This was a really interesting read. It was well conceptualized and there are moments where the prose really shines. It's got all the things that make fantasy interesting, like zombies and fallen angles and vampires and voodoo and magic and tricksters galore! For me, the story was a bit hard to follow because every chapter is preceded by a vignette that I think is supposed to work like a wikipedia of gods, but by the end of the book I still couldn't figure out how those sections related to the chapters. That took me out of the story every chapter and made things hard to follow. Also areas where the dialogue is a bit klunky, like lots of swearing is added to show our characters are being salty, which is really unnecessary.

3.5 stars for me. I'd absolutely recommend giving this one a read if you're into New Orleans and magicky trickster things. ( )

I loved everything: the wide range of diverse and well developed characters, the sweeping use of mythology from every area and era, the settings so descriptive I could smell the chicory coffee... This book captures everything that makes our city special, adds a dash of mystery and a heaping of magic and myth, mixes in in the biggest gumbo pot ya mama got and tops it off with Tony's.

If you like murder mystery, you'll love City of Lost Fortunes.
If you like mythology references, you'll love City of Lost Fortunes.
If you love New Orleans, you'll adore City of Lost Fortunes. ( )

I've been bewitched, ensnared, ensorcelled!!

This (audio)book was an awesome, oft times (oddly enough) enjoyably confusing, wild ride. With a delicious blend of (New Orleans) Culture and Magic and a few cameos from various Mythologies and Folklores, this book was a mixed and mottled amalgamation of all things Divine and Preternatural (with a smattering of questionable paternity) and a large dose of good old fashioned Fate (and who's in control of that?). Sound confusing? It was... just a bit BUT hang in there because it is sooooo worth the price of admission.

This book was brimming with atmosphere and grit and Possibility and Chance. In part, this Urban Fantasy was a magical/mystical/crazy pants/ culturally edifying Whodunit. It was also a patchwork introduction to Vodoo and Christianity, and many other varying religious beliefs. It's also a coming of age story and a tale of Destiny and more importantly, who has their hands on the reigns in that matter... and and and... It was many many things but what it most certainly was not was boring. Every word was sheer poetry... not literal poetry but poignant nonetheless. It was not too verbose... except for Morning's dialogue but he's him so it's allowed. I was helpless, helplessly (lovingly) chained to this tale. A tale that, at its bare minimum, is a story about a boy (??) Demigod (??) Son of (??)... oh well, we'll have to move on from there because we don't know for certain those answers until WAAAAAY later in the story if at all. Well this... let's just call him (her?) Jude, this Jude resides in beautiful New Orleans after Katrina. Jude has some magical tricks and is called to a card game with some pretty interesting players. Jude is forced to play. What happens next is that the Luck God of New Orleans is killed, Jude has no recollection of what happened after he sat down and began to play and the suspect list is populated by the very eclectic group of card players in attendance that fateful evening. There is an angel, a vampire, a voodoo god (riding inside of one of his followers), and a Greek/Egyptian god. Jude knows... errr thinks... the murderer wasn't himself but if not he then who (or what) killed the Luck God of New Orleans AND what does this have to do with Jude AND does it help us figure out Jude's parentage AND will it help Jude find his place in the World? As I said, there's more to it than that but that's as succinct of a synopsis I can give without giving away too much.

Overall:
I'm a bit confused as to why this book isn't rated higher, maybe it's because it was difficult at times to suss out what was 100% going on at all times. I am that reader though that enjoys suspending my beliefs and need for control while being immersed in a read. I'm the one saying "I'll follow wherever this leads me even if I'm all sorts of lost along the way." If you need tight control... need to know things with complete certainty about the goings on in your read at all times? This book might not be for you. Don't get me wrong, you'll probably enjoy the wording and vibe but you'll be lost in the proverbial sauce. I personally was captivated and utterly unable to put this one down. The narrator was Korey Jackson and he brought this beautiful ode... homage... love letter to the devastated yet resilient and healing city of New Orleans vibrantly to Life. I can't wait to dive into and devour (or let myself be devoured by) book #2!

I highly reccomend this (audio) book!

~ Enjoy ( )

Ein Buch, das mich von der ersten Seite an vollkommen fesseln konnte!
Ich liebe nicht nur die Geschichte, die Atmosphäre und die gesamte Idee des Buches, sondern auch die Charaktere und ganz besonders die Dialoge. Es ist ein herrliches Buch, das nicht nur spannend sondern auch witzig sein kann, und das ab einen gewissen Punkt die Beschreibung abgedreht hervorragend bedient und das im positivsten Sinn. Irgendwann kam ich beim lesen einfach an die Stelle, das ich dachte, schräger geht nicht. Und dann kam da immer mehr nach, als würde mich das Buch auslachen und meinen "Ach echt?!" und es mir dabei so richtig zeigen wollen.
Wenn ich eins hierbei gelernt habe, dann, dass es immer noch abgedrehter und cooler kann, ohne dabei zu schräg zu werden, oder den Sinn, den roten Faden der Geschichte, zu verlieren. Überhaupt fand ich die gesamte Story völlig unvergleichbar, mit mir bekannten Büchern.

Ich kann hier eine klare Empfehlung aussprechen, denn mich hat das Buch begeistert und durchgehend packen können. Mal davon abgesehen, dass es tatsächlich diesen Moment gab, wo mir beim Lesen geradezu der Mund offen stand. Damit gerechnet hätte ich niemals, und auch wie es ausgehen würde, war für mich nicht vorhersehbar. Einfach cool, mit Wendungen und Überraschungen, aber auch mit Dialogen die nicht gestelzt, sondern echt und ungeschönt sind. Gibt es "derbere" Sätze? Vermutlich, wenn man da empfindlich ist bestimmt. Aber es ist so eben genau richtig. Es ist real. Echt. Und es passt vor allem wirklich gut zum Buch und den Figuren. Ich liebe es, wenn die Charaktere nicht auf den Mund gefallen sind und auch mal fluchen können, wenn ihnen danach ist.

Ein klasse Buch, welches gut zu einem Ende gebracht werden konnte, und das dennoch Lust auf mehr Abenteuer in diesem New Orleans macht. Ich kann eigentlich nicht genug davon bekommen, weil es für mich etwas besonderes oder auch neues hatte. Kann ich es richtig in Worte fassen? Nicht unbedingt. Ein Rad kann nicht neu erfunden werden, aber ich habe trotzdem das Gefühl, dass man mit 'Der Straßenmagier', etwas erfrischend neueres bekommt. ( )

Fun urban fantasy--like if Jim Butcher did American Gods. Worth a reread? Eh, maybe not on its own merit, at least for me, but I don't regret spending the time with it. Helps that it went pretty quickly, which speaks to the author's skill. May pick up the next from the library once it's available. ( )