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A review by ladyelfriede
Murder on Hunter's Eve by Morgan Stang
5.0
r/Fantasy - Review: "Murder on Hunter's Eve" by Morgan Stang | That Werewolf Needs a Bigger Brush
_________________________________________
Spoiler-Free Summary:
A werewolf is seen on the streets of Lamplight. Our intrepid quartet team is on the job to catch the elusive werewolf and bring peace to the citizens.
Side effects include dark humor and thunder.
_________________________________________
Characters and Terms:
Isabeau: The MC of our story. Hunts monsters for a living.
Evie: A detective for Waxwick Yard (the equivalent of Scotland Yard)
Penny: A living doll that cannot express emotions and is undead until she cuts through her mouth and releases her soul and truly dies. What a lovely character!
Mr. Homes: A significantly better Sherlock Holmes/Herlock Sholmes that I would die for him in a heartbeat. But also not a detective but a carriage driver for our team.
_________________________________________
Real Thoughts:
I won’t lie.
I was 100% going to bash this book to high heaven and back.
Why?
The dude has multiple Golden Stick Awards (TM) and I wanted to see if he really deserved a nomination this year.
I was prepared to go into this book being jaded and feeling like it won’t meet my expectations.
I wanted to knock him down a peg because he might have Sequel Syndrome.
...He still drop kicked me to tell me he did deserve a spot, the book did meet my lofty expectations, and I meekly told him “Good day” before trying to lecture him about Sequel Syndrome.
(Based on a False Story)
As you may or may not know, this is the 3rd book in the Lamplight Murders series and it changes the structure and pace compared to the first two books. Because of that, I was like, “Why is it so slow and meandering?”
Yeah, I’ll tell you why.
Do not mistake the slow start and different pacing. Let’s just say:
I started yesterday morning at 10% of the book done.
It was 5 AM when I finished it today.
Stang somehow maintained my attention and finished the book in 2 days flat, 1 hour of sleep be damned.
The problem with the first two books I felt I predicted a LOT of what would happen so the plot wasn’t the best part for me, but the vibes and worldbuilding were the stars.
However, that is not the case with book 3. Nearly everything is a star. Worldbuilding, plot is unpredictable, prose, you name it. If you had problems with Stang’s work before, he somehow fixed it and smelted it into mithril.
One thing he did differently in this book is the setting is no longer a closed environment. At first I wasn’t crazy about it, but, by doing it this way, we see a lot of the world than in the previous books. He talks a little more about this in his author’s notes but yeah, I would be welcoming to the idea of more open environments if I get this much worldbuilding, fuck yes.
To say Stang did better than the previous books is an understatement. He shoved them down a sinkhole and proclaimed “Hunter’s Eve” as his new best friend on a pedestal.
Hello, “Hunter’s Eve,” my friendship with “Lamplight Express” is over.
_________________
Cover:
r/Fantasy - Review: "Murder on Hunter's Eve" by Morgan Stang | That Werewolf Needs a Bigger Brush
Elegant, but simple pattern of leaves and flowers, and reds and blacks. A similar coloring pattern can be found in his previous books.
_________________________________________
Prose:
A good prose should not jolt you out of the illusion that you are reading. Rather, it will streamline the words into your head where you forget you're even reading.
"Hunter's Eve" solves the problems of past books and improved immensely.
I want to say, at 5 AM reading this book, I may not be the best judge of this, but put an ill placed comma in between run on sentences and I just might go meditate in a bath of vinegar communing the spirits.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
Slow in the beginning, picks it up at XX%.
I'm not going to spoil the fun when you figure it out!
_________________________________________
Plot:
Without spoiling what will happen, the main premise is a werewolf on the loose and at least 3 people have already died.
As in regards of twists for a murder mystery...somehow Stang out does himself and makes it so unpredictable that a cynic like me would be surprised.
Go into it with the mindset of Isabeau, go out crying like Evie.
_________________________________________
Characters:
I do hope Stang does keep this page count as it does help balance the lack of worldbuilding and character development that we had problems in the previous books.
The characters are way fleshed out more, even the murder suspects, MCs, worldbuilding, nearly everything. For example, we get more info on Evie, not just her being a peppy character, but she's more than that. She's curious, actually gives a fuck, and can be seen walking around with a book if you just give her a chance, BRITTNEY.
Isabeau is...well, Isabeau, but we get more information on her backstory, how she was like as a kid and such.
So Stang, thank you for giving us more pages to explore these characters!
(SPOILER)
I'm just mad I have to wait probably like 5 books for Isabeau/Evie ship to set sail after the Annabel sunk faster than my future. I'm not a ship bitch, but the way Stang doesn't hyper focus on the romance and just leaves crumbs make it so refreshingly organic in development of feelings and relationship....Instead of "insta hump" in Study of Drowning...eugh.
_______________________
Vibe:
Think fantasy London, with fog and gaslamp.
Oh and a giant werewolf. Now with more thunder!
_________________________________________
Worldbuilding:
Thank Lady Constellation, we get more worldbuilding. Though it's more about Lamplight itself and the urban districts, but still, it's something. Hell, if Lady Constellation told me what she does in her free time, I'd be happy about that too.
But, we actually get FULL PAGES of a book about werewolves. You read this right.
ACTUAL PAGES OF A FAKE BOOK INSIDE A FANTASY BOOK.
Do you understand how long I've been waiting for an author to go past more than 1-2 pages on a fictional book?
Fuck, I haven't read many fantasy books about books that actually put pages of a fictional book in their novel. Baldree is the only other author I know that does at least a snippet of fictional books I'll never read in this dimension. (I still need to read "Library of the Unwritten" and "Ink and Bone" but still...)
That aside, our worldbuilding expands into info about werewolves, some info about the Ravaged Continent, the past, a little about philosophy of what happened in the past (oddly refreshing), and the urban underbelly of Lamplight. We also get a legend.
Though we don't get more info about other monsters, the Ravaged Continent, or the Nobles this time around, can't complain too much when the previous 2 books barely gave me a crumb to go off of. I'll take what I get.
_________________________________________
If you're on the fence whether to dive into Book 3, because Book 1 & 2 are so vastly different, I get it, but please, make the leap and get the book.
Yes, it's a little slow, but you will be rewarded with a ride I don't think anyone would have anticipated.
Well done, Stang. You made me fear of my own neck and fear snails again.
_________________________________________
Who should read this?
Read because this book is more satisfying to read than that $30 hardback book at B&N.
That book is probably shit, this book is $4 and has a living doll girl, murder, blood, and 100% less Twilight.
Ez.
Personal Rating:
5/5
_________________________________________
Spoiler-Free Summary:
A werewolf is seen on the streets of Lamplight. Our intrepid quartet team is on the job to catch the elusive werewolf and bring peace to the citizens.
Side effects include dark humor and thunder.
_________________________________________
Characters and Terms:
Isabeau: The MC of our story. Hunts monsters for a living.
Evie: A detective for Waxwick Yard (the equivalent of Scotland Yard)
Penny: A living doll that cannot express emotions and is undead until she cuts through her mouth and releases her soul and truly dies. What a lovely character!
Mr. Homes: A significantly better Sherlock Holmes/Herlock Sholmes that I would die for him in a heartbeat. But also not a detective but a carriage driver for our team.
_________________________________________
Real Thoughts:
I won’t lie.
I was 100% going to bash this book to high heaven and back.
Why?
The dude has multiple Golden Stick Awards (TM) and I wanted to see if he really deserved a nomination this year.
I was prepared to go into this book being jaded and feeling like it won’t meet my expectations.
I wanted to knock him down a peg because he might have Sequel Syndrome.
...He still drop kicked me to tell me he did deserve a spot, the book did meet my lofty expectations, and I meekly told him “Good day” before trying to lecture him about Sequel Syndrome.
(Based on a False Story)
As you may or may not know, this is the 3rd book in the Lamplight Murders series and it changes the structure and pace compared to the first two books. Because of that, I was like, “Why is it so slow and meandering?”
Yeah, I’ll tell you why.
Do not mistake the slow start and different pacing. Let’s just say:
I started yesterday morning at 10% of the book done.
It was 5 AM when I finished it today.
Stang somehow maintained my attention and finished the book in 2 days flat, 1 hour of sleep be damned.
The problem with the first two books I felt I predicted a LOT of what would happen so the plot wasn’t the best part for me, but the vibes and worldbuilding were the stars.
However, that is not the case with book 3. Nearly everything is a star. Worldbuilding, plot is unpredictable, prose, you name it. If you had problems with Stang’s work before, he somehow fixed it and smelted it into mithril.
