City of the Lost

Mar 12, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, fantasy-detective, 2012, i-can-smell-your-brains

A job to steal a precious stone goes wrong and a thug named Joe Sunday is murdered. Now Joe's a zombie with a craving for human flesh and everyone in town is after the stone. Is there anyone Joe can trust and can he find the stone before a centuries-old madman uses it to become immortal?

Right out of the box, I have to say that this book is pure fun. While I'm giving it the same rating as Winter's Bone, it in no way is as well written or powerful. That being said, here we go!

City of the Lost is a...more A job to steal a precious stone goes wrong and a thug named Joe Sunday is murdered. Now Joe's a zombie with a craving for human flesh and everyone in town is after the stone. Is there anyone Joe can trust and can he find the stone before a centuries-old madman uses it to become immortal?

Right out of the box, I have to say that this book is pure fun. While I'm giving it the same rating as Winter's Bone, it in no way is as well written or powerful. That being said, here we go!

City of the Lost is an entertaining noir tale that just happens to star a zombie. The dialogue is hard boiled and in the present tense. It has moments of hilarity and not the lame attempts at humor other urban fantasy noir tales that shall remain nameless use. It also has a lot less misogyny than the tales about a certain unfunny wizard from Chicago normally display.

Joe Sunday wasn't a nice guy before being made a zombie and dying didn't help his manners. He kills and bludgeons his way through this tale, all in pursuit of a stone that may or may not be able to turn him back into a human and Giavetti, the man who covets it. The supporting cast are an interesting bunch: a Nazi sorcerer named Neumann, and his henchmen Archie and Jughead. Jughead's a little person with the teeth and demeanor of a pitbull. There's Samantha, the woman with a connection to the villain, the Bruja, an urban witch, and Frank Tanaka, a detective who's also investigating Giavetti.

There's a lot of dark humor in this book and I caught myself snickering a few times, from Joe using a dog to bludgeon someone, speculating on the ethics of eating hookers to keep from rotting, to Joe sneering and saying "I didn't want any part of that guy in my mouth." Funny stuff.

Any complaints? Not really. There were a lot of twists and only about half of them were predictable. I have a feeling it's meant to be the first book in the series but it was quite a satisfying read on it's own. For a fun zombie book, it's an easy four.(less)

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Nov 08, 2012 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of urban fantasy and Guy Ritchie films

Recommended to Katy by: Goodreads First Reads

Shelves: first-reads-book

Please note: Originally read in Dec. 2011; updating the review to add a disclosure

Disclosure: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for a review.

My Synopsis: Joe Sunday is a henchman and a thug – he’s worked for the same guy for 20 years and enjoys his work, for the most part. Then his friend and co-thug Julio has a breakdown – goes bughouse in a bar, leaving Joe to pick up the pieces of a job left undone. Joe has to go kill a man and steal a gem from him for...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jan-2012

I'll start off by saying that I won this book through Goodreads First Reads and although it isn't for the light-hearted or weak-stomached, it was definitely an interesting book to read. I've read other zombie books, but what I liked most about this one is that it is written through the eyes of the zombie. I'm sure there are other books out there that the point-of-view is the zombies; I just haven't read them. There are quite a lot (and I mean A LOT) of curse words, so if you're against cussing y...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Dennis Venier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, books-i-own

So if you read the back of this book you might laugh like I did, I think Stephen Blackmoore is the Quentin Tarantino of books. I've never really quite read anything like this book, I have to say I actually enjoy Stephen Blackmoore's style of writing and just humor/action in this book. A lot of funny quotes, reminds me of the movie "Army Of Darkness" mixture of a little bit of everything but overall this book is pure fun. But sometimes the ridiculousness kind of get's too out of hand and bores th...more

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Mar 12, 2013 A.T. Hicks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-tad-bizarre, favorites, so-bizarre-yet-so-good, strange-humor

Pulp has always been one of my favorite genres. It allows writers to blend varied ideas and genres into one haywire, slightly weird, perhaps even bizarre novel. This is one of those books.

