Book: Seawitch
ISBN-13: 978-0451464552
Author: Kat Richardson
Series: Greywalker Series, Book 7
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release: August 7, 2012
Length: 352 pages (Hardcover)
Book Rating: C- (67 / 100)
Series Rating: C+ (75 / 100)
Verdict
Despite having one of the most relatable protagonist in urban fantasy, Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series continues to skew towards female sensibilities. The Greywalker series involves more emotion than mystery, more internal struggle than action, and more personal closure than climax. That doesn’t make it bad series by any measure, but male readers seeking a some light reading may want to look elsewhere. Urban fantasy is, after all, a male dominated genre.
On the other hand, this series is recommended for female readers looking for an urban fantasy series without the Laurell K. Hamilton eroticism that has recently become the norm among fantasy series with female protagonists.
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Pros: Well-written protagonist. Interesting magic system. Light on romance.
Cons: Short on mystery. Pacing drags, especially during action sequences.
Synopsis
In Brief: When a luxury yacht floats into port twenty-seven years after being lost in sea, Harper Blaine, P.I. takes the case. This time, the mystery leads her out to sea, where she faces down two mythic races in a struggle for souls lost in shipwrecks of the past. Only this time, she’s got a new sidekick.
Official: Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until she died—for two minutes. Now Harper is a Greywalker, treading the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she’s discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of “strange” cases.
A quarter century ago, the Seawitch cruised away from her dock and disappeared with everyone on board. Now, the boat has mysteriously returned to her old berth in Seattle and the insurance company has hired Harper to find out what happened.
But Harper is not the only one investigating. Seattle Police Detective Rey Solis is a good cop, albeit one who isn’t comfortable with the creepy cases that always seem to end up in Harper’s lap. As they explore the abandoned vessel, Harper and Solis discover a cabin containing symbols drawn in human blood, revealing the ghost ship’s grave history.
As Solis focuses on the possible murder of a passenger’s wife, Harper’s investigation leads her to a powerful being who may be responsible for the disappearance of the Seawitch’s passengers and crew. And while their searches lead Harper and Solis in different directions, they will need to put aside their differences to solve a deadly mystery twenty-five years in the making…
Story Elements
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Atmosphere / Emotional Impact: D- (50 / 100)
Character development: C+ (75 / 100)
Pacing: C+ (75 / 100)
Plot: D- (50 / 100)
Prose: C+ (75 / 100)
World-building: C+ (75 / 100)
Review
Seawitch is the seventh entry in the bestselling Greywalker urban fantasy series by Kat Richardson. Private investigator Harper Blaine is back in Seattle following the harrowing events of book six (Downpour), and this time, she’s saddled with a partner – the silently earnest Seattle Police Detective Rey Solis.
If you’re a Kat Richardson fan, you’ll be excited to hear that Seawitch stands as the most chilling entry yet in the Greywalker series. From page one, the return of a ghost ship to harbor serves as a darkly atmospheric premise that adds a great deal of gravity to the story. Unfortunately, like previous installments in the series, the book is badly hobbled by it’s slow pacing. The book’s protagonist Harper spends far more time in her own head than three hundred sixty pages warrants, and the book’s few action sequences unfold far too haltingly to build any real suspense.
That might be grounds to warn against this series in most cases, but not here. This series has an ace in the hole – a plucky heroine who doesn’t spend any large portion of the novel worrying about romance or letting men run her life, as is so often the case in with urban fantasy featuring female protagonists. For that alone, this series is worth a browse.
If you’ve been following the series, you won’t be disappointed by Seawitch. It doesn’t expand upon the world as much as previous novels, but it lends a humanizing depth to Harper and Solis’ characters that promises better things to come for the series.
If you’re a newcomer to the series, dive right in. The series’ backstory and magic system don’t require much explanation, and skipping past the prolonged exposition of the series’ early entries is likely to improve your experience.
Disclaimer
The Great Geek Manual did receive an advance review copy of Seawitch secondhand from a fellow reviewer. However, the free copy did not influence the opinion of this reviewer.
Similar Books
If you enjoy this series, you may also enjoy these similar series:
- Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels Series)
- A Kiss Before The Apocalypse by T. E. Sniegoski (Remy Chandler series)
- Touch the Dark by Karen Chance (The Cassandra Palmer series)
Previous Books in this Series
- 1. Greywalker
- 4 Vanished
- 2. Poltergeist
- 5. Labyrinth
- 3. Underground
- 6 Downpour
Further Information
- Read an excerpt of Seawitch at the author’s website.
- Watch a video of Kat Richardson reading from Seawitch at a book reading.
- Visit the official website of author Kat Richardson.
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