Customer Reviews

The Courier

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Goblins are dangerous enough, but what if one of them could make vampiric goblins? That is a chilling reality in the Wildside world where magic reigns supreme and often secretly. The vampire goblin, Quede, comes to Lyris' attention when she investigates the murder of JFK. She can at last prove that goblins killed the president and replaced the vice president with one of their own. Bringing down Quede will force her to work with Romeo Hart, the charming half Pooka with no fear of death who is her partner.

New Orleans is exotic and dangerous in any novel, but in the Wildside, it becomes doubly so. Racing to stop a plague that could destroy humanity, Romeo and Lyris will risk their lives, and fall in love.

***** Watch out Anita Blake, the goblins are gaining ground! With every entry in this series, it becomes more fascinating and new depth is added. Characters are a unique shade of grey, not totally good or evil, in many cases. Passion and magic crackle from the pages. You will look forward to the next book, but each one stand alone so well that you are not left hanging between volumes. *****

For a brief moment there, I actually thought Ms. Jackson had seen the error of her ways and come around to a rational point of view. In the middle of this book when she let the goblin priest Lobineau tell in his own words the struggle with prejudice our kind has faced, she actually brought tears to my eyes.

Unfortunately, Ms. Jackson was soon back to her usual misrepresentations. Particularly unfortunate was her biased portrayal of that savvy and tough-minded businessman Quede. Vampire orchids, forsooth! And what if a few humans do die? They breed like flies, anyway.

Even more serious is her totally glossing over the crimes of her so-called heroine sylph--the trespass, destruction of property, and even murder.

And to justify all this Ms. Jackson trots out those tired old accusations of conspiracy, infection of your political processes, and unfair business practices. Since when is eating the competition unfair?

Oh, of course it's well written, the sex scenes are hot, and the action scenes are exciting. *YAWN* Ms. Jackson, when will you see past the superficial technique of writing and acknowledge that your books are flawed by your inherent prejudices?

Enough of this applauding brilliant Melanie Jackson! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE save a tree and a Goblin and so not support this mad woman. She is making it impossible for a self-respecting Goblin to live anywhere. First she chased my cousins out of Detroit with her "Traveler" expose. Not content to cause all the ruckus and displace Goblins by the thousands, she then turned her busybody ways into poking her nose where it does not belong - again - with "The Outsiders", shining her spotlight on Las vegas - where any self-respecting Goblin should be able to prowl without raising an eyebrow!!

Now she is at it again!!! With "The Courier" she is now trying to make everyone see me and my poor cousins are hiding in the Big Easy!! Worse, she is trying to blame the Kennedy Assassination on us poor Goblins.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!! Is it not slander enough poor kiddies are told nightly, the "goblins'll get you if you don't watch out"??? Is it not enough thousands of Goblins have been displaced by this busybody writer that cannot leave well enough alone???

Do not support this crazy women. We goblins are nice people, too!! We did not kill Kennedy - DO NOT LISTEN TO MS. Jackson and her conspiracy theories!!

GOBLINS of the WORLD UNITE and stop this slander and harassment.

Ms. Jackson, you should be ashamed of yourself for harassing harmless goblins. We did not kill Kennedy. STop this Madness!!!

Melanie Jackson gives us a third Goblin tale of the Lutine Empire, where Goblin escapees from France (figures ;-) that's where the troublemakers came from!) are slowing taking over the US. “Traveler” and “The Outsiders” took the romance/paranormal genre by storm, because it’s being so fresh and original a concept. Blending mythology with her "Wildside" alternative world, these tales are funny, breathtaking adventures, that are wickedly sexy. In “Traveler”, the Goblins were in rule of Detroit, but then, no one really missed Detroit, so the Lutine threat was not taken seriously. But then they moved in on Las Vegas in “The Outsider”, and people started to get grumpy. Only now, they have taken hold of the Big Easy. Oh, my! What will happen to Mardi; are the Crewes loaded with Goblins in drag? And what about a “Poor Boy”...are the ingredients still oysters? Will Preservation Hall still play Dixieland? Are Al Hirt and Pete Fountain really goblins?

