Hard Spell Book Review

Title: Hard Spell

Author: Justin Gustainis

Publisher: Angry Robot

Pages: 336

ISBN: 9780857661159

We humans are not alone. In an alternate timeline, the reader is informed that Supernaturals, or "Supes" walk among us. Since the end WWII Supes have been given the same rights as humans, whether they be goblins, werewolves, vampires, witches, ghouls, or trolls. Throw in the element of a supernatural, the knowledge and experience it would take to solve a murder involving a werewolf or vampire, and you get The Supernatural Crimes Investigations Unit.

Scranton, Pennsylvania: a hotbed for all things that go bump in the night. It's also Detective Sergeant Stanley Markowski's beat. As a member of The Supernatural Crimes Investigations Unit, or the "Supe Squad," it's up to Markowski and his partner to solve any crimes or murders involving supernaturals.

What starts as a typical night for Markowski and his partner Renfer, turns into something far worse than either of them could have ever imagined. When the two arrive on scene they realize that the victim was a Vampire. But unlike most vampires, and most cases, the victim in question has three very unfamiliar symbols carved into his body. It's these three symbols that send Markowski and Renfer racing to stop a very, very bad thing from happening.

Gustainis doesn't mess around. Within the first thirty pages of Hard Spell Gustainis does three things incredibly well: he introduces you to the main character of the novel, explains the highlights of the Supernatural's history, and the slang and terminology the reader will need to understand what's going in the book. Although there isn't too much slang used, Gustainis still makes the reader aware.

On a whim I decided to review this book. And I'm damn glad I did. In less than nine hours, and one sitting, I had devoured Hard Spell from cover to cover, including the ten page excerpt for Evil Dark, the next book in the series. To say that I loved it was an understatement.

Admittidly at first, I had my reservations about Hard Spell. After reading the synopsis on the back cover I was afraid that it would read like every episode of CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, or every other CSI knock-off on television today, just with a bit fangs thrown in for good measure. I'm very happy to report that I was wrong. 

Dead wrong.

From page one Hard Spell builds momentum, and keeps going all the way to the end. 

Hard Spell is a rip-roaring, hard hitting mystery, crime wrapped in creepy old dudes, Witchfinders, hybrid magic users, meth-head goblins and a slew of Supes that would put the average Boogie Monster to shame. Witty dialogue, interesting characters, and a universe quite different from any I've read in the Urban Fantasy genre in a long time, makes Hard Spell one hell of a book. That's why I'm giving Hard Spell 9.0 out of 10 TARDISes.


If you like reading about things that go bump in the night, and are tired of the typical werewolf or vampire trope, then I would highly picking up a copy of Hard Spell.

~Rodney

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Book Review

Title: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780446563086

Seth Grahame-Smith takes on history and myth in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, an epistolary-style alternate history novel bringing to light what most dismiss as a conspiracy theory. The introduction begins with Smith in disbelief of what has been delivered to him. A strange man has left in Smith’s possession 10 leather-bound books, the secret diaries of Abraham Lincoln. In these, Smith discovers that Lincoln was more than he had shown to the world. A life hidden in secrecy and masked with wars and laws. Smith is asked to write a book about the diaries, and in the process, his life is left in shambles.

Smith takes Lincoln’s timeline and tells us the story we never knew and conspiracy theorists have been telling us since Lincoln’s death. We begin in Abe’s childhood and progress into the hunter lifestyle that we would have never imagined. For example, eleven year old Lincoln is told that vampires are real, and that his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, was murdered by a vampire. The following year, Abe seeks vengeance and kills the vampire, his mother’s murderer, with a wooden stake. This marks the beginning of the Abraham’s secret life as a vampire hunter.

Smith takes us to many locations and battles in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, meeting new allies such as Edgar Allen Poe, and even more enemies along the way. Smith captures our imagination with Lincoln’s relationships and new found purpose in life.

He also does a wonderful job of taking everything we know about history and Abraham Lincoln and turning it on itself, destroying what we know, or believe, as truth. Every rumor and myth about “Honest Abe” gets twisted to embellish the horror premise. What about Lincoln's beard? Legends say he grew it because Grace Bedell wrote that: “women love whiskers." But in this alternate timeline, the beard was groomed to hide the scar from Lincoln's vampire-fighting life.

Smith also writes that Lincoln’s role in history as an abolitionist takes root in a much different way than we’ve been told. Lincoln and a friend travel to New Orleans to sell goods and happen to witness a slave auction. They then follow the slaves and their owner back to the owner’s plantation. There, Lincoln discovers that the buyer is a vampire, buying the slaves as food as we would buy groceries today.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter has a fair portion of detailed action scenes. I could see the human like forms of vampires in my mind snarling as Lincoln was fighting for his life and for vengeance. Relationships and tensions follow a rollercoaster pattern and at times leave you questioning who to trust and who to kill.

I give Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 7 out of 10 Mechs and would recommend this to anyone who has yet to read this style or genre of literature. There’s no doubt Smith can tell us a story, even if it’s one we think we know the ending to…

:: Phil::