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Spells for the Dead

door Faith Hunter

Reeksen: Soulwood (5)

LedenBesprekingenPopulariteitGemiddelde beoordelingAanhalingen
1155235,536 (4.13)1
Nell Ingram faces a dark magic with no known origin in the newest pulse-pounding paranormal procedural in the New York Times bestselling Soulwood series.   Nell is a rookie PsyLED agent, using the powers she can channel from deep within the earth to solve paranormal crimes. Together with her team, she's taken on the direst magic and the most twisted foes. But she'll need to tap into every ounce of power she has for her newest case.   Nell is called to the Tennessee mansion of a country music star and finds a disturbing scene--dead bodies rapidly decaying before everyone's eyes. The witch on her team, T. Laine, has never seen magic that can steal life forces like this. PsyLED needs to find this lethal killer fast. But when a paranormal-hating FBI agent tries to derail the investigation, and the dark magics begin to spiral out of control, they find themselves under attack from all sides.… (meer)
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When I started the Soulwood series with 'Blood Of The Earth', I wondered how Faith Hunter would build a series around a woman who is part tree and whose magic is linked to her land and the forest on it. It was only a question in the back of my mind. Most of my attention was taken up with how much I enjoyed spending time with Nell Ingram and how well-imagined the polygamist sect she was raised in was.

Five books into the series and I'm impressed by how Faith Hunter has been able to develop Nell's story so that it feels like a natural progression with the elegance of a Fibonacci Sequence. Watching Nell's world evolve is like watching a fern unfurl.

Nell is always the focal point of the books. She is the one unfurling. In each book we see her understanding of three things growing: her own, non-human, nature and the magic she commands, her place in PsyLed and the modern world and her relationship with her family and her Church. The plot of each book serves as an accelerant of her understanding. She and or those she cares about are subjected to threats that can only be overcome by Nell rapidly expanding her understanding. It's a fascinating process to watch.

That may make the books sound a little dry, yet my experience of reading them is that they are has a turn-the-page-faster pace, they're filled with action and spiced with humour. Faith Hunter manages to allow Nell to grow while still staying fundamentally the person I found so engaging in the first book. She is also has a talent for describing magic, even fairly abstract stuff, in a way that makes it feel real and exciting.

I had mixed feelings about the plot in this book. The motivation for the killings and the path to the killer wouldn't have stood up very well in a police procedural novel. The physical effects of the magic used were described in great detail and were deeply repellent. In the end though, none of that mattered because the emotional pace of the book worked. Nell focused on herself, her team and her family as much if not more than on the details of the case. My favourite parts of the book were when Nell was working things out for her sisters. Partly that was because it didn't involve live people's bodies decaying so quickly that the seemed to be melting but mostly it was because the dynamics between Nell and her family seem so grounded and real.

I've no idea where Faith Hunter will take this series from here but I'm sure the ride will continue to be entertaining.

I recommend the audiobook version. Khristine Hvam's narration is first-rate. ( )
  MikeFinnFiction | Feb 17, 2021 |
I love this series, I love Nell and how far she's come from the first time I met her in the Jane Yellowrock series and every book in the Soulwood series.

Nell Ingram is a PsyLED Unit Eighteen special agent, a Psychometric Law Enforcement Division of Homeland Security. She's come a long way from the polyamorous religious cult that liked to marry off young girls and keep them under the thumbs of men. I love her confidence and courage in facing who and what she is, her powers and the unknown future.

Occam is Nell's partner and lover, a leopard shifter who loves and supports Nell for who and what she is. Their love is interwoven in this terrible investigation of death and decay magic. I think I fell a little in love with Occam.

I did not put this book down once I started, I loved every minute of it. The story is told from Nell's point of view as she investigates the death and decay murders, it's also about her sisters, Soulwood, the Vampire Tree, the members of her team and their relationships to each other.

In this installment we get to take a closer look at T. Laine and Ayatas Firewind, a greater understanding of Nell's powers and the Vampire Tree, as well as the deepening relationship between Occam and Nell. The investigation will intrigue you and the relationships will give you all the feels. I did not want to leave this world and I'm already looking forward to the next book."

