| Title | : | Dark Divide (Cormac and Amelia Story) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 94 |
| Publication | : | First published October 10, 2019 |
They're asked to investigate a mysterious death in the Sierra Nevadas: a man died of hunger —in a cabin that was fully stocked with provisions. The kicker? The cabin is located near Donner Pass, the site of the gruesomely ill-fated Donner Party, where forty men, women, and children died of exposure and starvation. The event was made famous by reports of cannibalism among the survivors.
Is the Donner site haunted? Is some evil force rising again after a hundred fifty years to wreak destruction? Can Cormac and Amelia learn the truth without being caught in the web? Well, they can try...
Dark Divide (Cormac and Amelia Story) Reviews
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The Kitty Norville books are one of my favorite series and a big part of that is due to Cormac. He definitely changed over the series, to the better for me. His unique relationship with Amelia makes me laugh. Somehow they are the same person, yet so different. So when I heard the author was writing shorts with Cormac and Amelia I knew I'd be reading these.
With this one you can see Cormac still struggling to find his place in the world, one where Amelia figures into things. Slowly but surly he is doing that and this job helped that along. I find it interesting that Cormac has a hard time accepting money for what he does now, when that wasn't the case in the past when he was a monster hunter.
The case Cormac and Amelia work on was interesting. If you live in the US you know the "big picture" version of what happened to the Donner's and how they all died, it's taught in school as kids, or at least it was when I was a kid. But all I remember is they all died in the end, but fought hard and resorted to cannibalism to try to survive. It seems like some remnant of the Donner's is back and killing people. As Cormac and Amelia investigate they find out things are simple, but getting rid of the threat has them encountering something neither of them ever thought. You could tell the awe and fear as Cormac recounted the story to Kitty and Ben.
I can't wait to read Cormac and Amelia's next adventure! -
I have only read one short story by Carrie Vaughn. I know that she has written gazillion books, most notably
The Kitty Norville series; but I feel like it takes too much of an effort to backtrack those books and start reading 14 titles!!
Luckily, this Kitty Norville spin-off novella, featuring Cormac Bennett, a paranormal investigator, and his spirit partner, Victorian wizard Amelia Parker, is EASY TO FOLLOW without my having to read those novels first. There's enough information so I can figure out their relationship.
This story is also quite straightforward. Cormac (and Amelia) is being hired to investigate a ranger who died by starving, when his cabin is FULL of foods. The big bad villain is easy to guess, but there's still a huge twist about what's (or who's) coming after: .
There's still another novella of Cormac and Amelia after this one,
Badlands Witch, I think I'll check that one as well -
Loved visiting Cormac again and although there is another Cormac adventure next month it is not enough! I need this to be a regular thing :) Also really enjoyed that this adventure was tied into the Donner Party.
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Short, interesting little mysteries. A whiff of magic, a touch of historical fiction.
File Under: Safe as Pie -
I've read all the Kitty books, so I'm familiar with Cormac Bennett. Even if you're not, though, these short stories seem to be standalone mostly. As a Kitty fan, though, I recommend going back and starting from the beginning to get the full story.
So, that being said, we join Cormac and his... internal consciousness (?) Amelia. They are working together, which is weird, but no weirder than other things in this world. Since he's a vanilla human with hunting/detective work experience and she is a wizard with no body, they balance each other's skills out and make a good "team" of private investigators. Through word of mouth, they end up with jobs, like the one in this short book.
Donner Pass is the setting of a mysterious starving incident with a local ranger. Even with all the tools to survive, he somehow perished, leading the surviving member of his team to reach out for some "unconventional" expertise in the form of Cormac and Amelia. I have to admit that I wasn't really sure what these Cormac/Amelia stories would entail - isn't he just talking in his own head the whole time? Well, let me correct my misassumption - this book is a great, quick read that acts as a paranormal detective story with some unique elements.
The mystery itself, which not earth shattering (or world ending, like other Kitty things), was still fun. It was interesting to meet all the locals in this area, hear about the quirks and weirdness, and watch Cormac become some of what he was when we originally met him (minus the guns). He and Amelia are a team I could definitely get behind. -
An interesting and unusual magical buddy, private investigator set-up that just barely misses the mark on being a new favorite series. If the plot premise interests you try the Penric and Desdemona novella series to see it done well.
