The Blue Blazes

Nothing bad, but nothing impressive either. Feels like playing a videogame. Excellent writing, but the story, not so much...

Fun, fast read.

Leave it to Chuck Wendig to write something sophisticatedly simple, showing his good taste through a reckless and enthusiastic lack thereof. The Blue Blazes is a turbo-charged urban fantasy with fists, guts, goblins and clever one-liners.

The richest part of this book is the setting. From the above ground streets of New York, to the subterranean Underworld filled with not only a plethora of ugly baddies, but a whole ancient culture. Its absurd and over-the-top enough to be thrilling, while still feeling real enough that its as though you could step right into it. Not that you'd want to. The violence in this book is at times at shudder-inducing gross-out levels, and the bad guys are creepy as fuck.

The characters are cut from a simpler mold, and I mean that in the best way possible. Mookie Pearl is a big angry brute, his daughter Nora is an angry teen of a much smaller size. They may be small-minded creatures, but their desires and hopes are far from insignificant, and their relationship is tragically complex. Their mistakes, their pride, and their sheer relentlessness are what drives the plot forward, along with a suave villain and a conspiracy to turn this supernatural NYC upside down.

This is a super fun, kinda crazy, splatterpunk fantasy noir. Going into this, I was looking for something messy and dark that revelled in its own absurdity and rage, and The Blue Blazes totally hit the spot.

I really enjoyed this mash-up of organized crime and Lovecraftian horror, but it's the characters that shine in this novel–Mookie Pearl, a big bad who loves his daughter Nora, no matter what; supporting characters with heart like Skelly, Burnsy and Werth; and some really nasty denizens of the Underworld.

The Blue Blazes Wow, what a ride! The Blue Blazes is one of those reads that you pick up, intending to read a few pages, and then just can't put it down. A perfectly wild plot meshes with plenty of tough and quirky characters into something that is just too delicious for words. However, since this is a review after all, I'll do my best to put it into words. Let the raving commence!
 
The prose in this book was a little more choppy than what I was used to. I soon came to love it though, especially once I met Mookie Pearl. A tough guy of the highest caliber, Mookie is all about brute strength. Don't let his appearance fool you though. Mookie has a good head on his shoulders and a large heart to match it. I couldn't help but fall in love with the way he functions. As a father, as hired muscle, and just as a human being.
 
Which is actually how I felt about all the characters in The Blue Blazes! I was pleasantly surprised by the cast of characters that accompanied Mookie in this book. Unique personalities that showcased both their strengths and their weakness made for a set of people I couldn't help but love, or hate as the case may be. This is the perfect example of why pitting the good guys against the bad ones doesn't always work. There are grey areas, and Chuck Wendig isn't afraid to explore those.
 
Add in a world that sets organized crime against the gritty underworld, and you have a book that I just couldn't get enough of. I could ramble endlessly about how hard I fell from this book, but I'd rather let you discover it for yourself. Let's just say that The Blue Blazes is absolutely worth a read. This is my first Chuck Wendig book, but mark my words when I say it won't be my last.