Review: The Burning Men by @ChrisFarnsworth

"A man stands up in a crowded movie theater. A moment later, everything is burning. When the smoke clears and the bodies are removed, there is no trace of any bomb, or device, or even a matchstick. There's just the corpse of one man, a statue in ash, with an obscene grin still upon his charred skull.

Nothing human could have done this.

Fortunately, Nathaniel Cade isn't human, either. Turned into a blood-drinking abomination 145 years ago, he is bound by a special blood oath to serve and protect the United States from supernatural threats. Together with his White House handler, Zach Barrows, Cade races to find out who was behind the murders of a dozen innocent people. They have no suspects, no leads, and no explanations.

All they have is Cade's vampiric talents and a ticking countdown to the next explosion. Because Cade is certain of one thing: this is only where the fire starts..."

length: ~ 52 pages
format: Kindle

My Review:
 Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Chris Farnsworth's Nathaniel Cade books. I devour the full length novels in just a few days and this one only took a couple of hours. At ~ 52 pages it is much shorter than the three published Cade novels, yet the story does not feel rushed or lacking.
As someone who has written books ranging in length from 28 pages to 275 pages, I know how hard it can be to make a short story feel complete. Farnsworth accomplished this without fail. The byplay between Cade and Zach that we fans expect to be included is fully present, and Farnsworth even manages to introduce a new character, Dr. Ramos. Not only was she introduced, she is someone I hope to see more of in future novels. Her interaction with Cade was brilliant and a perfect example of why I consider Farnsworth one of the best when it comes to modern vampire authors.
I won't give away any plot spoilers, but I will say this, I've been fascinated by Spontaneous Human Combustion since 1995 when I saw a documentary about the phenom, so to have it be the central focus of a Cade novel is simply divine. Thank you, Mr. Farnsworth, for reading my mind. Perhaps we'll see Bigfoot in a future book?
But anyway, back to my review.
For existing fans, The Burning Men is a quick, satisfying must read. We don't know how long it will be until the fourth Cade novel is released and this book is a nice way to ease some of the impatience.
For those who might not have read any of the Cade novels yet, reading The Burning Men will not spoil any of the existing novels, but it will whet your appetite to know more about the fascinating Cade and his very human partner, Zach Barrows.
On a scale of 1-10, The Burning Men is an 11.
- L. Rosario