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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
DNF at 129 pages. Just not for me. It's well written. I've LOVED other books by this author. I just need a little intrigue or mystery to keep me interested. This is quite literally just cowboys vs vampires, and there's no depth beyond that. Which is fine if you want an action packed shoot/bite 'em up, but it just didn't do anything for me.
This is the third book that I have read by this author, so I knew I would be in for a great tale and I wasn’t disappointed.
Cody Wilson was a man on a mission. After seeing his wife murdered by a group of travelling actors, he knew he must seek revenge. He was a man with a conscious and even though he wanted revenge, he knew what type a woman his wife was and as we follow him on this journey, his inner voice is battling with him.
We first come across Cody as he watches the actors eat their latest kill, nothing wrong with that but it wasn’t an animal. From that moment I knew I was in for an exciting read. Whilst you are not aware that the actors are vampires, you get the feeling straight away that there is something supernatural about them and I did wonder whether Cody was a bit mad to confront them. This story grabs you and I found I could not put it down until I had finished it.
When the actors went full vampire, the scenes were graphic and descriptive and you could instantly tell that there would be few survivors, but at these times my heart was in my mouth as I wondered whether Cody would survive and if so, how he would get out of the mess he was in. It was made even more intense when you find out that a young boy was involved and he was in danger.
As it was set in the wild west, it seemed more exciting as there were no modern weaponry and transport to get them out of a fix. Trying to escape an evil entity just by an old horse seemed more exciting than jumping in a car. For some strange reason whilst I was reading this, I kept thinking of Red Dead Redemption as the descriptive scenes of the land reminded me of this game.
I am so glad that I have read this book and if you love horror, good vs evil and vampires to be vampires than this is a story for you. I am looking forward to reading more by this author
Cody Wilson was a man on a mission. After seeing his wife murdered by a group of travelling actors, he knew he must seek revenge. He was a man with a conscious and even though he wanted revenge, he knew what type a woman his wife was and as we follow him on this journey, his inner voice is battling with him.
We first come across Cody as he watches the actors eat their latest kill, nothing wrong with that but it wasn’t an animal. From that moment I knew I was in for an exciting read. Whilst you are not aware that the actors are vampires, you get the feeling straight away that there is something supernatural about them and I did wonder whether Cody was a bit mad to confront them. This story grabs you and I found I could not put it down until I had finished it.
When the actors went full vampire, the scenes were graphic and descriptive and you could instantly tell that there would be few survivors, but at these times my heart was in my mouth as I wondered whether Cody would survive and if so, how he would get out of the mess he was in. It was made even more intense when you find out that a young boy was involved and he was in danger.
As it was set in the wild west, it seemed more exciting as there were no modern weaponry and transport to get them out of a fix. Trying to escape an evil entity just by an old horse seemed more exciting than jumping in a car. For some strange reason whilst I was reading this, I kept thinking of Red Dead Redemption as the descriptive scenes of the land reminded me of this game.
I am so glad that I have read this book and if you love horror, good vs evil and vampires to be vampires than this is a story for you. I am looking forward to reading more by this author
dark
tense
fast-paced
Not too much to say about this one. Nasty sex crazed blood thirsty monsters in the Wild West. A hell of a good time and a easy to read writing style.
If your looking for some fast paced, violent, balls to the walls action, look no further! Buy this book. Jonathan's style is similar to the late Richard Laymon. As a big Laymon I love finding a book that gave me the same enjoyment as Laymon's did. I had a blast with this!
I never knew a vampire western was something I deeply desired until Janz went and fulfilled that unknown longing I had. Seriously though, can vampire westerns please be a new genre because I need more of that kind of brutal deliciousness. I like my vampires merciless and brutal and gory as fuck and this book delivers that in SPADES. I think the Dust Devils might honestly be my favourite vampires EVER and that’s saying a lot because I’ve read a metric fuck ton of vampire books. This one is just on another level of great though, it’s hard to even accurately describe how good it was because I’m still revelling in all the guts and gore and sex. Because you can’t truly have a vampire novel without some sex thrown in can you? All kidding aside, this is some next level vampire greatness and you’d be missing out by not picking it up and devouring it like I did.
“It’s the danger of readin’ too many books... They tell you pretty lies and you get to believin’ ‘em. Get thinkin’ things are gonna work out like they should. Get to thinkin’ there’s justice. I could tell that about you right away, that you were still seein’ yourself in a book. That’s why you were holdin’ back. You kept tellin’ yourself something would happen to make you act like a hero, but that’s not how it is in real life. In real life you just gotta do somethin’ and hope it’s right. Things happen faster in real life.”
