Cold as Hell

Starred review from February 7, 2022
Bruno and Castle, coauthors of the Buried Goddess Saga series, kick off a new collaboration in impressive style; their fantasy western series debut blends its two genres perfectly and offers enough worldbuilding to sustain many sequels. Former outlaw and thief James Crowley has reformed his ways, but only under duress—and only now that he’s undead. He’s not entirely sure what happened: “I’m hazy on the exact details besides having been shot up, left for the worms, and brought back years later to find myself stuck on this side of eternity, serving the whims and fancies of angels.” To stay out of Hell, Crowley must serve Heaven’s White Throne as a newly minted Black Badge combating the supernatural. His latest assignment sets him on the trail of a bank robber wielding ice powers that enable the thief to freeze and crack open vaults, abilities which must have been granted by a demon. Now Crowley must race to prevent further crimes and thwart the demon’s plans. The result is a gritty romp sure to please fans of Jim Butcher and Mike Carey. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary.

March 1, 2022

James Crowley always expected he would go to Hell when he died, after running with a gunner gang. Instead, he wanders the West as a member of the Black Badge--part of a sacred group taking on otherworldly threats, serving the White Throne as his penance for his choices in life. Sent to investigate a bank robbery where the group wields ice and other powers, Crowley must deal with these outlaws, along with demons, shapeshifters, and an unforthcoming angelic guide. Not undead, yet not really alive, Crowley will face the power behind the robbers--along with the past that brought him to this purgatory. Authors Bruno ("The Circuit Saga") and Castle (The Luna Missile Crisis) bring the wide, desolate setting of the Wild West to life, filled with gunfights and gory eldritch battles, while slowly building Crowley's backstory, creating a future bigger than a dead man would ever believe he has. VERDICT A weird Western starring a taciturn lone gunman who will remind readers of Andrzej Sapkowski's Geralt of Rivia.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2022
There is one branch of fantasy fiction uncommon enough to retain some measure of novelty: supernatural stories set in the American Old West. In Cold as Hell, readers meet Crowley, a formerly dead man resurrected by angels to serve as a soldier in the ongoing war between heaven and hell. Crowley's guardian angel assigns him to track down and eliminate a demonic trio that are robbing a series of banks and killing all who get in their way. During his pursuit, Crowley encounters various demons, Yeti, werewolves, clairvoyants--and a certain Victorian English writer doing research for a book on vampires. He also encounters a mystery: since when do demons care about money? The authors strike a good balance between action and mood, moving the story along at a breathless pace. As a horror-adventure blend, there is, of course, plenty of the expected blood and gore. For those who enjoy supernatural adventures with lots of heroic action set in a novel environment, Cold as Hell delivers.

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