The language in City of the Lost is right up my alley: tawdry and peppered with a delicious amount of gratuitous cursing. The characters jump off the pages and are as varied as they are unexpected. You have witches and warlocks and demons and of course, the prerequisite sex pot in the form of a lovely, if myste...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Epheros Aldor rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Stephen Blackmoore’s City of the Lost, we have a gritty, noir-inspired tale set in modern Los Angeles. Joe Sunday is a common thug for hire who gets sent on a job that gets him killed. Fortunately the story doesn’t end there. The target brings Joe back, into a sort of zombie-ish unlife which brings Joe face to face with the hidden underworld of the City of Angels’ magic population; vampire drug addicts, ghosts, demons and devils, and wizards and witches.

The story weaves several perspectives t...more In Stephen Blackmoore’s City of the Lost, we have a gritty, noir-inspired tale set in modern Los Angeles. Joe Sunday is a common thug for hire who gets sent on a job that gets him killed. Fortunately the story doesn’t end there. The target brings Joe back, into a sort of zombie-ish unlife which brings Joe face to face with the hidden underworld of the City of Angels’ magic population; vampire drug addicts, ghosts, demons and devils, and wizards and witches.

The story weaves several perspectives together cleanly, from a cop with a hidden agenda to an ambitious club owner, a woman whose sordid past reveals revenge on the highest order and a witch social worker. Mr. Blackmoore’s ability to keep tabs on these many sub-plots is like an IRS agent doing an audit, he knows where it all adds up.

The story is fast paced and a quick thrill ride of fun. There are definitely some enjoyable scenes that are not only comical but downright violently entertaining. This book is certainly not for the faint of heart but at the same time it isn’t gory or violent for violence sake. Blackmoore runs this story from the protagonist’s perspective and, after all, he is a street thug. It has just the right amount of detail for the comic-horror this tale is; think Evil Dead, some dark comedy and funny but gross violence and you’ve got it.

The writing is easy on the eyes, allowing the reader to immerse themselves into the story quickly and happily. I think it’s only real downfall is that it’s too quick a read. There was a lot of good story here and I think it shirked a little on stretching out some details and adding deeper filler. Joe Sunday isn’t the smartest but he does have a certain sense of street wisdom and experience that I will credit the character but in the story we’re dealing with several characters that have had far more experience putting together plots, schemes, and plans with more available resources than Joe Sunday that ultimately made the story shallower than I would expect.

I did like the book, it was fun and it was enjoyable, and it’s definitely a page turner. The description is spot on and relevant, the characterization isn’t deep or profound but, as I mentioned, it is very noir inspired so the characters are notable and quirky and interesting enough to spend time with. It’s a fun read that I would compare to books like Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey or Double Dead by Chuck Wendig, you’ll get solid entertainment that is hard to pass up.
(less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I started reading this book and then life got in the way after 30 or so pages and I didn't pick it up again for over a month. But that is nothing against the writing, that's just points against my crappy life. The most important thing here is that I picked it back up and finished. After finishing it, I tweeted to Mr. Blackmoore and told him that I need more Joe Sunday.

Joe Sunday is not your average zombie. Instead of brains, he eats hearts to survive and keep from falling apart. He'll help himse...more I started reading this book and then life got in the way after 30 or so pages and I didn't pick it up again for over a month. But that is nothing against the writing, that's just points against my crappy life. The most important thing here is that I picked it back up and finished. After finishing it, I tweeted to Mr. Blackmoore and told him that I need more Joe Sunday.

Joe Sunday is not your average zombie. Instead of brains, he eats hearts to survive and keep from falling apart. He'll help himself to all your other parts too but the heart is essential for him to carry on. This book kept me guessing through the entire thing. I was right there with Joe questioning who to trust and who to eat for supper.

He's a hired gun turned zombie and he needs to find this mystical stone that is supposed to make you live forever with the correct ritual. There are many magickal types of people trying to get their hands on the stone and they all make some sort of empty promise to Joe who's running around town trying to keep from falling apart and figure out who to trust. Even a cop can't be trusted in this book!

There was one scene with Samantha, the immortal vengeful beauty, where they get quite close to each other and I found myself wanting to be Samantha. I mean really, look at Joe on the cover of the book! Makes a girl weak in the knees (even with part of his chest missing). Joe isn't the only guy I found myself lusting after. I'm also quite fond of Darius, the demon bartender. He's snarky and big and well...a demon! I am heir to the throne in Hell after all, so of course I'm going to find myself fawning over the bad boys. Back to the story though...

