Future vampires, sexy vampires, teen angst vampires.
Now there’s even Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.
The market these days is dripping in vampiric and
supernatural literature. And while I’m never one to shirk the ghosts and
goblins, especially around Halloween, I don’t really know the nitty gritty
about most things that go bump in the night.
Not to worry. Lee
Collins’ debut novel The Dead of Winter takes care of that for us.
This dark fantasy novel set in the wild west follows the
adventures of a team of “monster hunters.” What makes this band of heroes
unique is the husband-and-wife team of Cora and Ben Oglesby. She’s a boozin’,
gamblin’ lady with a hair-trigger temper. Ben does the book learnin’ and
doesn’t talk much.
The story opens in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado,
that has a problem with a pesky creature called a wendigo. After a few
harrowing encounters, Cora regroups to her priest confidant in Denver to get
the skinny of the baddie. In short order, she returns to dispose of the beastie
and collect the bounty.
I can’t gush quite enough as to how well this book holds up.
The vampires and gunslinging are all well and good, but where the light really
breaks through the clouds is the attention to character detail. Collins subtly
weaves backstory with plotlines and introduces characters whom are ripe for
exploration in further installments.
This is another offering of Angry Robot Books who even as a
smaller publisher of fantasy and science fiction excel at their craft. I’ve had
the opportunity to read half a dozen titles, and they only get better.
The Dead of Winter is scheduled for an October 30
release. Just in time to scare the socks
off you.
(Originally published in The Lock Haven Express as Books with your Barista, 10/25/12)
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