When Cody’s wife is lured into the life of travelling performers, he had no idea he would lose her both to the life they can provide and the life they will eventually take away. Willet Black watches as the same actors tear apart and eat his entire family. Bound together by the same unfortunate circumstance, Cody and Willet are bent are taking revenge on the creatures who caused it.
I don’t have very much interest in western or vampire novels on their own, but combine them together and I am at peak interest. Janz blended the two together so well and as I’ve said before he’s so great at making really entertaining stories. I think he’s my go to for when I want to read something I know I’ll enjoy and just want to have a good time reading. But, don’t get me wrong, as much as I had fun reading this book, it was still very gruesome and blood soaked and tense. The scenes were set up so good I almost felt like I was in New Mexico in 1885 and that’s always what I want from a novel, to really feel like I’m experiencing it. I really liked the protagonist, Cody, too. He’s an unlikely hero who didn’t want to be thrown in this mess but has to do the right thing. The villain, Adam Price, was really intriguing too and I thought the way the vampires were portrayed in their “true form” was a lil spooky and different. I thought this novel was really unique (at least I’ve never heard of a western vampire tale before) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5/5
Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy in exchange for an honest review
When Cody’s wife is lured into the life of travelling performers, he had no idea he would lose her both to the life they can provide and the life they will eventually take away. Willet Black watches as the same actors tear apart and eat his entire family. Bound together by the same unfortunate circumstance, Cody and Willet are bent are taking revenge on the creatures who caused it.
I don’t have very much interest in western or vampire novels on their own, but combine them together and I am at peak interest. Janz blended the two together so well and as I’ve said before he’s so great at making really entertaining stories. I think he’s my go to for when I want to read something I know I’ll enjoy and just want to have a good time reading. But, don’t get me wrong, as much as I had fun reading this book, it was still very gruesome and blood soaked and tense. The scenes were set up so good I almost felt like I was in New Mexico in 1885 and that’s always what I want from a novel, to really feel like I’m experiencing it. I really liked the protagonist, Cody, too. He’s an unlikely hero who didn’t want to be thrown in this mess but has to do the right thing. The villain, Adam Price, was really intriguing too and I thought the way the vampires were portrayed in their “true form” was a lil spooky and different. I thought this novel was really unique (at least I’ve never heard of a western vampire tale before) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5/5
Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy in exchange for an honest review
A vampire novel set in the wild west. This novel is about a man, Cody, who witnesses vampires doing unspeakable things first to his wife then to the family of a young boy, Willet, that he meets. They are determined to wipe out the swarm of bloodsuckers, but they've got their work cut out for them. I enjoyed "The Nightmare Girl," one of the author's other novels and I was curious to see what he would do with a historical horror novel. It's an interesting, fast-paced read that will keep you turning the pages to find out if Cody will prevail against all odds in the face of such relentless and vengeful enemies. It would have been nice to know the motivations of the vampires apart from the obvious ones and to see them fleshed out a tad more, but on the whole I think the author provided some good snippets here and there. I'll be checking out more of his work.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Dust Devils is a fast paced, over the top, action packed horror western. As a fan of both vampire stories and Westerns, I was eager to read this and I was delighted the action started page one. Be warned though, the action is detailed and the violence gruesome which was ok for a bit but it was a little wearing by the end of the book. I get it; the Vampires are hungry, violent, pontificating libertines. For me a little less detail in the action scenes and a little less conversation between the villains and our intrepid hero would greatly improve a the book. But overall it's what it says it is. Vampires in the Old West, full of mayhem and murder, blood and gore on the sand and angst.
This was the first book I read from Mr. Janz but I will be on the lookout for his other work.
This was the first book I read from Mr. Janz but I will be on the lookout for his other work.
“Being afraid isn’t a bad thing, contrary to what men want to believe. The average man pretends he’s afraid of nothing until the danger actually arrives. Then he’s full of terror and an absolute coward.”
Bloodthirsty vampires waging terror in New Mexico, back in 1885? Sign me up!
Let me start by saying that this was my very first time reading a Jonathan Janz book.
Whenever I read a book by an author that is new to me, I feel a little bit nervous. Mainly because I don't want to be disappointed. Who does?
Well, call me lucky. I haven't been disappointed so far.
Dust Devils was such a wild and fun ride!
“Make your own luck, kid. God gave you a brain, didn’t he? Use it and stop making excuses for yourself.”
As soon as I met Cody & Willet, I had instant Dark Tower vibes (Rolland & Jake). I'm not complaining!
I honestly had no idea how much fun this book would be. The story is action-packed from the very beginning.
Although I can't really say that I'm a western fan, it would be fair to say that I do like western horror now.
Janz's execution was excellent!
I can't wait to check out his other works.
Let me finish by thanking Flame Tree Press for sending me a copy of the book.