This book was just fantastic. I was confused at times as to what was going on and who double-crossed who at what time and who attacked who. But it all came clear to me in the end. Stephen told me that I can tell him the truth if I didn't like the book but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. So Mr. Blackmoore, give me more Sunday! (less)

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Apr 17, 2012 Laurie K rated it 5 of 5 stars

Joe Sunday is an enforcer for a Los Angeles crime boss when he's given an assignment to steal a highly coveted magical stone. That job turns out to be the death of him. After he realizes he's not a breather anymore, he finds that death is just the beginning of his problems. Joe's never been big on the whole thinking for himself thing and is comfortable just following orders. When it turns out that he needs that stone desperately to keep from falling apart - literally - he's on his own and can't...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Qwill / The Qwillery rated it 5 of 5 stars

Take a shot of noir, a shot of supernatural, a shot of mystery, add a dash of levity. Shake. Serve neat and you've got City of the Lost, Stephen Blackmoore's exciting debut novel.

I completely enjoyed City of the Lost. Joe Sunday, the 'hero' is a thug. No two ways about it. But he's a thug with a heart, more or less. When he gets caught up in supernatural shenanigans because of his boss, Simon, things really go sideways for him. He's turned into a sentient zombie...with an expiration date. He's g...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't realize I had been waiting for this book- a fresh new take on Paranormal Noir. A zombie crime novel with fascinating characters and a brilliantly written plot. This plot jumps up and down- so action packed, there isn't a dull moment. I dove straight into this novel and didn't let up until I finished. So much fun. The quick, witty dialogue added to the awesomeness. This is a super fast read too at only 224 pages.

I love anti-hero Joe Sunday. Even his name sings to me. Joe is somewhat dry,...more

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Dec 16, 2011 Georgiann Hennelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Joe Sunday is a thug , an enforcer. When his partner is sent to kill a mysterious new business partner, and Julio his partner goes all bug house in a bar. After seeing Giovanni, Joe calls his boss to tell him what happened. Joe is murdered and brought back to a twisted half life.And he,s stuck in the middle of a race to find the ancient stone that has the power to grant immortality. With the stone he may live forever without it he,s just another rotting corpse. Everyone has a stake from a psycho...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, horror

I loved this book. I've had it on my TBR list for quite a while, and finally picked it up last week. The plan was not to read it immediately -- I was in the middle of reading something else at the time. But I figured it couldn't hurt to skim the first page...

And the next thing I knew, I was on page 40 and I didn't want to put the damn thing down.

I didn't so much read this book as ingest it, savouring every page. It's bloody and gore-infested and violent, full of visceral descriptions of bodies b...more I loved this book. I've had it on my TBR list for quite a while, and finally picked it up last week. The plan was not to read it immediately -- I was in the middle of reading something else at the time. But I figured it couldn't hurt to skim the first page...

And the next thing I knew, I was on page 40 and I didn't want to put the damn thing down.

I didn't so much read this book as ingest it, savouring every page. It's bloody and gore-infested and violent, full of visceral descriptions of bodies being rent asunder and rotting flesh sloughing off bones. It is, in short, "not my usual book". But Godsdamn it, I loved Joe Sunday.

Joe Sunday is not a nice guy. He's a thug, a leg-breaker, and a sometime killer. And that's before he's murdered and turned into a zombie by a maniacal old man intent on achieving immortality. Joe smokes, drinks, curses, and (view spoiler). Like I said, he's not a nice guy. And yet...

It's Joe's voice that makes this novel as amazing as it is. The story is told in first-person, which gives us an inside track to Joe's thoughts and motives, and I don't think it would have worked any other way. Because though Joe may be a thug, he's got strong positive values guiding his every action. Loyalty. Honour. Integrity. Courage. And it's those things that make him a hero, even when his deeds are less than heroic.

I haven't even mentioned the plot. I don't want to give too much away, so let me just introduce you to a few of the characters. You've got the aforementioned ancient madman intent on immortality, a cockney mobster, a Nazi wizard and his medical experiments, a cop bent on revenge, a charmingly seductive lady of dubious motive, a THE witch, a score of homeless vampires, and a demon. All of them, including Joe Sunday, are trying to get their hands on a magical gem. And all of them are willing to go to any and all lengths to do it.

It's a twisting, turning, gore-encrusted ride where you can't trust anyone, even the good guys. (If you can even figure out who the good guys are.)

This is not a book that will appeal to everyone. Like I said, it's bloody and visceral and potentially nightmare-inducing if you're that kind of person. But it's a damn good book. And if you think you might like it, go skim the first page.

