Strange Magic

A Yancy Lazarus Novel, Volume 1

By: James Hunter

Narrated by: Charlie Kevin

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Yancy Lazarus is having a bad day: there's a bullet lodged in his butt cheek, his face looks like the site of a demolition derby, and he's been saran-wrapped to a banquet table. He never should have answered the phone. Stupid bleeding heart - helping others in his circles is a good way to die - just ask the gang members ripped to pieces by some kind of demonic nightmare in LA.

As a favor to a friend, Yancy agrees to take a little looksee into the massacre and boom, he's stuck in a turf war between two rival gangs, which both think he's pinch-hitting for the other side. Oh, and there's also a secretive dark mage with some mean ol' magical chops and a small army of hyena-faced, body-snatching baddies. It might be time to seriously reconsider some of his life choices.

Yancy is a bluesman, a rambler, a gambler, but not much more. Sure, he can do a little magic - maybe even more than just a little magic - but he knows enough to keep his head down and stay clear of freaky-deaky hoodoo like this business in LA. Somehow though, he's been set up to take a real bad fall - the kind of very permanent fall that leaves a guy with a toe tag. That's unless, of course, he can find out who is responsible for the gangland murders, make peace in the midst of the gang feud, and takeout said magical dark mage before he hexes Yancy into an early retirement. Easy right? Stupid. Bleeding. Heart.

©2014 James A. Hunter (Adam W. Strode) (P)2022 James A. Hunter (Adam W. Strode)

Great Go to for Butcher fans

Great Dresdenesque urban fantasy.
The performance by the reader is spot on for Noir style fantasy

amazing story!

plot lines for days! well written and excellent, keeps you listening and impatient for the next book.

great new sarcastic occult detective

A great new sarcastic occult detective that could defeat even Harry Dresden. A must read.

New, shockingly good, Urban Fantasy

This is the best Urban Fantasy I have listened to since the Dresden Files. I picked up this book with low expectations and fell in love within the first 10 minutes. If you like lots of magic in your Urban fantasy this is a definite winner.

To give you an idea of what other books I like, to see if you have similar tastes and may enjoy this book as much as I did, here are a few other series I have enjoyed as well; Dresden Files, Grimnoir Chronicles, Iron Druid Chronicles, Demon Accords, and Alex Verus are the first to come to mind.

awesome and intriguing

good performance. the voice matched the character well. will definitely get another in the series

The book has very fun pulpy feel!

What a great urban-noir fantasy! Seriously, from the very beginning I felt that I had been transported into a very pulp-fiction, 50's style bar, complete with a piano man. "Yancey Lazarus, as fingers played across the keyboard, he eyed every patron giving 'em all a measured glance"... James Hunter was actually able to pull off the pulpy feel throughout the entire book! If it hadn't been for the pop-cultural, mostly music references that Yancey kept throwing out, you might even forget what decade you're in!
Yancey at first may seem unlikable... even acerbic, but as you get to know him you'll realize that it's a defensive mechanism, and he's kind of a softy at heart.
So, if you're looking for a fun read/listen, give Strange Magic a try! My son said Yancy is a much tougher character than Harry Dresden would ever be, as Yancey fights dirtier! And, like Jim Butcher's Dresden series, I believe the stories will only get better and better as we delve deeper into Yancey's world!
Charlie Kevin voice performance, was maybe a little too good, because he caught Yancey's bitter tone to the point that I almost didn't like the narration.
Can I fairly fault him for that? Hmmmm...

Wonder where it will go from book one???

Seem he took parts from The Nightside and The Dresden Books. The first book wasnt that bad but will have to give book two a shot to see if the author finds his own place in the world of the dark side of magic.

All inclusive experience

Where you might think the characters or story would be cheesy, it managed to completely NOT be. Well thought out. Lovable characters even for gunrunners. And the whole bit about ribs and blues just made me smile. A good time had in every way.

Gritty with a side of the blues.

Yancy wields the Vis (magical energy) with aplomb. .. He's not a great hero, he's a man, flawed but trying to do right, more or less, while listening to the blues. Pulled into a battle to save the world, framed and hunting those who sought to harm him he find friends in enemies and ends up with what ne needs.
Gritty, imaginative, and pulling on something other than the standard tropes for the villain, this was a great story made even better by really great narration.

Strange Magic

A great combination of the usual with the unusual. Yancy ends up in the middle of a gang war and uses his powers to survive and right a wrong. Snappy dialogue that hints at noir and the supernatural keep you rooting for Yancy to win.