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Dead Things (Eric Carter -1) by Stephen Blackmoore

Dead Things (Eric Carter #1) by Stephen Blackmoore—Art by Chris McGrath

Eric Carter series aka City of the Lost — by Stephen Blackmoore.  This series is comanion to and sequel to the City of the Lost (Stand Alone).


NEW Release: Hungry Ghosts #3 — Expected 2016 by DAW ~ Delayed

An Update On Hungry Ghosts « stephenblackmoore.com


Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Horror edge

Series Description or Overview[]

NOTE: This series is listed as City of the Lost series at Fantastic Fiction and list all three books in the series. At Goodreads, it is entitled Eric Carter series and only lists books #2 and #3 in the series. City of the Lost features a different protagonist: Joe Sunday, from the Eric Carter series. At other sites, City of the Lost is listed as a Stand Alone, so a seperate page will be made for that book alone. The author's site does not clear this up. 

Eric Carter series: (BLURB) Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it's a title Eric Carter is stuck with. He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He's turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course. When he left LA fifteen years ago, he thought he'd never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him. But now his sister's been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why. Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it's the patrion saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who's taken an unusually keen interest in him. Carter's going to find out who did it, and he's going to make them pay. As long as they don't kill him first. ~ Goodreads | Dead Things (Eric Carter #1)

Lead's Species[]

  • Necromancer, ghost seer, supe-assassin

Primary Supe[]

  • Mages, ghosts, zombies

What Sets it Apart[]

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • First person narrative told by Eric Carter, protagonist. 

Books in Series[]

Eric Carter series:

  1. Dead Things (Feb 2013) ~  Excerpt
  2. Broken Souls (Aug 15, 2014) ~ BROKEN SOULS
  3. Hungry Ghosts (Feb 07, 2017)
  4. Fire Season (Apr 16, 2019)
  5. Ghost Money (Expected release Apr 28, 2020)

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

~Free Fiction from Author: Free Fiction « stephenblackmoore.com

Companion Series or Books—Prequels, Sequels or Spinoffs[]

Other Books by Author onsite[]

Themes[]

World Building[]

Setting[]

Los Angeles

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Necromancers, mages, spirits, voodoo loas, zombies, ghosts, magic tattoos, mage mob boss, fire elemental, Haunts,

Glossary:[]

  • Ghosts: Those who are earth-bound have died a traumatic death—all of them are hungry for the life-force of humans
    • Haunts: are tethered to their place of death
    • Wanderers: can move from place to place
  • Eric's Tattoos: much of his magic in the form of full-body tattoos—Symbols in dead languages to help ward off threats and help him focus his magic

Groups & Organizations:[]

World[]

✥ In this dark and gritty alternate version of Los Angeles, mages, spirits, and voodoo loas intermingle with the unknowing human populace. The hero is Eric Carter, a necromancer who attracts ghosts: "Ghosts come to me like moths to a flame. I can see them and they can see me. They hover like groupies....If I really wanted to get rid of the ghosts I'd nail a dead cat to the windows, but that's always struck me as a bit extreme." (p. 12) Eric calls up various ghosts—including eye witnesses and even murder victims—to ask them pertinent questions about the crimes he investigates. In this world, ghosts who are earth-bound have died a traumatic death. Some are Wanderers, who can move from place to place, and some are Haunts, who, but all of them are hungry for the life-force of humans. Eric has spent much of his life bringing justice to the dead: "When they're dead and there's no one to speak for them, no one to collect on the debt their killers owe: that's where I come in. The Dead have already paid for their sins. The living, not so much." (p. 211)

Protagonist[]

Eric Carter carries much of his magic in the form of full-body tattoos: "I'm tattooed over most of my body. Neck to wrists to ankles. Wards and sigils. Symbols in dead languages to help ward off threat, divert attention, help me focus my magic." (p. 13)

Eric fled from L.A. fifteen years ago after killing Jean Boudreau, the powerful mage mob boss who sent a fire elemental to murder his parents. After Eric got his revenge on Boudreau, the mob gave him a simple choice: either leave L.A. for good, or be responsible for the deaths of himself and his sister, Lucy. Eric chose to leave his sister behind (in promised safety) and to make a new life for himself—far away from L.A. Since then, he has developed stronger and stronger magical powers and has become an assassin for hire in the supernatural world. Even though he limits his killing to bad humans and evil supernaturals, his death-filled life has taken a toll on his soul. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Stephen Blackmoore: "Dead Things"

