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evavroslin's review against another edition
5.0
(Cemetery Dance review)
All the Dead Men is the sequel to Blood for the Sun by Errick Nunnally, both recently re-issued by Haverhill House Publishing. This is a werewolf novel, but it’s unique not only because the protagonist comes from a mixed-race background (he comes from a black father and a mother from the Kainai nation of Saskatchewan in Canada), but also suffers from a condition like Alzheimer’s. The thing that struck me must about Alexander Smith, the protagonist, when we first meet him is the way his scent power works with analysis of clues to solve murders. Trigger warning: those who have issues with harm against children should be aware that Blood for the Sun starts off with it, and it continues in the next book as well.
Fans of the third season of True Detective who wished it had more of a supernatural twist will definitely get a kick out of All the Dead Men, as Alexander continues to be haunted by his own personal demons. Nunnally excels at both the crime and supernatural elements, and has generated unique world-building facets to the restrictions as well as abilities of his supernatural characters. With his daughter, Ana, he hopes that she can somehow delay the inevitable—that immortals in this world eventually get hit with memory loss and insanity after they’ve been around for more than a century.
Alexander’s personal history is very interesting, but not bogged down by flashbacks or infodumps, which was refreshing to see.
I also enjoyed the Acknowledgments section of this text, in which the author described the urban fantasy landscape, why he prefers the term “horror thriller” and why he felt it was important to lend new voices to the popular genre. The most popular urban fantasies of the late 1990s and early 2000s in particular focused on white, mostly straight, women, or men (Harry Dresden, famously). I found it compelling that these books also gave him a chance to discover more about his own family’s roots.
This novel, like its predecessor, starts off with our werewolf Alexander, who is on the trail of a murder again, this time near Mount Rainier. Another disappeared girl, presumed dead, is at risk, and Alexander is the special expert that police rely on to find clues that they’re not picking up. This time, he gets an interesting tipoff from a frenemy, shall we say.
It’s an action-packed supernatural thriller that readers who love urban fantasy will devour. Those with a penchant for mystery elements and solving cases will particularly enjoy this book and its predecessor. Although reading the first book will give the reader some good grounding into Alexander’s history, they will be able to follow along and pick up All the Dead Men without necessarily having read the first book. All the Dead Men gives a satisfying conclusion while also providing room for further books in the series.
Readers who loved Maurice Broaddus’s epic The Knights of Breton Court, Steven Van Patten’s tremendous vampire series that starts with Brookwater’s Curse, and indeed the fantastic L.A. Banks Vampire Huntress series beginning with Minion, will devour All the Dead Men by Errick Nunnally.
All the Dead Men is the sequel to Blood for the Sun by Errick Nunnally, both recently re-issued by Haverhill House Publishing. This is a werewolf novel, but it’s unique not only because the protagonist comes from a mixed-race background (he comes from a black father and a mother from the Kainai nation of Saskatchewan in Canada), but also suffers from a condition like Alzheimer’s. The thing that struck me must about Alexander Smith, the protagonist, when we first meet him is the way his scent power works with analysis of clues to solve murders. Trigger warning: those who have issues with harm against children should be aware that Blood for the Sun starts off with it, and it continues in the next book as well.
Fans of the third season of True Detective who wished it had more of a supernatural twist will definitely get a kick out of All the Dead Men, as Alexander continues to be haunted by his own personal demons. Nunnally excels at both the crime and supernatural elements, and has generated unique world-building facets to the restrictions as well as abilities of his supernatural characters. With his daughter, Ana, he hopes that she can somehow delay the inevitable—that immortals in this world eventually get hit with memory loss and insanity after they’ve been around for more than a century.
Alexander’s personal history is very interesting, but not bogged down by flashbacks or infodumps, which was refreshing to see.
I also enjoyed the Acknowledgments section of this text, in which the author described the urban fantasy landscape, why he prefers the term “horror thriller” and why he felt it was important to lend new voices to the popular genre. The most popular urban fantasies of the late 1990s and early 2000s in particular focused on white, mostly straight, women, or men (Harry Dresden, famously). I found it compelling that these books also gave him a chance to discover more about his own family’s roots.
This novel, like its predecessor, starts off with our werewolf Alexander, who is on the trail of a murder again, this time near Mount Rainier. Another disappeared girl, presumed dead, is at risk, and Alexander is the special expert that police rely on to find clues that they’re not picking up. This time, he gets an interesting tipoff from a frenemy, shall we say.
It’s an action-packed supernatural thriller that readers who love urban fantasy will devour. Those with a penchant for mystery elements and solving cases will particularly enjoy this book and its predecessor. Although reading the first book will give the reader some good grounding into Alexander’s history, they will be able to follow along and pick up All the Dead Men without necessarily having read the first book. All the Dead Men gives a satisfying conclusion while also providing room for further books in the series.
