He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights…
Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl “hires” him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him—and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he’s got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There’s also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon’s greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him.
My Review :
The Paranormal Urban Fantasy genre is dominated by female authors and it is always great to see a new guy on the scene. Sure the women writers manage to deliver the goods and weave some amazing stories but the guys come in with all kinds of guns blazing and don't pussyfoot around things. So when I read the blurb I had to give this one a try. Sometimes more testosterone isn't always a bad thing.
However after finishing Blood and Bullets I am left undecided on how I really felt about this book. There was the kick-ass Deacon Chalk who can fight like a pro and has enough weapons to start a small war. Although he sounds sexy and showed some emotion now and again I didn't really find myself too interested in him. He was cold and distant, all talk about fighting and killing. There was promise of more to come from him but in this first book he left me thinking he was a bit of a show off.
The book had enough paranormal coolness inside to it keep me reading till the end. The story was full of action and there was never a dull moment. On saying that though I got the feeling that sometimes the author was trying too hard and going too fast. The author also paid a lot of attention to detail where weapons and such were concerned. A nice style but totally lost on me, the person who just knows a guns shoots bullets. I found the names, descriptions etc a little boring but have to give the writer kudos for obviously doing his homework.
Dark, deep and very raw this book really didn't hold back on much. Rape is mentioned and used to make the baddies sounds even worse. There is a lot of bloody violent scenes which take up the majority of the story. This is not exactly my favourite kind of thing to read but I did enjoy it for what it was, a well written paranormal thrill of a read. It could have done with being toned down just a little at times but it definitely packed a huge punch.
So my review is quite conflicted. There were a lot of things I liked about Blood and Bullets but there were also parts I wasn't totally happy with. I can't really say if I would read the sequel but I think my curiosity may just get the better of me because I could see myself trying it. More Deacon Chalk the Occult Bounty-Hunter has some appeal to it whichever way I look it.
A mixture of Simon R. Green and Mario Acevedo this also had a hint of J.F. Lewis to it. Definitely one to try if you are looking for something more hardcore and to the point. Not the one to read if you want a story with depth and the occasional action scene.
***Blood and Bullets is due for release on the 7th of February***
1 comment:
I am prejudiced, I think: well, it is a male author,what do you expect? Of course it is all about the action and the weapons, and not about the characters.
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