Blood and Magick

Deacon Chalk is a supernatural bounty hunter who rarely manages to collect any bounties, instead slaying evil out of the goodness of his heart. He’s taken on murderous were-lions and vampires (in 2012’s Blood and Bullets and Blood and Silver) and now faces immortal evil witches powered by a Kandarian demon called the Keeper and involved with a book called the Necronomicon. If this sounds familiar, it should: the villains are a direct homage to the Evil Dead movies. The entire book is fueled by over-the-top audacity: were-dogs and were-lions are joined by were-possums, and the action often returns to Polecats, a bikini bar staffed entirely by strippers that Deacon has rescued from supernatural attackers. (“Monsters love strippers,” one of the women explains.) At one point, the Catholic church even awards Chalk with the historic magical sword Durendal. But Chalk takes his gory demon-slaying business dead seriously, allowing readers to have both fun and high-powered action. This exciting and charmingly ridiculous installment will appeal to fans of B-movies and urban fantasy. (Mar.)