to blend in with the Brightfalls Mysteries et al, and Heather Costa’s incredible challenging performance, I think that ratings above 5 in other areas even it out well. I can’t wait for the next in the series!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from this author duo! Ashley Morgan is a fun character to guide us through this urban fantasy. As a bounty hunter, she’s well aware of the rules and chooses which ones to bend or break. I love her can-do attitude. The support cast provides plenty of opportunity for humor and snark.

What starts off as a pretty simple bounty with her team mates (Jack and some goofy newbie), quickly turns into a potentially deadly situation. But in swoops unexpected assistance and Ashley is reunited with an old coworker, Alex Timons. I really liked Alex from the Weredeer books so it’s good to see him here and getting more of the spotlight.

The conundrums pile up as Ashley is saved by vampire blood, making her a dhampir (which she really doesn’t want to be) and her long lost brother Arthur pops back into her life, as a vampire! Ashley used to hunt vampires and now she’s allied with them! Argh! Such a tough situation for her. But she has little time to be mad as there’s a possessed talking sword that demands her attention. Haha!

I really enjoyed this sword. The trapped angel had some of the best lines of the story. And it’s own goals. Ashley has so much on her plate in this story. Her struggle with what exactly is good or evil is sometimes hindered by the angel-possessed sword.

There’s a vampire character, perhaps Sam, from 100 Miles and Vampin’, who provided an often amusing and sometimes scary viewpoint to current events. She’s an old vampire, having become one herself in an age where human slavery was common. Becoming a vampire was a step up for her; even though she had several obligations to her maker, she had more freedoms than she did as a slave. Ashley, former vampire hunter, had to reassess her view on vampires in general & Sam provided plenty of food for thought.

All around, it was a lot of fun. The tale has excellent balance with humor, action, philosophical debates on good and evil, snark, pop culture references, and complicated relationships. You can enjoy this book with other Phipps & Suttkus tales or as a standalone. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Heather Costa was perfect as Ashley. I love her practical, straight forward voice. She captures Ashley’s snark and harder nature quite well. I also like her range of character voices for the supporting cast. Her male voices were masculine and all characters were easily distinguishable. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this audiobook. All opinions are 100% my own.

[Crysta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was ridiculously excited for this book and it was everything I was hoping for! Ashley makes for a wonderfully conflicted main character, and it was nice seeing a more human perspective to the United States of Monsters world. The similarities to Jessica Jones are mentioned in the intro, and it’s true, Ashley and Jessica have some things in common. But only with broad strokes comparisons in that they’re both PIs with a chip on their shoulder, and used to wear a costume in their past. It doesn’t take long getting to know Ashley, to see that they are definitely different people.

The Teenage Weredeer and Straight Outta Fangton books aren’t required reading by any means for Brightblade, but having that background I think does help enrich the world and some of the supporting cast. I had read some, but not all, of the books in the other series and I did sometimes feel like there were background pieces I wasn’t quite seeing everything, but nothing that hindered understanding what was happening in Brightblade. And it was wonderful to spend more time getting to know Alex in particular, one of my favorite characters (besides Jane of course) from the Weredeer books. There are some minor spoilers for each of the other series as it does take place after those books in the same world.

The lack of a romance subplot was appreciated, I don’t mind it sometimes, but it’s nice when it can just be a story about a woman kicking ass and not also about who she is or isn’t seeing. There’s a nice low key sex positive vibe despite not much of sex happening, which is also appreciated.

No spoilers but I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and at least one was a major surprise for me. In general I would say it’s what they call a “page turner”. It can be hard for me to find time to sit down and just read these days but I kept sneaking in a page or two when I could just because I really wanted to know what happened next and even if I only had a few minutes, I wanted those few minutes to be spent reading.

The humor is mostly snark and enjoyable geeky pop-culture jokes that had me frequently laughing as I went along, and as is often the case with C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus books, it also had me thinking about how the United States of Monsters world reflects our own. It’s not always the most flattering reflection, but it is one worth seeing and discussing. And doing so couched around the supernatural, and a wonderful story, is a great way to do it.
I’m already looking forward to book 2, and 3, and 4… and yeah, I can already tell it’s going to be a great series!

