Raising Hell

A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Novella

By: John G. Hartness

Narrated by: James Foster

Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Straight out of the pages of the legendary vampire novel Dracula comes a demon hunter for the modern world. Mina Murray and Jonathan Harker had a son. They named him Quincy. His guardian angel calls him Q. Dracula calls him nephew. Demons call him The Reaper.

"There are things in this world that men and women aren't meant to understand. We aren't supposed to know these things exist, much less how to fight them. The things that go bump in the night, the monsters in the closet, the shadow out of the corner of your eye - that's where I live."

This exciting new series from the author of "The Black Knight Chronicles" and the "Bubba the Monster Hunter" short stories is a walk through the dark side, where things go bump in the night, and somebody has to bump back. Quincy Harker is that somebody.

©2015 John G. Hartness (P)2015 John G. Hartness

Very fun paranormal modern detective

At first glance and after the first few minutes of listening I thought Raising Hell was going to be very similar in nature to the Sandman Slim series. Well, really the only thing similar here was the voice choice of the narrator James Foster. I tend to really enjoy paranormal detective mysteries so I had pretty high hope for this title.

Quincy Harker is the nephew of Count Dracula, yes, the Count Dracula. Half vampire himself and has been alive for almost two centuries. In this time he has taken up the profession of demon hunter. Because of his lineage Harker has special abilities; such as super strength and speed, an aptitude with magic, a sharp mind and remarkable talent for pissing off the cops. Raising Hell gives a great introduction to Harker and other interesting characters.

We are introduced to Harker while he is performing a home exorcism. This leads him to a college fraternity and ultimately to a very powerful black magic sorcerer. That’s all you get from me about the plot. Because it is so short anything more would be a spoiler.

I will be the first to admit that I have a weakness for protagonists that are belligerent and have a smart a*s attitude with dialog that is full of one liners. Made me laugh out loud several times. Like a cross between Joe Ledger and Michael Talbot.

Raising Hell is a very quick listen, my only real complaint is how short it is. I would be a supporter of a full length novel series. If you like paranormal modern detective stories you will love this audiobook. Kept me engaged throughout and thoroughly entertained. The writing style was perfect and flowed flawlessly. I am looking forward to more from Harker.

This has to be one of James Foster’s most dynamic performances ever! Somehow making his regular super calm and soft spoken voice into a raspy, gravely treat for the ears, for Harker. While switching back to several characterizations with his normal voice. Keeping them all distinct and easily identifiable. Clearly making Foster a great choice for this series.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Super!

demons, angels, law-enforcement, snarky, Dracula

Quincy Harker is the nephew of Dracula, has his own guardian angel, annoys the everything out of a local police detective, meets the government backup, and wreaks vengeance on demons and black magic users. He gets called in by a parent to exorcize the daughter, and it all goes south from there. Colorful language and lots of snarky humor make this a good read.

WHo doesn't love a good hunt?

Would you consider the audio edition of Raising Hell to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, but I'd wager it is.

What did you like best about this story?

The not so subtle nods to the supposed to be secret identites

What about James Foster’s performance did you like?

yes

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

An Awesome Beginning to a New Series, Loved it!

Oh hell yeah! "Raising Hell" was an awesome story. I love, love, love the protagonist, demon hunter Harker and his not give a *hoot* attitude. This story had excellent world-building and a fun, exciting, plot. This was so good that I listened straight through. Also it was a novella but it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved when he had no choice but to summon Asmodeus and the barbs they gave each other were great. I'm really excited about this becoming a series. It's a total hit. John G. Hartness has a terrific writing style and right out of the gate this book was fantastic. I look forward to more. Tapping nails on desk, I'll be anxiously waiting. Definitely recommended.

James Foster is amazing. He fits Harker to a T. I thoroughly enjoyed his narration. He's a natural and one of the best. He took a great book and made it an even greater listen. This was a perfect example of author/reader being in sync. Loved it.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Great story, I wish there were

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I really enjoyed this title and think my friends would as well.

What about James Foster’s performance did you like?

