Book Review: "Hate Machine" by Stephen Blackmoore

 

The eighth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.

If there's one thing Eric Carter can count on, it's his past coming back to bite him in the ass.
 
Gabriela Cortez, La Bruja, has had her soul trapped... somewhere, and the only one who knows how to get it back is the Oracle of Las Vegas, a powerful artifact that Carter helped create almost thirty years before. It doesn't just predict the future—it makes things happen, influencing events to reach the goal it wants.
 
Only somebody's gone and stolen it, attempting to turn it into an artifact that doesn't just change the future, but also the past.
 
Eric needs to find it and steal it back before this comes to pass. If he doesn't, Gabriela's soul is lost. And quite possibly the future as well. - from Netgalley.com

I received this ARC from Netgalley.com at no cost and am providing an unbiased review.

This is book eight in the Eric Carter series by this author, and I have been an avid fan of Blackmoore from the start. It is written in a way you pretty much have to know what is going on in the series to understand completely what is happening in the story. This part of the main character's journey is returning to Las Vegas, where from prior books, all we know is he had some bad history there. This book opens up the past and we get to learn a bit more about the how/why Eric is the way he is.

Being a fan of this series makes it hard to write about the book, besides it was good! I enjoyed learning more about the Eric's past. We find out (again) how seemingly cruel and heartless he can be when needed, yet find out how much he yearns for a love that never seems to go well. Many other new characters are brought forth in this story, mostly from the MC's past. Not much time is spent on building their past, as throughout the story, they end up dead. World building - heh - more like world destroying. In typical Carter fashion, Las Vegas does lose a few memorable buildings during his short stay.

Overall, this was a wonderful addition to the series, and rounds up the storyline coming from book seven. Not sure where Blackmoore will go from here, but I am hoping he does, or creates a new series that has a similar character. I really enjoy the snark and sarcasm he brings to the character.