I eagerly received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Ed Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those not in the know; CT Phipps has built a very popular and wonderful shared Universe of characters. And this is a perfect jumping on point!

A strong, yet flawed female protagonist, working in the supernatural center of the world, New Detroit.

Ashley Morgan is a skip tracer. Only she works in New Detroit, where vampires rule and every other type of supernatural comes to pay homage or just gawk at the show.
With magic sword in hand, she is joined by a cadre of weirdos ranging from ancient vampires to Klingon speaking wizards...and it is awesome!

A very fast paced and action packed book that deals with the new reality of vampires and werewolves being legal citizens of the United States. Blood slaves, vampires and ghouls all living by their own "ethics" where position and power trumps any sort of morality. What is an ex-monster hunting empath to do?

At the end of the day, what I like most about these books is that they are fun. They are action loaded romps into weirdness, with a bit of sardonic wit, and a penchant towards complicated love lives. Escapist fantasy at its best!

[Anders Haywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic story!

I've read all of the books in this world (which are NOT required reading for this one, but it helps) except for Eldritch Ops, and this is definitely one of the best!
Ashley is a great new protagonist and she's endearingly human. The other characters are a mix of old and new faces with many welcome cameos.
The story was exciting and I was genuinely invested in the plot.
With these books getting so much better every time, I can't wait to see what's next.
If you like well crafted urban fantasy books, you should absolutely try this one!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the United States of Monsters and adding this to the shared universe is so much fun. Along with learning more about characters from the other books we get to add a whole new batch of interesting characters.

Really looking forward to their continued adventures where even death isn't a release from your troubles.

[Bennah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good start into a new series in a familiar world. Look forward to the next installment

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was ok, but over the top. I honestly think some readers will love it. It's chocked full of pop culture, geek references. So, anyone who really loves that will love this book. But, while I appreciate a little geekery in my books, there was just too much for me. Similarly, I think there was too much crammed into this plot—secret psychic spy schools, gods, angelic swords, lost siblings, sorcery, men in black, strippers/prostitutes, monsters, weres, vampires, etc. etc. etc. I don't feel like it allowed any aspect of the plot to develop fully.

I did like the characters and I loved that there was some casual queerness, racial diversity, a hero will autism, and a mild exploration of personal bias/racism (in regards to vampires, but I felt that was just a proxy).

All in all, not bad, but better suited to a different, maybe younger (though not too young, re strippers/prostitutes referenced above), reader.

[Tina G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brightblade (The Morgan Detective Agency, Book 1) by C. T. Phipps & Michael Suttkus and narrated by Heather Costa is an entertaining start to a new series. Recommend if you are looking for something new in the genre or looking for an additional book to the authors’ worlds.

What’s it about? After many endeavors, Ashley is currently a bounty hunter for supes. She is also a bright (psychic).While bringing an ancient magical sword to a bank for safe keeping, the bank is attacked by a trio of supes. While attempting to hunt down the magical item the supes stold, Ashley’s life becomes more complicated when her long lost brother and ex show up. She also has Zadkiel, the Angel of Mercy, talking to her telepathically. From there, the book picks up the pace and is go-go-go. There’s pop-culture references mixed with unique humor, along with characters from the other books in the universe (Charles and Michael, we must come up with a name for your universe if there isn’t one- now accepting submissions?). The book also delves into prejudices, which are cleverly written in.


The couple issues I had:
1) It took me a little longer than normal to get into this book, but may be due to the other issue listed below. If you find yourself saying meh at first, stick with it and you won’t be disappointed.
2) There’s a lot of information/new characters, if you’re not familiar with some of the other series tied to this universe, you might be a little lost, so pay close attention (I’ve only ventured into the Bright Falls Mysteries). I’d like to see a character index/world history as an accompanying PDF for this audible book- the ebook has a foreword which helps a little. Here’s what the ebook says:
“For those picking up Brightblade as the first novel of the shared universe, a short summary of the world: It is the year 2018 and the supernatural has been out for roughly ten years. Vampires, shifters, fairies, and more are known to the public with the state of Michigan being where the majority have congregated.
Detroit has been rebuilt with vampire money in to the Las Vegas-esque tourist trap New Detroit (original, I know). It isn’t a paradise, though, because the supernatural factions behind the scenes are always scheming against one another while the government debates revoking the citizenship of its inhuman citizenry. You can read about the adventures of characters during this time period in Straight Out of Fangton as well as the Bright Falls Mysteries.
Prior to the Reveal in 2008, the supernatural was kept hidden from the public by an alliance of wizards and secret agents called the House. Their activities were ruthless, duplicitous, and ultimately doomed. A prequel trilogy of books detailed the slow revelation of the supernatural, despite the House’s efforts in Esoterrorism, Eldritch Ops, and The Fall of the House. These are collectively known as the Red Room series.”

