James R. Tuck

The Publisher Says: Charlie Tristan Moore isn’t a hero. She’s a survivor. Already wrestling with the demons of her past, she finds herself tested as never before when she arrives home one night to find herself under attack by three monstrous skinhounds straight out of a nightmare. Just as hope seems lost, she is saved by a sinister Man in Black, dressed in a long, dark coat that seems to possess a life of its own and wielding a black-bladed sword in his grisly red right hand.

But her show more rescue comes at a cost. The Man in Black, a diabolical Elder God, demands she become his Acolyte and embrace a dark magick she never knew she possessed. To ensure her obedience, he takes her friend and possible love, Daniel, in thrall as a hostage. Now she must join The Man in Black in his crusade to track down and destroy his fellow Elder Gods, supposedly to save humanity from being devoured for all eternity.

But is The Man in Black truly the lesser of two evils–or a menace far more treacherous than the eldritch horrors she’s battling in his name?

Red Right Hand is the first book in the fantastically creepy Mythos War series by Levi Black.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Nyarlathotep! The Crawling Chaos!! I am so so sold on this read. People using ol' H.P.'s stuff in ways that'd probably make him scowl and whine? Bonus points! And Charlie Tristan Moore is someone who would make ol' H.P.'s hackles rise. A woman, a mutt, a person without a pedigree? *gasp* Bring it, say I, and fling it on his grave.

So in this trilogy-starting story, Charlie (our narrator) meets with some really scary, very weird...dog-things...inside her front door as she stumbles in drunk from a binge trying to drink a boy she liked off her mind. The action, in other words, is reported in first person and starts from the get-go, never slacks, and keeps getting higher and higher stakes riveted to it.

What works best about this is that Charlie (Charlotte, really) Tristan Moore's learning what the ruddy hell's going on at the same time we are. She's not narrating from either the Afterlife or a cozy chair in front of a fire, a brandy balloon a-swirl in her hands, relating her youthful wild adventures.

What slightly less impressed me was Charlie Tristan Moore's gradually revealed psych history...it was all a bit too pat, and too obviously engineered to make her the proper tool for Nyarlathotep. It led to the feeling that she was a created tool instead of what I understood her to be, a fortuitously shaped stick that Nyarlathotep found here in ordinary reality and co-opted for his use. If the former is the case, then what the heck would an entity that could exert its will so powerfully *need* with a hench-rat?

Well, no matter, what kept me happily reading was the pace of events once the Man in Black gets his hooks into her and sets her her tasks. I was in the mood for horror, it's Spooktober, we've got truly awful people trying to screw up reality even more than they've managed to do in the past six years...gimme the fake kind, with excitement but no danger, please. This first-of-three violent, gory supernatural-horror-defeating stories filled the bill admirably, used the Lovecraft Universe very creditably while still ringing changes on the themes so they didn't feel leaden and overburdened with MEANING. This is never easy. Author Levi did it well. I know I've slammed those dragon-tattoo books for their repugnant sexual violence against women before. It's not a subject I invite into my entertainment these days.

What made me respond differently to this story is that the violence of Charlie Tristan Moore's past is not presented pruriently, is not downplayed in its effects on her and her life as I felt was the case in those Swedish stories. As she puts herself into terrible situations to serve a man and his needs in this story, Charlie's furiously ragingly hating him, and expressly making herself remember why what happened to her is making Nyarlathotep's abuse of her worse.

It felt, then, for once like her pain was her enemy not her secret power.

And she still succeeds, she still lives, she still has Love to save. It worked for me. If Spooktober's going to mean something to you, try slotting this read into it. show less

I was a bit on the fence about this book, if I should read it or not since I hadn't read the first book, Red Right Hand. However, the fabulous cover and my weakness for Lovecraftian stories made me dare to start this book and I'm thrilled to say that the book worked very well, despite that I had not read the first book.

The story in this book takes place some weeks after the story ended in the first book. Charlie defeated The Man In Black, but he's still alive and Charlie goes after him in show more this book. If you have read the previous book will you know everything that happened in, Red Right Hand, however, if you like me decides to read this one without having read the previous book will it be easy getting into the story Black Goat Blues. Much of what happened in Red Right Hand is mentioned in this book, so it's easy to understand Charlie's plight to destroy The Man in Black and save her boyfriend Daniel. Also, I just want to say that I quite enjoyed the characters around Charlie, like Javier who becomes an important part of the story. And, then we have Ashtoreth, The Scarlet Harlot, Unholy Ishtar, Concubine of Chaos, and Whore Goddess Galore. Yeah, she just like The Man In Black is an Elder God. But, my favorite characters, or creature rather, is the skinhound. Yup, that surprised me too. What is a skinhound? Just imagine a dog skinned and you will get the picture. Sounds creepy I know, but this is a Lovecraftian novel so creepy things are expected.

I quite enjoyed this book and I hope to read book one some day. And, speaking of reading, this book ended with a hell of an unexpected cliffhanger so now I must read the next book!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Deacon Chalk can’t even enjoy a quiet dinner out with his friends and loved ones without witches swooping in and ruining the meal.

Witches are a pretty new one to face, especially witches as powerful of these, transforming demon witches, witches that raise the dead and witches that can kill with a word. And they have one target in mind – the Trinity, Sophia’s baby triplets. If they get them, they may have power enough to end the world.

