Review – Walking the the Midst of Fire (Remy Chandler, Book 6) by Thomas E. Sniegoski (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Roc Trade
Release Date: August 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-0451465115
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Remy Chandler series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Remy Chandler series; I really enjoyed it. All of the books in this series so far have been solid urban fantasy reads that are very entertaining to read. I would definitely recommend starting this series at book 1, since there are a lot of characters in this book from previous books.

When a General of Heaven is slain, Heaven and Hell end up on the verge of war…with humanity stuck in the middle. It is up to Remy to figure out who really killed the General and to stop things from escalating into war before it is too late. Tied into this storyline is the story of Simeon, a man who was made immortal by Jesus and cannot die, basically a Forever Man. Understandably Simeon is a bit pissed off at Heaven and this comes into play as well.

Life is looking up for Remy, he has a girlfriend named Linda and is finally getting on with his human life. His dog, Marlowe, continues to supply witty and amusing comments throughout the book as well.

Linda is an interesting character because even though she doesn’t know about Remy’s angelic nature, she is very accepting about the strangeness in his life. She is funny, helpful, sexy, and a great match for Remy.

Remy is still struggling some with containing his angelic nature. Although he seemed more comfortable with it in this book than in previous books. He’s such a nice guy but also incredibly tough when he needs to be. The book flashes back to images in Remy’s past, in particular we learn about Remy’s past dealings with the Vatican.

As mentioned above the book jumps between present and past. In addition to Remy’s past we also learn a lot about how Simeon came to be an immortal and angry man.

There are some interesting new creature/characters added as well. Remy ends up working with a sorcerer from the Vatican who is possessed by a Larva, we see a bit of what the Larva is but more questions are raised than answered. Remy is also being hunted by the Bone Masters. Although we learn some about how the Bone Masters operate, there are still a lot of questions raised about those creatures as well.

The plot is very well done with all the different storylines coming together neatly in the end. While the question of the General’s murderer is neatly tied up, there are a number of storylines that still need to be resolved. The book is very well written and easy to read and there are lots of very well done action scenes.

The book does of course deal a lot with religious mythology, however I didn’t find it to be a preachy read at all. I am not a huge fan of religious based literature, but for this series I make an exceptions. The mythology behind Christianity is very interesting and Sniegoski does a good job of blending it with other mythology and peppering it with monsters of his own.

Overall an excellent installment in this series. The plot is well done and I continue to enjoy and engage with the characters. There are some new interesting creatures and aspects added to both the world and the story. The action scenes are well done and the book makes for an entertaining read. Fans of the Remy Chandler series should be pleased. I definitely recommend this whole series to fans of urban fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge