Thirty//Thirty 2014 1/30: Wings

I meander through the aisles, absent from the task at hand
and the list you've meticulously scrawled for me on the back of an envelope.
I neglect the SPAM and the Hamburger Helper if only because you're not here to harass.

And I see HIM standing there.
Looooong black jacket, pants, shirt and shoes.
Looooong black hair and top hat with a silver skull upon it.
Goth would be too trite, wondering if your reflection can withstand mine and call it as I see it:
Vampire works for me, and I'm haunted because I mean no malice, but it lingers regardless.

Until I see the bite mark tattoo.
Absolved of my sin, knowing I am safe,
slipping by as you mesmerize customers in search of one thing or another.
Flickering fluorescent castle catacombs of the supermarket maze.

I met you today, outside your element, the fantasy of your profession.
You need the coffee to stay awake during the day.
An egg sandwich because you're saving your pennies.
We joke of the quality of the Weis store bagels, because we buy them two departments down.
It doesn't surprise me one bit you moonlight in the meat department,
training to be certified to wield those blades.

So he's human, just like the rest of us.

Hunting things that hunt you in the night...

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.

http://angryrobotbooks.com/books/the-dead-of-winter-by-lee-collins/

BUY IT HERE!

(Originally published in The Lock Haven Express as Books with your Barista, 10/25/12)