I dare you.(less)

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May 27, 2012 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars

You’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but there’s no denying that a good cover is a sure fire attention getter. Stephen Blackmoore must understand this, which is why his first novel “City of the Lost” has a great cover. It’s done by one of my favorite comic artists working today, Sean Phillips. It features a bad ass looking guy with a smoking hole in his chest who is smoking a cigarette on an ominous, but sun drenched LA street. Fans of Phillips work with Ed Brubaker on the current...more You’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but there’s no denying that a good cover is a sure fire attention getter. Stephen Blackmoore must understand this, which is why his first novel “City of the Lost” has a great cover. It’s done by one of my favorite comic artists working today, Sean Phillips. It features a bad ass looking guy with a smoking hole in his chest who is smoking a cigarette on an ominous, but sun drenched LA street. Fans of Phillips work with Ed Brubaker on the current horror-crime comic “Fatale” know that the artist is a master of noir scenes, but he’s also got a great command of the weird and horrific. So that great cover hooked me. I picked up “City of the Lost” and read the synopsis on the back. Those two things combined sealed the deal; I was in.

I’m glad I was too. Crime and horror stories go together like peanut butter and chocolate and “City of the Lost” is a really good crime and horror tale with bits of dark fantasy added for flavor. The protagonist of the book, Joe Sunday, is a leg breaker and enforcer for a low level mobster in Los Angeles. He gets pushed head first into the deep end of the supernatural pool when his boss tasks him with killing a mysterious old man. That’s because Joe’s assassination attempt fails and when he wakes up he discovers that he’s become a unique type of undead with some useful abilities and unhealthy appetites. Joe then has to use his new abilities to navigate the supernatural and criminal underworlds of LA and find a mysterious magical Macguffin that could keep him from falling apart. Of course standing in his way are a strange collection of foes and potential friends.

Joe’s journey is a fun and compelling one partly because he’s such a fascinating character himself. He may be interacting with magic and the trappings of a fantasy story, but he’s definitely not your typical noble fantasy hero. Make no mistake about it Joe is violent, killer. He’s more anti-hero than hero, and because the book is told first person Joe himself reminds you of that on several occasions as he regales you with the things he’s done to people in the past and the things he does to his enemies in “City of the Lost.” He also has enough of an everyman streak in him though that you can identify with and root for him even if there are times you’re not necessarily sure you should. That makes Joe a fascinating and complex character.

Blackmoore then bounces Joe off an eclectic cast of intriguing characters, both mundane and fantastic. They include include a cop haunted by the death of his brother; A Nazi wizard and his thugs, one of which is a razor toothed midget; a social worker turned witch; a mysterious femme fatale; and the main villain of the piece a seemingly immortal wizard.

The presence of wizards and witches means magic is a big part of the setting in “City of the Lost,” and Blackmoore offers up a quick, interesting, and easy to understand explanation of how it works. Spells and rituals can’t be cast willy, nilly. There’s a price that has to be paid and the more powerful the spell the higher the price, not just for the caster, but for all things magical in the area. It creates an interesting ripple effect.

That ripple effect sets up a brutal, bloody, and exciting climax, and that climax is put into motion by a cool collection of action, horror, and classic crime noir moments. Tone wise “City of the Lost” feels like a lot of what I loved about Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt series of novels in that involves a brutal, violent, and supernaturally gifted character enduring and dishing out punishment in the name of revenge and a type of justice. The presence of wizards and other monsters also feels like Blackmoore has dipped into another series I loved, Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden novels. It’s a potent, powerful, and fun combination.

So the interior of “City of the Lost” ended up being just as great as it’s cover. Best of all this appears to be the first book in a series. So I look forward to taking another trip down L.A.’s mean, sun drenched, and monster haunted streets with Joe Sunday(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Joshua Palmatier rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the debut novel for Stephen Blackmoore and I dare say it won't be his last. City of the Lost is being described a detective noir with zombies by some. I haven't read much noir detective fiction, so I can't and won't on whether it fits that bill, but I can comment on it as an urban fantasy with a rather hardcore "detective" as the main character . . . who just happens to become a zombie.

The premise is that Joe Sunday is a thug, hired to break legs for his mobster/hoodster boss, Simon. Sim...more This is the debut novel for Stephen Blackmoore and I dare say it won't be his last. City of the Lost is being described a detective noir with zombies by some. I haven't read much noir detective fiction, so I can't and won't on whether it fits that bill, but I can comment on it as an urban fantasy with a rather hardcore "detective" as the main character . . . who just happens to become a zombie.

