Dead Man's Hand
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4.3 • 155 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In the tradition of his renowned father, James J. Butcher’s debut novel is a brilliant urban fantasy about a young man who must throw out the magical rule book to solve the murder of his former mentor.
On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command and all the power and prestige that comes with it. Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is…not one of those witches.
After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as “not Department material,” Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can’t help hoping he’ll somehow, someway, get another chance to prove his skill. That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors’ number one suspect.
Proving his innocence will require more than a little legwork, and after forming a strange alliance with the retired legend known as the Huntsman and a mysterious being from Elsewhere, Grimsby is abruptly thrown into a life of adventure, whether he wants it or not. Now all he has to do is find the real killer, avoid the Auditors on his trail, and most importantly, stay alive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Butcher, the son of bestseller Jim Butcher, puts a fun twist on hard-boiled urban fantasy thrills in his debut. Hero Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is a failure who was scrubbed from the Auditor program of the Department of Unorthodox Affairs and now uses his meager magical talents to entertain children at Mighty Magic Donald's Food Kingdom. Despite his paltry skill set, Grimsby is implicated in the murder of powerful Auditor Samantha Mansgraf, who, in her last moments, used her own blood to scrawl his name. Mansgraf's retired ex-partner, Leslie Mayflower, aka the Huntsman, rapidly concludes that Grimsby would have been no threat to Mansgraf, but as the Hunstman isn't magical himself, he reluctantly brings Grimsby along to search for clues in Mansgraf's lair outside of Boston. Together, this unlikely duo find reference to a mysterious Hand and face off against mechanical/magical constructs, succubi, and Department personnel on their way to solving the crime. While not a true coward, Grimsby's understandable fear in the face of players who are all more powerful than he is makes him an accessible hero ("He tried to steel himself, but it ended up feeling more like tinfoiling himself"). This is sure to capture genre fans.
Customer Reviews
A good read
His dad is one of my favorite authors and I am happy to report that the son also tells a good tale. Imaginative and fresh even though it's set in a rather dark and gritty world. There's no romanticization of this magic. Butcher's created interesting characters that differ from one another as well as from the norm. Finding a purpose & overcoming inner demons happens while doing a lot of running around to solve the mystery. It's exhausting and engaging. I liked it and I plan to read the next book.
Fans of Harry Dresden urban fantasy rejoice!
If you like Jim Butcher, Simon Green, and/or Benedict Jacka...then you’re probably not reading this review!
If you are then stop reading this review and start enjoying this novel!
Good characters, tedious battle after battle
I know he’s the son of Jim Butcher but for a short book a significant portion of the pages describe battle and injuries followed by more battle and somehow the character stand up and go about their day. For me it got tedious. I like the story and I like the characters. The names need some work, I stumbled over Mansgraf (I just call her Magrat) and even Impetus. I’m still looking forward to how he evolves the story and his writing.