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hushedworld's review
4.0
This book was entertaining. It was a quick, easy read with characters whose company I enjoyed. That being said, the two main characters have a kind of "friend thing" where they trade off race related name calling & while I'm not addressing that issue from a PC standpoint per se... it mostly was like the only aspect of the story which felt clunky & it pulled me out of the story every single time which I kind of don't like. So I didn't realize this was a book in a series & I added the first book to my list but... I hope that's not the case in the first story as well because I might just let this storyline go if that's the case (& I guess I don't know why that shtick would pop-up in the 2nd book if it wasn't part of their relationship in the first ?) I assume it was an attempt to make the friendship quirky or something but I really don't think it was necessary... I liked the characters! I thought they were interesting. The creepy part was effectively creepy. I kind of want to visit with these gents again & see what their first escapades were all about. I just found the constant stream of Native American nicknames as teasing/jest to be a little annoying & really unnecessary.
lilyn_g's review
5.0
Off-beat and unexpectedly entertaining, Deadlight Jack delivers a delightful supernatural horror read. George and Jimmy, African-American and Native American respectively, found themselves teaming up after becoming friends in a nursing home. (Yes, a nursing home. Both our main characters are well past middle age.) They’ve already solved one case together, one that nearly killed them. They didn’t expect they’d find themselves embarking on another adventure. At least not so soon. But then George’s grandson disappears, and it’s clear there’s more than just human evil at work.
The main characters are old farts, they know it, and they’re fine with it. They’ve both had experience with the supernatural. Neither has had a great life. Jimmy was the shaman for his tribe that turned away from the old ways when he lost something precious. George wasn’t strong enough to be the dad that his family needed him to be. He’s determined to change that. Neither has the ability to give up (or sometimes even use common sense) when someone they know is in danger. So, when George’s grandson disappears, the old men have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It should be noted that they (well, more-so George than Jimmy) enjoy flinging racial slurs at each other.
The pacing in Deadlight Jack is pretty near perfect. Though there’s not a lot of kick-butt action scenes (main characters are just a tad old for that!), there’s a wonderful sense of atmosphere and building tension. The author does a great job of sinking you quickly into the world of the bayou. The mugginess, the slowness, and the sense of danger lurking under the surface. The evil is absolutely un-apologetically evil. There’s no sad back story here. It just enjoys pain and suffering.
Deadlight Jack also has a touch of the surprisingly whimsical in it. Help comes from an unexpected place, and take the form of something you’d never imagine. It could seem ridiculously ill-fitting, but it doesn’t. Instead, because you’re already immersed in this world of odd occurrences, it just makes you grin a bit. I definitely want to go back and read the first book in this series.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
The main characters are old farts, they know it, and they’re fine with it. They’ve both had experience with the supernatural. Neither has had a great life. Jimmy was the shaman for his tribe that turned away from the old ways when he lost something precious. George wasn’t strong enough to be the dad that his family needed him to be. He’s determined to change that. Neither has the ability to give up (or sometimes even use common sense) when someone they know is in danger. So, when George’s grandson disappears, the old men have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It should be noted that they (well, more-so George than Jimmy) enjoy flinging racial slurs at each other.
The pacing in Deadlight Jack is pretty near perfect. Though there’s not a lot of kick-butt action scenes (main characters are just a tad old for that!), there’s a wonderful sense of atmosphere and building tension. The author does a great job of sinking you quickly into the world of the bayou. The mugginess, the slowness, and the sense of danger lurking under the surface. The evil is absolutely un-apologetically evil. There’s no sad back story here. It just enjoys pain and suffering.
Deadlight Jack also has a touch of the surprisingly whimsical in it. Help comes from an unexpected place, and take the form of something you’d never imagine. It could seem ridiculously ill-fitting, but it doesn’t. Instead, because you’re already immersed in this world of odd occurrences, it just makes you grin a bit. I definitely want to go back and read the first book in this series.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
chymerra's review
4.0
This is not a book to read at night.
Repeat.
This is not a book to read at night.
I generally don’t really creeped out by books but this one, well it creeped me out….big time. Take the cover for instance. The dude’s one orange eye and the salamander are creepy. Then add the swamp and the creepiness factor just goes up.
Now, this book starts off after the events of The Faceless One. Jimmy and George are living together, but not together if you know what I mean. After saving the world in the first book, they are expecting to be left alone and live out the rest of their lives together.
Life (and the Gods) have other plans.
Jimmy is visited by Dabo Muu, a giant albino alligator that tells Jimmy that he needs to get down to Louisiana. Actually, is was more of an order and Jimmy feels that there is more going on than what Dabo Muu is letting on.
