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| Cover Image courtesy Aethon Books |
Authors: Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Length: 440 Pages (Hardcover)
Publication Date/Year: 2022 (Original) / 2025 (Definitive Edition)
Genre: Weird Western
One of the things I enjoy most every year at New York Comic Con is the last day of the convention when publishers will often mark down their books significantly. This is a great way to find authors who are new to me, maybe snag a book I've had my eye on for a while. In the case with Cold as Hell by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, published by Blackstone Publishing I'd never read either author (independently or collectively), but I've been impressed with Blackstone’s output the last couple of years so I figured, it is a beautiful book and the premise seems cool, so why not?
This isn’t just an “ordinary” book, it is the “Definitive Edition.” What does that mean? A pressed board hardcover adorned with an eye-catching foil-embossed lettering on the cover. I felt compelled to take a few pictures, with my meager skills and phone camera, of the book which do not enough justice to just how lovely this physical book is. It certainly caught my attention! In addition, the book includes a prequel novella previously only available as an audiobook as I’ve noted below.
So, what is this book about? Cold as Hell is the first installment of the Black Badge weird western series centered on James Crowley. Crowley is a Black Badge, tasked by the White Throne (Heaven?) to vanquish evil spirits and creatures. When James Crowley was killed (by the thieving gang he was part of), he was supposed to go to Hell. The Throne offered him a deal: return to the world of the living and become a Black Badge and vanquish evil at the behest of the White Throne. Crowley is fully formed (if not quite ALIVE) when we meet him. He’s been hunting evil via his angelic “sponsor(?)”/“liaison(?)” Shar for a while when we meet him on his latest assignment - investigate a bank robbery in Lonely Hill.
What makes this particular assignment strange is upon Crowley's arrival, snow is falling annd ice is present in a region where temperatures below freezing just don’t happen.
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| Shiny foil embossment and little details in the physical book. |
It turns out something evil beyond simple thievery has taken root in Lonely Hill. We wouldn’t have this story if that wasn’t the case, but I digress. Upon his arrival in Lonely Hill, Crowley is not exactly trusted, some of the townspeople think he’s a marshal because of how he’s dressed, others simply don’t trust a stranger to their town. He essentially walks into the remnants of a good ol’ Wild West shoot-out and a young deputy is one of the only survivors who he acts as something of a sidekick to Crowley in this story.
As if that weren't enough, an old friend and ally of Crowley finds herself in Lonely Hill. A woman with connections to Crowley’s past… before he was a Black Badge, but isn’t quite sure of his true nature. Crowley also finds himself once again aligned against Ace, the leader of his old gang.
This leaves Crowley with quite a lot to unpack.
I had a blast with this whole book and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to like it. Granted I wouldn't have purchased the book if I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it far exceeded my expectations.
The promo material says this is something along the lines of a Dresden Files in the old West or Dresden Files meets the Witcher or Dresden Files meets Tombstone and that all seems pretty appropriate. I’m sure that’s why Chris McGrath is the cover artist and the rendition of James Crowley bears more than a passing resemblance to Harry Dresden. Be that as it may, the similarities are there, but Bruno and Castle do more than enough to set their protagonist, this world (and all the supernatural elements) and tone apart from the only wizard in Chicago’s Yellow Pages.
(pssst kids… before the internet, there was this thing called a PHONE BOOK with Yellow Pages which is what was used to find local businesses and such)
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| Painted edges! Look at that fearsome monster from the cover on the edges! |
Crowley is the first-person narrator for the novel and he’s engaging, sarcastic, and not exactly the hero you’d expect to represent the biblical God and angels. But as Crowley points out, sometimes the good side needs to employ somebody who is willing to get dirty in the fight against evil. … Or something like that. He’s vulnerable and unhappy in his job. I’m sure a lot of people can identify with that, right? At least he expresses his frustration with his “upline manager” as it were in Shar, which makes for some tense but enjoyable banter.
As I mentioned above, this edition also includes the Dead Acre, a novella originally published exclusively as an audiobook. Set before the events of Cold as Hell, the storyline is somewhat similar in that Crowley is dispatched by the White Throne via his angelic liaison Shar to investigate some strange happenings that might involve werewolves. This was a fun, effective story that showed some of the characters introduced in Cold as Hell a little earlier in their life and their early encounters with Crowley. I liked the spin Bruno and Castle have on werewolves for this story and milieu, among other supernatural creatures and lore of Native Americans.
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| One of about a half-dozen full-color paintings in this edition, used to separate "Cold as Hell" from "Dark Acre". |
After reading one novel (and novella), I’m definitely fascinated enough to continue with the series. I find it intriguing that no definitive time or location is given for this setting other than the a rather generic “Old West.” Some inferences can be made, for example, the Gatling Gun (a feature in the story) was invented in 1861 so the timeline can’t really go much further back than that. On the other hand, the back cover copy for the book uses the word “purgatory” so maybe this is indeed a world separate from our own where souls whose final destination is in question can have their final fate determined? I like the ambiguity Bruno and Castle give the story at this stage, which make for breadcrumbs I want to follow in future volumes. Especially that large breadcrumb of stinger at the end of Cold as Hell.
Counting this book, I've read about a baker's dozen worth of books/novels that can be considered Weird Western. It is a setting / sub genre that has a lot to offer and with Black Badge Bruno and Castle have used that as a cool starting point. There's a really fun blend of horror, fantasy, suspense, mystery/crime thriller, and western in this story. That's a lot to throw in the proverbial story blender, but it works!
Let’s put it this way, Bruno and Castle have created something extremely fun highlighted by an engaging character with a great balance of the familiar and their own unique spin. I felt comfortable with some of the recognizable elements of the story/world, but I also kept thinking, damn, this is a little different and really cool.
I'm going to wind down this review/appreciation post because I need to place an order for Vein Pursuits, the second installment.
Recommended!
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