Review: King Henry Tapes 1. / 4.5 stars!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2012
The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady - the first book in the King Henry Tapes series by Richard Raley is the story about a geomancer named King Henry Price. Yeah, you have to love that name! I wanted to sing 'Henry the Eighth I am" right away...The story is told in first person and in 'tape sessions'. I still remember making tapes for my aunt living overseas instead of writing letters... but I guess I remember that, because I'm kinda OLD. Of course today you would video-chat with your aunt overseas or stuff like that I've never learned.There are two parallel tape sessions in the book. The first told by 14 year old Henry - the next by 20-something old Henry.King Henry is a great (anti)hero. He is short and a smart mouth. He is cursing a LOT, has a good sense of humor and (hidden under his attitude) also his heart in the right place.In the first tape session Henry tells about his life, when he was 14 and was told by Ceinwyn Dale - the recruiter of the Institution of Elements - he is 'special' and should join the Institution to learn how to use his skills. It's a lot of fun reading about little Henry cursing like an old sailor and his first time in the Institution - and no - it's absolutely not like Harry Potter - believe me. The story feels much more realistic and fun. Little perfect/douchebag Harry would meet King Henry and would be punched in the nose, I guess ;-)In the second tape session an older Henry who just finished his education at the Institute has opened an Artificer shop, when one day a Vampire baroness walks in his shop and demands his help... This story was really a LOT of fun. All grown-up Henry meets a real Vampire for the first time... and suprise! They're not sparkling!!I loved 'The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady' but I have to admit it took me a bit to get into the way King Henry told his story and get used to all the cursing. But after a while the story really sucked me in and I read until 3AM to finish it. If you want to laugh until you cry (I did!) ...I can recommend this book to all Urban Fantasy fans out there - well, to those who are not squeamish about the cursing ;-)The King Henry Tapes series1. The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady1.5 The Foul Mouth - Little King Henry - short story2. The Foul Mouth and the Cat Killing Coyotes2.5 The Foul Mouth - Conquering Hero - short story