Urban Shaman

The Walker Papers, Book 1

By: C. E. Murphy

Narrated by: Christine Carroll

Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Joanne Walker has three days to learn to use her shamanic powers and save the world from the unleashed Wild Hunt.

No worries. No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing herself from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams.

And if all that's not bad enough, in the three years Joanne's been a cop, she's never seen a dead body, but she's just come across her second in three days.

It's been a bitch of a week. And it isn't over yet.

©2005 C.E. Murphy (P)2006 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A swift pace, a good mystery, a likeable protagonist, magic, danger, Urban Shaman has them in spades." (Jim Butcher, author of the best-selling series The Dresden Files)

Shaman Gal

I liked the premise of the story, and the quick pace right from the beginning. There was a bit of stilted language a couple of times as there's no way people would really talk like that to each other. The story line was good, but it did get confusing at times when she was "dream learning". Overall I thought the story was interesting and pulled the reader alone at an enjoyable pace. I thought the ending came a bit quick in pulling everything together, and perhaps that's where it required me to re-read several passages again because I was sure that I missed something. This is a good character. One that could result in a serial story line. The one thing I really liked about Joann Walker, was her no nonsense style. She was a modern day woman balancing multiple demands whether it be work, love, spirituality or whatever. I found myself really pulling for her to kick some mythological behind. I would recommend this as worth wild reading. Enjoy.

Urban Shaman - Light Fantasy

In response to the reviewer who complained this was a "Harlequin-like" novel - well Luna is the new fantasy line from Harlequin. The books are supposed to be about strong female characters in fantasy settings. Harlequin novels are good novels more often than some would like to admit. And this novel is no exception.

Urban Shaman follows a mechanic who becomes a cop due to her particular circumstances. It is also about coping with dual - but similar heritages. Something a lot of people don't realize is that the Cherokee and Scots-Irish melded so well in Appalachia because their cultural beliefs were so similar! (I'm talking about first wave settlers.)

This book is exactly what it claims to be - an urban fantasy from Luna. And it is well-worth listening to. I do enjoy the narrator and wish she had come back for the second book, but, Gabra Zackman is also an excellent storyteller.

Why is this in the romance category?

Because the heroine was apathetic about her every situation- I was too. I just couldn't get excited about it. Perhaps there is a romance going on later in the series, but not in this opener.

Unique Read

I was not sure what to expect, but I was drawn into this book and couldn't put it away. The writing was quite good, quite descriptive and well read. It is a story where fantasy and reality blur and worlds collide. It takes quite a leap of imagination not to disbelieve, but if you can accept things at face value it really is quite a ride.

Enjoyable Listen

I'd recommend listening to this book -- it was a bit far-fetched at times, but entertaining and thought provoking to say the least. Definitely worth the time spent. I do wish there had been more about Joanne's childhood and her father's role. I'm hoping it's coming so, I'll listen to the second in the series.

Good story

I liked the story and the reader was very good. She was very easy to listen to, got the tone of the attitude down and had a lot of animation in her voice. The story was a bit long, tho. I understand the other reviewers criticism about the dream/trance descriptions. I had to listen very carefully to follow some of them. I'm going to try the next book in the series. I'll see if I go beyond that.

Surprisingly enough..

I liked this. I grabbed it on impulse because I had a long drive ahead of me and nothing to listen to. I don't typically consider myself a Harlequin kind of gal, but this didn't fall into the category of what I consider the typical Harlequin kind of story. It was almost like reading a story about Anita Blake's sister, (ala Laurell K. Hamilton).
I thought the narration was quite good, fitting the protagonist's likable, if somewhat cheeky, personality.

Did not finish.

Did not finish.

I just couldn't get into the characters. I tried and made it about 3/4 of the way through. I had to stop when I noticed myself not paying attention in the lest. Something would come up and I was like "what is going on" and it was because I wasn't paying attention. I had to back the audio up three times in three different places before I finally said, "I quit".

A real snoozer!

What disappointed you about Urban Shaman?

I expected this story to be of the same caliber as Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock, Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson or Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville. At the very least, give me a strong character, if not a strong storyline. The characters and story line were completely unbelievable. I love urban fantasy, but this put me to sleep, twice!

What was most disappointing about C.E. Murphy’s story?

What inspired me to select Urban Shaman was the fact that Faith Hunter and C.E. Murphy collaborated to write a story with Jane Yellowrock and Joanie Walker. I have not read that book and may not now that I have listened to Urban Shaman. It was a like expecting to eat ice cream only to discover that the milk used to make the ice cream was completely spoiled.

Have you listened to any of Christine Carroll’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't think so, but she did an excellent job.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

I am not interested in listening to the rest of the series!

The Narrator Makes the Story Come Alive

This is the fourth book I've read of C.E. Murphy's and this series looks to be as good as her Negotiator series. The narrator, Christine Carroll is absolutely fabulous, making the characters come to life! I look forward to listening to more books narrated by her!