Audiobooks that are one-shot reads are a bit expensive, even with the rising cost of paperbacks.
The narrator was excellent at keeping very different character voices distinct.
The magic system was too muddled and too often handwaved and broken for plot convenience.
My problems with both books are the same so one rating for both is appropriate.
1. A series opening book needs to include, not merely reference, the actual origin story, especially when the origin story is better than the series opener.
2. If your book is a series spin-off you need to include more of the original series than a very minor mention of the main characters.
3. Poorly written villains. No excuses. Bombshell, demon prison take-over in the orgin story may have set the bar too high.
Nuff said. I enjoyed the stories but not enough to re-read, and I'm on the fence about continuing the series (2 more books as of July 2023). Still annoyed that I can't find the original story to refresh my memory. -
I don't think there is any problem reading these stories out of order.
Cormac is a former bounty hunter who has had some trouble with the law. He fights supernatural problems. Amelia is the spirit of a Victorian era wizard who shares his body.
In this story they are called in to stop some evil that had caused someone to starve to death with food all around him — in the park where the Donner Party starved to death. -
3.5 stars. This is an entertaining urban fantasy featuring Cormac Bennett, ex-con and former bounty hunter, and his wizard/ghost Amelia Parker. They're investigating the mysterious starvation death of a park ranger at Donner Pass. Ticks all the the boxes of a good story. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (Swords/Stars "book with magic") and my Hugo nominations - probably not on my ballot.
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Plot: Ex bounty hunter and ride along ghost get called into investing mysterious death by starvation in the dinner party town.
1. So THIS is what I meant when I said I wanted a Cormac and Amelia story. It's a self contained mystery with creepy happenings and where the people involved don't know Cormac from before. Yay.
2. The starved to death plotline was deliciously creepy, bad pun absolutely intended.
3. Cormac and Amelia! Working together! Interacting and arguing and covering each other's blind spots. Perfect.
4. Cormac and Amelia, kissing in their dreamscape. I don't see why that should be a thing. //disgruntled -
Fame and Glory
This is, as to be expected from Ms. Vaughn, a very well crafted story. Fast-paced drama and action. I really enjoyed this entry and can't wait to get started on the next adventure that Cormac and Amelia have. -
Dark paranormal detective story
Since acquiring Amelia as a brain-mate, Cormac has changed a lot. This is a story on the way to figuring out who he wants to be now, and who they can be together. Plus cannibalism. -
bad magic.
Corkscrew and Amelia ( his resident spirit) are starting a new business of hunting down magic. This adventure takes them to Donner pass and a meeting with Famine the 3rd horseman. Ben and Kitty make a brief appearance. -
It was a fun read because I know Cormac and Amelia from the Kitty series. If you haven't read the Kitty series, it might be kind of bland.
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Such a great story, I really enjoyed being in this world again, an interesting mystery and a great novella! Loved reading it!
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I love the interaction of Cormac and Amelia! I hope we get many many more stories about and from them!!
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Thoroughly enjoyable. Great jour
Thoroughly enjoyable. Great stories....✌🏾 -
Really enjoyed both stories and liked the narrator. I'm hoping there'll be more in the series.
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3.5 stars rounding up
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Two short stories in one! Lots of action and drama keeping me guessing whats going to happen next!
It was ok but not what i thought it was going to be! -
I love the relationship dynamics.
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Really like the team of Cormic and Amelia this is a short that shows their life as the live in the same space
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Cormac and Amelia head to the Donner Pass to investigate a strange death. People are being found starved.
Kitty, Ben, and baby Jon make an appearance at the end. -
Magic
I'm so excited to read into this world again. Cormac and Amelia are such an odd pair for characters. I love how they work together. -
Dark Divide
I love Kitty and by extension Cormac and Amelia. This story was no exception, though there wasn’t a lot of action, I still wanted to keep reading. -
3.5
