MONDAY REVIEW: BLACKY JAGUAR AGAINST
THE COOL CLUX CULT
"Violent, topical and funny as hell. Blacky Jaguar is my kinda guy, and Colón is one of the best new voices in crime." --Jay Stringer, author of How To Kill Friends and Implicate People
Angel Luis Colón is the Anthony and Derringer
Award-nominated author of NO HAPPY ENDINGS, the BLACKY JAGUAR series of
novellas, and the upcoming short story anthology; MEAT CITY ON FIRE (AND OTHER
ASSORTED DEBACLES). His fiction has appeared in multiple web and print
publications including Thuglit, Literary Orphans, and Great Jones Street.
I’ve just finished Angel’s most recent release, BLACKY
JAGUAR AGAINST the COOL CLUX CULT. What a ride!
In this, the second installment of the Blacky Jaguar series,
everyone’s favorite Doc Marten-wearing, ex-IRA human-bomb is running from the
heat and gunning for Graceland. Before he can soak in the splendor of the
King’s palace and final resting spot he makes a pit-stop in Nillings, Tennessee
to pay a debt to sometime friend and sometime enemy, disgraced former FBI agent
Broderick Kimbo. Once in town Blacky finds himself in the middle of trouble.
Though Blacky is gruff, often driven by his anger and given
to violence, he has a clear eye for justice that is disarming and it’s hard not
to appreciate his backbone. Angel balances Jaguar’s bigger than life emotions
and reactions with subtle, humanizing tidbits, making him familiar. He has
depth and shows so many interesting sides, this character is a true original.
Blacky is not the only interesting personality to be found
in the pages of the COOL CLUX CULT, however. Erica, a typical young woman
thrust to the forefront of a dangerous social power play, rises as a strong and
brave character who manages to touch and move even the battle hardened Blacky
Jaguar. Jaguar’s long-time hacker buddy, Tony, is also one to keep your eye one.
Genuine and funny, he supplies his own brand of excitement.
This story will bring to mind images of a community divided,
images that spring from the pages of newspapers and the talking-heads on
television news, but it is not done with a heavy hand. Angel does not preach.
He tells a story and he tells it well.
COOL CLUX CULT is fast and riveting, paced perfectly for
those who love a good crime story, but there is also a mystery to be solved. Nillings
is a powder keg of hate just waiting to explode and someone is methodically
stoking the glowing embers, setting a plan for violence and destruction.
Blacky’s fight to find the attacker before they can strike big keeps the story
moving at a terrific stride.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Grab
a chilly beverage, acquire both Blacky Jaguar novellas, kick back on a breeze
swept porch and enjoy.
"I sure as Hell
hope Angel has more in store for Blacky Jaguar, because this character has more
fight in him than can be contained in a single novella." --Bracken MacLeod, author of Stranded and 13
Views of Suicide Woods
Keep up with Angel Colon on Twitter via @GoshDarnMyLife.
No comments:
Post a Comment