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Village Books
Amazon
James Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.
Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.
But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition.
Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.
When a band of demonic hell creatures begins robbing a chain of banks owned by resident millionaire Dufaux and devastating towns full of innocent civilians in their wake, Crowley teams up with his trusty mare Timperina, nagging angel handler Shar, and dim-witted yet dependable Deputy Dale to hunt down the vile nephilim and help those in need. Along the way, he runs into old acquaintances such as the beautiful, revenge-driven Rosa and his worst enemy and murderer, Ace.
In the end, it’s up to Crowley to get to the bottom of the mystery and wreak revenge on the monsters – both hellish and human.
Despite his icy attitude, Crowley captures readers with his personal values to defend the oppressed and the defenseless. His unique ability to relive the last moments of the recently killed urges him to resist violence whenever possible, making him an empathetic renegade and, at times, more human than the real human characters.
As Crowley uncovers layers of obscured atrocities during his quest, he sympathizes with the brutality and injustice of colonization, racism, enslavement, sexual violence, and much more, elevating this feel-good read to the status of a social commentary.
Castle’s and Bruno’s strange, action-packed supernatural western leaves nothing to be desired. Steeped in witty sarcasm, the easy-to-follow prose is immersive and thrilling. Gritty, colorful, and at times deeply moving, the first installment of the fantasy-western Black Badge series envelops readers in the cowboy blues and horrors of the otherworldly.
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