Broken Souls: An Eric Carter Novel

Just WOW. what a great read.This one has Eric headed for a meeting with another mage, Kettleman by name.Eric is hoping Kettleman can answer some very important questions for him and give him a direction he can follow. He needs info on Sante Muerta. His wife. Jeeze he never saw that coming and he needs a way to get out from under the Death Goddess.When he gets to the meeting site Kettleman tries to kill him. He says he wants to wear Eric skin. That Eric didn't deserve the power that was coming his way. Eric has no idea what he's talking about.Seems Kettleman is no longer alive and someone is actually wearing his skin. Wearing the skin gives that someone the powers, memories and abilities of the skinned.Eric makes it out alive and now has something else to worry about. Someone wants to skin him. Jeeze could his California visit get any worse??Vivian is still pissed as hell at him and he's now seeing his best friend, Alex. Alex and Vivian were a couple after Eric left California.Alex has been helping him with staying alive. Of course Alex is dead. Eric shot him in the head. Gotta read Dead Things to get that tale.Is Alex really Alex? Eric kinda doubts it but he has no way to know for sure.Eric has many abilities and he's gaining more. He will need every one of them to survive this one.So begins one damned fine read.This one has Eric, Alex, Santa Muerta, Vivian, Tabitha, a mage named Gabriella, death, a changing Eric, attacks, a knife made of obsidian, deaths, Eric trying to figure out who's lying, visits to the other side, ghosts, A Santa Muerta who fills Eric in on her wishs, the Santa Ana winds, a visit to the kingdom of Mictlan and the King of that kingdom and one helluva good read.Five Stars and then some. Just a great read and I'm waiting for number three.

Tl;dr Jim Butcher's plots are tighter. This guy can write but he isn't on par with the plot work to be found with Anita Blake (before book six), Alex Verus, Dresden, or Matthew Swift.I thought the first book was weird. The descriptions were fine and the dialogue was okay but the plotting was weird. For instance Santa Muerta killing his sister made no sense. All she had to do was tell the main character that the guy who he thought he killed 15 years ago, the guy who killed his parents, was still alive. Instead she killed his sister in a way that guaranteed becoming his enemy.Plus his friends constantly calling him a coward and yelling at him for running away after he killed the guy who killed his parents and the surviving members of the gang threatened the lives of his sister and his friends makes no sense.In this second book things continue to make no sense like, why did the guy who tried to kill him send his sister alone to kill him on the train? The only reason why the main character didn't take the knife from the girl then when she was surrounded by the undead he raised against her is because it would have been inconvenient for the plot. There were several times that the author made a decision that felt like because he couldn't figure out a way of getting the characters to do something he felt was necessary for the plot, he forced it. Like when the villains caught the main character and knocked him out cold, why didn't they just kill him and skin him right there? Why drag him to a hidden spot where the main character could conveniently use this new power he's just discovered to escape?I've read books that were 2.99 that made more sense plotwise than the first two books of this series that cost me 7.99 each. This guy needs to get better first readers or workshop his plots or something.

So, Eric Carter book 2 is a fun read and I will most definitely get book 3.But...But... I get a little tired of the fight scenes and there are a lot of fight scenes. I start to skim over them. I much more like all the “other stuff.” And the other stuff is good, don’t get me wrong. Eric Carter is an engaging character and the story is interesting, plus there are some plot twists which make it all the better.I started reading this series because I ran out of Harry Dresden books. Eric is an okay replacement for Harry, and to be honest, there are a lot of fight scenes in the latter’s stories so maybe it’s me that has the dumb problem with having the main protagonist beat up so much.

I thought the first book was really good but this one really gets you hooked. Now I'm going to have to stalk Stephen Blackmoore's social media sites until the next one is out. Eric Carter's character is coming along... he's actually evolving. Blackmoore reveals more of Carter's humanity in this one. Whereas in the first he's shell shocked and bit... shall we say... emotionally stunted - unfazed by some seriously crazy scenarios. In this one he's more - ugh I hate to put it this way but - likable. You root for him. Not just because he's the underdog, but he's - strangely - the good guy. He's not going to hurt you unless you're a raging maniac. I thought that was important to point out, in case people were not committed yet to this type of character. He's not the type of person you'd want to be friends with because he's nothing but trouble. But you'd want him on your side. Blackmoore makes a point of world building through reality and fantasy layering (the story takes place in L.A.). But the way he does it is like learning a bit of history but in a cool way - it doesn't take away from the story. It adds dimension. Like a warped historical fiction. I have to give props to Blackmoore for this style and to the story. He's very good. Don't start with this book - go read the first one first.

Book 1 had me hooked and I love his writing style. Just sucks me right in.

These are great books, but be prepared, they are violent. The violence is pertinent to the story and adds realism, but it’s not going to be a Dresden book. I actually like these better and I was a big Dresden fan until the last book.

J’avais vraiment passé un bon moment avec le premier tome et si tôt fini, j’ai commandé le second (vous me croirez si je vous dis que j’ai fait pareil pour le troisième ?) pour découvrir la suite des aventures d’Eric Carter. Il faut dire que le roman ne finissait pas très bien pour lui !Depuis la mort de son meilleur ami, Eric essaie de prendre de la distance avec toutes ses connaissances. Pourtant, il est toujours plus que déterminé à découvrir comment briser son lien avec Santa Muerte. Mais ses recherches entraînent la mort et il semblerait qu’un homme psychotique ait pour seul but de le tuer pour porter sa peau et obtenir ses pouvoirs. S’alliant avec la Bruja, une femme qu’il ne connaissait pas, il va devoir choisir à quel point il peut lui confiance. Et quand ses amis sont en danger, notre héros va devoir découvrir ce qu’il se passe exactement.J’ai beaucoup aimé le roman. Les idées de l’auteur sont vraiment intéressantes et j’ai adoré la mythologie qu’il a mélangée à son histoire. Comme pour le premier tome, c’est un roman sombre que l’on retrouve et j’ai trouvé ça très agréable et différent à lire. L’intrigue générale avance et la complexité évolue aussi, c’est pour cela que je suis vraiment très curieuse d’en lire plus. Les révélations sont surprenantes et je suis impatiente de découvrir ce qu’il se passera dans le troisième tome !C’est vraiment une série d’urban fantasy que je recommande si vous désirez quelque chose d’un peu plus noir que ce que l’on retrouve habituellement.

Dark and fun, I burned through this book in an afternoon and wanted more. this series has it all, Gods, Monsters, Mobsters, Magicians, Djinn.. you cant go wrong..also check out his twitter for a taste of his warped sense of humor @sblackmoore

Broken Souls, like Dead Things before it, continue to entertain and interest, with its dark plot and solid characters. I grew more and more entranced as more of the world created by Stephen Blackmoore was revealed, and am definitely looking forward to the next book.

What’s to dislike? Builds on the first book it’s added twists and some interesting hints about the future.

Story line was a bit exhaustive and could have been shortened. The main character was a little underdeveloped and I wanted to identify with him but his power and his values weren't clear