Grumble. A watered-down amnesiac Cal Leandros yapping on and on about how he hopes he's a good guy and how he wants to be worthy of his brother is not my idea of an awesome read. It certainly doesn't measure up to the books that came before.

Still, I'm sticking with the series because I think this particular plot was mostly to blame for my bad attitude. Amnesia stories are not my favorite, The Rook notwithstanding.

Might have to take a break before I pick up another one, but pick up another one I shall. Eventually. ( )

Monsters and mayhem and pathos. Another great Cal and Niko Leandros novel. Fast paced and absorbing, with honest emotion and tugs at your heartstrings. I couldn't put it down but read it in one sitting. The sarcasm and great dialog are here again and nobody does it better than Rob Thurman. Old friends and old enemies show up. The monster filled world is scary. The plot is at once sad, scary and humorous. I loved Spartacus the undead cat mummy. The best thing about these books remains the bond between the brothers. Even though Cal has amnesia, the bond is still there. Niko sacrifices for Cal and Cal sacrifices for Niko. If you are fond of urban fantasy and you haven't read this series, you don't know what you're missing. ( )

Damn fun urban fantasy. ( )

This series is fantastic urban fantasy with a sarcastic narrator in the form of Cal, who is part human, part demon. Thurman gives us well developed characters living in a supernatural world that is fresh and vividly imagined.

'Blackout' has got to be the best book in this series so far. Cal has amnesia and it brings a new twist to the tale. I find these kinds of books - action based fantasy - have a tendency to get a bit formulaic, so this one was a real surprise for me. The plot wasn't predictable and there's a lot of humour in the situations Cal gets himself into while he's trying to figure out who he is.

Great stuff! ( )

In which Niko misplaces Cal, Cal loses his memory, and Robin gets stabbed with a fork. Several times.

The softer, more human side of Cal is just as sarcastic as the Auphe half - good to know, and more fun to read. ( )