I really really like James Foster, he's one of my all time favorite narrators.

If you could take any character from Raising Hell out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The uncle

Any additional comments?

I received this title in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded me a lot of Jim Butchers Dresden series, however this is much more R rated, and I liked that. A book about dark magic, and the such, should be dark. (In my honest opinion.)

Great demon story with a fantastic character

If you like demon stories, more stories involving the spiritual world, you will enjoy this novella.

Briefly, the main character is a Demon Hunter he himself is a supernatural character, with very human characteristics. I found the main character to be very believable and entertaining, but if you are offended by profanity this story is not for you.

A couple of my favorite things that the author did, one was to include historical mythological characters such as Dracula. And to the use of Latin spell casting was very although I have no idea if The Latin actually meant anything.

The performance was excellent, the narrator was spot on with the voices and the inflection.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I only wish it was longer.

I was gifted this book by the author in return for an unbiased review via audiobook boom

Deserves more than 5 stars

Any additional comments?

Just as enjoyable and entertaining as the first time I listened to this story. This series is addicting. It's definitely worth your time and credit. You will not be disappointed. This is one of those series that you will listen to repeatedly. The writing, characters and story just draw you in immediately. You know as soon as it starts you are in for one heck of fun, very entertaining and highly enjoyable story. Even though it's a shorter story it doesn't feel like it. It's packed full of mystery, suspense, sarcastic humor, non-stop action and more. There is never a dull moment.

John G. Harkness and James Foster are the perfect combination and are automatic listens for me. I saw the author and narrator, got excited and didn't realize until I started listening to this book that I had already listened to it before. That didn't stop me from re-listening to it and enjoying it just as much as I did the first time. When it was over I went back and re-listened to the whole series again. It's that good!

James Foster does a fantastic job with the narration. He is the perfect narrator for this series. Great voice. Character voices are awesome. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Perfect tone and delivery of the sarcasm. He brings the characters and story to life in a way not many narrators can do. Very enjoyable.

I was provided this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Amazing!

This rocked so much!!! I started this and read in in a day. Absolutely loved it and highly highly recommend!

I'm not going to say too much about the plot because it's such a short book that I don't want to spoil it. I will say that it's extremely fast paced and entertaining. I devoured it and honestly didn't want it to end. I don't know how many times I literally laughed out loud with the banter, but I know my boys were looking at me weird!!

Harker was one of the best characters I've read in a long time. He was super snarky and foul mouthed but so lovable :) He is Dracula's nephew and hunts demons. This starts with him doing an exorcism with his surly attitude and never stops from there! I'm so looking forward to more of Harker!

In all, an absolutely delightful and fun read. Only thing is, I need book 2 now!

I thought James Foster couldn't get any better, but he proved me wrong with this book. His rendition of the surly Harker was phenomenal. He really nailed the performance and I hope he does the rest of the series.

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affects my thoughts.*

Pleasantly Surprised!!

Any additional comments?

I wasn't certain I would like the book after listening to the first 10 minutes. However, as I had committed to listening to the book in it's entirety and posting an honest review, I continued to listen. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! The main character is quite the sarcastic fellow, but in a humorous way. Sort of reminds me of the characteristics of the character Jack Burton in the movie Big Trouble in Little China played by Kurt Russell. I would listen/read from the author again!

Wow, so much good stuff packed into this!

Quincy Harker, son of Johnathan and Mina Harker, "nephew" of Dracula, is a Demon Hunter. Yes, you heard me right. Blessed with Extraordinary powers to handle Demons, including strength, speed, magic and sharp wits, he has yet to run into something he can't handle. Until now, it seems. He has to deal with an evil magic user while having to fend off the local cops as well, which is actually a trademark of all the John Hartness books I've read. The characters in this book are all engaging, especially Quincy and his uncle, with quick moving action scenes and a plot that never lags. James Foster does a great job Narrating, really bringing the story to life. He is fast becoming one of my favorite narrators. Any fan of urnban fantasy should enjoy this story.
I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher, author or narrator in return for an honest review through Audiobookblast dot com.