If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/
( )
  wyldheartreads | Dec 14, 2020 |
I love the Jane Yellowrock world in general, but way back when we first met Nell, there was just something about her that I was really drawn to. She is so strong and independent, even in the face of all the things that wanted to drag her down. I really have so much respect for Nell.

Now, 5 books into her own series, I like her even more. She still has that strong and independent streak, but she's also learned how to cooperate more, working with her PSYLed team. She's also learned how to really manipulate the churchmen even more so that she gets what she wants, like freedom for her sister Mud.

I love that we get to see Nell's continuing journey in controlling her powers. We get to see her make mistakes and figure things out as she goes. It's very real and very organic. I really like that she doesn't just boom know how everything works, or even precisely what she is. Finding out all that is just really cool to watch.

I also like watching her relationship with Occam evolve. I really like him so much. He takes such good care of her and her feelings, and he knows that letting Nell take the lead is going to be the best way to make things happen. He doesn't need to be all alpha and pushy at her, because that's not who he is, and that's not what would work well for them. I can't wait to see what happens with them. ( )
  tetisheri | Aug 15, 2020 |
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S SPELLS FOR THE DEAD ABOUT?
PsyLED is called to the home of a country music superstar to investigate some mysterious deaths—the and her band had recently returned from a pretty successful tour and now many of them are dead and several of those who aren't are in desperate need of First Responders to act quickly.

Sadly, no First Responder is equipped to cope with whatever happened to them, much less recognize and understand it. That goes for people later to the scene, including PsyLED. However, under the direction of T. Laine, their witch, they're able to makes some guesses about treatment. Nell, Occam and Lainie focus on documenting everything they can as well as beginning preliminary interviews.

One of the first things they determine is that a witch was not behind this attack. Sadly, they reach this conclusion too late to prevent a local sheriff, with the aid of a less than ethical senior FBI agent, to lock up the band member who is a witch. Their logic is impeccable—paranatural crime, arrest the nearest paranatural. This anti-paranatural tendency shows up frequently among the humans in this book—particularly when it comes to witches. I appreciated the way that Lainie dealt with it (both in her more honest and then in her more politic approaches). Our trio being joined by their upline boss, Ayatas FireWind, helps in this manner somewhat (both because of his rank, and FireWind's general demeanor).

On a semi-related note, you would think that people who believe/proclaim very loudly that lycans, witches, vampires, and so one are horrible monsters that want to kill all humans would be a little more circumspect when they're around. Maybe it's just me, but if I thought someone wanted to rip my limbs off and snack on them, I would go out of my way to not antagonize them.

Anyway, the team's focus here is a little split—on the one hand, they need to both identify the type of magic behind the attack and continue to find better ways to treat those fighting off the effects; and on the other, figure out who had the motive and/or means to carry it out. Neither goal was really that easy.

SO THAT'S THE MAIN STORY, WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
As with all books in this series, as much as this is about the PsyLED team, it's really about Nell Ingram, her integration into the world outside the cult she left, even as she continues to deal with it and her family. God's Glory Church really doesn't factor heavily in this book, but it's always in the back of her mind, shaping (either directly or in reaction to it) how she reacts to things.

There is a pretty intense moment related to the Church, but it has more to do with Nell's family, than the Church itself. Nell doesn't yet have full custody of Mud, but everyone's pretty much acting as if she does. Mud's continuing to settle in and push Nell in ways she wasn't prepared for. Which is just fun. Both Nell and Mud are having to deal with their very pregnant sister, Esther. Esther's pregnancy is causing her powers (and flowers) to come forward, and unlike her sisters, she's not that interested in them. It's a nice contrast—and it provides Mud with some great opportunities for growth.

On the work side, the team's recent successes—particularly as the only predominately non-human team in PsyLED—are causing the Agency to make some changes to the way the Agency works—and this is going to spill over onto the team. By and large, the changes look positive and will provide good opportunities for the various members of the team. However, Nell doesn't like change—doubly so when it applies to those things in her life she holds most dear. And since we read all this from her perspective, it's hard to look objectively at all this.