Sidekick[]

  • Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Eric Carter necromancer, assassin for hire attracts ghosts; carries much of his magic in the form of full-body tattoos;
Lucy sister mob threatened her life if Eric didn't leave LA; now she is murdered;
Jean Boudreau mage mob boss Eric killed him after he sent a fire elemental to murder his parents

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Stephen Blackmoore

Stephen Blackmoore

Author[]

Stephen Blackmoore

Bio: Stephen Blackmoore is an author and a blogger. His first novel is City of the Lost, a paranormal noir with zombies, demons, witches, and a lot of action. ~ Penguin

✤ Stephen Blackmoore is a pulp writer of little to no renown who once thought lighting things on fire was one of the best things a kid could do with his time. Until he discovered that eyebrows don't grow back very quickly.

His first novel, a dark urban fantasy titled CITY OF THE LOST is out through DAW Books and is available at all the fashionable bookstores. Hopefully some of the seedier ones, too. He would, after all, like to buy a copy.

His short stories and poetry have appeared in magazines like Plots With Guns, Needle, Spinetingler, and Thrilling Detective, as well as the anthologies UNCAGE ME and DEADLY TREATS. ~ FF ~ Stephen Blackmoore and Goodreads

Cover Artist[]

Awards[]

Publishing Information[]

Book Cover Blurbs[]

BOOK ONE—Dead Things (2013): Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it's a title Eric Carter is stuck with. He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He's turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course. When he left LA fifteen years ago, he thought he'd never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him. But now his sister's been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why. Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it's the patrion saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who's taken an unusually keen interest in him. Carter's going to find out who did it, and he's going to make them pay. As long as they don't kill him first. ~ Goodreads | Dead Things (Eric Carter #1)

BOOK TWO—Broken Souls (2014): When necromancer Eric Carter returned to Los Angeles after fifteen years on the run he knew things were bad, but he never imagined how bad they could get. Sister murdered, best friend dead, married to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte. And things are just getting worse. His link to the Aztec death goddess is changing his powers, changing him, and he’s not sure how far it will go. He’s starting to question his own sanity, wonder if he’s losing his mind. No mean feat for a guy who talks to the dead on a regular basis. While searching for a way to break Santa Muerte’s hold over him, Carter finds himself the target of a psychopath who can steal anyone’s form, powers and memories. Identity theft is one thing, but the guy does it by killing his victims and wearing their skins like a suit. He can be anyone. He can be anywhere. Now Carter has to change the game, go from hunted to hunter. All he has for help is a Skid Row Bruja and a ghost who’s either his dead friend Alex or Carter’s own guilt-fueled psychotic break. If things go right, he just might survive a week where everything is trying to kill him and nothing is as it seems. ~ Goodreads | Broken Souls (Eric Carter, #2) by Stephen Blackmoore

BOOK THREE—Hungry Ghosts (June 2nd 2015):  ~ Goodreads | Hungry Ghosts (Eric Carter, #3) by Stephen Blackmoore

First Sentences[]

  • 0. City of the Lost (2012) — I toss my jacket on the bar, slide onto the red vinyl stool next to Julio.

Eric Carter series:

  1. Dead Things (2013) — When I pull up to the bar, the truck kicking up dust and gravel behind me, I know it’s already too late to help anyone.
  2. Broken Souls (2014) — There are a lot of ghosts in Los Angeles. Haunts stare out from the doorways they died in, Wanderers blindly mingle with street hustlers, neither knowing of the other’s presence.
  3. Hungry Ghosts (June 2nd 2015) —

Quotes[]

Read Alikes[]

Trivia & Notes[]

~ ranked # on Goodreads | Best Urban Fantasy Series (181 series)

See Also[]

Category links at bottom of page

External References[]

Books:

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World, Characters, etc:

Summaries, Articles:

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Author:

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Gallery of Book Covers[]

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