One thing he did differently in this book is the setting is no longer a closed environment. At first I wasn’t crazy about it, but, by doing it this way, we see a lot of the world than in the previous books. He talks a little more about this in his author’s notes but yeah, I would be welcoming to the idea of more open environments if I get this much worldbuilding, fuck yes.
To say Stang did better than the previous books is an understatement. He shoved them down a sinkhole and proclaimed “Hunter’s Eve” as his new best friend on a pedestal.
Hello, “Hunter’s Eve,” my friendship with “Lamplight Express” is over.
_________________
Cover:
r/Fantasy - Review: "Murder on Hunter's Eve" by Morgan Stang | That Werewolf Needs a Bigger Brush
Elegant, but simple pattern of leaves and flowers, and reds and blacks. A similar coloring pattern can be found in his previous books.
_________________________________________
Prose:
A good prose should not jolt you out of the illusion that you are reading. Rather, it will streamline the words into your head where you forget you're even reading.
"Hunter's Eve" solves the problems of past books and improved immensely.
I want to say, at 5 AM reading this book, I may not be the best judge of this, but put an ill placed comma in between run on sentences and I just might go meditate in a bath of vinegar communing the spirits.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
Slow in the beginning, picks it up at XX%.
I'm not going to spoil the fun when you figure it out!
_________________________________________
Plot:
Without spoiling what will happen, the main premise is a werewolf on the loose and at least 3 people have already died.
As in regards of twists for a murder mystery...somehow Stang out does himself and makes it so unpredictable that a cynic like me would be surprised.
Go into it with the mindset of Isabeau, go out crying like Evie.
_________________________________________
Characters:
I do hope Stang does keep this page count as it does help balance the lack of worldbuilding and character development that we had problems in the previous books.
The characters are way fleshed out more, even the murder suspects, MCs, worldbuilding, nearly everything. For example, we get more info on Evie, not just her being a peppy character, but she's more than that. She's curious, actually gives a fuck, and can be seen walking around with a book if you just give her a chance, BRITTNEY.
Isabeau is...well, Isabeau, but we get more information on her backstory, how she was like as a kid and such.
So Stang, thank you for giving us more pages to explore these characters!
(SPOILER)
I'm just mad I have to wait probably like 5 books for Isabeau/Evie ship to set sail after the Annabel sunk faster than my future. I'm not a ship bitch, but the way Stang doesn't hyper focus on the romance and just leaves crumbs make it so refreshingly organic in development of feelings and relationship....Instead of "insta hump" in Study of Drowning...eugh.
_______________________
Vibe:
Think fantasy London, with fog and gaslamp.
Oh and a giant werewolf. Now with more thunder!
_________________________________________
Worldbuilding:
Thank Lady Constellation, we get more worldbuilding. Though it's more about Lamplight itself and the urban districts, but still, it's something. Hell, if Lady Constellation told me what she does in her free time, I'd be happy about that too.
But, we actually get FULL PAGES of a book about werewolves. You read this right.
ACTUAL PAGES OF A FAKE BOOK INSIDE A FANTASY BOOK.
Do you understand how long I've been waiting for an author to go past more than 1-2 pages on a fictional book?
Fuck, I haven't read many fantasy books about books that actually put pages of a fictional book in their novel. Baldree is the only other author I know that does at least a snippet of fictional books I'll never read in this dimension. (I still need to read "Library of the Unwritten" and "Ink and Bone" but still...)
That aside, our worldbuilding expands into info about werewolves, some info about the Ravaged Continent, the past, a little about philosophy of what happened in the past (oddly refreshing), and the urban underbelly of Lamplight. We also get a legend.
Though we don't get more info about other monsters, the Ravaged Continent, or the Nobles this time around, can't complain too much when the previous 2 books barely gave me a crumb to go off of. I'll take what I get.
_________________________________________
If you're on the fence whether to dive into Book 3, because Book 1 & 2 are so vastly different, I get it, but please, make the leap and get the book.
Yes, it's a little slow, but you will be rewarded with a ride I don't think anyone would have anticipated.
Well done, Stang. You made me fear of my own neck and fear snails again.
_________________________________________
Who should read this?
Read because this book is more satisfying to read than that $30 hardback book at B&N.
That book is probably shit, this book is $4 and has a living doll girl, murder, blood, and 100% less Twilight.
Ez.
Personal Rating:
5/5