The premise is that Joe Sunday is a thug, hired to break legs for his mobster/hoodster boss, Simon. Simon hires some croonies to steal a strange stone, but the croonies all end up dead, so Simon sends Joe to take out the man Simon thinks did it and stole the stone. Joe thinks its a run-of-the-mill job, until he ends up dead . . . and is brought back to life by the man he was supposed to kill using the stone. Now, in order to keep from rotting and eating people's hearts to rejuvenate himself, Joe needs the stone. With it, he won't need to kill to stay in one piece. All he has to do is find it and keep his hands on it, which is harder than it seems since it appears everyone with any magical talent whatsoever in the LA area is out to get it.

I like the idea of the book, and enjoyed the combination of urban fantasy and mystery elements. Joe Sunday isn't someone that you'd normally empathize with, but you do in the end. The novel is dark and brutal, which you'd expect from someone who is essentially a hitman. Joe doesn't waste time when violence is necessary, and he isn't afraid to hurt people to get what he wants. So the book is violent, with its fair share of blood and guts. In general, there is no blurring of the details for these scenes, although it isn't gratuitous in any way. (For example, when Joe's new urges for hearts rears its ugly head, the hardcore reality of what he's doing is skipped over and left to the imagination.) But it's still pretty dark.

There's a large slew of rather interesting characters after the stone as well, which certainly gave the book a unique flavor. A few of them were over-the-top. But you need a good cast of characters to keep the waters of the mystery itself muddy and Stephen Blackmoore does that well. By the time the real mystery begins to unravel and play out, you can see how all of the threads are coming together, including all of the things you should have noticed as you were reading (the answers to all the questions you should have asked along the way now obvious).

So, a good mystery novel wrapped around a believable zombie origin story. For those who cringe from blood and violence, this is not your book, although I didn't think what's in here was gratuitous or over-the-top. It's a dark novel, with dark characters, but certainly a novel I'd recommend for those who enjoy a good, bloody zombie book. I'm not certain there's a sequel planned, but I'd buy it when it comes out, just to see what Joe Sunday does now that he's undead.(less)

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Dec 27, 2011 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: noir, urban-fantasy

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/...

Whew! Lemme tell ya, if you’re in the mood for some down and dirty noir action with your supernatural fun, City of the Lost is where it’s at! Joe Sunday is your all around tough-as-nails L. A. enforcer who knocks heads and makes a pretty good living at it. All of this comes to a rather abrupt hault when his main employer hires him to knock off someone that is way off the normal meter. When he witnesses his best friend and...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/...

Whew! Lemme tell ya, if you’re in the mood for some down and dirty noir action with your supernatural fun, City of the Lost is where it’s at! Joe Sunday is your all around tough-as-nails L. A. enforcer who knocks heads and makes a pretty good living at it. All of this comes to a rather abrupt hault when his main employer hires him to knock off someone that is way off the normal meter. When he witnesses his best friend and co-worker kill himself (in a rather spectacular way), he knows things are a bit…off kilter. Sure enough, his newest mark is out for blood, and takes Joe out. But wait, Joe’s not dead. Now, Joe is a zombie; not the rambling, rotting type, but if he doesn’t do certain, er, things, the rotting definitely will commence, unless he gets his hands on a stone that may hold the key to immortality.

Told in Joe’s wry voice, City of the Lost grabs you hard on page one and keeps you rapt until the last page. Backed by a supporting cast including a young bruja that counts a bar tending demon as a friend, and a cop with is own agenda, Joe must fine the stone and figure out how to fix his little problem, before it fixes him. On his tail is an ancient man that’s been chasing the stone’s secret for hundreds of years, a beautiful woman that he may or may not be able to trust, a Nazi doctor that wants the stone for his own, and his henchmen, a skull cracker that has a sharp-toothed midget (we’re not talking human here) on a leash. Stephen Blackmoore writes like an old pro, and doesn’t flinch from some of the more violent characteristics of his anti-hero. He’s really, really good at writing gray characters, and yet manages to infuse his creations with humanity, even if they aren’t themselves human, which is a neat trick. City of the Lost is fast paced, funny, scary, at times, charming, and I couldn’t put it down. If you love the novels of Richard Kadray (Sandman Slim), Hank Schwaeble (Jake Hatcher series), and Steve Niles’ Cal McDonald series, then you’ll LOVE City of the Lost. What a way to start out the new year! This is a 2012 debut you won’t want to miss!(less)

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Feb 19, 2012 Johnny rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's not easy to do classic Chandler/Hammett hard-boiled in a contemporary setting. All the trappings are so familiar that if the author is not careful, it will fall into parody. That's not something CITY OF THE LOST has to worry about. While it plays out in classic form, Blackmoore is original enough to give it a much-needed twist.

