Review: Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy

This Book Is About

My Thoughts On This Book

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “gee, I wish someone would write an urban supernatural fantasy combining Irish and Native American mythologies,” then you’re in luck! That is exactly what Urban Shaman is.

The main character, Joanne Walker/Siobhan Walkingstick, is a mechanic/police officer of mixed Irish and Cherokee descent. She’s cynical and not particularly spiritual. Joanne is suddenly thrust into her shamanistic heritage one night when she glances out the window of her redeye flight and sees a woman being chased into a church (yes, from the air; it ties into the plot). Convinced she has to help the woman, Joanne and the driver of the cab she catches from the airport go off in search of the lady in distress. And end up fighting the Irish god Cernunnos. And meeting a man who turns into a talking coyote. Things kind of build from there. It’s very action packed and exciting.

When I discovered this book at Mysterious Galaxies I was a bit wary, and curious, about how well someone could combine these two different cultures. It’s a tightrope, but one that C. E. Murphy walks with agility. Joanne’s spirit guide and personal mythos is Native American influenced, the plot is driven by Irish myth, and Joanne takes a mechanic’s approach to magic use. It’s an interesting and flavorful combination, if I may mix my metaphors.

The characters are really fun and pretty realistic. Murphy’s writing is good and her plot engaging. I’ve got the other two books in the series and a short story collection with an Urban Shaman short story.

Rating & Levels For This Book

I Give This Book three Vikings out of five”	Violence Level three Burning Huts out of five	Romance Level one Hearts out of five
# of actual vikings in book: 0 What do these levels mean? »	Humor Level one Smiles out of five	Lust Level one Kisses out of five

Author and Publishing Information For This Book

Author & Book Details Title: Urban Shaman Author(s): C. E. Murphy ISBN#: 0373802234 Genre(s): Urban supernatural fantasy Edition Reviewed: First edition trade paperback Illustrations: N/A Page Count: 344 Part of a Series: Yes, book 1 of the Walker Papers series

Publishing & Copyright Details Publisher(s): Luna (a Harlequin imprint) Copyright: 2005 In Print: Yes Original Language: English Published in Other Languages: Unknown Find a Local Book Store »

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One Response to “Review: Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy”

1. Urban Shaman « A Chain of Letters says:

   May 11, 2008 at 12:29 am

   [...] Reviews of Urban Shaman: More Vikings, Terminally Cute Posted in Fantasy, Fiction. Tags: books, C.E. Murphy, Urban [...]