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Night Marshal #1
Night Marshal
Vampires in the Old West!
Jack Talon, a former US Marshal and infamous gunslinger, is dying of tuberculosis when he arrives in Silver Plume, Colorado with his lovely wife, Sonya. He just wants to do a bit of gambling and get on with the business of dying. Instead he finds himself face to face with Christopher Smythe, a vampire who holds a grudge against the mayor of the town.
The mayor hires Jack to kill the vampire, but what Jack doesn't know is that his wife sees Smythe as Jack's salvation. Vampires don't get sick. Vampires live forever. Vampires never age. So what if you have to kill people and drink their blood. Sounds like a bargain to her. She loves her husband and doesn't want it to end with till death do us part.
So she sets her own plan into motion...
Jack Talon, a former US Marshal and infamous gunslinger, is dying of tuberculosis when he arrives in Silver Plume, Colorado with his lovely wife, Sonya. He just wants to do a bit of gambling and get on with the business of dying. Instead he finds himself face to face with Christopher Smythe, a vampire who holds a grudge against the mayor of the town.
The mayor hires Jack to kill the vampire, but what Jack doesn't know is that his wife sees Smythe as Jack's salvation. Vampires don't get sick. Vampires live forever. Vampires never age. So what if you have to kill people and drink their blood. Sounds like a bargain to her. She loves her husband and doesn't want it to end with till death do us part.
So she sets her own plan into motion...
- GenresHorror
135 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 21, 2019
too much tuberculosis, not enough cowboy
December 18, 2016
A vampire western with a twist
Night Marshal is a very fun, intriguing, fantasy novel with lots of creativity and imagination. The plot is great with surprise revelations and twists. The characters are well developed and the dialogue is humorous, witty, and creative. Loved it!
Night Marshal is a very fun, intriguing, fantasy novel with lots of creativity and imagination. The plot is great with surprise revelations and twists. The characters are well developed and the dialogue is humorous, witty, and creative. Loved it!
November 5, 2019
What the fuck did I even just read?
August 13, 2024
1 STAR. Would be less if I could. Good ideas poorly executed. Got to just beyond the 50% mark and was dreading the next page turn.
November 13, 2022
How do You take a GREAT idea and screw it up? Jonas manages to do this in this sad novella about vampires in the old west.
First problem: The LAME cover art. Photos of modern models superimposed over a snowy landscape. The hero on the cover is depicted wearing a 1950's Roy Rogers type shirt. He looks neither ominous or intimidating. This is one of the WORST covers I have ever seen on any western novel.
Second Problem: Lack of character development. There are some characters that could have been much more interesting. The hero's wife acts of out love for her husband and hopes that if he becomes a vampire it will solve his health issue. Even though she is acting out of love, the author never gets more than a scratch beneath the surface. The hero is depicted as a cold and calculating tough guy, but it always feels like an act. The evil vampire commits some atrocious acts of vampiric violence and I enjoyed those acts. However, he never feels evil enough.
Third Problem: The idea of vampires seems completely acceptable to everyone without question. No disbelief or questioning the supernatural. The Blacksmith is a part time preacher and offers to bless Jack's gun with holy water, which is a Catholic tradition, and he is obviously not a Catholic.
Fourth Problem: The book is much too short! He could have developed the story more fully. The suspense never builds very far.
The GREAT IDEA: Jack, dying of tuberculosis is hired by the mayor to kill a vampire. Jack never questions the idea of a vampire and seems to know how to deal with it without any research. Jack's wife wants the vampire to turn her so she can turn Jack. The problem with this is that your vampire sire becomes your master and you are like a slave. Therefore, a new dilemma arises.
First problem: The LAME cover art. Photos of modern models superimposed over a snowy landscape. The hero on the cover is depicted wearing a 1950's Roy Rogers type shirt. He looks neither ominous or intimidating. This is one of the WORST covers I have ever seen on any western novel.
