When Demons Walk

Rating:
Summary: A good story
Review: A refreshing story about a mage/thief. Sham is a great character, strong, funny, capeable, and multi-talented. She could have been a bit more dangerous, in my opinion. Kerim is limited, but since the story is in 1st person, that person being Sham, he himself is less important than how she feels about him. The minor characters of Talbot and Dickon, and the selkie/stableboy add so much to the story.

The story of a homesick demon brutally murdering people was well written, and convincing. Sham goes undercover as Kerim's silly, and fashionably daring mistress. Sham's magic is the only thing standing between the magicless Easterners and a deadly demon. Definately try to get a hold of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best but still a good read
Review: I love Patricia Briggs but discovered her late, after her early books were out of print and so hard to find and expensive. So I was excited about the chance to download a couple as e-books.

When Demons Walk is her 3rd book and it seemed a bit rough to me even though her engaging writing style is in evidence. The story is pretty light and moves along at a fast clip. The charactors are likeable and the heroine, Sham, is quite strong and competent from the start of the story. However, I think it needed better editing. There were some rather abrupt plot points- at one point, the hero's brother is a suspect and Sham notes that the hero, Kerim, doesn't seem surprised at the idea. But this is never followed up with any evidence to show us why this brother might be capable of such violence. Then, when the brother is cleared in a rather unfortunate and final manner, we are told that the hero grieves but his grief seems almost an afterthought. I think Kerim's mother really should have been fleshed out more, also. The romance felt kind of formulaic in some points- particularly the moment when she realizes she is in love but sees their different social stations as a barrier. And the blooming of their love, while inevitable and no surprise to the reader, did not flow in a natural manner: there was just the rote transition from grudging respect to witty banter to full blown love. The chemistry between the two was good, though.

If you haven't read any Patricia Briggs, I recommend Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood. These are later works with much more depth and subtlety than When Demons Walk. However, if you are like me and have read all her currently-in-print books and want more, definitely read this book- it was a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best but still a good read
Review: I love Patricia Briggs but discovered her late, after her early books were out of print and so hard to find and expensive. So I was excited about the chance to download a couple as e-books.

When Demons Walk is her 3rd book and it seemed a bit rough to me even though her engaging writing style is in evidence. The story is pretty light and moves along at a fast clip. The charactors are likeable and the heroine, Sham, is quite strong and competent from the start of the story. However, I think it needed better editing. There were some rather abrupt plot points- at one point, the hero's brother is a suspect and Sham notes that the hero, Kerim, doesn't seem surprised at the idea. But this is never followed up with any evidence to show us why this brother might be capable of such violence. Then, when the brother is cleared in a rather unfortunate and final manner, we are told that the hero grieves but his grief seems almost an afterthought. I think Kerim's mother really should have been fleshed out more, also. The romance felt kind of formulaic in some points- particularly the moment when she realizes she is in love but sees their different social stations as a barrier. And the blooming of their love, while inevitable and no surprise to the reader, did not flow in a natural manner: there was just the rote transition from grudging respect to witty banter to full blown love. The chemistry between the two was good, though.

If you haven't read any Patricia Briggs, I recommend Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood. These are later works with much more depth and subtlety than When Demons Walk. However, if you are like me and have read all her currently-in-print books and want more, definitely read this book- it was a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, even if you don't like fantasy.
Review: I read this book because it came highly recommended to me. I don't usually like or read fantasy, but this was wonderful! it had a strong heroine and I wasn't bogged down by too much detail of lands we would leave behind in the next chapter (my least favorite thing about fantasy books) I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Enchanting
Review: I've read this book several times, and am entralled. The characters are extremely well-rounded, and their ability to infuse a nearly hopeless situation with both comedic reparte and a budding romance is delightful. The plot is basically a light-weight mystery, but is carried off with panache. The resoltion is spectacular and logically devolved. The writing is fluid without being flowery, and the world is richly woven. Unlike many fantasy novels, magic and mundane forces are well balanced, and the magic is constrained to follow some (fairly simplistic) rules. The culture and events are believable, detailed and provide an excellent and engrossing backdrop. In summary, this is a great tale wonderfully told. Kudos to the author.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing Take on a Well Worn Theme
Review: In this book Patricia Briggs takes a old clunker of a romance theme-- the fake relationship-- and turns it into an engaging fantasy story with only one sour note.

