Charming
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4.2 • 101 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Sharp, sarcastic, and efficiently lethal, John Charming is set to join the ranks of your favorite fast-talking anti-heroes like Dean Winchester and Harry Dresden in the first book of this page-turning urban fantasy series.
John Charming isn't your average Prince. . .
He comes from a line of Charmings -- an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chain mail and crossbows to Kevlar and shotguns, John Charming was one of the best -- until a curse made him one of the abominations the Knights were sworn to hunt.
That was a lifetime ago. Now, John tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. That is, until a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar. . .
Charming is the first novel in a new urban fantasy series which gives a new twist to the Prince Charming tale.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James's debut delivers a solid though sometimes familiar-feeling tale. Despite being descended from an illustrious line of monster killers, John Charming's supernatural powers have led him to become a fugitive from the Knights Templar, who trained him. When a tall and unusually clean-smelling athletic blonde walks into John's rural Virginia bar, John knows it's time to run. But John can't ignore his knightly training, and he delays to kill some vampires. The blonde Valkyrie named Sig saves his life, and something about her convinces John to stay and help her band of racially stereotyped monster hunters including a pot-smoking exterminator, an Episcopalian ex-priest, an immoral Naga software mogul, and an Eastern European psychic clean out the local vampire hive in a plot that sometimes feels boilerplate but eventually takes a darker, more personal twist.
Customer Reviews
Clever but awkward
This is an entertaining read. Very clever idea and the writing style is reminiscent of Piers Anthony, but isn't quite there. The awkward first person commentary disrupts the flow of what is otherwise engaging dialogue and action. You might find the reading a bit awkward, but the story line is solid and we can look forward to James' future efforts. Worth a read.
Excellent!
A worthy read. You will not be disappointed.
Un-engaging voice
Interesting idea, but it reads like the dairy if a lazy narcissist. Given the main character, that might have been intentional.