Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)

Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1 Mercy Thompson (1)

by Patricia Briggs

Paperback, 304 pages

English language

Published Jan. 31, 2006 by Ace.

ISBN:: 978-0-441-01381-4

(47 reviews)

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire.

This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

1 edition

Books That Burn reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Mercy is half Native American, and a walker, she transforms into a coyote and was partly raised by a werewolf pack. This puts her in an odd position relative to the werewolves, as she’s somewhat entangled in their hierarchy but isn’t trying to be part of it.

As the first book in the series, MOON CALLED establishes the presence of various supernatural factions such as werewolves, vampires, witches, fey, and Native American people like Mercy. It focuses on the current precarious position in which the werewolves find themselves; many of the lesser fae came out in a controlled manner several years ago, but the werewolves are an open secret in military circles. This sets up those groups and some of the relationships between them, including between Adam’s pack and the Marrok’s pack in the mountains. It also establishes Mercy’s history with Sam and her current position relative to Adam (living nearby and taking joy in simple pleasures, like annoying him with the car in her yard).

The plot revolves around a strange werewolf who shows up in town and then is attacked in Mercy’s presence, setting off a string of conflicts which involve kidnappings and an elaborate plan. It has some twists and turns but is pretty easy to follow. The meeting with the vampires has always felt a bit out of place in this story, but it’s serving to set up some things that’ll come into play later on. It’s a solid story with a lot of ground to cover, and it does it well. MOON CALLED is a great start to the series.

halkeye reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

It was okay. I loved the native mythos and world building. And the main character was pretty cool.

I'm kinda disappointed by the ending. A lot of cool foreshadowing was kinda abandoned for a very confusing ending.
I also wasn't really a fan of the writing style. Things kept getting repeated.

It was a nice short read though. I wouldn't tell people to skip it or anything.

ginkgo reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Much better than expected. Fun and solid writing, basically the Dresden Files with a kickass woman hero.

fiainros reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

At first read, this seems like a mash-up of Laurell K. Hamilton's two series Anita and Merry, only better written and a more likable protagonist.

This is a very fast read. I read it in a weekend. It is candyfloss, but great when you've had as stressful and crazy busy months as I've had for a couple. I look forward to reading other Mercy Thompson books.

Mark Philpot reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Finally! A quality, down-to-earth and strong female protagonist. Mercedes (Mercy) is very likable and rational, which are qualities that don't seem to be possessed by female protagonists in this genre.

The book is a little too short (fast readers should be able to finish it in a day). Briggs has established a world with a solid mythos -- paranormal creatures (fae, etc) are slowly coming out of hiding due to advances in human technology (particularly forensics). The "cute" or harmless ones are out in the open, but dangerous or powerful fae (werewolves, vampires, etc) are still in hiding, for now.

The plot arc is handled well, though seems slightly contrived once all the pieces are put together. This is why (for me) it didn't merit a 4 star rating. It was good enough that I'll definitely pick up the second in the series.

betty reviewed Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson (1))

Review of 'Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I keep on saying with [author: Patricia Briggs] that she shows promise, but has yet to realize and, and in this one I feel she's closer to that than ever. The characters are such that you'll forget they aren't real, which is the bright line for me between 'passable' and 'good' writing.

Yet another girl-and-a-gun against-the-unseen-world book, Mercedes Thompson's mother had a one night stand with a rodeo rider with a coyote belt-buckle, and nine months later, she figured out he might have had some secrets when her infant daughter turned into a coyote in the crib.

A werewolf story where the protagonist is a coyote is new. She's a were-coyote, of course, or a skinwalker, as she calls herself. Her transformation isn't like the wolves', but she's never met another being like her, so she considers them the nearest thing to an extended family. It probably helps that she was raised by one when her mother decided she was unequal to a daughter who was occasionally a coyote.

I like that Mercy is a coyote, and not a wolf. It's easy to romanticize wolves, but this is what a coyote looks like: intelligent, yes, but not precisely noble. Unlike some supernatural-girl-power books, Mercy doesn't talk about how tough she is, she sees herself as good at not being noticed and good at avoiding conflict.

I am a little bit concerned that this book appears to be setting itself up for the 'woe is me, many sexy men are attracted to me, how shall I live!?' conflict, based on some of the men introduced in this book, but I'm definitely interested in getting my hands on the next one.

A note on the cover: it's horrible. I have this image of some production meeting-

Boss: "What's this lady, Indian? How are we supposed to tell? Give her some kinda indian-y tattoo, or earrings or something. And sexy her up, I can't even tell if she's a girl or a teen boy in those coveralls."

Editor: "But now it looks like a book about a truck-stop waitress, not a gothic tale of supernatural!"

Boss: "Put some wrought iron on it. Nothing goths up a cover like wrought iron. Oh, and can we have a couple more kinds of fonts on the cover? It looks too plain."

With regards to her Native American father, I'm not sure how well it's handled. Mercy was, literally, raised by wolves, so she's not been introduced to any aspect of Native American society or culture, and doesn't seem to feel a need to investigate it. Her life is pretty full already, so I guess that's fair.