Storm Cursed

In book #11 of the Mercy Thompson series, Mercy, Adam, and the pack are on their own since being officially separated from the Marrok and the North American Werewolves. They have become essentially the knight protectors of the Tri Cities territory. When zombie farm animals start showing up and something catastrophic happens to an ally, Mercy and Adam realize a new kind of war is coming. One little coyote and the strong Columbia Basin Pack have much to do to thwart a group who does not want them to treat with the Grey Lords or facilitate the Fae and the US government coming to dtente. This new to them enemy has considerable power and magic of a kind that is an anathema to all but the most evil of creatures.

With a high body count, this story has a darker tone than some of the previous books in the series and less of Mercys cheeky humor. Her relationship with Adam continues to strengthen even though much more strain and demands have been put on them since her declaration on that bridge to protect all the citizens of their territory, be they human or supernaturals. Fans of Stefan will be happy to see him helping Mercy; their relationship continues to be complicated because of the blood bond connection. The story focuses mainly on witches: white, grey, and black including how they produce their magic and gain power. As Adam and his workforce spend copious amounts of their time dealing with politics and politicians, Mercy takes the lead in figuring out where and who their problems are coming from with the help of Zee and his son, Tad, both of whom are also working in her newly reopened garage.

This far into the series, many relationships, friend and foe have been established and so with a new paradigm set for Mercys pack, those bonds become very important and the enemies more deadly. Mercys father Coyote is around but whether he is a help or hindrance always remains a big question. Readers will be glad more is revealed about the enigmatic Sherwood Post who has some surprising hidden talents. And the very creepy and powerful Wulfe comes out to play as well so there is a plenty of drama. As always, Mercys big heart and penchant for trouble provides readers a lot of action, adventure, and emotional turmoil to experience whether good, bad, or just plain scary, this book will take everyone on quite a journey.

This was very good. But it can’t be fully appreciated without reading both the Mercy series and the Alpha and Omega series books that precede it. I found this book to be very intense but it had a smooth flow that held my attention. I read it in one sitting. We still have more to learn of Sherwood Post but he is really interesting in this book and there are other surprises and foreshadowing that make me anticipate the next book very much. But I need some time to process this one because the level of evil portrayed here was very painful to read. Still, there were also great lighter moments of love and humor to keep the darkness from being too much to bear.

I have been a fan of this series since book 1 and some have been better than others but this was another homerun in the series. Things from more than 1 book are pulled in and resolved or hints of things we still don’t know about are added to some characters, this series is a moving puzzle where each book resolves something and fits a few more pieces into a huge puzzle that runs through this series.

Death witches, politics, vampires, fae and a few other “things” are all involved in this one and you will love it and I can see future threads for future novels, glad to see Patricia Briggs back into exceptional form.

So without trying to write a novel or spoil any of the MANY surprises in this story I will just say if you have enjoyed ANY book in this series, you will love this one and as usual it is a great ending and a few threads thrown around to work into another story next year. 5 Stars and as always exceptional literary entertainment.

“Storm Cursed” is the 11th book in the Mercy Thompson series (not counting the “Alpha and Omega” series which is also connected, and consists of one novella and five full-length novels that even further flesh-out the world; there is also “Shifting Shadows,” a collection of short stories in the same universe). So by this point, Patricia Briggs has a lot of existing plot threads and established worldbuilding to work with when crafting a new entry in her series. While episodic for the most part, this series has always had this interesting aspect where each story builds and develops on some substantial chunk of what went on before, and “Storm Cursed” leans heavier than most of the previous entries on this strength.

Without going into spoilers, I’ll say that I was very grateful that I had the urge to read all ten of the previous books while waiting for this one’s release: a lot of what goes on in “Storm Cursed” provides texture and payoff to details both large and small from Mercy’s previous adventures, and prominent roles for a few characters who were only small-time support players before this or else built up with no prior payoff.

