King of the Dead (Jeremiah Hunt Chronicle) [Hardcover]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

The magical construction of EYES TO SEE was mesmerizing, and though I wasn't swept away that book's eventual resolution, I was eager to pick up KING OF THE DEAD to see where Nassise took me next. Nassise's flair for the paranormal is back in full effect and the plot has a great balance between urban fantasy and an upside down police procedural (as it is our hero who the FBI is hunting).

KING OF THE DEAD starts a little slow, as Hunts sometimes pedantic narration is used to remind readers of prior events. People new to the series should have no problem jumping right in with KING OF THE DEAD. The rush of information made things a little dry, but once Hunt and his companions got to New Orleans, new events began to overpower old, fully engaging me in the plot. I loved the mix of realistic battle tactics and magical opponents, Nassise has a knack for writing riveting but accessible magic.

Unfortunately, even as the action grew more interesting, there were a few issues that kept me from wholly immersing myself in the story. Nassise's style is a mix of deadpan recounting interspersed with exclamation points and adverbs where I least expected them. This meant that the characters' emotional reactions seemed to be laid over top of the story rather than integrated with the action, things never felt quite in sync. As a character focused reader, the resultant difficulty connecting with Hunt and his companions was a big problem.

Perhaps exacerbated by my character issues, I had a hard time with some of the shifts in point of view. In addition to following the protagonist, KING OF THE DEAD offers some chapters from Denise's and Agent Robertson's points of view. This structure is a great compliment for the police procedural/thriller aspects of the book, but the tone wasn't always consistent within these alternate points of view. I would be reading the story from Denise's perspective, run into three lines that sounded like Hunt is thinking, then be back to Denise. Pair these narrative potholes with my existing character disconnect, and you have a book I never managed to immerse myself in.

A mix of police procedural and the occult, KING OF THE DEAD offers more of Nassise's excellent mythologies. As much as I enjoyed the magic, however, I never connected with his characters beyond a superficial level. Fans of both fantasy and thrillers will enjoy this mix of genres, but character focused readers may be left wanting.

Sexual Content: None.

King of the Dead by Joseph Nassise

A blind man, a witch and a changeling walk into a bar..... So many endings but none as intriguing as Nassise's story. Jeremiah Hunt is blind to the mundane world due to a pact he made with a mysterious entity called the Preacher. He and his companions, a witch and a changeling are arcanely summoned to New Orleans to stop a plague.

Nassise does a nice job crafting characters that you care about. His characters are flawed and quite human for the most. Jeremiah finds himself questioning his own character and his mores in this book. The prequel to this book, Eyes to See, will give you Jeremiah's back story.

Denise and Dmitri are important characters but we don't get a lot on their background. If recollection serves me they were provided with a better back story in Eyes to See.

There is plenty of action in this book. Most of the action is of the arcane nature but some is brought by an obsessed FBI agent.

I like the plots and the intricate nature of the stories from Nassise.

I recommend the book.

O........M.........G..........

Yesterday I posted my review of Eyes to See (Jeremiah Hunt #1) and today we are looking at King of the Dead (Jeremiah Hunt #2).

King of the Dead takes off following the events of Eyes to See. Hunt is on the run from the law for murders he didn't commit.

Man, I thought that Eyes to See was intense. King of the Dead makes the events of book #1 look like a cake walk! After how much I loved Eyes to See, I was afraid that I was going to be disappointed with King of the Dead and that was not the case. This book is filled with even more suspense and action and it takes a DARK turn.

Once again, I LOVE the character of Jeremiah Hunt. Following the little bit of closure he got in book #1 (not saying in regards to what so I don't spoil it for you), we kick off King of the Dead on a bit of a lighter note. More of his humor is showing through than it did in book #1 because there's been that big emotional shift. He also has genuine companions (Denise and Dmitri) for the first time in a long time and I think that a character like Hunt needs that connection to thrive. Solitude obviously doesn't suit him because he's a touch crabby in the beginning of book #1 and King of the Dead really shows a warmth in him that we only started to get a peek at in Eyes to See. These connections that Jeremiah has made are filled with an admirable love and respect and you know right away that should anything happen to his companions, he'd be WRECKED all over again.

One of the things I loved about the characters in this book is the very distinct personalities that they all have. In our core characters of Hunt, Denise and Dmitri, these three people are so different as individuals but they really fit together like puzzle pieces. They make a great team, one filling in talents/skills where another might lack.
As I mentioned above, King of the Dead takes a dark turn - if you can imagine a darker storyline than what we were dealing with in Eyes to See. Well, Joseph Nassise did it. There were moments in this book that made me put my hand to my mouth in a gasp. Between the Big Bad that they're dealing with (and he is a particularly BIG BAD) and the suspense of trying to figure out exactly what is going on, this book is a spitfire thrill ride.
I loved it. I genuinely loved it.

As I mentioned in my review of Eyes to See, Joseph Nassise officially has an obsessive fan! I am in love with this series and it is one I will be following until the very end. I did some poking around and haven't been able to find a release date yet but I am being told that there is a Jeremiah Hunt #3 coming out. And it's a good thing too because this ending most certainly classifies as a cliffhanger from hell! The final two chapters are surrounding this massive stunner moment that is shocking and heart breaking all at the same time. I seriously wanted to just CRY and track Mr. Hunt down and just give him a great big hug. My heart bled for him.

One of my favorite sarcastic moments in King of the Dead:

"When we get out there, I'd like you to use that unique perspective of yours and let me know if you see anything unusual. Denise and I will be doing the same."

I was standing in a faerie enclave, taking orders from a mage, and getting ready to look at a soul-sucking beast through the eyes of a ghost.....and he wanted me to point out the unusual?

King of the Dead gets a well-earned 5 stars!! Well done, Mr. Nassise! The Jeremiah Hunt series is what urban fantasy is all about! On a side note: LOOK AT THAT COVER!!! GORGEOUS!!!