Second Problem: Lack of character development. There are some characters that could have been much more interesting. The hero's wife acts of out love for her husband and hopes that if he becomes a vampire it will solve his health issue. Even though she is acting out of love, the author never gets more than a scratch beneath the surface. The hero is depicted as a cold and calculating tough guy, but it always feels like an act. The evil vampire commits some atrocious acts of vampiric violence and I enjoyed those acts. However, he never feels evil enough.
Third Problem: The idea of vampires seems completely acceptable to everyone without question. No disbelief or questioning the supernatural. The Blacksmith is a part time preacher and offers to bless Jack's gun with holy water, which is a Catholic tradition, and he is obviously not a Catholic.
Fourth Problem: The book is much too short! He could have developed the story more fully. The suspense never builds very far.
The GREAT IDEA: Jack, dying of tuberculosis is hired by the mayor to kill a vampire. Jack never questions the idea of a vampire and seems to know how to deal with it without any research. Jack's wife wants the vampire to turn her so she can turn Jack. The problem with this is that your vampire sire becomes your master and you are like a slave. Therefore, a new dilemma arises.
December 1, 2017
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
A western gambler who is dying from consumption and his female partner who loves him tries keeping him alive with any means necessary.
Not bad, it's a beginning for what the western nights hide. Now we have a vampire lawman..
Ah..such is life or should we say put garlic and salt around all doors and windows. Because one never knows who's watching...😱
A western gambler who is dying from consumption and his female partner who loves him tries keeping him alive with any means necessary.
Not bad, it's a beginning for what the western nights hide. Now we have a vampire lawman..
Ah..such is life or should we say put garlic and salt around all doors and windows. Because one never knows who's watching...😱
February 2, 2018
Fun
I enjoyed this take on vampires and the west, I thought that this author did a good job of showing the characters morality and motivations.
I enjoyed this take on vampires and the west, I thought that this author did a good job of showing the characters morality and motivations.
May 15, 2013
I think I am being generous with the 2 stars but for the first quarter of this short story I was quite captivated by the old west, Jack Talon, ex sheriff and gunslinger, dying of TB and his lovely wife Sonya who would do anything to keep Jack alive as the TB was slowly but surely draining his life blood....which leads me nicely on to Christopher Smythe vampire and all round not so very nice person!
Jack is hired to kill Smythe...so far so good and I really enjoyed the action up to this point (hence the 2 stars) but then the story really goes nowhere...will Smythe agree to "change" Jack and Sonya (so they can continue to live and love...and of course drink a little blood along the way :) or will Smythe receive what he really deserves a stake through the heart...and his head chopped off! We spend the second part of the story discussing and debating this issue and "frankly my dear I couldn't give a damn" (that's a nice expression :) what happened? it just all became rather boring and academic the author ran out of steam and what should have been a good idea fell apart.......
Jack is hired to kill Smythe...so far so good and I really enjoyed the action up to this point (hence the 2 stars) but then the story really goes nowhere...will Smythe agree to "change" Jack and Sonya (so they can continue to live and love...and of course drink a little blood along the way :) or will Smythe receive what he really deserves a stake through the heart...and his head chopped off! We spend the second part of the story discussing and debating this issue and "frankly my dear I couldn't give a damn" (that's a nice expression :) what happened? it just all became rather boring and academic the author ran out of steam and what should have been a good idea fell apart.......
April 30, 2016
This has been on my shelf for a while and I thought I'd better get reading. It is an interesting take on vampires and the old west. Suicide Jack Talon was once a lawman, but is now a dying gambler with consumption. A vampire enters his life and things change. I do have the compilation of three books and have finished this one and started on the second. If you are a fan of vampire books, give this one a try.
August 9, 2015
Glad it was short
I'm not one who reads much about vampires and the like. I got this book cause it was a western. It was fast reading and fortunately short....around 100 pages. That's all I can say.
I'm not one who reads much about vampires and the like. I got this book cause it was a western. It was fast reading and fortunately short....around 100 pages. That's all I can say.
September 27, 2013
Much different western than usual. Enjoyable quick, easy read. Recommend.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews