Scan barcode
breezy610's review against another edition
3.0
pretty good. It reminded me of the Walker series by CE Murphy. but i definetly like it. and i will continue on with the series.
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
First in the Greywalker urban fantasy series based in Seattle and revolving around Harper Blaine, a private detective who has just entered a whole new, Grey world.
Most of Greywalker is an introduction to Harper's new world. About half of the story deals with Mara and Ben trying to teach Harper how to cope with the Grey, about a quarter is introducing us to the paranormal characters inhabiting Seattle, and the last quarter is setting the major conflict facing Harper, for I think Alice and Wygan are working together to use Harper, whether for good or ill, we'll just have to wait and see.
I do wish Richardson had either expanded upon Will and Michael's problems with their boss, Brandon McCain, or left it out. What she did relate was enough to tease, but without more info, it was rather pointless. I would have liked some backstory on Harper as well. Where are her parents? How did she get into detective work? How long has she been doing it? What are her qualifications? She doesn't—yet—appear to have much of a relationship with the cops.
Okay, in spite of my whining above, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Richardson has taken a slight twist on vampire culture making it fresher as well as creating very interesting—if not palatable—characters all of whom I am most curious about while I am falling in love with a smaller core group. I'm very much looking forward to reading Poltergeist.
Beaten to death by a client's stepfather, Harper Blaine stays dead just long enough to become a part of the Grey. Not understanding how to deal with it, she gets to know Ben and Mara who help her cope with her new abilities even as Harper suddenly adds a whole new type of clientele.
A clientele that will require the type of aid Mara (and they) can offer in preventing the destruction of Seattle even as it drives others away.
Harper Blaine is the lead female character. A private detective and a bit of a loner, Harper is in the process of learning a whole new skillset. One her pet ferret, Chaos, is not appreciating. She also has an eye for battered antiques. Quinton is another loner with his own particular skill- and knowledge-set, that of a generalist who can get down and dirty in minutes with an unexpected awareness of the world Harper is just entering. I suspect he has his own particular secret to hide. Will Novak is an antiquities expert with great potential in the boyfriend department, there's just this one thing that could be a problem. Michael is his much-younger brother.
Mara and Ben Danziger are educators with a paranormal slant. An amazingly homey couple, they teach students in a myriad of ways. They have a son named Brian and a resident ghost, Albert. Mara is a witch and teaches geology at the university while Ben has a few more plates to juggle with his current part-time position teaching linguistics at the U (pre-budget cuts, the teaching included philosophy and religion); text translation in Russian, Czech, Polish, German, plus; and, his research into the paranormal including the Grey.
Nanette Grover is a long-time client while Colleen Shadley is the new client who inadvertently shoves Harper off the deep end in her search for Colleen's missing son Cameron. After Harper's visit with his sister, Sarah rescues a couple of ferrets for herself. Edward Kammerling is a vampire with a leading role in both worlds; he certainly clears up some questions Harper never knew she had about TPM! Other Seattle-based paranormals include Carlos (vampire?, definitely necromancer), Alice Liddell (hate-filled vampire), Wygan (?), and Gwen, a.k.a., Lady Gwendolyn of Anorexia (an RPG-playing, fading vampire) with some very thought-provoking insights. Grigori Sergeyev is another other client with some very destructive potential.
They're using the same model from Seanan McGuire's October Daye series with a slightly pink-tinged gray metallic sheen overlaying Harper leaning against a column that is part of a pillared walkway with the suggestion of a nightlit Seattle cityscape behind her all a'tilt.
My Take
Most of Greywalker is an introduction to Harper's new world. About half of the story deals with Mara and Ben trying to teach Harper how to cope with the Grey, about a quarter is introducing us to the paranormal characters inhabiting Seattle, and the last quarter is setting the major conflict facing Harper, for I think Alice and Wygan are working together to use Harper, whether for good or ill, we'll just have to wait and see.
I do wish Richardson had either expanded upon Will and Michael's problems with their boss, Brandon McCain, or left it out. What she did relate was enough to tease, but without more info, it was rather pointless. I would have liked some backstory on Harper as well. Where are her parents? How did she get into detective work? How long has she been doing it? What are her qualifications? She doesn't—yet—appear to have much of a relationship with the cops.
Okay, in spite of my whining above, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Richardson has taken a slight twist on vampire culture making it fresher as well as creating very interesting—if not palatable—characters all of whom I am most curious about while I am falling in love with a smaller core group. I'm very much looking forward to reading Poltergeist.
The Story
Beaten to death by a client's stepfather, Harper Blaine stays dead just long enough to become a part of the Grey. Not understanding how to deal with it, she gets to know Ben and Mara who help her cope with her new abilities even as Harper suddenly adds a whole new type of clientele.
A clientele that will require the type of aid Mara (and they) can offer in preventing the destruction of Seattle even as it drives others away.
The Characters
Harper Blaine is the lead female character. A private detective and a bit of a loner, Harper is in the process of learning a whole new skillset. One her pet ferret, Chaos, is not appreciating. She also has an eye for battered antiques. Quinton is another loner with his own particular skill- and knowledge-set, that of a generalist who can get down and dirty in minutes with an unexpected awareness of the world Harper is just entering. I suspect he has his own particular secret to hide. Will Novak is an antiquities expert with great potential in the boyfriend department, there's just this one thing that could be a problem. Michael is his much-younger brother.
Mara and Ben Danziger are educators with a paranormal slant. An amazingly homey couple, they teach students in a myriad of ways. They have a son named Brian and a resident ghost, Albert. Mara is a witch and teaches geology at the university while Ben has a few more plates to juggle with his current part-time position teaching linguistics at the U (pre-budget cuts, the teaching included philosophy and religion); text translation in Russian, Czech, Polish, German, plus; and, his research into the paranormal including the Grey.
Nanette Grover is a long-time client while Colleen Shadley is the new client who inadvertently shoves Harper off the deep end in her search for Colleen's missing son Cameron. After Harper's visit with his sister, Sarah rescues a couple of ferrets for herself. Edward Kammerling is a vampire with a leading role in both worlds; he certainly clears up some questions Harper never knew she had about TPM! Other Seattle-based paranormals include Carlos (vampire?, definitely necromancer), Alice Liddell (hate-filled vampire), Wygan (?), and Gwen, a.k.a., Lady Gwendolyn of Anorexia (an RPG-playing, fading vampire) with some very thought-provoking insights. Grigori Sergeyev is another other client with some very destructive potential.
The Cover
They're using the same model from Seanan McGuire's October Daye series with a slightly pink-tinged gray metallic sheen overlaying Harper leaning against a column that is part of a pillared walkway with the suggestion of a nightlit Seattle cityscape behind her all a'tilt.
laureenreads's review against another edition
2.0
My biggest issue with this book, and what dropped it down to only two stars was how much explanation was given for every little thing. It felt like a lecture or a textbook at times which wasn't the most enjoyable. The idea of a Greywalker is interesting though, and I would be interested in seeing where the series goes from here.
yodamom's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
This is the first novel in this series. it is a bit rough at times, I got lost in some of the whirlwind details. I found myself lost on more than one occasion, the Grey was written so squirrelly. Everything was, stinky, squishy, swirly, I don't know.. What ?
The mystery keep my interested, I needed to know. she is hired by a vampire to help him get back into his favors. She is also hired to kill the same vampire by another vampire, and around it goes. She is brought into a very nasty case with an organ that has a very evil past. This organ is being searched for by a strange man with nefarious reasons. Somehow all this ties together...
I found I liked the characters. Harper the PI who was forever changed with a brief moment with death. She is just dropped into this world of others and is completely out of her element. Will, the helpful and sexy auctioneer. Cameron, the new and confused vampire...And the most unique of all the handyman, jack of all trades Quinton, there are too may to name here.
Even with the confusion of parts of the story, I will continue the series.
This is the first novel in this series. it is a bit rough at times, I got lost in some of the whirlwind details. I found myself lost on more than one occasion, the Grey was written so squirrelly. Everything was, stinky, squishy, swirly, I don't know.. What ?
The mystery keep my interested, I needed to know. she is hired by a vampire to help him get back into his favors. She is also hired to kill the same vampire by another vampire, and around it goes. She is brought into a very nasty case with an organ that has a very evil past. This organ is being searched for by a strange man with nefarious reasons. Somehow all this ties together...
