Returning to New Year, New writer for me- This was an impulse buy on Saturday, and I read the whole book in two sittings on Sunday (would have been one but life intervened).
Ford and Neuland are a pair of mercenaries. Except that Neuland just happens to be a Marcheur, (aka a zombie or a dodo as they’re rudely referred to in this book) and their specialty is to deal with the weird stuff. Their bag of tricks includes a lot more than guns and bullets.
After they dispatch a client rather than the mark he set them against, they understandably have to leave town when they can’t get jobs. But word has spread across the USA and they have to take whatever work they can get. In this case, it’s to remove a demon from Pale House on behalf of a cranky old millionaire- but at least the pay is going to be good.
If they survive the encounter that is.
To write a story in genre A but in the style of genre B is quite a talent to pull off successfully. This is a horror novel firmly in the style of the pulp noir crime novels of the 50s and it does both genres brilliantly.
There are plenty of occult detectives out there, but this book nails the hard-boiled style perfectly. IMHO even Jim Butcher’s Dresden files don’t quite do that. The ones I’ve read have read as if they’re about a wizard who happens to be a detective rather than a detective who happens to be a wizard if you get what I mean. There is a distinction. In this book, we definitely have your classic pair of hard cases, they just happen to be… somewhat different to usual.
The characters are great. I loved the interplay between them. The villains are suitably villainous and the monster in the house is a highly original creation.
As I said, I devoured this book in as close to one sitting as my existence would allow. It’s fast paced, exciting, occasionally laugh out loud funny, and manages to nail two genres flawlessly and simultaneously.
I’m hugely excited to learn that Kadrey has co-authored with Cassandra Khaw. That book has gone straight to the top of my To Buy List when I get paid next week. I will also be checking out the rest of Kadrey’s other work, and hoping that he’s going to return to these characters. I need more of them in my life.
This is an effortlessly entertaining and brilliant read. Also very short.
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