April 2015 – Barry Reese

April 28, 2015

Gravedigger Volume Two Gets A New Review

Pat Casey reviewed the second Gravedigger volume on Amazon.com. Here’s what he said:

Barry Reese unearths another hit with Gravedigger vol. 2

5 stars out of 5

Barry Reese’s second volume with Charity Grace & her team offers a touch of supernatural, a smattering of romance and a torrent of pulp action!

The use of the mythological Pandora as Gravedigger’s nemesis in the story was great. The twist Mr. Reese put on the character was even greater. We see a determined Pandora as she tries to fulfill an ancient mission imposed upon herself centuries ago. Unfortunately her violent methods(and those of her partner Tamaki) come to the attention of Gravedigger.

As with other series in the “Reese Universe” the strength of the protagonist’s support team grows with each volume. Always a treat to see how the individual parts form a strong team dynamic in these adventures.

Tight dialogue, strong characters and pulp-style pacing made this a book I couldn’t put down. The nod to a certain Dr. Jones was a nice touch as well.

My only quibble being the lack of interior art. The cover by George Selas was fantastic and I looked forward to seeing his B&W interior art in this volume. Hopefully interior art will return in volume 3.

Thanks, Pat! I enjoyed writing Pandora a lot and I’m glad you thought she made a quality nemesis for Gravedigger.

As for the lack of interior art, I’m afraid that will be the case for Lazarus Gray v. 5, as well. There are lots of behind-the-scenes reasons for it that I can’t go into at the moment but I missed it, too! Hopefully we’ll see a return to interior art in future releases.

Our art today is by the talented Jenevieve Broomall.

April 21, 2015

Another Damned Review

Pat Casey posted the following review on Amazon.com for The Damned Thing. Let’s see what he had to say:

The Damned Thing Is A Damned Good Read! 5 stars out of 5

It was a joy to find Barry Reese’s “The Damned Thing” back in print under the Pro Se Press banner. I’ve read positive reviews of the book during its initial offering & wondered how it would hold up against the incredible work he’s produced in The Rook (now The Peregrine) and Lazarus Grey. Let me say that it holds up VERY well.

We are introduced to a 1930’s style P.I. named Violet Cambridge who is as tough as she is beautiful (fighting off attackers from almost page one! ).

The search for and destruction of an ancient statue nicknamed “the damn thing” drives this story at a pace that barely gives you time to catch your breath.

Reese has introduced some extremely seedy characters that are willing to do anything or kill anyone to obtain the statue which has an evil sentience of its own. It was quite interesting to see Mr. Reese’s take on “the Great Beast” Aleister Crowley who also joins in the search using his legendary powers of dark magic. It was also a treat to see the inclusion of Chief McKenzie from the Rook series join in the adventure.

The story can go beyond the usual PG-13 type tales that can often be found in Reese’s Rook, Grey or Gravedigger novels. But don’t let that deter you from reading The Damned Thing as Mr. Reese has once again focused on strong characters & fast pace storytelling in this novel.

The ending was satisfying and open enough to suggest a sequel. Hopefully we will see the return of Violet facing the hoards of hell…

….something tells me she would send them running with their tails between their legs!

Thanks for the kind words, Pat. I really enjoyed writing this one and I’m glad it’s back in print via Pro Se. Violet pops up in a cameo role in a later Peregrine story but aside from that, we haven’t seen her again.

Maybe there’s more adventures in her future, though!

April 16, 2015

R.I.P. ?

I’m putting the finishing touches on the so-called “crossover novel” where all my heroes team up. I’ve finished the heavy lifting and now I’m working on a series of epilogues that both close off the story and set up the next stage of my pulp adventure universe.

Yesterday, I killed off a major character.

I’m not using ‘major’ lightly, either.

This will set in motion some pretty interesting stories and events so their death won’t be glossed over or forgotten, I promise you.

Having said that, I imagine that a few fans will be very, very upset with me.

Pro Se head honcho Tommy Hancock has said they’re going to fast track this one so hopefully you might still see it in 2015.

And that cover by Chris Batista is gorgeous, isn’t it?

April 6, 2015

Stuff and Things

Hello All!

Just wanted to give a quick update on various things – the big crossover novel should be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. I have a big action set-piece to write and then some clean-up chapters but then it’s put to bed and shipped off to my editors. One of the questions I get asked the most is “What characters are in it?” How about: Lazarus Gray, The Peregrine, Gravedigger, The Darkling, Assistance Unlimited, The Black Bat, Leonid Kaslov, Catalyst, The Black Terror, Thunder Jim Wade, The Heap, Fortune McCall and The Dark Gentleman? That’s not even counting the plethora of villains…!

So you can bank on it being a very crowded book. I’m not sure it will see print in 2015, however. Pro Se’s publishing schedule is extremely packed these days – but it will see print eventually, I promise! Until then you’ll have Lazarus Gray Volume 5 to tide you over — that one should be out very, very soon.

Once I’m finished with this novel, I have several projects lined up that I need to work on: the second Dark Gentleman short; the first Melody Grace story (who?); the first Nakam story (who?); an Avenger novella; Lazarus Gray Volume 6 and Gravedigger Volume 3.

Woof! I’m busy for the next year or more.

Take care out there, my friends. It’s a dangerous world.