Frost Moon

Skindancer, Book 1

By: Anthony Francis

Narrated by: Traci Odom

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In an alternate Atlanta where magic is practiced openly, where witches sip coffee at local cafes, shapeshifters party at urban clubs, vampires rule the southern night like gangsters, and mysterious creatures command dark caverns beneath the city, Dakota Frost's talents are coveted by all. She's the best magical tattooist in the southeast, a Skindancer, able to bring her amazing tats to life.

When a serial killer begins stalking Atlanta's tattooed elite, the police and the Feds seek Dakota's help. Can she find the killer on the dark fringe of the city's Edgeworld? Among its powerful outcasts and tortured loners, what kind of enemies and allies will she attract? Will they see her as an invader, as a seducer, as an unexpected champion...or as delicious prey?

Frost Moon is Book One of the Skindancer fantasy series by debut author Anthony Francis. Filled with unforgettable characters, spine-tingling action, kinky rebellion and edgy love, Frost Moon is classic storytelling at its best, and Dakota Frost is an irresistible new star of fantasy fiction.

Anthony Francis is a computer scientist who works at the "Search Engine That Starts With A G". By day he studies human and other minds to design intelligent machines and emotional robots; by night he writes fiction and draws comic books. He received his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Georgia Tech. He lives in San Jose with his wife and cats but his heart will always belong in Atlanta.

©2010 Anthony Francis (P)2012 BelleBooks, Inc.

Fascinating read!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This was an interesting start to a series. I can't say I was on the edge of my seat but once I got a couple of chapters in I didn't want to stop! I'm eagerly waiting for the next in the series. I was very surprised at how much I ended up liking this book.

Can't Wait for Next Book!!

This is a great start to a new series. Interesting world building, characters that you can relate with, solid development of the plot. I was hooked from the beginning. I have been to Atlanta and have visited the Undergound. The city abounds with history, love how some of that was interwoven into the story. Gave the story a realistic appeal.

Traci Odom did a fantastic job reading, especially with all the distinct voices. It was a pleasure listening to her. She really bought the story alive.

Normally I shy away from men writers of the paranormal/fantasy....except for Jim Butcher, but Mr. Francis did a wonderful job. Thank you!

And yes I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

Enjoyed this way more than I expected

I'm not typically interested in the supernatural, but found the characters here terrific. Great writing by Anthony, who've I had the pleasure of working with. Amazing man of multiple talents!

So good I got the second book

What made the experience of listening to Frost Moon the most enjoyable?

Good narrator with just the right amount of characterization, great story and believable multidimentional cast.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Frost Moon?

When Dakota inspite of being scared and coming face to face with her vunerability decides to stand up for herself inspite of all.

What about Traci Odom’s performance did you like?

Besides the above, her voice is pleasant, suits the story and the volume was kept at levels that did not have me reaching for the controls to adjust all the time.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yeah!

Any additional comments?

Got the second and happy to hear that more are planned.

Great

I had read great reviews and knew I'd like this book. Yup, sure enough did and want more. Cool world, similar to many we've encountered in other books with minor deviations. The authors influences are pretty obvious, (MTG) and easy to track, sometimes to the point that I wish he'd leave some of his personality and beliefs ( largly christian I'd guess, or maybe that's just coincidence, but everything seemed to come back around to a bible verse or belief) out and let the characters have free reign. The political voting talk, the amount of Prius talk, gas talk, moped talk... Ok ok... I drive a car that was chosen for gas mileage alone and still find it annoying! Anyways, that aside, because truly it was really minor, the story was great. The characters were fun, their powers sometimes predictable but also cool, the skin dancing was really awesome. I cant wait for another book.

an enjoyable listen

I really enjoyed the book. story. narrative. legnth. characters! getting ready to purchase next 2 in series.

Please make it stop!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The premise was intriguing and novel - magical tattoos. I was looking forward to seeing how the author developed this concept, and he did a great job with it in those sections where the protagonist was discussing or practicing her art/trade. The supporting characters were well done by the author and the reader, but the main character not so much. In fact she spent alot of time whining and wringing her hands over her stupid choices. That didn't really match up with the picture of a woman who is 6'2" sporting a colorfully dyed mohawk. By the middle of the book I was saying to myself "Pleeease make it stop. When will this book ever end?" Both the author's writing and Tracy Odom's portrayal of Dakota Frost were like nails on a chalkboard for me. I was really disappointed by the treatment of such a great idea.

So no, I would not recommend this book.

PS - As a small woman who rides a 400cc Suzuki scooter at 70 mph in rush hour freeway traffic in Phoenix, I'm incredulous/disgusted the author put a 6'+ woman who lives in a lg metropolitan area on an itty bitty scooter. Really?

Awesome

I loved this book so much After I read it... I got it on audable and listened to it again. 100% pure fun!!!!

Fun urban fantasy read!

I have had this book forever to read and just finally got around to listening to it on audiobook. This is the first of three books (so far) in the Skindancer series. It was a well done urban fantasy that I enjoyed.

As mentioned above I listened to this on audiobook and it was very well done. The narrator does an excellent job with character voices and conveys emotion well. It’s definitely one I would recommend listening to if you like audiobooks.

Dakota Frost is a magical tattoo artist and a Skindancer. She gets called into a case as a consultant to consult on a series of serial murders involving magical tattoos. Right around the same time a werewolf commissions her to make him a special binding tattoo to help contain his were side. The two separate events start to converge and Dakota begins to find she may have bitten off more than she can handle.

This was a well done urban fantasy. I really loved the magical tattoo system here, it is very unique. I also loved the idea behind Skindancers. Dakota is still just starting to understand her power as a Skindancer. Still I loved what we have seen so far. Dakota can do some pretty unique things as a Skindancer, but she is not invincible and has to work with her limitations too.

As with many urban fantasies there are werewolves, shapeshifters, and vampires. Dakota also gets involved with taking care of a young Beastkin, this reminded me a bit of the Beastkin in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.

The description throughout this book was very well done. The imagery behind the Skindancing scenes made them easy to picture and were very magical to read about. Some of these scenes really come alive for the reader.

Outside of the awesome tattoo magic, there wasn't a ton here to set this book apart from other urban fantasies out there, but I did enjoy it and thought it was a fun read. The story stops at a good place and doesn’t leave you with any major cliffhangers.

Overall I thought this was a solid urban fantasy and a fun read. I will definitely be checking out the second book in the series. I would recommend to those who love urban fantasy, especially to those who are interested in unique magic systems.

If only Cinnamon's voice wasn't so distracting...

This was an amazing story, full of great characters and wonderful images. I thoroughly enjoyed it with one exception. The narrator's voice for Cinnamon was so high-pitched and whiny. It was extremely annoying, distracting and not at all what I expected for a character that is a weretiger. I loved the author's description of the tattoos coming to life. Overall, it was fantastic but I would have given Cinnamon a very different voice.