Are willing to stipulate that every mythological system, ever devised by our very creative species, is both true and exists in parallel with every other one. Conrad Clarke is about to get married. Could life get any better for the Lord Guardian of the North? The Codex Defanatus is sealed away, peace has been cemented in the Lakeland Particular and as far as he knows, no one is out to get him. Time to relax... This book made me cry towards the end... and I want to know what was Lucas' intent, actually?! I can make guesses. But I don't want to guess. I want answers!

And what Mowbray (spoiler) does in regards to kingship...I am still really failing to understand the implications of it on the magical world. The only reason I have that part of the book at 2 stars instead of 1 star is that some of it was interesting, given we're now invested in (some) of these characters - but there are large portions of it that just did not need to be in the book. On their own they may have some value, but not when that's all there is for so much of the book! And there are just too many characters to fit in a book like this. Some of them are great, others not quite so much - but even if you love all of them (AND you can remember all of them), having them all in the book just bogs the story down so, so much. There was a huge influx of new characters that seemed to have no prior, or for that matter future relationship, to the series, as told so far.

Believe that a middle-aged, balding, criminal, with no particular talents other than faking his way through everything, is an attractive protagonist.

That is how Conrad Clarke's journey into the world of magic and the supernatural begins. The phantom image that had been appearing to him suddenly becomes real...and that reality is nothing that his prior life in the RAF had prepared him for. Soon he is tasked with a series of tests that will bring him new teammates, new abilities, and new responsibilities and strange new "friends" that he wasn't prepared for. And...nothing like getting thrown into the deep end as his first true mission could literally save everyone he knows and loves. There's quite a teaser at the end, so be forewarned that it's coming. It also rather apparent at the beginning of this book, with one of the primary characters brought in, there's more to to the story than is being shared at this point. Without going into further detail, and including any spoilers here, it's heavily hinted at, just as this one comes to a close. Conrad never could resist a challenge. Before you can say “Ragnarok”, he’s plunged into a world of gods, mages, witches, dwarves, and one very aggressive giant mole.I waited till I was a little less than half-way through the second book to write this review. I now have a much better sense of what type of reader will enjoy it. In short, you will most likely enjoy this book, and this series, if you: Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: I thoroughly enjoyed this and really want to reread the series just to extract every last drop of enjoyment from it.

This is the ‘additional’ review I posted for The 13th Witch – but the comments made in this review apply to all the books I have read so far in the series, so I am copy/pasting this for the rest of the books I have read. ;) Very understated 'British' writing so be warned! Dry humour, amusing characters, Britishisms, weirdly wonderful and somehow compulsive. Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. As the series goes along, more elements are woven into the larger story and things carry over between books. In general this is good, but with this book it felt like a) there were too many balls up in the air and b) the main issue of the series was parked not that long after it was identified (in previous books) as the real problem, in favour of... an interesting task, but perhaps not the most pressing one in light of the bigger issue.

Also in this book we see more of Cordelia which previous books has been pointing towards this story line. And now, here it is! The King is dead and now a new king must be elevated in his place. But, where some see it as a time of grieving and celebration, others see it as a way to change the past. Thrust into the election by circumstance rather than duty, Conrad Clarke and company soon find themselves standing between the Mages of Mowbray and the Daughters of the Goddess as the two negotiate to bring the 7 Kingdoms into the 21st century. Underneath it all, there is a great murder mystery here but Mark got so tied up in the pre-amble and scene setting that he forgot to actually write it until the last 8th of the book. It feels like more time is spent talking about flying characters around in the helicopter than actual plot points. Is it because of the toxic main character? Well, it bothers me increasingly. He surrounds himself with women, but only to prove himself as hero and to use their talents, influence and knowledge, without showing real respect. But that I could ignore and go on in the story.

It’s been a long wait since Conrad’s last adventure – catch up with all the news from Mark Hayden’s best-selling King’s Watch universe and meet old friends again. Not that Conrad has any clue about this. As far as he is concerned, getting to the church at all is going to be enough of a challenge, what with three gods insisting on wedding invitations and the mother and father of Hen and Stag parties to go first... I felt that this book wasn’t as tightly plotted as the previous ones had been. In the first chapters, when we are reading about Harry’s life, I kept thinking that I must have missed a short story, because I had no idea who this guy was, or why it was important for me to know. Eventually it all came together, but the writing just didn’t come out as smoothly as I have come to expect. In essence this is a short story that keeps us on the journey to find out who created (fathered) Raven mixed in with a whole series of character updates that are sprinkled around the wedding, a recap from the last installment, a stag party, and a few other items tied to Conrad's reinstatement into The King's Watch. Very surprised that I found myself liking this more than expected. A unique urban fantasy! I liked the characters, especially Lord Mayor of Moles, they were pretty unique. The magic system was also interesting to read about, and I liked their take on dwarves which were cool.

Publication Order of A King's Watch Story Books

And then one night, strange lights drift across the lawn, and suddenly Don is a man with a mission. A mission to be rescued, if only he can find a way to send a letter… Armed with nothing but a sense of humor and a willingness to cheat, Conrad has to find the Witch and save his life.