Fake relationships litter the landscape in romance novels. It's a favorite way to get two individuals into proximity without too much work. Usually the reason for the masquerade is quickly forgotten and the snogging begins. However, Patricia Briggs uses this device instead to worm her engaging thief/mage into the Court and the company of the Reeve.

Bad things are happening at the Court and the Reeeve needs someone with Mage talent to help him ferret out the source of the trouble. Sham, who has her own agenda based on her past, agrees to masquerade as the Reeve's mistress in order to be brought inside the Court. During the masquerade she has to deal with the Reeve's mother, his best friends widow and assorted mysterious happenings.

The one sour note I mentions above happens late in the story and if the reader doesn't see it coming then the reader is asleep at the wheel. It does get the heroine where the author needs her to be but it definitely could have been better handled. However, after that misstep the book picks up and wends its way to a satisfying climax.

A happy combination of romance, politics and magery.

Rating:
Summary: Light but amusing read to pass away the hours
Review: Orphaned during the conquest of Southwood by the Cybellians former mage-apprentice Shamara turns to thievery to make a living and get back at the invaders. As her former teacher is killed by a shapeshifting demon however, the best way to find his killer seems to be to cooperate with the cybellian conquerers. So begins a murder mystery with a touch of magic......

All of this is of course found in dozens of similar books. What makes this one different is the engaging personality and sense of humor of the characters. The magic systems is interesting and well thought out, and the tone and tempo of the book are light and fast. No extravagant world-building and tons of pages filled with descriptions but no superficial characters either. All in all a very pleasant read and hard to put down untill you reach the end of the book, so don't start on it late in the evening unless you don't have to get up early the next morning. The book is not as far as I can tell part of a series, though I havent't been able to find the author's other book: Steel the dragon. I for one am happy to see that a new book, titled `The Hob's bargain' will appear in march 2001. If you liked this book, you might also enjoy the `Fanuilh' books by Daniel Hood, the mood is slightly different but they also combine a touch of fantasy with a detective type story for a light and enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: As good as her Steal the Dragon book
Review: This book, in my opinion, had two good points.

1-The dialouge/humor. 2-The heroine.

That was about it. The plotline was moderately interesting, but not really enough to spark my caring. I didn't then much care about what happened to the characters, though I did enjoy the mildly funny conversations scenes between Sham and the king. Sham was a good heroine, maybe a somewhat stereotypical fantasy woman, but I still liked her nonetheless. I doubt I'll be looking into any more of Briggs books, or reading any more in this series if there ever is any continuation. It's a nice read for a night, but not really something that stays with you afterwards. There's potential, but not much more.

I gave it three stars because of the two points aforementioned, and my appreciation for Briggs writing style. I would recommend it, but not too high on the list.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining and exciting mystery!
Review: This is a fantastic book! I read it in less than twelve hours, and that's with working and eating in the middle of that!

Where to begin? The characters are wonderful. Sham is a complex character, with a painful past but the strong will to survive it and move on. She is wily enough to survive life in Purgatory, the Southwoods slum, yet tender-hearted enough to learn to care for people she was used to hating. Kerim is humorous, regal, dangerous, and intelligent--all the things we want from a hero! The supporting characters are wonderful; Dickon, Elris, Talbot, Lady Sky all make the story better with their special personalities.

The writing is great. The dialogue is excellent, with witty repartee between the characters that is absolutely believable and absolutely hysterical. The description of surroundings and clothes are wonderfully detailed. I could see the action in my mind as I read. My one complaint about the writing would be the infrequent shifts in the third-person point-of-view; usually the POV character was Sham, but very occasionally is changed to Kerim, the demon, and a couple others.

The plot is intriguing...a demon stalking the halls of the Castle, with a thief/magician hired to pose as the Reeve's Mistress in order to solve the mystery. And though you may have suspicions about the demon's identity, your first two guesses will be wrong!

I highly recommend this book, and I am actively seeking out others by this author!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Read!
Review: When Demons Walk is one of the most creatively narrated and written fantasy book I've ever read. The characters were well rounded and sounded realistic, plus the combination of magic and mundane were cleverly balanced (do I sound like a review?? well, it is!). Mystery and romance heightened the climax of the book, which unlike others, does not give away the identity of the demon summoner (or whatever) until the last minute. Also, the heroine and hero, though typical, were captivating in the least. If you have never read fantasy, try this book AT ONCE!