I found I liked the characters. Harper the PI who was forever changed with a brief moment with death. She is just dropped into this world of others and is completely out of her element. Will, the helpful and sexy auctioneer. Cameron, the new and confused vampire...And the most unique of all the handyman, jack of all trades Quinton, there are too may to name here.
Even with the confusion of parts of the story, I will continue the series.
breading_books's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
klparmley's review
2.0
Listening to the Audible version. This just got tiresome. I don't care enough about the characters to finish the story.
princ_a_listicka's review against another edition
4.0
Šerochodec nás zavede do doby pomalého internetu, pagerů, telefonních záznamníků. Do doby kdy vyhledat něco v archivu znamenalo přehrabovat se v zaprášených krabicích. Do doby, kdy vše bylo...pomalejší a klidnější. Hlavní hrdinkou je soukromé očko Harper Blainová. Její obvyklou náplní práce je sledování, pátrání po pohřešovaných předmětech a osobách. Při jedné rutinní práci dostane Harper pořádnou nakládačku a probudí se v nemocnici. Postupem času začíná tušit, že je něco jinak. Stíny se stávají skutečnější, hranice mezi světem živých a mrtvých se pomalu prolíná v Šero...
Mám velice rád urban fantasy, neboť se mi líbí zasazení právě do skutečného světa, do světa, ve kterém žijeme. Šerochodec není napěchován akcí, je fantasy detektivkou, která je sice místy trošku nelogická a zkušenému detektivovi by mohl děj připadat až příliš průhledný. Ale, a to je hlavní, výborně jsem se bavil. Poklidné tempo je v závěru knihy vystřídáno akcí hodnou nejednoho fantasy!
Jediné co mj vysloveně vadilo bylo slovo detektivka, měl bych to uvést na pravou míru a v kontextu. Harper se představuje jako detektivka... no nevím, ale kdyby překlad zněl soukromý detektiv/vyšetřovatel/očko tak by mne to možná neudeřilo tak do očí.
Co mě naprosto potěšilo bylo použití pár odkazů na Bonda, hlavně při popisu jedné z postav – Edwarda. Stejně tak jsem se musel pousmát ve chvíli, kdy si hlavní hrdinka vychutnávala whiskey Bushmills. Ano, hádáte správně, jedna z mých oblíbených.
Suma sumárum máme tu příjemnou nenáročnou detektivku s prvky fantasy, která pobaví, sice nepřekvapí, ale neurazí.
Hodnocení: 70%
Mám velice rád urban fantasy, neboť se mi líbí zasazení právě do skutečného světa, do světa, ve kterém žijeme. Šerochodec není napěchován akcí, je fantasy detektivkou, která je sice místy trošku nelogická a zkušenému detektivovi by mohl děj připadat až příliš průhledný. Ale, a to je hlavní, výborně jsem se bavil. Poklidné tempo je v závěru knihy vystřídáno akcí hodnou nejednoho fantasy!
Jediné co mj vysloveně vadilo bylo slovo detektivka, měl bych to uvést na pravou míru a v kontextu. Harper se představuje jako detektivka... no nevím, ale kdyby překlad zněl soukromý detektiv/vyšetřovatel/očko tak by mne to možná neudeřilo tak do očí.
Co mě naprosto potěšilo bylo použití pár odkazů na Bonda, hlavně při popisu jedné z postav – Edwarda. Stejně tak jsem se musel pousmát ve chvíli, kdy si hlavní hrdinka vychutnávala whiskey Bushmills. Ano, hádáte správně, jedna z mých oblíbených.
Suma sumárum máme tu příjemnou nenáročnou detektivku s prvky fantasy, která pobaví, sice nepřekvapí, ale neurazí.
Hodnocení: 70%
le_corbeau_romantique's review against another edition
5.0
2nd reread for this month's Vaginal Fantasy Book Club! Remember LOVING it the first time I read it; maybe this time I'll continue with the whole series.
leeleet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
An entertaining urban fantasy with an unique magic. I found that my favorite parts of the book had less to do with the fantasy and more with watching Harper do her job as PI and actually being good at her job. I hope to see more of the paranormal world as the series goes in n. Vampires and ghosts are cool and I can't wait to see the authors take on other things that go bump in the night.
readerpants's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Gosh, what a time capsule! A noir detective/urban fantasy that's as much of its time as the descriptions of pioneer square and an affordable steak in Seattle.