Kate Daniels #1: Magic Bites

by Ilona Andrews | Science Fiction & Fantasy |
ISBN: 9780441014897 Global Overview for this book
Registered by bc-del-20080219 on 4/20/2007
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5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by bc-del-20080219 on Friday, April 20, 2007

Synopsis

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it aose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice daws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles. The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre kilings - and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league - but she wouldn't have it any other way...


Shawnna's Notes

I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes dark fantasy. Although there were things that I would change, such as how vampires are portrayed, I did love the mystery and unusual characters. A great read!!!


Journal Entry 2 by bc-del-20080219 on Friday, May 11, 2007

Journal Entry 3 by CheriePie from Campbell, California USA on Monday, May 21, 2007
Arrived today, along with Shadows in the Starlight, from Shawnna. I hope no one after me is in too much of a rush for this as I've still got a few bookrings to tend to ahead of it. But worry not... I should be able to get to it within the next couple months... I hope! :)

Journal Entry 4 by CheriePie from Campbell, California USA on Friday, October 5, 2007
When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up such problems. But when her guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles: the undead (Vampires) and the shapeshifters (more than just wolves).

This book had a completely unique way of looking at vampires, shapeshifters, and magic, and I'm not sure I cared for all of it. I definitely didn't like the concept of vampires "piloting" other vampires remotely, nor the fact that they were portrayed as completely emotionless bloodsuckers. The concept of magic or technology being "up" was also a bit hard to get used to—especially the fact that only one or the other could be in effect at any given time. I'm much more synergistic in my approach to life and thus have a hard time dealing with absolutes. And this one definitely seemed a hard one to swallow, at least for me personally.

Overall, I'm not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, I enjoy the urban fantasy genre very much, but on the other, this was this author's first novel and I'm sorry to say, you could sort of tell with the writing. There were many things that could've been done better. That said, I do hold out hope for the second novel in the series, due out in March of next year. By then, she may have refined her writing technique a bit more and I won't be distracted by the lack of finesse in the writing. :) We shall see....

Journal Entry 5 by CheriePie from Campbell, California USA on Wednesday, October 17, 2007
This was put in the mail to geniedances today. I know Shawnna lost track of who originally wanted to be in the ring for this, but I had in my local notes that geniedances was after me so I sent it on to her. Explorer1118m confirmed she has already read this, but it is still on NeedSun's wishlist. *hint, hint*

Genie, if you can't get in touch with Shawnna when you've finished it, why don't you just go ahead and send it on to NeedSun to keep it moving until Shawnna gets settled back in place. :)

Journal Entry 6 by geniedances from Houston, Texas USA on Sunday, October 28, 2007
Enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing the characters continue to evolve in future books. This one is on its way to NeedSun in Canada.

Journal Entry 7 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Thursday, November 8, 2007
Arrived today.

Thanks so much for thinking of me!

Journal Entry 8 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Monday, January 14, 2008
I just searched this book on ClubVlad and saw that Amberkatze and Rianonne were interested in reading it. If they are still interested, I will start reading it sooner rather than later.

Journal Entry 9 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I seem not to be in the mood for paranormal/magic series right now. I hear this is a great book and I just couldn't get into it. I did finish it and will eventually get the next one but not too soon.

Journal Entry 10 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Sunday, January 3, 2010
Sent by surface mail on Dec 30 to Juliet982 (Venezuela)from bookmooch

Journal Entry 11 by Juliet982 on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Arrived safely from Canada. Thank you very much NeedSun!

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