If we're looking at the Venn Diagram of Nell's families (natural and found), the overlap is Occam. I've always loved this relationship, and now that they're openly seeing each other and professing love? Occam's so good, saying all the right things, doing all the right things, he's practically a Gary Stu/Marty Stu. That "practically" there is important—Hunter's written him in such a way over these few books that he comes across as earnest in all this, he's not perfect, he's just really close to perfect for Nell. They're just fun together.

As for Nell herself? She's continuing to work on herself, her approach to life. She makes some wise decisions and actions with her relationship with FireWind. She makes some great leaps with the relationship (if you can call it that) with the Vampire Tree. And we get some of the most solid information on just what kind of paranatural creature Nell is (watching her stifle her curiosity on this front to focus on the case was a great moment). Basically, Spells for the Dead contains more of that sure and steady, organic character development that's been the hallmark of this series.

SO WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SPELLS FOR THE DEAD
One of my favorite parts of these books is Nell's reactions to new-to-her foods. We don't see her introduced to anything here, but we still get to see her relish a few things she wasn't exposed to for most of her life—Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza. This is actually kind of a good way to think about most of this book—unlike the previous books (particularly the first two), we're not seeing Nell experience much that's new here—mostly she's living in this new world, rather than figuring things out. Hunter has established her world, has set up the characters, creatures, overarching conflicts, and whatnot. Now she gets to play with that world.

This means (at least for me, and at least for this book), that without the earth-shattering reveals, the Big Moments in Nell's (or other characters') life, the book has less of an impact on me. Spells for the Dead is just as good as the rest of the series has been, it just doesn't hit me the same way. Which leads to a slightly lower rating. Hunter's plotting, writing, and characters are still top-notch, it just didn't blow me away. I got to spend some time with some really good friends—and I'm so happy I did—but it was comfortable, not exploratory. I trust that won't always be the case, and that Hunter will certainly do things in this series that will cause my jaw to drop, but sometimes it's simply going to be a really good/great novel instead of a fantastic one. Still making it one of the best series I follow.

I really got into this case—it wasn't as fraught as some of the previous ones were, but it was interesting and unexpected. The side stories did everything they needed to. Spells for the Dead just solidifies the Soulwood books as one of the best UF series going. ( )
  hcnewton | Jul 16, 2020 |
Faith Hunter’s SPELLS FOR THE DEAD (Soulwood #5) is enthralling. In this story, rookie PsyLed agent, Nell Ingram and her team investigate the murder of a Tennessee country music star where death magic took place.

SPELLS FOR THE DEAD is a thrilling addition to the Soulwood series. It is told from Nell’s point of view. The plot was captivating and unexpected. The story highlights law enforcement politics, death magic, and prejudices. SPELLS FOR THE DEAD was interesting and complex.

I appreciate how Nell’s character has grown throughout the series. I like that she analyses her reactions to things and tries to grow from her experiences. I enjoyed discovering more about FireWind (Jane Yellowrock’s brother). I like that Nell does not back down from him, even though he is intimidating.

I recommend SPELLS FOR THE DEAD (Soulwood #5) to people who enjoy paranormal crime stories. Followers of Faith Hunter will not be disappointed. I believe you would be able to follow this book as a standalone, but I recommend reading the other books in the series first to understanding Nell’s growth. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. ( )
  dlynch | Jul 13, 2020 |
Toon 5 van 5
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Nell Ingram faces a dark magic with no known origin in the newest pulse-pounding paranormal procedural in the New York Times bestselling Soulwood series.   Nell is a rookie PsyLED agent, using the powers she can channel from deep within the earth to solve paranormal crimes. Together with her team, she's taken on the direst magic and the most twisted foes. But she'll need to tap into every ounce of power she has for her newest case.   Nell is called to the Tennessee mansion of a country music star and finds a disturbing scene--dead bodies rapidly decaying before everyone's eyes. The witch on her team, T. Laine, has never seen magic that can steal life forces like this. PsyLED needs to find this lethal killer fast. But when a paranormal-hating FBI agent tries to derail the investigation, and the dark magics begin to spiral out of control, they find themselves under attack from all sides.

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