Spider's Bite

Elemental Assassin, Book 1

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South -- when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way -- good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

©2010 Jennifer Estep (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fortgang’s captivating drawl sketches Finn’s flirty, genteel arrogance and Caine’s horrified disapproval of her. Fortgang portrays Gin’s well-hidden emotions as well as her habitual analysis of combat probabilities. The capable narration ensures that Gin comes across as an intriguing mix of battle-weary assassin, sorceress, and affectionate homebody. Fortgang also delivers the book’s wry humor with subtle elegance." ( AudioFile)

Loved it. Reminded me of early "Anita Blake"

Narration was excellent. Characters three dimensional. Story interesting. I found a new series to look forward to.

Could have used a better editor.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I'm on the fence with this book. The characters are fun if not a little too Mary Sue/Gary Stu (really, a computer hacker/financier/car-jacker/marksman/thief who has a way with the ladies?) Most of the characters just seem to be an expert and whatever skill they need to force the scene to carry on but the contrived scenes are offset by good characters. The mythos is creative, but the prose is wordy. For every good thing about this book there is something that I feel and good editor should have asked to see cut.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

First thing I would have asked is for the word "silverstone" be limited to at least once per chapter. Even better, just stop using it since everything seems to be made of the stuff from Gin's knives, to normal kitchen knives, to gardening tools, hand cuffs and car keys (I'm making up that last one). Worse is every time she mentions the knives, which can be several times in one chapter, we're reminded they are made of silverstone. Also, I'd avoid the overly contrived subtext that everyone Gin opposes in the book is either tortures people to death or sexually depraved. It's like Estep is trying to make Gin a anti-hero by proving she only kills people who truly deserve it.

What does Lauren Fortgang bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is actually the best part of book. Fortgang probably gives this book more life than I would have imagined if I reading this myself. Audible is probably the best way to go with this one in particular.

Could you see Spider's Bite being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I do. Probably on the CW where the focus is a limited cast of good looking people with very little in the way of moral ambiguity.

Any additional comments?

I kind of feel like this is probably the authors first book- and by that I mean first book EVER. It reminds me of Larry Correia in that this book would be better if it had been polished, or had the author made some of these glaring mistakes in unwritten novels so that the writing could just be cleaner. That said I assume the following books are better, but it's going to be a long while before I'm willing to return to this series.

Simplistic and a bit tedious...

Another heroine filled with angst believing she is responsible for her family and friend's death? Really? It's all her fault? I just didn't buy it. It's a fun idea with the "elementals" and their different levels of ability living in a corrupt city - very dark. But the main character repeats herself regularly - rehashing her own and others' motivation - blah! It gets old and a bit sappy - kind of adolescent. Maybe the characters are supposed to be cartoonish? Good guy - oh, so good and naive. Bad guys - unconscionable and stupid? I will say the narrator used wonderful accents and played with the pace nicely - really set the atmosphere.

Amazing

I just cannot get enough of this series! I've listened to each book twice already and I'm working on round 3.

Fun series

Would you consider the audio edition of Spider's Bite to be better than the print version?

Narration is good, Story line is great. I like Series that expand over several books, so this is a favorite of mine. Suspense and mystery, funny and entertaining. Very much a "girl-power" feel. If you like Badass chicks that kick ass, then you'll love it. Its a fun series.

Good

I am always leery about audio books because if the person doesn’t do it right it will mess up the whole story BUT the person doing this one did a great job throughout the whole book!

Overly repetitive

Entertaining storyline but characters detracted from it a bit. They talk and think through the same issues a LOT, and I find it hard to believe that in a middle of, say, a hostage situation, they're going to take a pause and regret their attraction to the person sitting next to them and ponder the expression on the other person's face. No subtleties in this book. Author spells everything out to you in triplicate. Gin / the main character is also not terribly believeable as this hot shot assassin who doesn't even have exit strategies and back up plans for when she kidnaps people or makes a dangerous ultimatum gambit. Her romance with the police detective felt forced. Zero chemistry, despite how many times it's detailed that the characters are checking each other out

That said, the world and larger storyline was interesting. I wanted to learn more about many of the secondary characters. While Jennifer Estep doesn't write romance well, she does do a good job with world building. Also, narrator did a great job, which salvaged a bit of the conversations between bleh main characters.

Spider's Bite rocks

Awesome book, I couldn't put it down. Wonderfully written, well fleshed out characters, can't wait to read the rest of the series and see how the "family" fares in the next story.

Fun sorry

Fast pace, great main character, fun sorry, great start to a series. I enjoyed more than I expected.

Engaging heroine, fast plot, new ideas, fun read

Two things made this book fun:

1. The main character Gin is refreshingly amoral - no endless recriminations about "does being an assassin make me a bad person?" - no "only I can save the world" delusions - just a survivor doing the best she can and mostly putting herself first

2. The spirited reading by Lauren Fortgang that brings Gin to life. She did a great job of helping me get more out of the prose.

The book is firmly in the urban fantasy with a kick ass heroine territory but it has a few ideas that make it stand out and it's clearly built to be a series will a well thought out world.

I did find it odd that the most feared assassin the business manages to get through this novel without actually assassinating anyone.

The male love interest is not as interesting as he needs to be. Perhaps Gin will do better in the next book or he will do something that demonstrates why she finds him so attractive.

A good piece of genre fun that may build into a memorable series.

I've already downloaded the next book.