Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, Book 1)

Put me to sleep!!

Lot's of action and suspense. Just when you think you've figured out something a curve gets thrown.

For those of us who read the "kickass female hunter of supernatural whatever" genre, you know that more and more authors have been jumping on this bandwagon, authors who seem to think that as long as you include pages and pages of expository sex between the heroine and the creatures-du-jour then they've created an "urban fantasy". Thankfully, this author has concentrated on actually providing us with both a complex heroine and complex secondary characters - none of whom immediately fall into each others beds or bodies. Not to mention creating an intriguing storyline, set in one of the genre's favorite places, New Orleans. She's created an interesting universe involving a vampire society that coexists with the human world, and a heroine who is not what she seems on the surface, and whose personal history is still partially a mystery to her as well as us. People get hurt and people die in this story. Not everyone is what they seem, or fits the heroine's mental stereotypes. This was one of those books that when I picked it up, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I bought into the world that the author created and I began to care about the characters. I liked Jane Yellowrock because although she's self-assured on the surface, she retains a vulnerability because her past history is veiled to her, and she doesn't know how old she is or where she lived or what happened to her biological family. She also has the added burden of knowing that the action that allowed her to live beyond her normal life span was the result of inadvertent black magic - something that horrifies her conscience. I appreciated the fact that while the male characters in the story were attractive to, and attracted to Jane, that's as far as it went in this book. The author apparently understands that anticipation and mental fantasies are more intriguing to a reader than immediate wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am consummation of sexual attraction. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series.

Wow! What a great kick off to a fresh new series! Jane Yellowrock is a skinwalker, a shamanistic, native american shape-changer, and as far as she knows, the only one left of her kind. That she's also dual-souled, and shares a body with Beast, a mountain lion and a predator of the first order, makes Jane unique even among other skinwalkers. She uses her skills to hunt rogue vampires, and while she's made a name for herself at her job, she's just taken a contract on a rogue vamp, offered by one of the "sane" vampire councils, and she arrives in New Orleans to find out that she doesn't know much about the more genteel brethren of her prey. She's got to learn fast, while dodging too much scrutiny aimed her way, or she could end up dead or blood-enslaved by more than one threat - and she's not too sure which one would be worse. Faith Hunter's Skinwalker is a dark but rich delight with a tightly woven plot and a solid foundation of fascinating characters and mythos that make this story feel fresh and original (the fact that Jane Yellowrock isn't a whiney, self-absorbed bitch is a wonderful treat, too). While some may argue that there are too many similarities to the Mercy Thompson series, or early Anita Blake (before they turned into poorly plotted porn), I saw only surface similarities, and the meat of Skinwalker...no pun intended...was a subtly drawn masterpiece of unique perspective and fresh ideas. There's A LOT given to the reader in the way of fleshing out the world of Jane Yellowrock that can be built on, such the origins of the Mithran (vampires), brilliantly alluded to as a large and religiously significant occurrence that is both new to me and refreshing for it. There is also the existence of magic, and Jane's best friend and family are witches, and the glimpses we got into that aspect of the world were original and stamped with Faith Hunter's own ingenuity. All in all, VERY interesting teasers abound in Skinwalker that guarantee me tuning in for the next installment. I do want to expand, though, on my thoughts concerning the darkness in this book. Human sensibility may be profoundly offended by what some would consider over-the-top gruesome detail that shows up sporadically through the book (more so in the last quarter of it). Taken in the context of character, however, I read these parts as a rather subtly drawn and significant plot device. Jane co-exists with the soul of a big cat - a mountain lion - and more than a little of the nature of that predator has been apart of her for a VERY long time (you'll be surprised just how long if you pick up on the flash of memory sequence that refers to it). While I can understand the very real human horror that some will feel at the brutally descriptive scenes, I temper that with the knowledge that Jane is NOT, in fact, human. Never was. And since joining with Beast, is even less so. The predatory aspects that are detailed here are brutal, but brilliantly executed. I found them chilling, but no

If Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels are some of your favorite heroines, then you don't want to miss out on Faith Hunter's new character, Jane Yellowrock. Jane is a vampire-hunter and skinwalker. But she's much more interesting than Anita Blake, and she's a different kind of skinwalker than Mercy Thompson. Jane hunts and kills rogue vampires for a living. The only thing she knows about vampires are wrapped up in the ones that go crazy and need to be put down. She's also a skinwalker. Missing pieces of her memories as a young child, all she knows is that she shares her body with Beast, the mountain lion she shifts to when on the hunt. As a skinwalker she can take on other animal forms, but she has a very close tie with Beast. They both have their own memories, thoughts, and will - which makes her a very interesting character indeed. Jane is called to New Orleans by Katie, an old vampire, who hires her to track and kill the rogue vampire preying on not only the humans in the city but other vampires as well. Turns out this rogue vampire is a lot more older, more powerful, and much more harder to track than Jane thought. While on the hunt, she's also introduced to the vampire world: their lifestyle, politics, and the who's who of vamp society. Trying not to give all the great stuff away in the review, I will tell you this: there are some really great storylines here. One, the vampire rogue is more than he appears to be. Two, the missing pieces of memory from Jane's childhood return, which answers all her questions about her heritage, her clan, and just how she and Beast became one. And three, all the characters in the novel have great potential. As an introductory novel, Faith Hunter laid down some solid foundation. Jane is a great character and Hunter makes her interesting enough for readers to want to know more about her past and where she's heading. The details into the vampire world are easy enough to understand, I didn't feel boggled down with some complex history or feel the need to have to memorize names or dates for later novels. All the secondary characters were just as intersting as Jane and Beast themselves, that I just have to know what happens to them and hope to see them in the next Jane Yellowrock story. Skinwalker is written smoothly and rich in detail and story. Kim Harrison calls Hunter, " A new, strongly unique voice in the dark fantasy genre", and that alone is enough in my book!

I was a fan of The Rogue Mage Series before I heard that Skinwalker was coming out. Those were great books. So I was hoping that Skinwalker would be just as good. It was awesome!! Jane Yellowrock and Beast make a great duo of vampire hunting, ancient evil slaying chics. Their personalities are quite different and sometimes at odds with each other, all the while occupying the same space. It was great to watch the two interact with each other as they found themselves hunting down an evil creature who was terrorizing New Orleans. Hired by the local New Orleans vamp council, Jane roars into the city on her Harley and sets up shop. After a few cat and mouse games with the locals, she picks up on the scent of the killer, and finds herself in more than one life and death situation. Excellent character backgrounds and development by the author as she builds a great foundation for this series. I am left wondering what's next for Jane. I can't wait to find out.

"Skinwalker" is set in modern day, where vampires have recently been 'discovered' and accepted into society. Other than that, there aren't mythical creatures or magical abilities. The main character, J--, is the exception. An american indian, she has a unique power to change into an animal, and a second "animal" personality that talks to her. This is really cool! J-- comes to New Orleans to hunt a rogue vampire, having been hired by "civilized" vampires who don't want the rogue to blacken their name. There is nice tension between J-- and the civilized vampires, as neither quite trusts the other. What makes this book great is the fascinating setting and portrayal of J-- and the vampires. The plot is nicely done, and ends well. The setting, character development and unique fantasy elements are outstanding! I liked Hunter's previous books, but found them pretty forgetable. This one left me amazed.