Cold as Hell

Black Badge Series, Book 1

By: Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle

Narrated by: Roger Clark

2022 Audible’s Best in Fantasy

In the West, there are worse things to fear than bandits and outlaws.

Demons. Monsters. Witches. James Crowley’s sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down and send them packing, banish them from the mortal realm for good.

He didn’t choose this life. No. He didn’t choose life at all.

Shot dead in a gunfight many years ago, now he’s stuck in purgatory, serving the whims of the White Throne to avoid falling to Hell. Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his penance and fade away.

This time, the White Throne has sent him to investigate a strange bank robbery in Lonely Hill. An outlaw with the ability to conjure ice has frozen and shattered open the bank vault and is now on a spree, robbing the region for all it’s worth.

In his quest to track down the ice-wielder and suss out which demon is behind granting a mortal such power, Crowley finds himself face-to-face with hellish beasts, shapeshifters, and, worse…temptation. But the truth behind the attacks is worse than he ever imagined.…

The Witcher meets The Dresden Files in this weird Western series by the Audible number one bestselling duo behind Dead Acre.

©2022 by Rhett C. Bruno and Steven Beaulieu (P)2022 by Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

“A weird and wild twist on the Old West that mashes gunslingers, divine intervention, and the supernatural into one hell of a story. Highly recommended!” Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars and Kagen the Damned

“The rich mystical elements feel every bit as authentic to the west as the gunslinging and grit, all of which deftly bring the characters and setting to life.” Shirtaloon, Top 10 Amazon charts bestselling author of He Who Fights with Monsters

“A badass supernatural western…It’s like the Witcher goes to Tombstone.” Larry Correia, New York Times bestselling author of Monster Hunter International

amazing

Roger Clark's narration is great. Great book I really hope it get a sequel.

Western Black Magic Blockbuster

If you want to know what a blockbuster movie looks like before someone has the good sense to put it to film, read Cold as Hell. It starts hot off the heels of its prequel novella, Dead Acre, driving the action and intrigue so hard that I deeply resented having to pause for other concerns. At that, I finished the 13 hour tale in 2 days, a feat all the more impressive given my notoriously short attention span. I won't spoil nothing, except to say James Crowley's hunt for the evil supernatural monsters inhabiting the Wild West provides a feast of gunfighting, magic, suspense and finely crafted characters I both loved and loved to hate. Even though it's only May, I can tell this will probably be my favorite book of 2022. I strongly urge anyone to experience the story through the audiobook as Roger Clark's rich drawling narration is top notch. I eagerly await the next book in the series!

WOW!

Awesome paranormal western! Great read! Keeps you on the edge of your seat! MUST READ!

Great paranormal western series

Bounty hunter for the lord, in service to an Angel handler, this Black Badge is busting demons and their minions back to hell. very entertaining and action packed

Great recommendation

I found out about this from NSS and ended up loving this book. The narrator is perfectly cast with a deep, throaty, raspy voice kind of like RC Bray in Hell Divers. I look forward to more Black Badge novels!

Fantastic

Not usually into these styles of books but it’s full of life and fantastic story and the reader is one of the better ones I say he’s as good as r.c bray

Amazing!

loves the narrator and story, both went very well together and made my imagination fly through the story believing it was real and I was there to experience it. can't wait for more!

This is sooooo good!

What a great story! I could listen to this narrator all day!

I highly, highly recommend this book. It is an excellent escape, Now, for the long wait for the next book.

WOW!!!

Following on the heels of the amazing Dead Acre novella, Bruno and Castle stepped up their game for the first full-length novel in this series. We're presented with a gritty western tale of a murdered outlaw who was brought back to serve the "White Court" in hunting down evil. What makes this tale stand out is that there's no redemption for James Crowley. Rather than the usual heavenly reward for a job well-done, the best he can hope for is oblivion. Crowley is gruff, irreverent, and unforgiving - the epitome of an anti-hero. He has his own sense of honor and you can't help but root for him despite his flaws. The other characters are realistic and varied in personalities, and one particular bad guy is ruthlessly savage to the point that you can't wait for him to get his due. The storyline was well-conceived and executed with a pace that kept me listening long into the night. Roger Clark delivered another stellar performance and brought a definitive realism to this type of story. There's also a plot twist that demands a sequel, and Book 2 can't drop soon enough.

Can wait for the next one

Very enjoyable. I loved the story and performance. Good tie in with the first book.