THE WALKER PAPERS, THE SERIES
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| Book 1: Urban Shaman [4] |
On this page, I have for you, a short synopsis of each of C.E. Murphy's books in this series, The Walker Papers. You will also find a short synopsis in the forward or introduction of the book, Shaman Rises, in the section entitled: Author's Note. C.E. Murphy has wonderfully condensed her stories down to an eminently readable synopsis of each book--far better than I have done, here, on this page. Still, I hope you find my synopsis helpful:
Urban Shaman: Joanne Walker is introduced to the life of the Shaman after she has been stabbed by Cernunnos, god of the Wild Hunt. She meets Coyote and he begins guiding her on the path of becoming a Shaman--she gets a jump start when she has to hurry to save a young woman, Suzanne Quinley, in a contest of wills between Cernunnos and his son (Herne). All of these characters we will follow throughout the entire series, so pay attention to each of them.
Urban Shaman: Joanne Walker is introduced to the life of the Shaman after she has been stabbed by Cernunnos, god of the Wild Hunt. She meets Coyote and he begins guiding her on the path of becoming a Shaman--she gets a jump start when she has to hurry to save a young woman, Suzanne Quinley, in a contest of wills between Cernunnos and his son (Herne). All of these characters we will follow throughout the entire series, so pay attention to each of them.
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| Anthology: Winter Moon: "Banshee Cries." [5] |
Winter Moon--"Banshee Cries":
Joanne's boss involves her in hunting for a ritual killer. Joanne's mother is back from the dead to help protect her while she hunts for the killing banshee. This is an anthology, with the short story, Banshee Cries; it comes chronologically after Urban Shaman.
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| Book 2: Thunderbird Falls [6] |
Thunderbird Falls: Joanne is still not facing the changes in her life and tries to ignore her new powers. Joanne makes a lot of mistakes in this book, including creating Thunderbird Falls. Other repercussions include two people who die in the complicated plot to get "The Master," to this earthly plane; also, her new friend, Gary Muldoon, is "witched" into having a heart attack. And, sadly, her spirit guide, Coyote, dies saving Joanne. A lot of important things happen in this book that we will revisit in Shaman Rises, so pay close attention, make a mind map, or take a few notes.
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| Book 3: Coyote Dreams [7] |
Coyote Dreams: Morrison gets a lot more involved in this book, when his girlfriend, Barbara Bragg, is found to be one of two avatars of a "Navajo maker god" (along with Mark, her brother). Joanne discovers Coyote is not a spirit guide, but another shaman who died to save her. C.E. Murphy explains that readers everywhere were up in arms when Jo turned down Morrison's offer of a romantic relationship, preferring her job over him.
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| Book 4:Walking Dead [8] |
Walking Dead: This is the book about "The Black Cauldron," and modern zombie apocalypse--okay, not a apocalypse, but there are a lot of them...zombies, that is. Suzanne Quinley comes back from Book 1; she saves Jo by calling for her grandfather, Cernunnos, god of the Wild Hunt--whom we also saw in Book 1. But then, Cernunnos also gets in trouble and Jo, in turn, saves him. Jo and her strange partner, Billy Holliday, manage to destroy the cauldren, but lose Billy's sister's soul (whom he has carried around with him most of his life).
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| Book 5: Demon Hunts. [9] |
Demon Hunts: In this book, the supernatural baddie is a flesh-eating windigo. Shockingly, Coyote returns alive (looking and sounding very sexy) and heads straight for Jo--much to the chagrin of her boss/admirer Morrison. Coyote makes a play for Jo, but by the end of the book, he fared no better trying to get Jo than Morrison did in Coyote Dreams. The result: he goes back to Arizona and his desert alone. The big-time savior of this book is none other than Jo's cabbie friend, Gary Muldoon.
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| Book 6: Spirit Dances [10] |
Spirit Dances: In a pivotal book of the series, Jo makes more mistakes; she accidentally changes Morrison into a wolf. Also, her partner Billy Holliday is nearly killed and Jo starts realizing she can't be both a cop and a Shaman. She is bitten by a werewolf. Then, she declares her love for Morrison and goes traipsing off to Ireland to find a cure for herself. C.E. Murphy again tells us that readers and fans of the series yelled bloody murder about that conclusion. Personally, I like that Jo is so independent and thinks for herself. At the same time she loves and is loved by people close to her. I think getting Jo to Ireland freshened up Jo's character's story and also the series.
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| Book 7: Raven Calls [11] |
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| An independent collection of Walker Paper Stories. [12] |
No Dominion: This book is an independent collection of stories. To really "get" this book, read Raven Calls, FIRST. Gary Muldoon's story shows his perspective of what happens during Raven Calls (while he was away from Joanne). Though relatively short, it is a book you have to read if you have become a fan of the Walker Papers.
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| Book 8: Mountain Echoes by C.E. Murphy. [13] |
In Mountain Echoes, C.E. Murphy cleverly crafts book 8 of the series to set it all up for the final installment of the series, The Walker Papers, by bringing themes, characters, and action closer to the conclusion of the highly anticipated final book. Joanne had clashed with The Master (her arch nemesis), but it had cost her dearly. In this book her father has gone missing and so, she returns to North Carolina to search for him, and shockingly, meets a son she had birthed and left behind so many years ago. Complications involving dark magic come to the fore of this novel, involving Joanne and even her son, Aidan. The only question is, will she be able to turn back time and put things right? And then, of course, there's the huge cliff hanger when Gary calls Jo to tell her that his wife, Annie, is alive. WHAT?
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| Book 9: Shaman Rises [14] |
And the final installment of this amazing series: Shaman Rises. See the blog post for this synopsis and discussion; to view the blog post review of Shaman Rises, click on this link.
REFERENCES
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[1] "Shaman Rises: The Walker Papers." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29.14.
[2] "Collector Car Price Tracker." collectorcarpricetracker.com. Retrieved 05-29.14.
[3] "Mountain Echoes: The Walker Papers." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[4] "Urban Shaman." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[5] "Winter Moon: "Banshee Cries." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[6] "Thunderbird Falls." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[7] "Coyote Dreams." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[8] "Walking Dead." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[9] "Demon Hunts." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[10] "Spirit Dances." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-29-14.
[11] "Raven Calls." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-30-14.
[12] "No Dominion." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-30-14.
[13] "Mountain Echoes." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-30-14.
[14] "Shaman Rises." amazon.com. Retrieved 05-30-14.
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