Cold as Hell

by Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle

Overview

In the West, there are worse things to fear than bandits and outlaws.

Demons. Monsters. Witches. James Crowley’s sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down and send them packing, banish them from the mortal realm for good.

He didn’t choose this life. No. He didn’t choose life at all.

Shot dead in a gunfight many years ago, now he’s stuck in purgatory, serving the whims of the White Throne to avoid falling to Hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his penance and fade away.

This time, the White Throne has sent him to investigate a strange bank robbery in Lonely Hill. An outlaw with the ability to conjure ice has frozen and shattered open the bank vault and is now on a spree, robbing the region for all it’s worth.

In his quest to track down the ice-wielder and suss out which demon is behind granting a mortal such power, Crowley finds himself face-to-face with hellish beasts, shapeshifters, and, worse … temptation. But the truth behind the attacks is worse than he ever imagined …

The Witcher meets The Dresden Files in this weird Western series by the Audible number one bestselling duo behind Dead Acre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212184779
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	03/07/2023
Series:	Black Badge Series , #1
Sales rank:	481,144
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Rhett C. Bruno is a USA Today, Washington Press, and #1 Audible bestselling author, and has been nominated for a Nebula Award. He is the author of the Children of Titan Series, The Buried Goddess Saga, The Circuit Trilogy, The Roach, and the Audible Original The Luna Missile Crisis, among others. His story, Interview for the End of the World, was nominated for a 2019 Nebula Award. Rhett left his day job in 2018 and used his experience as both a traditionally and selfpublished author to found Aethon Books. Rhett also founded Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bridge, a newsletter service which holds a list of thirty thousand dedicated Sci-fi & Fantasy readers.

Jaime Castle is the Washington Post and #1 Audible bestselling author of The Luna Missile Crisis, the Buried Goddess Saga—which includes the IPPY Award–winning Web of Eyes—and more. Hailing from the great nation of Texas, he lives with his wife and two children and enjoys anything creative. Castle cohosts Keystroke Medium, a popular podcast devoted to reading, writing, and everything in between. His office looks as if Marvel and DC vomited on his walls and he refuses to clean it up.

Editorial Reviews

The authors strike a good balance between action and mood, moving the story along at a breathless pace. As a horror-adventure blend, there is, of course, plenty of the expected blood and gore. For those who enjoy supernatural adventures with lots of heroic action set in a novel environment, Cold as Hell delivers.”

Booklist

If you love Westerns, a well-worn and much-loved genre, you will wholeheartedly enjoy this book. It provides a beautiful description of the Wild West in all its gritty glory.”

Book Junkie Reviews

A weird and wild twist on the Old West that mashes gunslingers, divine intervention, and the supernatural into one hell of a story. Highly recommended!”

New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars and Ka Jonathan Maberry

A badass supernatural western…It’s like the Witcher goes to Tombstone.”

New York Times bestselling author of Monster Hunte Larry Correia

They used to say the Western is dead…and now it really is⁠—in a good way! In Cold as Hell, authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle put a clever and fantastical spin on a well-worn and much-loved genre.”⁠

Lou Diamond Phillips

An action-packed Western fantasy that can best be described as Sandman Slim meets Josey Wales…The West has never been wilder and now it’s Cold as Hell.”

San Francisco Book Review

Gunslingers and demons, shootouts and monsters, cowboys and the supernatural—Cold as Hell is an imaginative, fun, and exciting novel.”

New York Times bestselling coauthor of Dune: H Kevin J. Anderson

Dark, gritty, and ultimately satisfying, Cold as Hell takes you on a nightmarish trip through a Weird West full of undead outlaws and hellish demons.”

New York Times bestselling author of the Templar C Joseph Nassise

Cold as Hell? More like fun as hell. Take an undead outlaw hero, match him villains of the most devilish kind, and string it all together with a plot that has more twists and turns than a hangman’s noose. Westerns don’t get any weirder than this.”

New York Times bestselling author Matt Forbeck

Undead cowboy ronin delivering the Lord’s justice in the Old West? Cold as Hell snared me like a lasso and never let go.”

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Earthcore Scott Sigler

★ 02/07/2022

Bruno and Castle, coauthors of the Buried Goddess Saga series, kick off a new collaboration in impressive style; their fantasy western series debut blends its two genres perfectly and offers enough worldbuilding to sustain many sequels. Former outlaw and thief James Crowley has reformed his ways, but only under duress—and only now that he’s undead. He’s not entirely sure what happened: “I’m hazy on the exact details besides having been shot up, left for the worms, and brought back years later to find myself stuck on this side of eternity, serving the whims and fancies of angels.” To stay out of Hell, Crowley must serve Heaven’s White Throne as a newly minted Black Badge combating the supernatural. His latest assignment sets him on the trail of a bank robber wielding ice powers that enable the thief to freeze and crack open vaults, abilities which must have been granted by a demon. Now Crowley must race to prevent further crimes and thwart the demon’s plans. The result is a gritty romp sure to please fans of Jim Butcher and Mike Carey. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2022

James Crowley always expected he would go to Hell when he died, after running with a gunner gang. Instead, he wanders the West as a member of the Black Badge—part of a sacred group taking on otherworldly threats, serving the White Throne as his penance for his choices in life. Sent to investigate a bank robbery where the group wields ice and other powers, Crowley must deal with these outlaws, along with demons, shapeshifters, and an unforthcoming angelic guide. Not undead, yet not really alive, Crowley will face the power behind the robbers—along with the past that brought him to this purgatory. Authors Bruno ("The Circuit Saga") and Castle (The Luna Missile Crisis) bring the wide, desolate setting of the Wild West to life, filled with gunfights and gory eldritch battles, while slowly building Crowley's backstory, creating a future bigger than a dead man would ever believe he has. VERDICT A weird Western starring a taciturn lone gunman who will remind readers of Andrzej Sapkowski's Geralt of Rivia.—Kristi Chadwick

Library Journal

Being resurrected isn't all it's cracked up to be. That's what James Crowley has discovered in this first audiobook in the Black Badge series. Listeners will enjoy its Old West setting. Former outlaw Crowley now serves the heavenly White Throne, which allows him to banish demons and other foul beings from the earthly realm. Roger Clark adopts a gruff tone and gravelly timbre to project Crowley's weariness with his purgatory-like existence. He is employed as a hammer for good, and there's no resolution in sight. Clark's vocal choices also make clear that while Crowley values redemption, he also longs for freedom of choice. Clark proves equally adept at energizing those who cross paths with Crowley--whether living or undead. D.E.M. 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile