If there’s one thing Eric Carter can count on, it’s his past coming back to bite him in the ass.

Gabriela Cortez, La Bruja, has had her soul trapped… somewhere, and the only one who knows how to get it back is the Oracle of Las Vegas, a powerful artifact that Carter helped create almost thirty years before. It doesn’t just predict the future—it makes things happen, influencing events to reach the goal it wants.

Only somebody’s gone and stolen it, attempting to turn it into an artifact that doesn’t just change the future, but also the past.

Eric needs to find it and steal it back before this comes to pass. If he doesn’t, Gabriela’s soul is lost. And quite possibly the future as well.

Stephen Blackmoore’s Hate Machine is gritty and addictive in all the best ways. Like Jim Butcher and Seanan McGuire with their urban fantasy series, he’s created a distinctive and unique character with witty and memorable dialogue, then lets them loose in impossible circumstances. While Eric Carter endlessly gets stomped by events in the book, the readers get to win all around with an entertaining, wild ride that straddles the line between dark and emotional. 

Hate Machine, like the rest of the series, is infused with crazy situations, hilarious dialogue, and tension that keeps you racing toward the end of the novel. I also happen to love how we get more about Eric Carter’s past in Las Vegas and has an ending that almost breaks your heart. Just like the character, the writing just gets better and better.

If you like dark, emotional, gritty and addictive stories, this novel is for you. I highly recommend the entire series but the series is worth the read and so too is Hate Machine, the 8th book. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Rating: 5 out of 5 razorblades