The narrator, Heather Costa, did a lovely job with each character. She is easy to listen to, steady pace, and absolutely adds to the book.

*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

[Kat Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun read! If you read any of the other books by the two authors, you will love all the surprising cameos! Just when you think things can’t get any worse for the heroine of this book...they do times usually 100!! It was a fast paced book that kept me guessing til the end!! Definitely a must read!

[Curly's Ramblings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook review: Entertaining story and interesting characters. Sound plot and storyline. The narrator did a good job. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Todd Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to another new series by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus. Brightblade takes place in the same world as 3 of his other series and it's just as good! Heather Costa does a great narration! I can't wait to see how the rest of this series plays out and ties into his other series!

[Jason Vane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to the USM universe

I think everyone will find this a welcome addition to the ever-growing United States of Monsters universe. It’s hard to describe the book to people that have read the other books in the universe. It’s like trying to compare Marvel Characters, each one is very different while still maintaining that overall feel. Maybe the best way to describe it is across between Anita Blake, Buffy Summers, and Dean Winchester.

[Thomas A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Brightblade a lot… or more accurately, I liked Ashley Morgan, the snarky, sassy, superpowered anti-heroic protagonist of Brightblade. Usually, I’d try to summarize the plot in a review, but unlike some other books that use their characters as a way to push the narrative forward, Brightblade is all about the characters. That means the real joy in reading it is all in the interactions, character building, and dialog. There is a story there, and it's a decent one... but you’ll read the book for the characters in it. So the plot? What’s the book about? It’s about Ashley Morgan. And the one hell of a night she just survived. Well, that she mostly survived anyway.

I’m usually not into urban fantasy, but Brightblade reads more like a vampire story. But not a dark, victorian-style vampire story or a teenage romantic gag-inducing vampire story. Instead, it’s an entertaining, irreverent, gothic-punk vampire story where the masquerade is dropped, and the vampires are all out doing their vampire thing. It’s got lots of vampire family politics, vampire lore, vampire strippers, and everything else you could want in a vampire story. From what I understand, it’s set in the same world as the other books in The United States of Monsters series, and now I want to read them all. Damn it, maybe I do like urban fantasy after all.

Overall, Brightblade is a lighthearted story with some darker subtext. It’s humorous and fun with its tone and pop culture references, but like most of Phipps’s work, it’s also intelligent in its use of social commentary and the development of alternate world cultural dynamics. I appreciate these deeper elements built into the world that Phipps and Suttkus have created.

As for the audio version of the book: I’ve never heard any of Heather Costa’s performances before, but I think she did a great job with Brightblade. Her character voices fit the narrative's tone and various situations within the book. All the female characters had unique, distinct voices -- which is an accomplishment, as there was quite a large cast of female characters. However, the male voices didn’t have the same variety and were a bit more challenging to differentiate. It’s a minor critique, though, as it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book or the narration.

Special thanks to C.T. Phipps, who provided me with this book at my request.

[LexiLikesLiterature]

I'm going to come back to this book later. I need to read the previous series before this one. I won't rate this until I finish but I'll post the notes I took along the way.

If this is the sub-genre of Sci-Fi/Fantasy that you prefer, then I see no reason for you not to love this book. Its packed full of pop culture references, magical creatures, badazz chicks, superhero stuff and fighting.

The fighting could go either way. You could feel like: "What in the Kanye West?! This book is literary CRANK!"

Or

If you're more of a reserved quiet nerd as myself, then it might feel like trying to study while sitting on a trampoline with the other kids jumping and flipping all around you. (I did that once, it's hard.)

This book is all action. There is no reprieve or build up. There is slight action, mild action, medium action, high impact action. No Plateau. So if you're into action, then this is your 5 Star Book of the Year.

For me, it felt like John Wick without the puppy scene. If you never felt his loss for the puppy (given by his dead wife) then all the ass-kicking that follows doesnt feel so satisfying. And that's how I felt about Brightblade. I never got a chance to connect with these characters. It could be that those types of details and character connection pieces are in the previous books. As this is a Book One, then I'd assumed that I could start here and get a full story. So I guess I get a strike for assuming.

This narrator was not my favorite. She wasnt terrible. It just wasnt... good. She basically just read the book. Yes, that's her job. However, when you hear a Khristine Hvam, Lorelei King, Gildart Jackson, or Luke Daniels audiobook it's more like a vocal performance. So going back to just having someone read the book to me was MEH. And she was reading to damn fast. First book in my life I had to manually slow down.

Again, I'll come back because this seems to be an extremely detailed world with some interesting characters. I just need to start from the beginning so I can get some emotional connection to them.

[M. Vess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve listened to the Straight Outta Fangton books by Phipps and this runs in the same world, a world where humanity is dealing with the supernatural like vampires and shifters, but Brightblade follows a different character. Ashley Morgan is a 28 year old with some powers of her own, like telekinesis and the ability to read emotions. She was trained in secret by the government to hunt and dispatch things like vampires and shifters, but now that they are part of society that program is a wash. So with her training and a couple of sidekicks she’s become a bounty hunter. What appears to be a mundane criminal pick-up job goes sideways fast. She learns her lost brother is still alive and in New Detroit. Things keep going from bad to worse and the stakes climb higher and higher. She has to team up with her ex, who is a powerful wizard, her brother and his vampire wife, and a sword inhabited by an angel, to fight their enemies and an ancient power on the rise.
There’s lots of great pop-culture nods and humor throughout. I liked the character of Ashley and her being a little older than the typical “chosen one.” Rather than a coming of age story, it was more about coming to terms with regrets and figuring out where she fit among those she was trained to despise. No romance or sex scenes, but there was some talk of the loose morality of vampirekind. Overall I really enjoyed the book and the epilogue was a great cliffhanger and teaser into the next book. I look forward to more of Ashley’s adventures.
The audio narration was well done though the narrator didn’t have a wide range so some conversations were a little hard to follow. She did a great job capturing emotion and attitude.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and light story with an underlining theme.

I enjoy reading C.T. Phipps's books for the fun references made to movies, songs, games, and so much more. I'll admit, I catch many of them but I'm sure there's a few that I've missed in listening to the story. I love it.

The characters are fun. Even when they are having one of the worst days of their lives. lol. There's quick clips back and forth as they go through the day and battles.

This book and series is set in the same world as Jane Doe, Straight out of Fangdom, and Red Room. They are all mentioned here so you get the feel of where Ashley and friends are located. I thought it was neat that Alex is present in this book (and hopefully series), which he was a boyfriend of Jane Doe's for a time too. It's neat to see how the books cross paths or are a history for this book.

I found there was a theme to the characters... What you are raised around doesn't mean it's right. You can be more and move past prejudices and more.

Ashley's day starts with trying to collect a bond's breaker and escalates to a trio of magical woman robbing a bank and her finding her long lost brother and into so much more. Lot's happening while we get to know the characters.

Where the story ends is at a mystery! Someone arrives, and I want to know what happens after this. Another book! :D Can't wait!

[Carolina Solano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this kind of science fiction novel that has everything: vampires, detectives, heroines and a very compelling plot, I enjoyed Brightblade (The Morgan Detective Agency Book 1) by C.T. Phipps a lot. It is a very well set novel, in a world of vampires. The main character is Ashley Morgan, a strong and determined woman who faces a supernatural world, very different from how we have read it in other books
The plot of this book is original and well thought out. With a simple but careful language, the author made me immerse myself in the world that he has been able to create. The descriptions are accurate but they don't get tedious, they just make the novel have a perfect setting.
As for the characters, they are deep and mysterious, with a spark of humor, and above all, very credible given the context of the novel.
The best thing about the novel, in addition to its very well done setting, is that it draws a very wide universe. Brightblade is the first in a series of novels that combines a high dose of action, a lot of humor and an intrigue that will make you turn pages without even realizing it.
I recommend this book and I look forward to enjoying the second book soon.