And what a twist. The detective is essentially a zombie, there is a witch, vampires, and even a strange toothy little thing on a leash. Yet for all that lunacy, Black...more

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Dec 08, 2011 David Ketelsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had trouble sleeping and at 4am picked up this book and started reading it. I soon forgot all about sleeping. The noir-ish tone of the book is quite entertaining. I'm really looking forward to getting back to reading this when I get home from work.

I finished reading City of the Lost this morning before work. I loved the book. Through the use of short declarative sentences, often missing prepositions, Blackmoore conveys the atmosphere of desperation his main character, Joe Sunday, endures.

I'm n...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Silverana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

“So this is what a horror movie looks like from the inside.” This single thought from Joe Sunday is the perfect one line description of City of the Lost...only without all the panic and tears. Joe is a thug and while most stories show a transformation of the main character to a better human being, this isn’t about that. Although later on Joe does seem to show a few positive intentions. What matters is that he is dead, and not happy about it. There is a stone out there somewhere and now Joe need...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Steve Weddle rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is chock-full of so many fantastic characters, it's tough to know where to start.

Tough-guy Joe Saturday finds himself kinda undead, or at least unkillable, and in the middle of a centuries-long quest for a magical stone. If this were all there were to the book, it would be a matinee of great fun, maybe one of those odd movies on the sci-fi channel every so often. But this book is so much more than that -- thanks to a well developed and detailed cast of characters -- the cool, demon bar...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Josh Stallings rated it 5 of 5 stars

Zombies, noir, shades of Casa Blanca? How in the name of all that is holy can the this wild stew work. Well, quite well thank you very much. In the hands of Stephen Blackmoore not only does it work, it is a stunning novel. If this is Blackmoore's first novel, whatch the hell out, and wait to see what he does next. I, a firm hater of all things zombie have found after reading City Of The Lost that I needed a fix, so whilst I await his next book I have taken up watching Walking Dead. So to sum up...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Eddy rated it 5 of 5 stars

"The protagonist, Joe Sunday, is a hitman for a local mobster who, through a variety of mishaps, ends up turned into a zombie. Because that’s just what happens in L.A. And yet, the supernatural elements don’t end up overpowering the plot — the story slips in and out of the mystical parts effortlessly, making them feel like a natural part of a story that is really about one man’s attempt to get what’s owed him, and maybe a little payback if he can get it."

Full review here: http://eddyfate.com/201 ...more

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May 16, 2013 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-read-2013

City of the Lost
By Stephen Blackmoore

SPOILER FREE
I hate reading reviews with spoilers, so I strive to avoid them in my writing. There are plenty of other reviews out there that will outline the entire book if that's what you're looking for.

Things go to hell fast for Joe Sunday and there's a landslide following him down. Everyone has an angle, everyone wants something, and he knows it. The question is, who will screw him the least?

Note: if you gross out/get offended by cursing easily, you should...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Daniel Swensen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads.

City of the Lost reads like a gritty detective noir that just happens to have undead, magic, and demons in it. There are double-crosses, triple-crosses, a femme fatale (well, technically two), a bartender who seems to know everything. Though the protagonist is killed in the opening chapters and is technically a zombie (that's not really much of a spoiler, since it's on the cover), it doesn't read like typical "zombie" fare. Similarl...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Elizabeth A. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Joe Sunday always figured his life would end violently. After all, when your occupation is thug for hire to a mid-level mafioso things tend to get pretty nasty at times, even if you are working the glamour filled streets of L.A., not the mean streets of New York or Chicago.

What he couldn’t possibly have realized, however, was that when he finally was killed, well, that he wouldn’t stay dead.

