Blood and Bullets Review

Blood and Bullets (Deacon Chalk #1)

 - James R. Tuck

Publisher: Kensington

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...

This is a complete anecdote for all those fed up of Urban Fantasy love triangles and unsure heroines. Deacon Chalk is big, determined and scary as hell – he’s as alpha as you can get without growing fur and howling at the moon. His family were attacked and killed monsters five years ago and ever since Deacon has hunted down evil and destroyed it. He has his team – all with their own reasons to fight the good fight but they mostly provide support while Deacon faces these monsters on his own. This is bloody, gory and violent – and I loved every minute of it. This is more Blade than Buffy with the good guy just as scary as the bad ones, but he has a heart and is a good catholic (even down to no meat on a Friday). The cracks into his head and thoughts are intriguing and add some real depth to what could easily be a Terminator style character.

Deacon gets things done – from start to finish this novel takes place over two nights and throughout that time Deacon never stops. He powers through. The fighting is quick, intense and very exciting, while the characters interactions are a lot of fun. Yes, Deacon has a mouth on him, but he does listen to others and the way his relationship with Larson and Tiffany changes is actually nice to watch. The writing is just like Deacon – at first glance stark and intense but with hidden depth and a promise of more to come. Reading it, I found myself completely swept up and on the edge of my seat as I wanted to know what happens next.

This is real urban fantasy with testosterone and a slight noir seasoning. The world is pretty dark with vampires the big bad, and some intriguing were-animals introduced. There is a paragraph near the beginning that is hilarious in-joke if you like vampire books and may throw you a little but overall this opts for action over comedy. If you like the new Bond films then this is a great introduction to Urban Fantasy and I for one will be looking forward to the release of Blood and Silver this summer! This is like an action film that delivers exactly what it promises on the cover – dark fun!

Recommended for fans of Harry Dresden and Rob Thurman. 8.5 out of 10