[Mercedes M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brightblade is an amazing science fiction book! The authors, C.T. Phipps and
Michael Suttkus created a fascinating story full of unexpected outcomes as well as spicy ingredients such as action and suspense.

The plot of this book focuses on Ashley Morgan who is a Superhero with mental abilities, A spy and A detective and works as a bounty hunter at a bail bonds in New Detroit, but she finds herself tired of working in a dead-end job running after criminals of New Detroit. Unexpectedly, a vampire sheriff gives her information about her long-missing brother who she believed dead and this encourages her to change her life.

One of the things I loved the most about this book was the strength of the female protagonists, their strong beliefs and courage. Personally, I think the characters are excellent and the dialogues between them are real and snappy creating an exciting and fast-paced plot. I really enjoyed this well written story full of journeys, twists and challenges.

All in all, this novel is a great partner for these days. You won’t regret it. I highly recommend it!

[Cyrene Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a start of a series that is a spin-off of sorts from others, set in the same world. I didn’t read any of the other series, and had no trouble keeping up with this one. Ashley is a psychic with telekinetic abilities, and is working as a bounty hunter when we first meet her. In this world, Detroit has been taken over by the vampires and it’s now known as New Detroit. The jobs in this supernatural underbelly are not career boosters by any stretch. As she works as a bounty hunter, she really sets out to find her missing brother, and along the way, she gets involved in a scheme to raise a vampire and get a magical wand that can cure vampirism. The supernaturals in this book are not the romanticized versions you see in other books, but they are also not complete monsters.
The cast of characters are well done, and for the most part, developed well enough that I could get a decent handle on them. My favorite has to be Zadkiel, Ashley’s magical sword that has an angel embedded. Overall, I like the action and the series and am interested to see where it goes from this book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being the first book in the Morgan Detective Agency series,"Brightblade" is an incredible science fiction and fantasy story, written by C.T Phipps and Michael Suttkus. In this book, Phipps and Suttkus delight us with a unique story. A 28-year-old woman, Ashley Morgan, is discouraged, but an encounter with the vampire sheriff changes everything. In this strange encounter, Morgan discovers that his brother is alive. Will it be an easy task to find him? Or will she have to fight against all odds to meet him?
This is the second book I read by author C.T. Phipps, and I must admit I loved it. I love how he creates the atmosphere and the suspense that some parts of the novel generate. The characters are amazing and they are extremely well described, I think that is important because that makes one empathize with them immediately. Characters are also vivid and fresh. Without doubt, I liked this story very much.

[Melina A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brightdable is the first series of the United States of Monsters universe and the story is set in the author's world of monsters and vampires.
The main character, Ashley Morgan, has been many things in life but she has failed at all of them. She has been a psychic, a superhero, a spy, a detective and a Bounty Hunter. Currently, she is working a dead end job trying to bring in vampires that skipped their bail. Once she brought one back, she received information that her brother is still alive and is here when the adventure begins.
Full of twists and turns, Phillip has decided to employ vivid but simple language to describe the sequences of events Morgan undergoes. He has chosen the first person singular to tell the story and he made use of dialogues to help readers follow the story along.
This book has it all, suspense, mystery, fantasy, love and the most fun part, vampires! Loved it!

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an interesting ride! It was so cool and different from the typical vampire story, that you will love it from the very beginning. It is not trivial and makes the reader travel through time. Brightblade (The Morgan Detective Agency Book 1) is an original story written by Michael Suttkus and C.T Phipps.
I dare to say that this piece of work intrigued me since I read the synopsis. I found myself really drawn into the story, I felt glued to its pages until the end, and caring for the characters. I loved the protagonist, Ashley Morgan, a twenty-eight-year old bounty hunter.
I really appreciated the originality of the main plot and the intrigues of the vampire’s base of power. Although I must admit that the story was a bit slow in some parts, I like the potential that it has.
Readers will feel immersed in a new world realistic enough to find themselves lost in the fiction. I recommend reading it!