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Old Haunts: A London City Novel
Jack Worthington's life sucks. An old lady haunts him, his cash well is dry, and he's on the edge of losing all hope. So naturally, when he tries to do something good, fate rewards him by putting a bounty out on his life.
Knowing that his days—or hours—are numbered, he races to forestall his inevitable death sentence, but in his travels unwittingly stumbles upon a potential catastrophe in the making. Awesome.
Now he has to figure out why the ghosts of London City are sowing fear and paranoia into the minds of police and ordinary citizens, and what it all has to do with the anniversary of the infamous citywide riots that occurred one year ago to the day.
His search eventually leads him to a haven for the city’s underworld denizens, where he must face a vampire with whom he shares a terrible link to the past, all while trying to stay alive just long enough to avert the apocalypse.
Some days saving the world kinda sucks.
Knowing that his days—or hours—are numbered, he races to forestall his inevitable death sentence, but in his travels unwittingly stumbles upon a potential catastrophe in the making. Awesome.
Now he has to figure out why the ghosts of London City are sowing fear and paranoia into the minds of police and ordinary citizens, and what it all has to do with the anniversary of the infamous citywide riots that occurred one year ago to the day.
His search eventually leads him to a haven for the city’s underworld denizens, where he must face a vampire with whom he shares a terrible link to the past, all while trying to stay alive just long enough to avert the apocalypse.
Some days saving the world kinda sucks.
430 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 12 reviews
September 5, 2009
This book will make you more attractive, personable, and rich!! I was a water-dwelling cave moose eeking out a living on roots and stray dragonflies, until I was hit by someone throwing a copy of this book out the window of their moving car. When I tried to eat the pages, I found myself reading the words, and was suddenly transformed into a Hollywood movie star! Then, out of the blue, someone handed me a million dollars! And it's all thanks to this book! Yay!
Note: Any attractiveness, coolness and cash-monies you achieve/receive after reading the book is likely to be purely coincidental.
Note: Any attractiveness, coolness and cash-monies you achieve/receive after reading the book is likely to be purely coincidental.
September 4, 2010
I'll be honest: I was wary that this might just be a cookie-cutter of another popular urban fantasy series. I was quite happily wrong. London City is a place with secrets, mysteries, and mythos of its very own which we are introduced to by our hapless spirit-seeing protagonist, Jack Worthington, who is quite possibly the unlikeliest candidate of all the characters in the book to suddenly be faced with attempting to save the world. Even I didn't predict some of the twists and turns in the plot (a rare thing considering how much I read), and the supporting cast of characters were refreshingly well fleshed out. if anything aggrivated me, it was that the answers to so many questions have yet to be revealed. But alas, the City keeps her secerts...for now. Already I eagerly await the next installment in the saga of Jack, Michael, Kirsten, and the rest of London City.
August 29, 2011
I was honestly surprised by this book I expected something long the lines of Mike Carey's Felix Castor series or Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books, which by no means would have been a bad thing. What I got though was a book what had its own identity and was better than anything that follows a similar path to other authors. I think this is a well written humorous and fun to read urban fantasy that I hope is the beginning to a very long and equally well written series.
September 15, 2009
great novel,I enjoy books that offer a sense of total entertainment, which this book offers quite nicely. There is a good deal of action and excitement, but also some nice humor and a story about two people connecting in the chaos of their lives. Very enjoyable.
July 30, 2010
I’m an urban fantasy writer myself. So I couldn’t help but look at “Old Haunts” with a critical eye.
So imagine my surprise when I finished the ‘ghost’ of a teaser and was already onboard for this alternate reality (London) romp.
Jack Worthington is the perfect anti-hero. Does everything the wrong why with the right intentions.
Well most of the time.
Worthington is a gruff, head-strong spirit talker whose desire to help a client with her marital issues (especially an issue with the ‘death do us part’ portion of her vows) leads to a death mark and an eventual race against an oncoming apocalypse.
The pace is fast, the twists are unexpected and I closed the book already looking forward to book two.
Just to see how Emmett screws with his characters next.
And one final note. If you are tired of sparkly vampires, then you’ll really enjoy one of the main villains.
So imagine my surprise when I finished the ‘ghost’ of a teaser and was already onboard for this alternate reality (London) romp.
Jack Worthington is the perfect anti-hero. Does everything the wrong why with the right intentions.
Well most of the time.
