Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter - Omnibus Volume One

Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter, Books 1-3

By: John G. Hartness

Narrated by: James Anderson Foster

Length: 39 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

He's the ass-kicking, wise-cracking, hard-drinking demon hunter you never knew you needed. He's Quincy Harker, and he's here to save your ass whether you want it or not. The immortal magic-wielding son of Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray from the classic novel Dracula, Harker now lives in North Carolina hunting down demons and sending them back to Hell.

This Omnibus Edition collects the first 12 novellas in the Quincy Harker series. Included here are:

Year One
Raising Hell
Straight to Hell
Hell on Heels
Hell Freezes Over

The Cambion Cycle
Heaven Sent
Heaven's Door
Heaven Help Us
Heaven Can Wait

Damnation
Calling All Angels
Devil Inside
Angel Dance

©2019 John G. Hartness (P)2019 Falstaff Books

Books 1-12, Years 1-3 What the ever loving F

It was a great deal to get four novellas in each Quincy Harker book, with each book covering a year. This omnibus doesn’t just double down. This omnibus triple downs, combining the first three books for a total of twelve novellas. Nearly 40 hours for one credit. Worth it! The slight oddity is that the series arc runs through a fourth book/year containing four more novellas. Given that book four is available, why not provide the complete collection?
If you like Joss Whedon, and especially the Buffy vibe, then you’ll love this series... if the hero were Spike instead of Buffy, and Spike was more Deadpool than Angel.

The author’s weakness is subtlety and development, resulting in some “where the heck did that plot point come from” moments that hit like I was ambushed by a two by four. I also didn’t realize some characters were black (I got so much more out of Jo and momma Cass’ interaction once I figured them out) or even that Quincy looked like late 20s, early 30s until hours into each character’s introduction. That’s where spending time on the settings, character development, or maybe some interludes off the main path would have added to the story. But, I didn’t get this for my deep development, I got it because it’s a pulpy, irreverent, bonkers twist on the vampire, Frankenstein, good vs evil monster-mash genre. The writing style ensures nonstop action, machine gunning from scene to scene, and wisecrack to wisecrack.

The narrator’s performance of Quincy is fantastic (even if the voice sounds like it belongs to a middle aged man, not a 120 year old in a 27 year old body). His female voices tend to blend together, but that is easily forgiven with his other strengths.
I had a gas listening to this omnibus, and am off to the final book, Year 4, novellas 13-16.

Great Story and funny

This not a book for young adults. The swearing in this book will make your eyes water, but it does give depth to the character of Johnathan Harker. This a series that is laugh out loud funny and very dark. The Narration was simply perfect!!! James Anderson Foster narration was flawless.

Delightful performance, engaging plotlines,

pretty much listened to it every waking moment once I started it, admittedly there were moments where it felt a little repetitive but, well rounded, enjoyable characters, face paced evolving narrative and the fact that this was 12 books combined, quickly dismissed the any negative effect the notion of derivative dialogue or deja Vu I encountered. I enjoyed the witty, crude, and often times ridiculous Bangor and scenarios involving a constantine-esque, dark-gritty undertones, all while remaining firmly entrenched in its own unique and compelling roller coaster of re-imagined and well crafted revelations. A definite value for the price of a single credit, as someone who listens to audiobooks daily, I rarely, if ever can bring myself to use a credit for audiobooks with a runtime >15-20 hours. Had the omnibus in it's glorious 39+ hours not caught my eye, the antics and adventures of quincy harker would have likely remained in the great expanse of the unknown for me, and that would have been an unfortunate affair. that said, I will likely be spending a few future credits on the remaining books left out of this collection, and seeking other works from the author.

Fun to the end

I definitely did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I was sad it ended and now I have to listen to the rest!!

My new favorite author!!

this was an incredible book full of action, humor, demons and the deep South. what more could you want?!

A Surprise

The description pretty much sums it up, narrator nails the main character and the only gripe I have with the overall story is some continuity issues. There is not many but two definitely caught my attention. The one about dragons from a earlier book to a later books was the biggest disconnect and loved the funny bit on the first mention for it to be retconned later. Not a big deal considering this is an omnibus spanning a dozen novellas or wtf that is but the little bit of hilarity being retconned means it didn't happen now which equals sad times. Significant characters turn into whipped dogs which is something alot of series suffer from not only in book form. Mort is the focus here as the latest book was an absolute disappointment in turning such a noteable character into a fart. A suggestion to the narrator would be to listen to or read his first few books again to get a re-up on his continuity but as for that this is an unexpected treat and absolutely can't wait for more of this. Sometimes setting out to force a bad ass goes over poorly but in this case, Harker is a bad ass has his weaknesses to show he can be overcome but usually perv

Awesome!

This is a great series of books! If you love shows like Supernatural, Constantine, and characters with wit and swearing like Deadpool you will enjoy these stories. Can't wait to continue the adventure!

Very entertaining

I enjoyed this so much that I kept waiting for God to strike me down for the sheer blasphemy of it.

awesome dam read

fuckin great book i really enjoyed the real life action and crazy experience loved it

First Time Hartness Reader

I seriously enjoyed the stories, the pacing and the performance, along with the quick wit and sardonic attitude of the main character, Quincy Harker. Well done.

Good Value for a Credit

This Ombinibus contains 12 books from the Quincy Harker - Demon Hunter series. These have previously been released separately, and also in "Year" Collections.

Year 1 (Books 1-4)
Year One is a collection of byte sized novellas, that combine into a great episodic series. Treat Year One as a novelized TV show, and you'll have a good handle on what to expect here. Characters are slightly on the tropey side, but work well when evaluating the whole book. Take some sort of Vampire Hybrid Wizard (connected to Dracula) and throw him into a modern day setting fighting the paranormal. Add in a little X-Files, some Warehouse 13 with perhaps a sprinkling of Buffy/Angel, and that's Quincy Harker. Not the most fleshed our character in the world, but it just works. Each story is different, and the characters grow and progress throughout. My only criticism would be some endings are a little weak, but the main story elements make up for this.

Will be interested to try out more of the series.

Narration - spot on. James Foster has a slight Cam Clarke vibe to him, and really brings the story to life. Fully Recommend

Year 2 (Books 5-8)
Is the Cambion Cycle a worthy successor to Quincy Harker Year One? Most certainly
Does it go out of it comfort zone? Not a chance. If you enjoyed the TV series esk reference filled bonanza that Hartness has been presented so far, then you are in for more of the same, but it won't win over any new fans.

This collection is composed of 4 books - but unlike Years Ones more episodic forma, these one join together and tell a full narrative. The overriding story arc is appreciated, and helps pull things together a lot more effectively. My only criticism would be the first story, which is a prequel. It feels a little shoe horned in, and is only really there to set up the plot of the other books in this collection

Overall - a decent read/listen

Year 3 (Books 9-12)
An enjoyable continuation of the story, Damnation carries on nicely from The Cambion Cycle: Quincy Harker Year Two. This time around Hartness has decided to mix things up a bit, and instead of the novels being mostly based around Quincy Harker, this time we get some stories from the perspectives of other characters. Its nice to see the narration shift, with both Calling All Angels, and Angel Dance having a familiar, but different feeling to them (told from the perspectives of Jo Henry and Adam respectively).

It's actually one of the Quincy Harker stories that lets the collection down. Devil Inside is a bit dull, especially when compared to the last few books that precede it.

Overall, good to see something a little different

A great listen

I received a free copy of this book and I'm leaving an honest and voluntary review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it's got great characters, a good amount of humour. Each story is very well written. the detailing and depth is superb for each.
the narration is really good.
I would most definitely recommend this to anyone.
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Very entertaining

This is no great classic but it is hugely entertaining and Mr Foster is fantastic to listen to, I thoroughly recommend this, for one credit it's great value entertainment and has a few good chuckles to keep you cheerful.

This book is, however, erroneously shown as being books 1-3 when it is in fact, books 1 through 12 ! Quite a difference, and immediately obvious when you notice the run time, but Audible should change this. I will edit this review if, and when, the title is updated.

Hellishly Funny!

Superb amusing and dramatic rendering of our favourite horror characters combined with biblical themes. Worth every penny!