My Two Cents (Book Review): DEVIL DANCERS by Bo Chappell & A.A. Medina

When an enigmatic stranger rides into a small, quiet town in the American Old West, trouble follows hot on his heels. Add in a crooked sheriff, his good-natured deputy, a couple of town drunks, and a hot-headed local beauty, and you've got the makings of a tale as old as time, one told hundreds, if not thousands of times in the pages of countless pulpy cowboy novels.

However, in "Devil Dancers," authors Bo Chappell and A.A. Medina take those familiar plot devices and turn them on their ears. What starts out as a conventional set-up quickly evolves into fast-paced showdown between good and evil, as a dark force is unwittingly set upon the otherwise idyllic town of Guidance.

When Hector, an erstwhile outlaw, rides into town, he's greeted with suspicion and derision, both because he's Mexican, and because he's an unfamiliar face. He's got enough gold to throw around to make himself at least somewhat welcome, at least until a posse of his former compadres -- fellow outlaws on the lam -- come looking for him. They stir up enough trouble to make Hector beat a hasty retreat, aided by a friendly local and his daughter, Julie Ann. When both the criminal gang and Guidance's smarmy sheriff, Appleton, and his young deputy Jack track Hector down, things go sideways fast. Turns out Hector and his partners in crime aren't the worst trouble headed Guidance's way, and before the night's over, the town is overrun with carnivorous children, killer bees (literally), a murder of murderous crows, and plenty of other strange, grotesque, and downright terrifying phenomena.

As one by one, the colorful cast of characters is whittled down, it's up to Hector, Julie Ann, and Jack to try and not only make sense of the darkness that's taken over the town, but find a way to stop it before it spreads. To do this, Jack will have to embrace his long-forgotten roots as an Apache, Hector will have to make peace with his tumultuous past, and Julie Ann will have to realize she doesn't need a man to save her.

"Devil Dancers" takes a while to find its stride, but as it progresses, it's a lot of fun to read. Some of the imagery is truly terrifying, and while I wish there had been more explanation as to the origin and source of the evil infecting the good folks of Guidance, the climactic battle pitting our heroes against the "big boss" is exciting and satisfying.

For the most part, "Devil Dancers" doesn't take itself too seriously, and you can tell Chappell and Medina had fun with the prose. There are passages that read as lyrically as any in a Louis L'Amour tale, while others fly with the kind of sardonic, if not vulgar wit you find in a Tarantino movie. In fact, the vibe I got while reading struck me very much as being Tarantino-esque, or Robert Rodriguez-like: violent, witty, gritty, and dark. "Devil Dancers" is pulp fiction at its best, and it makes for a fun time reading.

Grab a copy here.