“Hey, wait a sec. This isn’t a comic review! And where’s the curvy redhead?! She’s the only reason we read your slop, anyway!”
Yes, I’m sure these are the exact words coming out of your mouth at this moment. And to be honest, they’re all true. But for this review, I’m going solo. For this review, I’m talking about CITY OF THE LOST, by Stephen Blackmoore.
Through his postings on the social media site Twitter, as well as his own blog, L.A. NOIR, I was already fairly familiar with Mr. Blackmoore. So to say I was looking forward to his debut novel is a bit of an understatement. Bleak urban setting? Anti-hero out for revenge on those how’ve done him wrong? A healthy (and unexpected) dose of the super-natural? Mr. Blackmoore takes these relatively standard ingredients and mixes up something special.
Our “hero” is a mob thug who goes by the name Joe Sunday. Through no fault of his own, Sunday gets tangled up in events beyond his control, and before he realizes what’s going on, he’s killed by the bad (badder?) guys. And that’s when the action REALLY starts. As Joe tries to put together the events that lead to his untimely demise, he must wrestle not only with an ever-emerging super-natural population, but also his ever-increasing… hunger.
This is not a romantic story. There are vampires here, but they don’t glitter. This is a story about a pissed off leg-breaker who is literally chewing up the bastards who killed him.
That’s right. Our “hero” is a zombie. Without giving away much more of the story, let’s just say it’s not too difficult to imagine what becomes of those that don’t cooperate with Joe’s search for answers. With a zombie thug as our protagonist, the story tends to lean a bit to the gruesome side. But with Mr. Blackmoore firmly in control of the story, you really find yourself rooting for Joe as he fights the badder guys, and searches for the answers to his new (un)life.
You can follow Stephen Blackmoore on twitter at: @sblackmoore or read his blog at la-noir.blogspot.com
Dan Malmon