The Negotiator trilogy: Book 1
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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I love me some new myths and legends. My first dive into C.E. Muphy's work and my first story about a gargoyle. Have to say I was a fan of both. |
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“I enjoyed The Negotiator Series.”
Kath S wrote this review Tuesday, July 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great book! I recommend it to my friends!”
Dawn C wrote this review Friday, July 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Similar to Disney's "Gargoyle" cartoon show!
Kainani wrote this review Wednesday, June 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is my 1st time reading CE Murphy. I have to say it wasn't that bad. If I could I'd give it 3.5. The start was slow going and it bothered me that the story line was somewhat similar to Disney's "Gargoyles" cartoon show. I like the cartoon series but I was hoping for something different with this book. The writing is strong but it took too long to set up the story. It was lacking hot steamy sex and needed more action. You get action at the end but that's about it.
However, the book held my attention and has me wanting to read the next two books. The book has a lot of potential and I'm anxious to see how the author tackles the rest of the story line and how it will end.”1 of 1 members found this review helpful“I love me some new myths and legends. My first dive into C.E. Muphy's work and my first story about a gargoyle. Have to say I was a fan of both.
Lisa R wrote this review Wednesday, May 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Murphy did a good job on weaving this tale, perhaps my only quibble about this was the pacing and introduction of so many characters. There was lots going on and at time it all was happening too rapidly to get a firm grasp. If that was Murphy's intention then well done.
Grit is an interesting girl and I feel like there is so much more to her then meets the eye. I've got questions about her lifestyle and haven't quite sussed out if that will be revealed in future books or if her 'irrational' mantra means nothing.
Murphy definitely carved (pun intended) her own verse with this trilogy. It's unique and stands out on its own. I'm looking forward to the next book.”
“3 1/2 stars
Evie ♥ wrote this review Thursday, January 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Luna; First Edition edition (November 1, 2007)
In Murphy's exciting series opener, Alban Korund, a winged, shape-shifting gargoyle, is framed as a murderer. He begs legal help from Margrit Knight, a human lawyer who at first thinks he's your average Central Park stalker. Margrit soon becomes attracted to her stony client and fascinated by the shadowy world of the Old Races, who live secretly among humans. As she struggles to prove Alban's innocence, Margrit herself battles a dangerous dragonlord, other gargoyles and a powerful vampire, as well as taking on the case of a selkie mother and baby living in a building destined for demolition. Margrit must also decide what to do about her jealous on-again/off-again boyfriend, Tony, a homicide detective who dislikes Alban and thinks he's guilty. Realist, feminist Margrit makes for a deeply compelling heroine as she struggles to sort out the sudden upheaval in her professional and romantic lives. Murphy (Coyote Dreams) has created a refreshing addition to the urban fantasy landscape.
I enjoyed this book. It was fun to read a 3rd person narrative after so many first person narratives. The author keeps it interesting with rich vocabulary and new ways to express ideas but at times descriptions were too wordy and weighted down. Well developed characters and the heroine is likable. As always, I love the leading male character (seems I always fall in love with them). Alban is an intriguing character. It was a nice change to read about different fantasy creatures and the familiar ones (vampires) follow different rules in the world she created. I'll continue the series.
”
“I enjoyed the uniqueness of the gargoyle storyline in this book. ”
jennifer g wrote this review Saturday, January 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Having read Murphy's Urban Shaman series, I was a bit interested when this book hit my stack of "to-be-read" stuff. Not enough to pick it up right away, mind you! While I enjoyed the Shaman series, I found some of the author's style a bit off-putting, namely all the exposition about the ways of the mystical, etc. Since the Negotiator series is also listed as "urban fantasy" or whatever you want to call it these days, I wasn't sure I wanted to jump right in.
bookbabe wrote this review Monday, November 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I was wrong.
