Joseph Lake doesn’t know who he is or where he came from… and the answer might just be the death of him.By day, Joseph scrubs toilets and fixes broken light fittings. By night he looks into weird stuff: local hauntings, unexplained disappearances, satanic cabals dancing naked around ancient stone circles.The usual.The Uncanny calls to him like a beacon, and he follows its signal wherever it … usual.
The Uncanny calls to him like a beacon, and he follows its signal wherever it leads, hoping that one day it will shine a light on who he really is.
So far the clues haven’t added up to much, but now a mad woman is stalking him, he’s tripping over dead bodies in the street, and he keeps having terrifying apocalyptic visions.
Can Joseph put the pieces together and figure out his identity? And if he does, will he be able to live with who he really is?
Mystery, scares, and fast-paced action collide in this thrilling urban fantasy series. Read Magic Eater now for a page-turning tale you cannot put down.
Praise for Magic Eater:
“A wonderful urban fantasy with some really compelling characters.” ★★★★★
“Another thrilling installment from the Uncanny Kingdom universe.” ★★★★★
“You gotta read this book.” ★★★★★
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Format: audiobook
Narrator: Dave Jones
In all honesty although I enjoyed this story, for me it did seem to take its time revealing, (or starting to reveal) Just who Joesph Lake is or was! It’s entertaining and fun and will have you hooked in not wanting to miss any detail.
Joesph Lake is a likeable character and Eva Familiar is one of a kind lol, the ending will definitely leave you reaching for the next book because you will absolutely want to know what led to that revelation.
The perfect combo – action, magic, monsters and snark!
Magic Eater is the first book in The Dark Lake series from Uncanny Kingdom and it certainly set a high bar in terms of storyline (which is outrageously fun) and characters (using the term colorful is beyond inadequate). It is set in the town of Keswick in the Lake District (northwest England) which is the proud home of The Cumberland Pencil Museum (for those who wish to know the complete history of the venerable pencil). While that sounds like a picturesque and charming English countryside setting, unfortunately for the main character, Joseph Lake, there are also some monstrous new denizens making their presence felt by leaving a trail of bloody corpses in their wake. Joe is a hospital janitor/handyman who is still grappling with the fact that something happened to him ten years ago which left him with no memories of his life prior to being found face down, naked except for a single sock, near a lake. Joe, much to his dismay, discovers he harbors some mystifying magical powers. This discovery sets him on the path to becoming a reluctant and somewhat unlikely hero in this fast-paced, action-filled, frequently hilarious quest to expose the horrifying plans of the newly arrived death-dealing monsters while, hopefully, discovering some portion of his lost past.
The audiobook version of this story was superbly narrated by Dave Jones who brought this delightful urban fantasy to life. The pace, the tone, the various characters, and the humor were brilliantly represented in his reading.
Bottom line: this is an awesome urban fantasy filled with snark, sarcasm and wit that made me laugh out loud, kept me entertained, and kindled a fervent desire to tag along on more adventures with Joe and his new posse of paranormal peacekeepers.
While I did purchase a copy of this book, I was given a copy of the audiobook by the author and I am voluntarily offering my honest and unbiased review.
If you’re a fan of the Uncanny Kingdom, this book is for you.
Joe Lakes has had amnesia for 10 years. He can’t remember who he was or what he did or if he has a family. Except for that, he’s pretty content with his humdrum life. Then he starts remembering, and just wishes things would go back to humdrum. Uncanny things start to happen, and like it or not (mostly not) he gets sucked into the Uncanny Kingdom. Joseph’s story is told first-person in a way that reminds me of Bertie Wooster as played by Hugh Laurie: confused, helpless, caught up in events without comprehending what is going on, and totally out of control of his life. There are many completely unexpected twists to the plot; there is the humorous dialog with colloquial London slang and grammar (not the Queen’s English!), outlandish characters, descriptions and similes; monsters out of H.P. Lovecraft – all the characteristics I’ve come to enjoy in M.V. Stott’s writing. Although categorized as Horror, and indeed it has all the elements of a good horror story, it didn’t leave me looking under the bed for monsters. For me, it’s a detective story written with lots of humor, featuring horrible soul-sucking monsters, life-and-soul threatening situations, a reluctant protagonist, a scary detective, a burned-out Eve Familiar, a budding romance, and more.
That was unusual. I loved it! I felt I was scrambling just to keep up with the main character. This book is a wild, crazy ride!