Loading ...Blood and Bullets by James R. Tuck
Deacon Chalk has seen a lot of weird creatures during his five years as an occult bounty hunter, but the young girl vampire he finds next to his car outside of the club he owns creeps him out more than most do, especially given her similarities to his dead daughter. Making the experience even stranger, the disturbing vamp claims that she would like to hire him to protect her from the Nyteblade, someone Deacon has never heard of. When the girl begins jerking around and acting in a decidedly non-vampire-like manner, she then attacks Deacon, resulting in him having to take action and kill her. Examining the folder his visitor gave him, Deacon discovers money and notes, one of which includes an address and time. Still puzzled and curious about this Nyteblade character, Deacon decides to head to the location specified to find out more.
Finding himself in a filthy alley in a dicey part of town, Deacon meets up with a shadowy figure that inexplicably not only knows his name, but mistakenly identifies Deacon as a vampire. After Nyteblade launches himself at Deacon to knock him down but ends up on his back, Deacon sees that the man should hardly strike fear into anyone, being somewhat scrawny and grossly unprepared to fight vampires or anything else. When at least fifty vampires appear on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, Deacon realizes that he and the other man have been set up, and now must battle their way out of a situation with dismal odds. When the two manage to prevail, in part thanks to a mysterious large crucifix wielded by Nyteblade, and make it to Deacon’s car, they head back to Deacon’s club, Polecats, to regroup and attempt to get to the bottom of the mystifying situation.
An explosive beginning to the Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter series, Blood and Bullets proves to be much more than what it appears at first glance. Tuck’s voice rings clearly throughout the narrative, and as he ably demonstrates in the prequel novella, That Thing at the Zoo, his facility with description and simile add an extra layer to the tale. A wry sense of humor characterizes the author’s style and Deacon’s observations, effective due to the pitch-perfect touch with which it gets employed. Incorporating everything from iconic pop culture references and musical influences to religion, this terrific novel has something for everyone and should please all urban fantasy readers. This reviewer eagerly awaits book two, Blood and Silver, due in August 2012.
- Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Kensington (February 1, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0758271476
- ISBN-13: 978-0758271471
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Books in the Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter series in the order they should be read:
That Thing at the Zoo
Blood and Bullets
Blood and Silver
I read the novella that begins this series and I look forward to reading this book and the rest of the series. Deacon rocks!
I saw the novella but gave it a pass not knowing it was a series thing. This might appeal to my hubs. I’m going to send this his way. Thanks for the review!