The book starts off strong and finishes even stronger, much like Margrit Knight on one of her late-night runs through Central Park. Margrit is a rich girl who's making good on her promise to help others; much to her parents' chagrin, she works for Legal Aid, taking on the impossible cases. For the last four years she's been trying to win clemency for an abused woman found guilty of killing her abuser. Margrit doesn't give up easily, and she's always up for a challenge.
Her tenacity has attracted the attention of Alban Korund, who's been watching her (and over her) for three of those four years. He knows that there are bad people lurking in the Park, so he watches her run to ensure her safety. One night he finally gets the courage to talk to her, but of course, Margrit being a bit cautious of strangers, she yells at him for scaring her. And then the next morning she learns of a dead woman found in the Park, and that a witness saw a man running from the scene, a man who looked just like the stranger she spoke with in the Park.
When it becomes clear that the police suspect him, Alban takes a huge leap of faith and asks Margrit to help him. He also tells her what he really is - a gargoyle, a member of one of the five Old Races. There will be other characters in the book that Margrit encounters, each members of the Old Races: dragons and djinn, gargoyles, selkies, and - of course - vampires. As Margrit learns more about Alban's world, she realizes that he's a good man (person, thing, whatever) and that she believes in his innocence. She also finds herself growing strongly attracted to him, a situation further complicated by her on-again-off-again romance with Tony, who happens to be a cop. Margrit is going to have to break some rules and do some fancy footwork if she's going to save Alban and find the real killer. But is the killer Alban's previous love? If so, she could lose a lot...
I was very impressed with this book, enough that I finished it in no time and am now anxiously trying to get my hands on the next installment. Wisely, Murphy has chosen to spend more time on character development and a bit less on the world-building, a move that really helped me enjoy this book. I thought Margrit was just about perfect, strong without being invincible, snarky without being downright rude, and romantic yet realistic about Alban. The gargoyle is equally well-written, as are some of the "bad guys"; I'm not entirely certain that one of them is as bad as he seems. Time will tell, I suppose.
If you like the alternate reality of living with vampires and other creatures of the night, then "Heart of Stone" is a good book to pick up. I hope the rest of the series is equally good.”
“** spoiler alert **
Kimmay wrote this review Wednesday, November 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I liked the 5 Old Races part of this book, it made it interesting.
I did NOT like that the writting was "clunky" at times. There were many sections in the book where i would be reading along and then have to go back and re-read a section because there were no indications that the character had changed or the scene had changed, it was choppy and didn't flow well at times. There were many times that the book seemed to read at a turtle pace. Once the old race characters started to s...more I liked the 5 Old Races part of this book, it made it interesting.
I did NOT like that the writting was "clunky" at times. There were many sections in the book where i would be reading along and then have to go back and re-read a section because there were no indications that the character had changed or the scene had changed, it was choppy and didn't flow well at times. There were many times that the book seemed to read at a turtle pace. Once the old race characters started to show up , the pace did pick up, but still there were times that it seemed dragged out.
I did like most of the characters, i liked Alban a lot.
I hated the characters name, Grit. Margrit was cool, but the nick name "Grit" just grated over my nerves, it seemed fake or forced, I was happy when Alban said he would not call her by that name. No more than she should call him Al. I laughed at that. Good point. So the author must have known that her name was fake sounding...Margrit Knight...as in night... grit... night, please, just too much. Forced.
I would read further on in the series if i could borrow the book, not buy it, this was a library book. I don't think i would buy the book, but cetainly would give the second book a chance if the library ever got it or if i saw it second hand.
The 5 race concept is enough to keep my interest, the choppy writting is enough to keep me from spending money on it.”
“OK you caught me, I'm a closet Romance Novel reader! I loved the fantasy too. This is the second C.E. Murphy I've read and so far my favorite. Also, love the narrator (on audio), she was superb!”
pst333 wrote this review Monday, October 20 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I really like this author, but I'm not sure that this book can match previous efforts. This is good, but hardly above average. I'll read the sequel and hopefully Murphy will give more of the quality I fell for when she wrote the 'Urban Shaman' books.”
B B wrote this review Friday, June 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
