This is one of those books in which I loved the concept more than the execution. That being said, the book is well written and did hold my interest.

My likes and dislikes are mostly wrapped up within each other, but I'll do my best to untangle my thoughts. I'll start with the characters. We have a lot of them, and they are quite entertaining, unique, and fun. At the same time, I felt the central characters, particularly Olivia, lacked development. I knew very little about her background, her family, and how or why she became a shaman.

The plot is well thought out and executed. I loved the originality of the story. The pacing, though, tends to lag, particularly in the first half of the book. Also, the world in which we're taken is never explained. While I was fascinated by this everyday place in which shamans were frequently called upon, I didn't understand anything about the dynamics between the apparent outcasts and the society in which they lived.

One problem area, for me, came with inconsistent details. For instance, early on we're told that no one truly believes in shamans. Yet we see that shamans are hated to the point of abuse being accepted and sometimes promoted. People don't trust them or want them around. They're ridiculed. This can't happen if people don't even believe in them. Then, by midway through the story, shamans are receiving a ton of national news coverage.

Other aspects of the story didn't ring true, such as the inept and indifferent attitude of the cops. At one point, Olivia is attacked and badly hurt, yet the cops barely take a statement and show no concern at all. This type of thing happens consistently with police involvement - or lack thereof. Some of this might reflect bad to society's hatred of shamans, though, again, that issue was not handled consistently or explained properly.

And, finally, the twist at the end and the character involved was an irritation for me throughout. The character's part was far too convenient and therefore really not believable. I don't want to say more because I don't want to give spoilers. I have to add, though, that despite knowing this character would play a pivotal role, I didn't know quite what that role would be and so the connection did come as a surprise.

Overall, this is a fun story offering the promise of a great series. ( )

I liked this. It's fun, shamanism and nature religions share some universals world and history wide, but they're also all unique, and this book manages to deal with that quite nicely. The magic system and world building is done very well, bearing in mind I am miss anti-exposition and I don't mind having to look up the odd word (Actually, if you just look up Kachina and Nahual, you can probably manage the rest :)
Full review @ Booklikes. ( )

I really enjoyed this book!

Not only was the pacing great, and the characters rounded and real...

But as someone who has done shamanic work, this was accurate to my experiences in many ways. (Note: I use drumming, not drugs nor tech.) While some of the details differ, the overall feel was excellently portrayed.

Mostly the plot worked well, with some interesting surprises. However, there were aspects of the Big Bad(s) that were not foreshadowed- indeed, at least one detail basically completely contradicted the eventual revelation. I cannot say more because of spoilers, but that's partly why I gave this very entertaining novel 4 instead of 5 stars.

I also found the shaman's position in society to be problematic. Are they fringe whackos? Are they a persecuted minority? Are they celebrated and wealthy? It seemed that this changed according the needs of some sub-plots, and probably as Green was feeling her way through it; having read a teaser for the next in the series, things change dramatically yet again.

Anyway, despite these quibbles- it's a very readable novel with strong characters and a fascinating premise. If you like urban fantasy but are tired of vamps and weres, check this one out! ( )

I loved this from the first page. The world of shamans is laid out in rich detail without slowing down the action. The layers of action and consequence pulled me along to the ending. Next book please. ( )

What’s a Shaman have to do to catch a break, anyway? You haul butt around, all over LA, finding lost souls (literally) and nobody gives you a lick of respect. Ugh. As if slipping on the Technogoggles and hoping around the multiverse, looking for people’s wandering souls was an easy thing to carry off!

Livvy is a Techno-Shaman, a Shaman who uses 3-D goggles combined with the technology of the “God Helmet”, which uses an electromagnetic field and shamanic symbols created with light and magnets in order to open the way into the multiverse of the middleworld – the entryway world where she meets her spirit helper, her guide through the middle and down into the Underworld, the land of the Spirits. The money isn’t all that good, but hey, it’s a living – even though you have to dodge the occasional religious fanatic or prejudiced A-hole. Only, suddenly, Techno-shamans are dieing. And Livvy isn’t sure that she won’t be next.

As more Shamans die, and the underworld becomes more and more dangerous to enter, Livvy works with S.K., the dwarf who acts as intermediary for the Los Angeles area Shamans, to gather together the Shamans in order to stop the deaths and changes in the middle and under worlds. But pulling together the secretive and isolationist Shamans into a working group is harder than one might think. And it soon appears that, even working together, it might be too late to stop the destruction of the multiverse, and possibly of all time and space.

Shaman, Healer, Heretic is a quirky sort of Urban Fantasy, set in the gritty and unhappy back alleys and hovels of Los Angeles. Seeped in multiple world views and superstitions, the author blends differing belief systems into a satisfying whole, making it one of the more creative books of it’s type that I have read recently.

I picked up my copy of M. Terry Green’s Shaman, Healer, Heretic (Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman) as a freebie on Amazon. If you are a lover of Urban Fantasy as am I, this is a book you should add to your reading list. I intend to add the next two books, Shaman, Friend, Enemy and Shaman, Sister, Sorceress to my TBR stack and try to work around to them in the near future. If the next two are as good as this one, I will be happy I did.

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