Customer Reviews

Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers, Book 3)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I will admit to being a bit wary of staying with the Walker Paper novels after reading Thunderbird Falls. Joanne walked into so many obvious traps and bad decisions I was ready to lock her in her room.

In Coyote Dreams, Joanne makes a comeback. No, she's not perfect, and still gets into trouble, some of it embarrassing, but she's generally thinking before jumping. More importantly, she has to face the consequences of her previously poor judgment, and takes responsibility. In short, character growth. Let me repeat that - CHARACTER GROWTH. Now that's refreshing. Bravo to the author.

Bravo also to the author for her obvious respect of men. Eye-candy cartoon cut-out gigolos are not her shtick, she gives every major male character a personality, a strength, an identity of his own, regardless of his romantic potential. Gary, a dominate character in all three books thus far, is allowed to be sexy, romantic, physically strong, solid, dependable, wonderful, even in his seventies. Morrison (her boss) can be a bit of a stick in the mud, and still have attractive depths of personal honor and integrity worth exploring. The sexy new man introduced in the first chapter of the book has common scholastic interests that attract our heroine. Thor, the mechanic who took over Joanne's garage position, adds a few words of commonsense wisdom that Joanne needs to hear. Her quirky (cross-dressing) friend and co-worker, Billy, has a depth of passion for his wife that is stunning. Coyote, in his brick red skin, becomes more than just a teacher, but a friend and protector you can love.

The storyline in Coyote Dreams has been wonderfully described in previous reviews, so I won't reiterate it. It's a terrific addition to the series, moves the plot forward, and is more than worth your time. But, for me, it's the characters that make the adventure special.

Four stars instead of five because another book is needed to finish this journey, and the ones before it need to be read to feel completely in the loop.

At least that's what one of her fellow Seattle police officers told her. Joanne Walker, aka Siobbhan Walkingstick, can't help but agree.

It's definitely getting weird when 1/4 of the police department doesn't show up for work. The officers have just gone to sleep and cannot be awakened. Physicians believe they are in a coma.

Using her shamanic powers, Joanne realizes the sleepers are being slowly drained of their life forces by some vampiric type of magic. As her investigation progresses, she realizes she's the source of the problem. She's got to move fast to save her friends and fellow officers--and eventually, the world.

C. E. Murphy has definitely hit her stride in this book. While every one of the Walker Papers novels so far has been very good, "Coyote Dreams" shows a maturity in her voice. Murphy has a wry, humorous take on life and it often shows, lightening the darker moments depicted in her novel, sparking a bit of life and hopefullness into a sometimes bleak magic-blighted world. The first 20 plus pages are some of the funniest I have ever read and well worth the occasional re-read when there's time.

"Coyote Dreams" develops Joanne's character far more than the previous novels. This story is very much Joanne's personal 'hero journey' into acceptance of her shamanic powers as well as solving the magical problem. Much of the story occurs in visions interacting with mythical creatures such as the raven, the coyote, and other American Indian legends.

The plot is well done. If you're not paying attention, you may miss the point where Joanne slips into visions and dreams--I did twice and had to re-read, but I think that is more due to the fact that I started at 10:00 PM and just finished at 5:00 AM. Yes, the story was that compelling and I almost wish I had the willpower to only read it 5 pps at a time like the character in "Succubus Blues" so I could savor the experience more. (Trust me, that really would NOT work with the first chapter or so--I don't know anyone who could do that!)

Murphy's world is definitely well realized and researched. Her depiction of Celtic and Native American legends are captivating especially in the melting pot--as so many real people have intermixed and joined cultures in their own families.

Another positive about Murphy's writing is that her books stand alone. You don't have to wait a year to find out whether Joanne solves the current problem. Of course, there are threads that will continue throughout the series, such as Joanne's relationship to Captain Morrison and her friend, Gary, her septuagenarian cabdriver and mentor. While you do not have to read the first two books, "Urban Shaman" and "Thunderbird Falls", you'd be missing out if you didn't. The whole series is very much worth reading.

The third book in the Walker Papers series by C. E. Murphy takes her half-Indian, half-Irish all-befuddled urban shaman into even deeper territory where she has no idea what to do. Somehow, she manages to muddle through, but it sure would be nice if she got some training with this shaman stuff. She can clearly fix a car. She can clearly fixate on her boss. She has a bunch of friends who are some of the strangest characters in urban fantasy-- and Murphy makes them believable. A huge transvestite detective, named Billy Holliday...what more needs to be said. Yet Holliday is a real person, and we care that he is in a coma at the start of the novel.

If you like urban fantasy, this is a different take. It isn't Elves in Seattle. I waited for it to come out, and bought it immediately. I read it with avarice, and liked it.

C. E. Murphy has a great career ahead of her, and I can't wait to read more.

Walt Boyes
Associate Editor
Jim Baen's Universe magazine
[...]

People in Seattle are falling asleep, and they're not waking up. Since there doesn't seem to be any physical or medical cause for the sleeping sickness, Joanne Walker, newly-awakened shaman, decides to investigate.

I had a tough time on the star rating for this book, because I REALLY wanted to love it, but in the end, I thought it was only okay.

I DO like the fact that Joanne is now actively training to use her powers. She's finally quit being in denial mode, and she's owning up to her responsibilities as a shaman. I'm worried, though, that the continuing theme of the past two books seems to be that Joanne makes a mistake, and the world almost goes boom. (Why is she so all-powerful that her mistakes cause such monumental disasters, anyway?) This time around, Joanne's decision making skills aren't NEARLY as bad as they were in Thunderbird Falls (where she bordered on Stupid Heroine territory), but I still figured out who the bad guys were long before she did.