Worthington is a gruff, head-strong spirit talker whose desire to help a client with her marital issues (especially an issue with the ‘death do us part’ portion of her vows) leads to a death mark and an eventual race against an oncoming apocalypse.
The pace is fast, the twists are unexpected and I closed the book already looking forward to book two.
Just to see how Emmett screws with his characters next.
And one final note. If you are tired of sparkly vampires, then you’ll really enjoy one of the main villains.
December 4, 2010
I loved this book. I think that Emmett Spain shows great imagination. I am not a professional critic and do not profess to be one. If I like a book then that is what I will say and recommend to others. I thought the idea of a spirit talker getting out of his depths and having to take on the spiritual underworld was great. The characters within these pages just throws your imagination into overdrive. I loved it and will definitely recommend it to my friends and anybody else who wishes my opinion. I can not wait to read the sequel.
Thank you Emmett Spain, you have definitely found a place on my book shelf.
Thank you Emmett Spain, you have definitely found a place on my book shelf.
April 17, 2011
I just finished "Old Haunts - A London City Novel" and I really loved the story and the characters. A great Urban Fantasy novel that is hopefully just the start of more books to come from this author. I would really love to read more Jack Worthington stories!
January 19, 2011
I hope this is just the first of a series. Loved the characters and can't wait for more.
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November 8, 2010Vampires, werewolves, gunfights, magic and comedy. Sigh.
Is seems as more and more authors are taking this route when it comes to vampires. At first, there is the thought that in order to get anyone to read their book a vampire must make their entrance. And then for good measure, it can’t be written as a vampire story. They feel the need to re-invent the vampire. Reinvent them the same way thousands of other new authors have. There is comedy, there is awkwardness, there is flaccidity.
This book is jammed packed. And I mean that literally. There are hauntings, vampires, and for good measure, an apocalypse is just around the corner. It reads as too much and sadly the author isn’t able to pinpoint on one or even two main roads and stick with them.
An urban fantasy novel set in an alternate version of London called London City, it focuses on a guy who is down on his luck. He is haunted by and old woman, he has no funds, and he is depressed. With his “gift” of being able to deal with dead people, he decides to help someone and has it backfire on him. Sound familiar? It should.
Emmett Spain has a good read on his hands. If it didn’t read like most everything else that is being put out by authors it would be great. If you are looking for an entertaining, fast paced story, this book will provide that for you. If you are looking for a twist – even in the smallest meaning of the word – this book may not be for you.
Is seems as more and more authors are taking this route when it comes to vampires. At first, there is the thought that in order to get anyone to read their book a vampire must make their entrance. And then for good measure, it can’t be written as a vampire story. They feel the need to re-invent the vampire. Reinvent them the same way thousands of other new authors have. There is comedy, there is awkwardness, there is flaccidity.
This book is jammed packed. And I mean that literally. There are hauntings, vampires, and for good measure, an apocalypse is just around the corner. It reads as too much and sadly the author isn’t able to pinpoint on one or even two main roads and stick with them.
An urban fantasy novel set in an alternate version of London called London City, it focuses on a guy who is down on his luck. He is haunted by and old woman, he has no funds, and he is depressed. With his “gift” of being able to deal with dead people, he decides to help someone and has it backfire on him. Sound familiar? It should.
Emmett Spain has a good read on his hands. If it didn’t read like most everything else that is being put out by authors it would be great. If you are looking for an entertaining, fast paced story, this book will provide that for you. If you are looking for a twist – even in the smallest meaning of the word – this book may not be for you.
April 28, 2012
I really loved this book. The twist about halfway through really caught me and it ended well (there could be another book but there wasn’t a cliffhanger either).
Jack is definitely sarcastic which I always enjoy (c'mon, cheeky bastards are fun!) and I liked the other characters as well, including Dude.
I especially liked the line about the Tardis :)
To give you a reference, other series I enjoyed are Dresden, Nightside, Kate Daniels, Connor Grey, etc.
Jack is definitely sarcastic which I always enjoy (c'mon, cheeky bastards are fun!) and I liked the other characters as well, including Dude.
I especially liked the line about the Tardis :)
To give you a reference, other series I enjoyed are Dresden, Nightside, Kate Daniels, Connor Grey, etc.
May 25, 2012
loved it, well written and kept me entertained all the way through
Displaying 1 - 11 of 12 reviews