So, read the rest of the series before “Storm Cursed” or you’ll miss out on a lot of that. Even setting that aside, this book is a fun time and a masterclass in the Mercy series’ method of going from snarky lighthearted fun to grim darkness at the drop of a pin, opening on the uneasy alliance with Larry the goblin king and the mysterious, sudden appearance of “miniature zombie goats” (the “miniature” part is important, because “zombie goats” just sound Satanic) before deep-diving into the macabre world of the blackest black magic and the worst of witchcraft–making this the first book in the main Mercy Thompson series to turn its attention fully toward witch antagonists (a thing that has hitherto been more prominent in Alpha and Omega). In typical Mercy fashion, however, this crisis brings the werewolves, fae, vampires, and humans together in interesting ways, and the story never quite unfolds in the exact direction either the reader or the characters themselves are expecting. I didn’t quite expect it to be as emotional a story for Adam and Mercy as it ended up being, either… once more proving that Patricia Briggs is far better at writing an already-committed romantic relationship than she is the admittedly kind of hackneyed love triangle nonsense that was being played up in the first couple Mercy Thompson books. You’d think knowing that Mercy and Adam–or Anna and Charles–are basically an unbreakable item would dampen the passion of reading about them, but nope. Still going strong. (Resist the nudge.)

In terms of print quality for the hardcover edition, it’s as solid a book as you could expect, although in my case I did encounter one page with semi-faded-looking ink, so print errors are a distinct possibility here. A small annoyance in an otherwise fantastic reading marathon, and not nearly as important as the story itself. Excellent work, Briggs.

A side-note about some reviews decrying “leftist” propaganda in the Mercy Thompson books:

Of all the “feminist” girl-power heroine stories I’ve read, Patricia Briggs writes what are probably the most politically balanced. Racists are present and acknowledged, but usually offset by rational people working in the same space; sexism is alive and well in these stories but dealt with in balanced ways that neither minimize nor villainize the men who are masculine in heroic and admirable ways; and if you see anyone telling you that the story is all pro-Democrat or anti-NRA or any of that rot, you are being point-blank lied to. Mercy herself is a gun owner; references to Democrats and Republicans throughout the series seem highly critical of both (there’s even a mention in an earlier book of Democrats wanting to hand out scholarships to fae in order to–I may be slightly mis-quoting, but only slightly–“show how enlightened they are”) and one of the major characters in this novel in particular is a Republican senator who is not exactly in love with the supernatural community but is also not halfway stupid enough to support any political direction likely to result in conflict between humans and supernaturals, resulting in a genuinely interesting beginning to an alliance between him and the Columbia Basin Pack in this story. And I don’t really remember anything substantial about the NRA, but… Mercy is a gun-owner who keeps guns at home, at work, and often in a concealed carry holster on her person, so… yeah.

And if you’re worried about Mercy being an overly perfect power fantasy for the feminist left, rest assured: she’s just about the realest female protag I’ve ever read in any story ever, with all the strengths and character defects that implies. It makes her relationship with both the male and female cast very interesting, especially when she gets past her often-wrong first impressions of people and her relationships get turned on their heads–characters she initially dislikes or who initially dislike her turn out to be her closest friends and supporters as the story moves forward, and characters she initially liked end up in fairly adversarial relationships with her when their true colors come out. It’s that kind of story. Mercy’s perception of people and things is never perfect and Briggs is a master at using that to provide substance to her supporting cast.

If you’re the type to believe kneejerk reviews decrying a book for daring to try “brainwashing” its likely very adult audience with politics the reviewer doesn’t agree with, this is one where you want to read it yourself and make your own decisions.

In a nutshell I felt that this particular book had no great depth, nothing in particular to hold me or grip me, unlike some other books in the Mercy Thompson series, I could pick this up and put it down without bother (i.e. I didn’t want to keep reading it until I finished). The most interesting thing in the entire book was the revelation about Wulfe’s witchcraft – no spoilers! I also thought the flow of the book was awkward, and unsatisfying.

Other than that, I felt the book was bland, and never really got going. It was also short, or at least it felt that way.
Hopefully Ms. Briggs will be back to form soon, either in this series or her Alpha & Omega series set in the same world. All in all, not worth the GBP12.99 I paid for it, and I have never said that about a Mercy Thompson book before.

Has this series run its course? If the next book isn’t any better, then I’ll have to say “probably, yes”, which would be sad, as I’ve loved this series dearly.

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