Audio Book Review: Esoterrorism

Esoterrorism

By:  C.T. Phipps

Publish Date:  July 4, 2015, Audiobook Release June 10, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 9 hrs 40 mins
Narrated By:  Jeffrey Kafer

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  1st in From the Secret Files of the Red Room series

First Impression:  A spy on a mission in a magic world with humor twisted in.

Synopsis:
There are no good guys in the world of shadows...but maybe some bad men are better than others.

Derek Hawthorne was born to be an agent of the Red Room. Literally. Raised in a conspiracy which has protected the world from the supernatural for centuries, he's never been anything other than a servant of their agenda. Times are changing, though, and it may not be long before their existence is exposed.

When a routine mission uncovers the latest plan of the magical terrorist, the Wazir, Derek finds himself saddled with a new partner. Who is the mysterious but deadly Shannon O'Reilly? What is her agenda? Couple this with the discovery the Red Room has a mole seeking to frame Derek for treason and you have a plot which might bring down a millennium-old organization. Can he stop the Wazir's mission to expose the supernatural? And should he?

First Sentence:
It's said roughly ninety percent of the world's peoples believe in some form of the supernatural.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:
Derek Hawthorne thinks this is a minor event with the Emerald Eye. He and his sister, Penny, are to intercept the transaction happening in the mall. But when he sees the head wizard of The Emerald Eye, Karl Bjornson or the Wazir, is meeting, things get deeper than he thought. Recovering a tube of a weaponized veil of blood, something to create flesh eating zombies out of all the people in a large radius, causing chaos and havoc among all alive and effected. Returning to the office, it's brought to his attention there is a mole in the Red Room, and Professor wants Derek to investigate the person how has access to information and to make the deadly virus. Derek's wife. Ex-wife. Believing his ex-wife couldn't be behind it all will open the door to many more troubles for the Red Room and Derek.

Jeffrey has voiced C.T.'s Supervillainy series and has become the voice for Derek and crew here too. The type of dry humor and spy work written by C.T. fits Jeffrey to the T. The personality of quick humor that Derek 'believes' and says with a straight face (yes, I can see the straight face in his voice) comes through in Jeffrey's voice. I have to smile!

Pay attention to the interaction and quick clips the characters say. This is one reason why I enjoy the audio as I get the banter back and forth in a flow of conversation. So many jokes! These are fun as the characters all blend well when the straight-faced lines are made between them, and someone always has a comeback.

Undead, magic, and spies. Heck yeah! There are so many quick clips and references to spy movies/shows, comics, even Disney movies, and so much more here! It's all blended with magic and mythical creatures of all cultures. I enjoyed seeing the blend of different cultures in supernatural beings here. Many different views and histories are behind them all, and it shows through with our characters and world here.

We get the best of two worlds here. Family and love interest. Derek Hawthorne is teamed up with his sister, Penny. I love that this is a sibling team. We don't have enough books with family teams. But the possibility of working with family here in this agency is high. When you enter the ranks, it's for life and your family joins too. Which means we get the good and bad relationships in the family here. Derek is assigned a new partner for the mission. I enjoy Shannon with him. She's the strong and crazy female balance to Derek's bold and crazy. They remind me of Riggs and Lorna in the Lethal Weapon movies at times. lol. But they are great together and always have fun banter back and forth.

Starting this book, I never thought how deep and twisted things would get. I see how Derek can see the twists when he describes them. But wow. lol.

Every word draws the world, characters, and plot as we go. So much information that grows all we know in the world. The further into the story we go, the more we realize that the House's, which the Red Room is under, are crazy! lol. They have agents spying and pinned against each other, for the House's sake to always know about other agents.

I feel C.T.'s dry humor with his characters comes through perfectly with Jeffrey's voice. I had to smile on several occasions at the quick wit that Derek throws back at everyone through the book. I do think if you enjoy Merciless in his Supervillainy series, you'll like Derek.

I know this is fiction but the closing statement by Ben I just loved and feels should be true in the world now as well.

This is the only book thus far, but there is openings to continue with Derek and all in the future. it is a spy agency that works to keep secret that magic and magical beings exists, so there is always room for more!



***If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!