John Urbancik

I went into this book not knowing anything about it, just that Brian Keene had a new book out (always exciting). After starting to read it quickly became apparent this was going to be something different, which was a good thing.

This Novella opens fast and doesn't let up, it's been a year since the everyone on earth had been having the red dreams, apocalyptic nightmares about the end of the world, but now the dreams are coming to life. A little girl in China was the first to see the monsters what can only be described as Kaiju. Now they are destroying the cities and killing everyone on the east coast of Asia.

The good, it's a Kaiju book by Brian Keene what can be bad. The fast pace makes it a quick and enjoyable read. For someone like me who is very much a mood reader these days, something like this keeps me reading.

The bad, it's a novella the story could benefit from being fleshed out to novel length, especially with all the James Rollinsesque ancient tombs and hidden underground cities. The cast of characters would also benefit from more background, they are pretty two dimensional except for the main protagonist.

Overall very satisfying, if Goodreads would allow half stars i would of rated 4.5 half star off because I wanted deeper characters and more background on the Nemasai themselves.… (altro)

Dark, romantic, Catholic and sparely rendered, a very good read about a man imprisoned as a gargoyle for 500 years who learns he can move on the very day his long-dead lover's doppelganger walks into the church he guards. That he was a priest and an official of the Spanish Inquisition when he not only took this lover but fathered a child on her adds spice and regret to this story of redemption, ghosts and demons. It's a lot of heady stuff in a short (184 pages) novel. Light a candle and grab your rosary!… (altro)

I'm not exactly sure when or how but I somehow ended up with a few of Urbancik's books. I know one of them was a Cemetery Dance Other Publishers Grab Bag (DARKWALKER). And one was part of Brian Keene's Maelstrom II (ONCE UPON A TIME IN MIDNIGHT). But I forgot where / when I got BREATH OF THE MOON. No matter though because I really enjoyed the book. It was an unexpected surprise.

The story follows Teresa Grove, the owner of a small bookstore in Central Florida and unknown to her the woman destined to become the next moon. The physical embodiment of the moon on Earth takes place within a person; the moon also changes this form every few centuries. Also the moon and the sun have been at war for thousands of years. It is with this next change of form that the sun hopes to end the feud.

While maybe sounding a tad confusing, when the story unfolds it makes perfect sense. Urbancik takes real characters and inserts them into fantastical situations. He then lets events unfold naturally. The great thing is that the characters stay real while evolving and changing. Plus his story is unique and gripping; not only did I look forward to the story unfolding but I also looked forward to the rules of his universe being defined. If the quality of the third book that I have by Urbancik matches the quality of this one and DARKWALKER, then I will be adding him to my list of authors to follow.… (altro)

When I started reading DARKWALKER, I wasn't too sure what to expect. Normally I know something about the author: read a novel by him before, had him recommended, read a short story, seen some reviews, something. In this case, I had nothing on Urbancik, at least not that I remember. Then why, I hear you asking, did I have this book by him? Good question. I've received a fair number of books by unknown authors lately due to a couple subscription packages. Anyway, I had a little unknown as I started the novel. It turns out to have been for naught as I really liked the story.

Jack Harlow spends his nights wandering the city and recording the supernatural events that he sees. He acts like Marvel Comics' Watcher who watches events and records them but does not interfere. He sees vampires drain victims, talks with ghosts, spies with demons, pretty much every supernatural element. Until one night when he interferes. At that point, his polarity is reversed and the supernatural is now attracted to him. Jack can no longer hide.

Urbancik does a great job of controlling what he does and does not put into the story while simultaneously leaving the doors open for everything. It's not just vampires or zombies or werewolves that is attracted to Jack; it's every supernatural being. The story does not become a "vampire story" or a "zombie story." The novel didn't suffer from introducing too many types either. It felt natural to have different types of beings. Urbancik also has an extensive background built up for the characters and events. Or at least it felt like that; in storytelling, that equates to the same thing. The readers don't see all of the history but you can feel there are more stories here that can be told. And if Urbancik explores the world further, I plan on being there with him.… (altro)