George gets a phone call from one of his sons. His grandson, Donny, has gone missing while on a camping trip with his moms and older brother in Louisiana. He and Jimmy decide to head on down to help and offer Mel and her wife moral support while they search for Donny. George is haunted by something that happened when he was a child. Something that he blocked out. Something that could help his grandson….if he could remember what it was.
When George tells Jimmy that Donny is missing, Jimmy immediately cancels plans that were taking him to Boston to visit his son, daughter in law and granddaughter to go with George. During the flight down to LA, George tells Jimmy about his tragic past. All about his kids, his wife and the tragedies that happened. He warned Jimmy that his daughter, Delphine, will be there and it will not be pleasant when she finds out. Delphine is holding on to hurt and resentment from the past and she will make things very difficult for George.
And she does. She had to have been the most self-centered secondary character that I have ever read and I really wanted someone to put her in her place sooner than they did. I understand that she had issues with George but there is a time and a place for everything and to be a rude asshole to him and making an already tense situation even more tense wasn’t cool.
I loved how George had to come into his own during the book. He had to accept his past (read the book if you want to know what it was) in order to save his grandson and the other children.
I do wish that I had read the first book. That would have helped me connect with Jimmy a little more and would have helped me understand his character a little better. I would have loved to read more about shamanism and the indigenous people of Alaska.
The paranormal/horror aspect was fantastic. Like I said above, this is a book that you really shouldn’t read at night. Not only did it feature a swamp (which is creepy in its own right) but Professor Foxfire was a genuinely creepy. I mean, anyone who has tattoos that come alive and off their face has a special place in the creepy hall of fame. But add that he can make children into ghosts (want to know how….read the book) and he kidnaps even more kids to turn them into either food/more ghost children, he is vile.
The end of the book was great and I loved the showdown. I was expecting something to happen, just not on that scale. I also liked that the author set up for book 3.
How many stars will I give Deadlight Jack: 4
Why: I really liked this book. While it is a horror book, it also showcased how family can be forgiving (even if the person had years of hurt and resentment) and how family comes together in times of crisis.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and some pretty scary things on that island.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
Repeat.
This is not a book to read at night.
I generally don’t really creeped out by books but this one, well it creeped me out….big time. Take the cover for instance. The dude’s one orange eye and the salamander are creepy. Then add the swamp and the creepiness factor just goes up.
Now, this book starts off after the events of The Faceless One. Jimmy and George are living together, but not together if you know what I mean. After saving the world in the first book, they are expecting to be left alone and live out the rest of their lives together.
Life (and the Gods) have other plans.
Jimmy is visited by Dabo Muu, a giant albino alligator that tells Jimmy that he needs to get down to Louisiana. Actually, is was more of an order and Jimmy feels that there is more going on than what Dabo Muu is letting on.
George gets a phone call from one of his sons. His grandson, Donny, has gone missing while on a camping trip with his moms and older brother in Louisiana. He and Jimmy decide to head on down to help and offer Mel and her wife moral support while they search for Donny. George is haunted by something that happened when he was a child. Something that he blocked out. Something that could help his grandson….if he could remember what it was.
When George tells Jimmy that Donny is missing, Jimmy immediately cancels plans that were taking him to Boston to visit his son, daughter in law and granddaughter to go with George. During the flight down to LA, George tells Jimmy about his tragic past. All about his kids, his wife and the tragedies that happened. He warned Jimmy that his daughter, Delphine, will be there and it will not be pleasant when she finds out. Delphine is holding on to hurt and resentment from the past and she will make things very difficult for George.
And she does. She had to have been the most self-centered secondary character that I have ever read and I really wanted someone to put her in her place sooner than they did. I understand that she had issues with George but there is a time and a place for everything and to be a rude asshole to him and making an already tense situation even more tense wasn’t cool.
I loved how George had to come into his own during the book. He had to accept his past (read the book if you want to know what it was) in order to save his grandson and the other children.
I do wish that I had read the first book. That would have helped me connect with Jimmy a little more and would have helped me understand his character a little better. I would have loved to read more about shamanism and the indigenous people of Alaska.
The paranormal/horror aspect was fantastic. Like I said above, this is a book that you really shouldn’t read at night. Not only did it feature a swamp (which is creepy in its own right) but Professor Foxfire was a genuinely creepy. I mean, anyone who has tattoos that come alive and off their face has a special place in the creepy hall of fame. But add that he can make children into ghosts (want to know how….read the book) and he kidnaps even more kids to turn them into either food/more ghost children, he is vile.
The end of the book was great and I loved the showdown. I was expecting something to happen, just not on that scale. I also liked that the author set up for book 3.
How many stars will I give Deadlight Jack: 4
Why: I really liked this book. While it is a horror book, it also showcased how family can be forgiving (even if the person had years of hurt and resentment) and how family comes together in times of crisis.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and some pretty scary things on that island.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
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