Well, Melanie is not content with have King Quede a Goblin king rule New Orleans...this Goblin is also a vampire! Where is Peter Cushing when you need him! Worse, Half-Sylph Lyris has been given evidence to prove Quede and the Goblins were behind the Kennedy Assassination and the Lyndon Johnson was replaced with a goblin replicant, which means the Goblins had been in the White House for ages! Lyris cannot let this go, and must travel to New Orleans to beard the orchid-crazy Vampire-Goblin on his home turf.

Romeo Hart has been sent to New Orleans to suss out how bad the Goblin infestation is, and works as a stripper at a French Quarter bar, to keep an eye on the situation. Lyris team up with Romeo to lure Quede out into open and it's a sultry goblin chase all the way!

Romeo and Lyris are another pair of Melanie's vivid creations, and will keep you turning page after page, unable to put the book down.

Look for the fourth in the Goblin series come September called "STILL LIFE". Keep them coming!! They are a breath of fresh air and a loving tribute to ancient lore!

I read this series years ago and it wonderful to have it in e since it has been out of print for a while. A reporter has received information that goblins were responsible for the assassination of JFK and she has gone to New Orleans to get the real story. Her contact inside the goblin-run city is a pooka who works in a strip club. Pookas are sexy and brave and very handsome. They are also incapable of being serious.... Parts of this book were very fun but a lot of it was seriosuly creepy. Wonderful series. The first book is Traveler.

By the time I read The Courier, the third book in the "Wildside" series, I'd figured out the formula. There's a heroine who is uncomfortable with her supernatural abilities (or at least untrained). There's a hero who is a total player and unwilling to commit, and he is both comfortable and trained to use his supernatural abilities, and luckily enough, he suspects that the heroine may be his "mate" which counteracts all of his deeply ingrained sowing-his-wild-oats habits. The heroine is always wary of the hero, finding it impossible to resist him but fearing that he will simply take advantage of her and run.

And then there are the goblins. There's always a new city to destroy - and to give Jackson credit, she always re-imagines her cities - in this case New Orleans - in a creative way, and she gives a real sense of place, lots of good, evocative description of the environment. There's always a Big Baddie to defeat. And not much is left of the city by the end.

I think that "The Courier" was well-plotted; I felt like in Traveler and in Outsiders the hero & heroine had it a little too easy, but in The Courier Lyris and Roman/Romeo have to struggle for their victory and suffer pretty serious setbacks on the way to a happy ending.

I admit that I never found Roman/Romeo particularly appealing - he is very tall and very skinny - and this might have been part of the reason why I didn't totally love this book.

I read til page 65,then my brain short circuited.I thought the whole idea of goblins being responsible for President Kennedy's assassination,ridiculous beyond belief.Let the man rest in peace.Don't drag him into cheap storylines.I like folklore,but this book was definitely too weird for me.

In New Orleans on the alternate earth Wildside, courier Lyris is assigned to learn whether Goblin King Quede is also a vampire. She knows how difficult it will prove to get close enough the make the determination so she enlists the help of a half breed stripper Romeo Hart. He agrees as he sees Lyris as a perfect front to hide his cover. He is really Roman Hautecoeur, undercover trying to learn what the evil Quede is plotting.

As Lyris and Romeo work closely together, an attraction between them blossoms. However, Quede's spies know why Lyris is in town, but he also is fascinated by the lass who might wants to destroy him. However, danger can come from anywhere as Lyris learns that Quede may want to lovingly kill her and a seemingly immortal hobgoblin threatens her and Romeo but her most dangerous foe is her partner who steals her heart.

The latest Wildside fantasy romance (see TRAVELER) is a terrific tale that makes this alternate realm seems real due to the bantering relationship between the lead duo. Romeo is sort of like a mythical Hans Solo as he is amusing, tough, and sensitive (just don't remind him of the last trait). Lyris is an intrepid heroine willing to die if her death means the end of Quede's Goblin reign. The support cast brings Wildside further to life so that readers will want to visit the place where Goblins apparently killed JFK.

Harriet Klausner