I haven't yet read the first two books in this series, but I'm going to after reading this one. That's unusual for me to read a book out of sequence in a series. But Stewart made that a non-issue. I never once got lost, only intrigued by allusions to past events. There's enough backstory to let me ease into the current events without bogging down.The third installment is a fast paced read, with fully-drawn, likeable and realistic characters. That's important to me in fantasy. The story is intriguing and I hadn't seen the ending coming. The plot is tight and moves quickly, jumping right into the story, with lots of action. The supporting characters are interesting. I particularly liked how Gretchen's character developed through the story.Dawson is a Champion fighting against evil. He's sent to protect rising star Gretchen Keene from demons. I won't go into a summary, but suffice it to say, that was enough to get me hooked.Dawson is a character I want to read more about and fortunately I have two other books where I can do just that. You can add me to the fans of Jesse James Dawson. This book seems to be a game changer for Jesse in a couple of different ways. For most of the book Jesse seems to be questioning his being a champion and how it fits into his life and what he hopes for.I hated to see Jesse's friendship with Marty change so much. I think it will be bad for him to loose the grounding. I was glad to see Jesse question Ivan, because from the last book we learned that he kept a lot hidden from Jesse and other champions. It is too bad, because I think they could use the support of a community.Jesse's work in California was meh for me. I did like how this job brought Jesse in contact with Tai. I have a feeling that this will be an important new friendship for Jesse, something he will need. I would love to see Tai come to Missouri and work with Mira, it would be interesting! Gretchen was interesting, mostly because she didn't feel bad about her demon deal, in fact she was proud of it, proud that she could help her family out. The last conversation between Gretchen and Jesse made me sad for her, but I was glad to see that she did the right thing in the end.I worry for Jesse now. The fallout of what happened in CA has the potential to be huge, being the big game changer of the book.
Do You like book A Wolf At The Door (2012)?
Aw. Now there's the wait for the fourth book.... :(
—mack
Couldn't put the damned thing down. Great thriller.
—shorty17634
