Publishers Weekly
08/15/2022
Slayton delivers another tightly plotted contemporary fantasy in his fast-paced third Adam Binder novel (after Trailer Park Trickster). Previously, warlock Adam opened a portal that sent his evil great-grandfather John, a druid, to the underworld—and also took his boyfriend, cop-turned-reaper Vic, and his cousin Jodi. Now Adam is determined to get them back. Death herself provides Adam with Vic’s location on the promise that he also retrieves another living person, Melody, who’s similarly unfairly trapped in the afterlife. Adam; his brother, Bobby; and elf Vran embark on the rescue mission—and along the way encounter the ghost of Adam’s father, who upsets Adam by not being the unrepentant villain he remembers. Meanwhile, Vic and Jodi are captured by demons who feed off their pain. They escape but subsequently get swept up by a cult of the dead who consume others to cling to any semblance of life. When the separate parties eventually reunite, they must find a way to stop John for good and repair the disruptions that their living bodies have brought to the underworld. Slayton continues to impress with complex relationships and clever mythologies. Series fans won’t want to miss this. Agent: Lesley Sabga, Seymour Agency. (Oct.)
New York Times bestselling author of the Elemental Jennifer Estep
With his Adam Binder books, David R. Slayton crafts complex characters and creates an imaginative urban fantasy world that readers will want to return to time and time again. Slayton mixes vivid fantasy descriptions and life-or-death stakes with characters that are full of heroics, humor, and heartache.”
Shaun David Hutchinson
“Deadbeat Druid, the third installment of the Adam Binder trilogy, is a beautifully nuanced exploration of family and generational trauma that’s filled with heartache, magic, and a lot of love. I’m pretty sure David R. Slayton is a magician in his own right, because I am utterly enchanted by this series.”
New York Times bestselling author of the Dark Arts David Mack
With Deadbeat Druid, David R. Slayton once again delivers magical action that’s as hard and gritty as trailer-park gravel, coupled with a heart-wrenching tale of characters bound by a love greater than Death and stronger than the chains of Hell. It’s a triumphantly subversive marriage of Americana and the occult, and a shining example of all that is fresh and exciting in the urban fantasy genre.”
Kirkus Reviews
2023-06-28
In Slayton’s latest fantasy-series installment, Adam Binder knows two things: Immortals have rules, and a deal always comes with a catch.
Warlock Adam Binder was supposed to kill John Binder, his evil warlock ancestor, but instead he and the man Adam loves, Vicente “Vic” Martinez, used their combined powers and sent John somewhere deep in the underworld. Unfortunately, Jodi, Adam’s unstable cousin, pushed Vic into the portal as well and fell into it herself. Adam seeks an answer from Death on where Vic is and how to get him back. As it turns out, Death wants Adam to retrieve a mysterious woman named Melody, nicknamed Mel, from the underworld along with Vic. Adam sets off with his brother Bobby and elf friend Vran in his old Oldsmobile Cutlass on the road to the underworld. Along the way, they’ll meet unknown dangers, including demons in various forms. Adam will have to be careful, smart, and a bit lucky to find Vic before something sinister finds him first; he must also make good on a deal with Seamus, the leprechaun who’s the Guardian of the Western Watchtower, and kill John. Meanwhile, Vic and Jodi try to survive the weird, unpredictable place in which they find themselves. While held captive by otherworldly beings, they meet Mel, who’s been in the underworld since 1935 but has very little memory of her old life. Slayton returns to his series with a fantastic third installment that’s full of adventure and intrigue. However, it also features a good deal of angst and heartache, as the protagonist contends with many deals and many rules to get his boyfriend back: “Everything was a transaction, every conversation a chess match.” Adam is depicted as a dynamic and complex hero to whom readers will easily relate; they’ll sympathize with his problems with immortal beings as well as his challenging family relationships. Secondary characters, such as Bobby, Vran, Vic, and Jodi, are offbeat and engaging, adding to the story and supporting the complex worldbuilding.
A fast-paced adventure that’s likely to please fans of the series.
