REAPER
WRITTEN BY JOHN G HARTNESS
REVIEW WRITTEN BY JOE COMPTON
10TH BOOK IN QUINCY HARKER DEMON HUNTER SERIES
RELEASED: AUGUST 14TH, 2025
PUBLISHER: FALSTAFF BOOKS
LENGTH: 262 PAGES
GENRE: URBAN FANTASY
RELEASED: AUGUST 14TH, 2025
PUBLISHER: FALSTAFF BOOKS
LENGTH: 262 PAGES
GENRE: URBAN FANTASY
Let me just start by saying I love the way John Hartness writes. There's something about his cadences in dialogue and in action that just really speaks to me, and maybe on a level no other author can. There is the obvious rooted Southern boy charms, Southern love of cryptids, and other things you can only get in the South, or as they might put it, the only right place to get them. However, a lot of what he writes is so clever and so concise, and I have read other ventures of his, and you can tell this is an author who has a clear voice and captures it in any setting or story he puts his characters in. I love the way in which he engages the reader and makes the reader think, and doesn't sugarcoat it for us. Of course, I like his snark and gift for gab too. It makes Quincy likable to an extent, especially in moments we shouldn't. I also love how these interactions and his actions are perceived by those around him. There is a great blend of a cast of characters in Hartness novels, but never more so apparent than when he dons the Harker pencil.
It is very obvious this is his baby, and he treats it differently than anything else he might indulge in or anyone else he might create. This universe is really well managed and really well fleshed out. I have always come away from reading the Harker novels/novellas/shorts I have read (to be fair its about half of what exists out there) and felt taken care of, like a member of the club I never would have ever signed on to be a member of, honestly.
It is very obvious this is his baby, and he treats it differently than anything else he might indulge in or anyone else he might create. This universe is really well managed and really well fleshed out. I have always come away from reading the Harker novels/novellas/shorts I have read (to be fair its about half of what exists out there) and felt taken care of, like a member of the club I never would have ever signed on to be a member of, honestly.
Maybe that's, on my part, where complacency can play a factor in how I read these stories. Which was becoming apparent to me about in a little over halfway through this one. Not that it wasnt an enjoyable read, but I almost felt like Quincy was on a vacation of sorts. The first ones I read in this series really challenged Quincy, put him through Hell and Back. The last few have been feeling and reading more like fan service. Again, not that that's a bad thing, but I remember thinking how much more shit can this being go through? I never worried about him here. Especially through most of the 1st and 2nd acts.
BUT....then it all changed for me.
BUT....then it all changed for me.
Something happened in the 3rd act that we had never gotten in a Harker book before, and there was a unique tonal shift that I think was absolutely gorgeous and, for this reader, so very welcoming to the experience. I won't spoil it further than that, but if you don't come out of this read and think to yourself the amount of love there is in these books, really truly, and what these characters give to each other, well then, I am sorry you missed it.
There were degrees of comparison here that I think I can make. Like I love the Fight Club references and the Thor: Ragnarok-esque feel of said fight club, I enjoyed the crime subplot that had an interesting twist. I love the continuing relationship, and the reveals that come from that, even in jest. All of that is well written enough but its the Ted Lasso-esque 3rd Act that I think, not only surprised me, but made me think I want more Harker in this vein. Now, whether we get it or not is not my choice. This could be a one-time runoff, and if it is, I will cherish it for what it is, but honestly, it saved this book from being just good to making it really good.
There were degrees of comparison here that I think I can make. Like I love the Fight Club references and the Thor: Ragnarok-esque feel of said fight club, I enjoyed the crime subplot that had an interesting twist. I love the continuing relationship, and the reveals that come from that, even in jest. All of that is well written enough but its the Ted Lasso-esque 3rd Act that I think, not only surprised me, but made me think I want more Harker in this vein. Now, whether we get it or not is not my choice. This could be a one-time runoff, and if it is, I will cherish it for what it is, but honestly, it saved this book from being just good to making it really good.
This also has a running joke or gag, that I think, because the 3rd act pays off in a way I never expected it too, works well. The joke being the title, but that's not the payoff; it is what it means in the end for Quincy that is truest currency from its silliness.
It felt like, for a good 150 pages, we were in the spin cycle of the last drying towels in the Quincy Harker wardrobe, but then a little fabric softener got added in, and you felt okay to let it spin for another 100 pages or so after that. I am hopeful we see new towels on the Demon Hunter shelf soon.
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