Curse on the Land

Soulwood, Book 2

By: Faith Hunter

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 14 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Set in the same world as Faith Hunter's New York Times best-selling Jane Yellowrock novels, the second Soulwood novel tells the story of a woman whose power comes from deep within the earth.

Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded - even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals comes with dangers of its own.

After training at the PsyLED academy, Nell returns home to her woods to find the land feeling sick and restless. And that sickness is spreading. With the help of her team, under the leadership of agent Rick LaFleur, Nell tries to determine the cause. But nothing can prepare them for the evil that awaits: an entity that feeds on death itself. And it wants more.

©2016 Faith Hunter (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Wow!

I love Faith Hunter's writing. The way she can weave something from a book years ago in the Jane Yellowrock series into this story so brilliantly.
As always Khristine Hvam's narration is absolutely beautifully done.

Really..... toxic mold... nazis..... witches. How completely ridiculous!

I really struggled to get through the book.I have enjoyed previous faith hunter novels but not this one. If toxic mold and crazy witches is the best she can do, then the Soulwood series is not for me.

Another winner from the fantastic Faith Hunter!

Any additional comments?

Another amazing effort from Faith Hunter, who is in top form with "Curse on the Land". Nell is a fascinating and flawed character dealing with witches, magic, missing ley lines, ancient entities and plague. Quite a handful for a newly minted PsyLED officer.

Skillfully plotted, and impeccably written, "Curse on the Land" is an enjoyable story for new readers or long time fans. Brilliant addition to the Urban Fantasy universe of Jane Yellowrock.

If you are unfamiliar with Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock world, and haven't read the first Soulwood book, trust Faith Hunter to write a totally enjoyable book for newcomers. The background information from the first book 'Blood of the Earth" is skillfully presented over the course of the first chapter, and sprinkled naturally throughout the course of the story. No dreaded info dump here. "Curse on the Land" is structured as a police procedural with a lot of magical forensic work. We see the inner workings of PsyLED, the magic cops who are tasked with keeping humans and supernatural folks safe. Nell is smart, has unique magic herself, and has trouble adapting to the structure of working with a team.

If you've read "Blood of the Earth" "Curse on the Land" picks up right after Nell returns from her stint at "spook school", reuniting with Unit 18. Nell makes a number of newbie mistakes, but overall is working hard to shed both the narrow definitions of womanly behavior from her fundamentalist cult upbringing, and her knee jerk reaction to authority. The sweet romance arc with Occam the were leopard continues, as does the destructive Rick/Paka relationship arc. We find out more about Tandy, Tlane, and JoJo, and they all play significant rolls in solving the central mystery. The Vampire Oak tree is acting up, as is the evil Brother Ephraim. Just one bit of info that may come in handy, Light Dragons or Rainbow Dragons are powerful magical beings from another dimension that are fond of humans.

And lastly for followers of the Jane Yellowrock series, Jane makes a cameo phone appearance, Soul as a senior PsyLED officer is present to handle the political fall out and prevent things from spiraling out of control. The tension between humans and witches escalates, as does the conflict between PsyLED and other Law Enforcement Agencies. There are major developments in the Rick/Paka situation which go back to events in "Mercy Blade" and "Raven Cursed". Many things are completely resolved, with enough problems left to guarantee Soulwood 3 will be entertaining. Can't wait to find out why Nell is sprouting leaves, and just what's up with the Vampire Oak tree.
Can't wait to see what happens in Soulwood 3.

Not the depth of character in Ms. Hunter's Jane Ye

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I read the first two books in this series because I enjoyed the Jane Yellowrock books and was hoping for a spin-off series I would enjoy equally as much but the Soulwood books didn't measure up for me. I felt the characters lacked depth and the heroine herself comes across as annoyingly whiny (sorry).

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

Although Khristine Hvam reads the book well and voices the characters as the writing seems to have been intended they be read not even her talents could save this story for me. I am rarely unable to finish listening to a book but this one truly tested that practice and only Khristine Hvam's abilities helped me make it to the end.

Could you see Curse on the Land being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Casting someone like Eliza Dushku as Nell would add a bit of an edge and strength to the character if the series ever made to it to the screen.

Any additional comments?

Regardless of m own opinion of this novel I encourage everyone to take a chance if you're a Faith Hunter fan, opinions are very personal and you may feel this is the best book you've ever listened to so go with your gut on this one.

too many initials

The book just feels like it's bragging then telling a story. Letting me know the initials of all these different branches of government and a lot more filler contact I guess to make the book longer.

review not quite as good as book 1 but better than

not quite as good as book one, but better than most of the books of this type.

A dozen hours of flowery tension building.

The book is just hour aftee hour after hour of flowery spoken tension building without any relief. With most lines existing just to pad and drag things. Not my cup of tea. Exemplifying what I found unpalatable about the book is its climax.

The author tossed in the expected complication, the two spells they were trying to divide had merged into one single spell! There was nothing to break apart! Oh no! How will this problem be overcome? Cleverness? Some kind of last minute remembered clue? Would soulwood rush in like the cavalry to save the day? Deux ex machina maybe?

Nope. They just kept doing what they were already doing and it worked. No change needed, but now they were more tired then otherwise.

So that entire complication existed for no other reason then to pad out a few more paragraphs worth of tension building.

That pretty much sums up the entire book. Huge amounts of flowery detail. Very little substance. The author should write political speeches.

Well written and performed.

I really enjoyed this book. I will admit to being a fan of the author, this is as good as her Jane Yellowrock series.

I wish the chapters kept on going!

Enjoyed every word. I really appreciate the focus of the both books. It’s not just a detective story with some friends and teamwork involved. It’s a story of a young girl that’s discovering herself, her strengths, her weaknesses, her heart etc and even the presence of an attractive young man that’s clearly interested in her doesn’t get her off her course. Love these series!

Great story

The only thing that was not satisfactory was that there was way too much verbiage about investigative procedure and protocol. It felt like it was done as a filler.

Love the YellowRock books but this does quite do

I am a big fan of the Jane Yellowrock books so decided to give the Soulwood novels a try. Rick and the PsyLED team are part of this series and so I was keen to give it a go. The first book was ok but unfortunately, this one was not for me. I got to the end but I did not enjoy the book. I do like and have warmed to the main character Nel but I really didn't like the story which focused on spreading fungi that the team was trying to stop. The book was slow and spent a lot of time describing the devastation that the fungi had created and I felt that it lacked the action I so enjoy from the Yellowrock series. I also enjoy Nel and her Church family and the book did touch on this but not as much as I would have liked.

Great Universe

Faith needs to stop repeating every five minutes, facts about the story. I started thinking the audio was acting like a scratched record. if the story was allowed to develop at a normal rate it would be greater!. looking forward to the next book. but if it's like this. I will be returning it.

Nell Honey

Loved it! Drank it up like a hungry plant does water! Faith Hunter and Kristine Hvamm are unbeatable!

Fantastic

absolutely loved the second book! hopefully it will be continued !
Definetly reccomend reading/listening to this one :)

Stunning new spinoff from Jane Yellowrock

Nell returns from Spook School to find that her land is sick. Brother Ephriam has polluted her land which is trying to fight back.
Meantime a suspected radiation leak turns out to be a witch working gone wrong. Nell and the gang need to track the source and save those that are now dying.

Ricky bo gets the shock of his life and Paka shows her true colours.

A brilliant follow on to this new series!

Another Good One

I absolutely love the Jane Yellowrock universe. This is the second book in the Nell Ingram series. Nell first appeared in a Jane Yellowrock short story when Jane changed Nells world forever. In this book Nell becomes a full member of Unit 18 PsyLED. She has been away for training and she has developed her abilities.
There are a few really strange parts to this book which shows Faith Hunters wide ranging imagination.
I wouldn't normally say this but the first half of this book is a bit slow but overall a good one. I can't wait for the next one when I am sure Jane will appear to dispense justice to Pacca.

Absolutely fantastic

Love the story and narrator. Faith Hunter is an amazing author. Spellbound by her mind and writing skills.

Unexpected enjoyment

I like the odd fantasy novel as long as it’s reasonable and no cheap sexual sighs and moans. This has been well thought out and the story is fun.
Also, the romantic side is reined in.
The southern accent of the narrator is enjoyable, and unlike many east coast accents, warm to my African ears

I love Faith Hunter!

I love Nell. Her magic link to the ground, woods and plants is breathtaking, as well as her link to her team and her family.

Fantastic!

I can't wait for soul wood book 3. Have become a real Faith Hunter fan. Loved the Jane Yellowrock series too and now looking forward to the 13th book...