Readers who loved Maurice Broaddus’s epic The Knights of Breton Court, Steven Van Patten’s tremendous vampire series that starts with Brookwater’s Curse, and indeed the fantastic L.A. Banks Vampire Huntress series beginning with Minion, will devour All the Dead Men by Errick Nunnally.
thomaswjoyce's review against another edition
5.0
While it would give the reader a deeper understanding of the character of Alexander Smith, and most of the supporting cast, it is not essential to read Blood for the Sun before reading Nunnally’s latest. He does a succinct job of addressing the pertinent points at natural stages, when they arise during Smith’s latest adventure. In fact, while the first book takes its time developing the characters and their many quirks, the second book is unhindered by backstory relating to Smith’s current life in Boston. It does begin with a flashback to a missing person case (Smith’s speciality, given the keen senses afforded him by his ability to transform into a large wolf) that gives a quick introduction to his work and what drives him, even a couple of decades later. It also may have a bearing on his latest mystery.
Smith receives a call from Detective Roberts, his liaison within the police department and someone who was probably happier being blissfully ignorant of the existence of supernatural creatures before he experienced it first-hand during the finale of book one. Now he is haunted by a bloody battle between a group of bloodthirsty vampires and a pack of shifters with which Smith had aligned himself. He was instructed by his predecessor to trust Smith, something he does grudgingly. But he has no other choice when the set of an amateur pornographic movie becomes a bloodbath and the star of the movie is missing. Roberts has proof on video that Alexa Vexa is more than human, so he calls in the best person he knows who can deal with the supernatural. But Smith takes some convincing, repeatedly making the point that he does not make a habit of dealing with Vexa’s kind. But he is plagued by memories of a past life when he was a younger shifter, and he can’t get past the idea that there is a connection with this new case.
Nunnally does an excellent job of intertwining Smith’s reminiscences with the present-day action to further develop the story. As readers of book one will know, Smith has been suffering from a unique type of memory-loss that is especially problematic for someone who has lived as many lifetimes as Smith. He has overcome it to a certain degree by the time book two begins, but he is still haunted by memories, including one that specifically relates to Alexa Vexa and he is compelled to investigate the case, leading him to a sinister organisation that threatens the supernatural world and human world alike. They are a congregation of vampires, following a prophecy that promises to restore them to their rightful place as the masters of the world. When they involve Smith’s adopted vampire daughter Ana, and threaten the ones that he loves, the shapeshifting PI must give everything to stop them. And it will cost him dearly.
Prospective readers don’t need to read book one, but they really should. And then they should read book two. In Alexander Smith, Nunnally has created an intriguing hero, but one with more than a few skeletons in his closet, something Smith is haunted by, but also something for which he is ready to make amends. There is plenty of mileage left in this old dog, and more stories to tell about him, whether he survives the explosive ending to this book or not. Author Christopher Golden referred to it as “hard-boiled horror noir” and we can think of no better description of the book, or Nunnally’s style. Smith is as tough as they come; handy in a fight, and not known for suffering fools. He will use the skills he has learned throughout his long career for as long as he can. But, when violence becomes the quickest path to getting answers, he doesn’t hold back. It makes for a thrilling, action-packed continuation of Smith’s dark, blood-soaked story that has us eagerly anticipating the next chapter.
Smith receives a call from Detective Roberts, his liaison within the police department and someone who was probably happier being blissfully ignorant of the existence of supernatural creatures before he experienced it first-hand during the finale of book one. Now he is haunted by a bloody battle between a group of bloodthirsty vampires and a pack of shifters with which Smith had aligned himself. He was instructed by his predecessor to trust Smith, something he does grudgingly. But he has no other choice when the set of an amateur pornographic movie becomes a bloodbath and the star of the movie is missing. Roberts has proof on video that Alexa Vexa is more than human, so he calls in the best person he knows who can deal with the supernatural. But Smith takes some convincing, repeatedly making the point that he does not make a habit of dealing with Vexa’s kind. But he is plagued by memories of a past life when he was a younger shifter, and he can’t get past the idea that there is a connection with this new case.
Nunnally does an excellent job of intertwining Smith’s reminiscences with the present-day action to further develop the story. As readers of book one will know, Smith has been suffering from a unique type of memory-loss that is especially problematic for someone who has lived as many lifetimes as Smith. He has overcome it to a certain degree by the time book two begins, but he is still haunted by memories, including one that specifically relates to Alexa Vexa and he is compelled to investigate the case, leading him to a sinister organisation that threatens the supernatural world and human world alike. They are a congregation of vampires, following a prophecy that promises to restore them to their rightful place as the masters of the world. When they involve Smith’s adopted vampire daughter Ana, and threaten the ones that he loves, the shapeshifting PI must give everything to stop them. And it will cost him dearly.
Prospective readers don’t need to read book one, but they really should. And then they should read book two. In Alexander Smith, Nunnally has created an intriguing hero, but one with more than a few skeletons in his closet, something Smith is haunted by, but also something for which he is ready to make amends. There is plenty of mileage left in this old dog, and more stories to tell about him, whether he survives the explosive ending to this book or not. Author Christopher Golden referred to it as “hard-boiled horror noir” and we can think of no better description of the book, or Nunnally’s style. Smith is as tough as they come; handy in a fight, and not known for suffering fools. He will use the skills he has learned throughout his long career for as long as he can. But, when violence becomes the quickest path to getting answers, he doesn’t hold back. It makes for a thrilling, action-packed continuation of Smith’s dark, blood-soaked story that has us eagerly anticipating the next chapter.
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