Sunday does realize something is very wrong with his latest assignment, especially when the guys his boss...more Joe Sunday always figured his life would end violently. After all, when your occupation is thug for hire to a mid-level mafioso things tend to get pretty nasty at times, even if you are working the glamour filled streets of L.A., not the mean streets of New York or Chicago.

What he couldn’t possibly have realized, however, was that when he finally was killed, well, that he wouldn’t stay dead.

Sunday does realize something is very wrong with his latest assignment, especially when the guys his boss previously sent out on the job either turned up dead or not at all. So when he and his partner, Julio, fail in their attempt to obtain the specific item they were sent to retrieve – a gemstone of indeterminate origin – he figures at least they’re ahead of the game by still being alive. That is until Julio unexpectedly, and quite violently, kills himself in front of Sunday.

When Sunday seeks answers from his boss, he’s informed that the man they tried to steal the stone from has been alive for far longer than should be possible, especially since Sunday’s boss claims to have personally killed him decades ago. The stone isn’t a jewel, he tells Sunday, but an ancient object that has the power to grant immortality. Riiight. Just as Sunday’s about to write off his boss as a couple of fries short of a Happy Meal, he gets a frantic call from Julio’s widow asking for Joe’s help. Seems Julio is home and acting odd. Considering Sunday just watched Julio kill himself only hours ago, he finds that quite odd indeed.

Welcome to author Stephen Blackmoore’s L.A., the City of the Lost, a place where the magic that occurs isn’t accomplished by computer geeks in the offices of Industrial Light & Magic or Pixar.

No, as Sunday’s plunged into a race to obtain the coveted stone, which has gone missing, he discovers there’s magic everywhere as he finds himself pitted against a ruthless former Nazi doctor turned wizard, a bewitching femme fatale with unknown motives, a brassy young bruja (witch) on a mission to save wayward magical creatures (such as the city’s largely homeless vampire population), an interdimensional overly licentiousness demon, and that impossibly old man who originally owned the stone and who now desperately wants it back.

And did I mention the steroid freak enforcer who has a shark-toothed pet midget on a leash? Yeah, there’s that too. Oh, and Sunday gets killed. Kinda. Turns out that Nazi doctor/wizard has been practicing that immortality thing on others in attempt to perfect it, only he hasn’t quite got it down. Now Sunday’s a card-carrying member of the undead, one who needs to feed every 24 hours, give or take, in order to stay alive… or undead, as the case may be.

You’d think at this point putting a fresh spin on the zombie/magic genres would be hard to do, but Blackmoore has done it with such ease one wonders if he’s not dipping into a source of magic himself. Considering nearly every character in the book is something other than entirely human, it’s amazing how, well, human Blackmoore has made them. Sunday is more wisecracking hardboiled detective than shambling brain eater, the bruja more prone providing clean needles to vampires than putting curses on people, and even that interdimensional demon is more interested in doing than nasty than being nasty. Indeed, it’s the ordinariness that Blackmoore infuses into the extraordinary that truly makes City of the Lost so magical.

Forget the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, it’s Blackmoore’s supernatural L.A. that I want to visit, with Joe Sunday as my tour guide. Hopefully we’ll all get to do so again in the very near future. (less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Erik rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: goodreads-first-reads

I recieved this book free as a Goodreads First Reads.

Joe Sunday is an enforcer for a local crime boss who dies and gets brought back as an experiment by an old enemy of his crime boss. Now, everyone is after him & the powerful stone that brought him back. What follows is a crazy ride of death, odd characters and deception.

I got this book right in the middle of the holiday season. Since I work retail, it was a slow go to get the book done - not the book's fault, but my lack of energy through...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Sabrina Ogden rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've never met a zombie that I didn’t like.

That is so not true. Zombies are gross, disgusting. They stink like rotten meat baking in the desert sun, and they’re always oozing all kinds of bodily fluids while dripping flesh all over the freakin’ place.

I’ve never met a zombie that didn’t make me puke… would be more accurate.

Well, not until I met Joe Sunday, that is!

One look at the cover for City Of The Lost and I knew, just knew, that I was going to fall in love with Joe Sunday. I mean, come on… l...more I've never met a zombie that I didn’t like.

That is so not true. Zombies are gross, disgusting. They stink like rotten meat baking in the desert sun, and they’re always oozing all kinds of bodily fluids while dripping flesh all over the freakin’ place.

I’ve never met a zombie that didn’t make me puke… would be more accurate.

Well, not until I met Joe Sunday, that is!