My other main quibble with the book is that much of the story is spent inside Joanne's head: in trances, flashbacks, and strange, trippy dreams. I never considered myself an action junkie, but maybe I am (a little bit, at least). In the book, Joanne basically runs from home (where she'd have a dream), to the hospital (where she'd have a vision), back home (where she'd have another dream). I thought the first few dream sequences were interestingly quirky. They shed some light on the situation (and on the characters) in a roundabout way. But as the book progressed and the number of visions increased, I started getting bored, waiting for something to "happen." (And - honestly - there are only so many times a person can read about Joanne's eye gook.)

I'll probably continue with the series and see where it leads. But I admit, I'll be reading more for the characters at this point. And I DO adore the characters. Joanne is engaging and amusing, Gary's a doll, and I'm rather fond of the gruff Detective Morrison, too. I'm just hoping that Joanne will work through her past guilt, learn to control her abilities, and help solve a problem that wasn't her own making in the first place. Since she's being pushed into becoming a "real" cop, I'd like to see her learn some police skills, too. It would be nice to see her do some real detecting and not rely so much upon magic. Maybe that way she'll spend more time in the outer world, and less time in the inner one.

I really liked the first Walker Papers book (Urban Shaman): it had equal parts action, magic, mystery, and humor. And I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light, funny, fast-paced urban fantasy. Unfortunately, I think the first book in the series is the best one, and I'm still waiting for another one like it.

(3.5 Stars)

Hands down- he best thing about this series is the characters. The author does a nice job with humor and tension in their relationships. My least favorite thing? The amount of time spent in Joanne's inner world. Not much happens while she is there, at least in this book. Yes, yes I know its her method to finding out what is going on in the regular world, but its a bit like reading about the Quidditch games in Harry Potter. I skip right over most of the description- tra-la-la. If only there was another way for Joanne to figure out how to interpret the strange goings-on...oh yes- perhaps make the acquaintance of someone from her old life on the reservation or one of the many tribal groups who live in the Pacific Northwest. She has been going it alone too long. I am surprised that this has not been brought up in a story heavily focused Native American traditions. For me, the story started to stagnate, and I didn't really get worked up into a lather about the villians. And I'd like something to have been done about her adopted child already. This is why this book is not a 5 star entry for me.

I like the character, Joanne, the supporting cast, and the plot. It's interesting and the Native American mythology adds a sharp edge to the paranormal genre. That being said, I found myself skimming the parts where Joanne goes REPEATEDLY to her inner world, the upper realm, lower realm, inside out realm, over there realm, closer to here realm (you get the picture). After awhile the heavy handed spirtual whoodoo gets in the way of the story rather than supporting it. I still found it a fun read but as a fan of the series, I GET IT, she's a shaman, move on, rather than describing her inner world to death. The boredom will kill her if nothing else will.

Coyote Dreams, the third book of the Walker Papers, is a solid story with a tighter and better-paced plot than the previous book in the series, Thunderbird Falls. It's far more cohesive and I think it's the best of the first three books.

Without a doubt, C.E. Murphy's greatest strength in this series in particular is fantastic character development. I may not always like Joanne Walker (Siobhan Walkingstick) or the choices she makes, but I still LOVE her as a character. She's so delightfully human, flawed and sometimes petty, petulant, and frustrating. She's also got one of the most amusing internal monologues I've ever read and her sarcastic and biting wit drives the action of the plot. The first person narrative is a perfect vehicle for her character.

Supported by the familiar and spectacular secondary characters - her boss Captain Michael Morrison and her pseudo-paternal influence and robust septuagenarian cab diver Gary in particular - Murphy's Coyote Dreams shines brightest during the continuing development of those interpersonal relationships. And some of my favorite reading ever are any scenes between Joanne and Morrison. Murphy has been absolutely brilliant during every single step of their tense and reluctant relationship.

I believe that the three books, Urban Shaman, Thunderbird Falls, and Coyote Dreams would've been complete as a trilogy - there was satisfying arc of character development and a plot theme that came full circle. That being said, I'm thrilled that the Walker Papers has been continued, and look forward to book four, Walking Dead.

A lot of writers who have instant success (as in the publishers buy several books in a short period of one to three years) fail to retain the freshness that they had in their initially successful book. Not so with Murphy, this one has all the strengths of the first tale and moves the main character forward at a reasonable pace.

The progression of Jo's world view over the three books thus far show that the author has a vision for the series and intends to write the main character like a real person who grows and changes instead of letting them stagnate and go from one hair raising adventure to the next with no personality evolution.

Great story, its as fast paced as the first two books and manages to be very much its own book while still nesting comfortably into the series.

The worst part of reading this book is getting to the end and finding out how long we have to wait for the next one (luckily, Murphy has a new trilogy starting soon!). First person narratives are not always my favorites, but books like these are immediate exceptions. Joanne is such a flawed yet noble heroine, striving to do the right thing even if it goes against everything she has previously believed. My only complaint is that Joanne and Morrison come sooooo close, but not far enough. It just makes me want the next book more.

The third novel (one novella) in the Urban Shaman Series, is just as good as the previous. A little more mysticism in this one, but the character had to work out some internal strife, which she has and we can move on. It resolved issues left hanging from the previous book like her acceptance of her shamanism, the disappearance of Coyote and what about Morrison. Its also sets up a strong base for the next books, that I'm looking forward to.Through all that it's a good story about the "Blue Flu," people falling asleep and not awakening, which Joanne has to figure out without falling asleep herself. Altogether a great book.