And Deacon Chalk faces conflict in his own inner show more circle as people close to him try to find their own solutions.

There are elements this book that continue the improvement of the writing style we saw in the second book. It’s cleaner, the descriptions less inclined to be too overwrought and there’s less of the utter melodrama – the writing style is definitely improving.

We’re also having a sense of meta-plot. Not just repeating characters and growing power on Deacon Chalk’s part, but the new connection with the government, Sophia’s 3 mystical children are definitely going to lead to more in the future.

We have a lot of the women growing as well, Sophia is ferocious in defence of her children – yes, an old trope. But we also have Tiff growing into her own, becoming a capable and dangerous hunter in her own right and seeking her own place and own career in monster hunting in her own right. While, naturally, very much under Deacon Chalk’s shadow still – and certainly never in a position to challenge him (because no-one is ever allowed to do that ever – Kat tried in this book and is suitably punished for daring to question Deacon Chalk).

We continue to have a diverse range of antagonists and powers suggesting the world is extremely broad which is always something I favour. The story itself isn’t complicated or difficult – being a rather linear “protect the prize, kill the enemies” with no great mystery or twists. The enemies are known pretty much from the beginning, what is needed to be cone is known from the beginning. What they’re after is pretty much known from the beginning. It’s another action-film type book, it’s there for fighting and action and adventure and taking hits and keeping moving and overcoming all the odds.

All pretty good so far. And it was a book I couldn’t put down until I’d lost rather a lot of sleep – but not because I was enjoying it, but because I was angry at it – too angry to put it down in case it somehow managed to either redeem itself or damn itself thoroughly. And it damned itself.

What broke me? Deacon Chalk is an arsehole. He’s a self-righteous, judgmental arsehole. He’s right, everyone else is wrong. It’s been growing through the books but this one was the straw that snapped the camel in two.

When people argue with him he intimidates them. He beats his fists against tables, walls, cars. Even with people he’s supposed to love – Tiff presumes to argue with him and he’s slamming his huge fist into car roofs and walls and whatever. He threatens them – in the last book he’s threatened Charlotte, he threatens Larson, he’s threatened nearly everyone around him. He’s a huge man, we’re constantly told this, a leather clad massive man, a thug as he calls himself. He’s huge, he’s intimidating, he’s strong, he’s dangerous – and he uses that to force people to obey him. He’s a bully. He’s a violent, angry bully. Are we supposed to be impressed by what a big, hard man he is that he loses his temper and has tantrums unless everyone does everything his way without question?

The one shred where him insisting everything go his way would make a fragment of sense if he actually had ANY kind of plans or even relevant experience of, well, any of the encounters we’ve seen in the book. But he doesn’t – his plan is constantly “show up and kill stuff”. That’s the fullest extent of his planning – he hopes he’ll think of something and, ta-da, by authorial fiat he comes up with something on the spur of the moment, usually after he’s had some dramatic “ugh, my rib has been cracked for the 11 thousandth time, oh it hurts but I’m so manly I’m going to keep going!” moment. They even make a joke of the fact he never ever has a plan – but everyone has to obey him and follow orders?

The only reason this character isn’t a shining beacon if arseholery is because author will makes him right all the time. He is the ultimate Gary Stu, he is never wrong, he is never mistaken, his lack of plans never go wrong because he always comes up with just the right solution on the fly

He decides all magic is evil. Does he know all magic is evil? Have we any indication that he can be sure about this? It doesn’t matter – Deacon Chalk says it so he must be so.

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“What can I say? I like guns. I’m a gun guy. Go with it, it’s okay.”

In Blood and Magick, the third book in James R. Tuck’s series, Deacon Chalk is enjoying a quiet dinner with his lover, Tiff and friends, Kat and Larson, when the world goes to hell. The Wrath of Baphomet is in search of the Blood of the Trinity and the three witches will let nothing stand in their way.

This was my first introduction to Deacon Chalk, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Starting mid way in a show more series isn’t ideal (and I really need to stop being seduced by Netgalley titles without checking things like that first) but I learnt enough to be satisfied with this title as a stand alone.

Chalk began hunting monsters when his wife and children were murdered by a demon. The occult world is unknown by most humans, were’s of a mind boggling variety, witches, warlocks, vampires, demons and worse lurk in the shadows while magick corrupts those who try to wield it. Chalk has made it his mission to kill the monsters financed by the strip club he owns, collecting allies and enemies along the way. A transfusion of Angel blood, given when he was dying, ensures Chalk has a bit of an edge – he is a little stronger, a little faster and heals a little quicker than humans. He is also quick on the draw, packing silver and lead bullets in custom pistols.

There is no shortage violence in Blood and Magick, evil has no regard for innocents and bodies start piling up from the first few pages. Deaths are usually gruesome and bloody and even Deacon’s team is not immune. The battle between good and evil rages not only between Deacon and the monsters but also amongst his group as Larson attempts to twist magick to his own ends.
Despite the fast paced action and plethora of snappy one liners there is some genuine emotion from the characters including guilt, rage and love. Deacon and Tiff provide a touch of romance and steam (especially in the shower) while

Blood and Magick is a wild ride at breakneck speed through monsters, mayhem and murder. I thought it was a lot of fun and Tuck has earned himself a new fan.

As Deacon Chalk says:

Hells to the yeah.
Time to rock and roll. show less