One look at the cover for City Of The Lost and I knew, just knew, that I was going to fall in love with Joe Sunday. I mean, come on… look at him. Look. At. Him. He’s a hottie… with a perfectly kissable jaw line, messed up hair that my fingers long to touch, eyebrows with a sexy but distinctive arch, and a hole in his chest large enough to see the street lamp just down the road from where he’s standing.

Yeah, about that -

Joe Sunday is your average “leg-breaker for hire,” the kind of guy that most of us wouldn't date, and definitely not the kind of guy that if you did choose to date, you’d take home to meet your Mamma. We first meet up with Joe at Henry’s Bar and Grill checking up on his friend, and coworker, Julio. Julio had been sent by their back-stabbing boss, Simon, to retrieve an ancient stone from some guy named Giavetti. But ever since meeting with Giavetti, Julio’s been acting a little strange. Mumbling about his hands not being his hands, breaking his bottle of beer, attacking the bartender, attacking Joe, and ending the very first scene in this novel by jamming the broken bottle into his throat and… dying, I’d say Julio isn't quite himself anymore.

Now, Julio’s behavior and death doesn't just have Joe asking questions, it has his boss, Simon, confessing to knowing and killing Giavetti back in his younger days. After telling some pretty unbelievable stories, Simon puts Joe in charge of getting rid of this Giavetti guy, finding the stone, and breaking the news to Julio’s wife about Julio’s death. That last part would have been easy to do had Julio not shown up at his home as a newly risen member of the walking dead, and a puppet being pulled by the tight strings of Giavetti.

After walking into a world of chaos and total disbelief, Joe finds himself battling it out with Julio, losing his life, waking to find himself the best zombie Giavetti has ever created, and on the hunt for an ancient stone with the power to grant immortality.

In this story you’ll read about the one thing Joe needs to eat every day to keep from rotting; a social-working witch that wants to save all the little, not-so-human misfits in Los Angeles; an incredibly crazy Nazi wizard named Dr. Neumann, who happens to know the secrets behind the ancient stone’s power; a midget with razor-sharp teeth; a demon tending bar that likes to talk in riddles; an officer seeking revenge; the truth behind Giavetti’s beauty secrets; and a beautiful woman named Samantha Morgan... holding one hell of a grudge.

And the stone - wanted by all the characters cast in this deliciously written book - not only has the power to grant immortality to those that seek it, but has the power to destroy the magical world Mr. Blackmoore has so perfectly hidden in plain sight within the City of Angels. Some want the stone to save others. Some want the stone so they can live forever. And one person is willing to do anything to use the stone for the purpose of destroying another… even if it means killing Joe Sunday in the process.

While there might not be any love scenes in City Of The Lost, there’s definitely enough sexual tension between Joe Sunday and Samantha Morgan for Joe Sunday to be added to my list of Favorite Men. I mean, honestly, I’d gladly let Joe Sunday eat the heart out of my chest… as long as he doesn’t shoot me in the head and have my body crushed into pulp at a gravel quarry. Well, actually, knowing me… I’d probably give my heart to him anyway.
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Jan 29, 2012 Martha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Pulpy, outrageous, and absolutely fantastic. The best book about a zombie mob heavy you'll ever read, with the added bonus of effortless writing, singular, engaging characters, and the tantalizing suggestion of a sequel on the horizon. It's impossible to put down and weirdly hard to forgot.

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Dec 18, 2011 David Santos added it

Ok I'm stopping on page 2. I'm sure its a fine book overall, but when the F word is mentioned 9 times in the first two pages, that's my cue to stop reading. I am not an ignorant Christian. I can read a book and come across a few F bombs and it not phase me, but 9 in the first two pages? Come on now, even I, as open minded as I am, have my limits.

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Jul 11, 2012 Wendy Wagner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombielicious

Gritty noir + urban fantasy = over-the-top fun. Joe Sunday's a thug-for-hire in the best tradition of Ellroy (and not a little Frank Miller), but even while he's doing despicable deeds, you can't help rooting for him. And did I mention he's a zombie?

Yeah.

Gotta love it!

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May 13, 2012 Robert Verde rated it 4 of 5 stars

Crackling dialogue, reads like a surreal mashup of Raymond Chandler and George Romero. Possibly the least sympathetic protagonist possible, but the cast of supporting characters and a wicked ear for black humor and pop culture references make this a very solid first novel.

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