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Eric Carter
City of the Lost
Returning as a zombie after being bumped off by a rival crime boss, Joe Sunday tries to locate a talisman that can grant immortality before every other thug in Los Angeles can find it.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
28 people are currently reading
668 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Blackmoore
27 books798 followersStephen Blackmoore is the author of the noir / urban fantasy Eric Carter series (DEAD THINGS, BROKEN SOULS, HUNGRY GHOSTS, and FIRE SEASON), about a necromancer in modern-day Los Angeles.
You can find him online at stephenblackmoore.com, or follow him on Twitter at @sblackmoore.
You can find him online at stephenblackmoore.com, or follow him on Twitter at @sblackmoore.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
March 12, 2012
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.
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.
September 7, 2022
City of the Lost
by Stephen Blackmoore
This book wasn't as good as the Eric Carter series but still interesting and exciting. I just liked Eric better😁. This has a thug, Joe Sunday, working for a crime boss as our main character. As explained in the blurb, he is turned into a zombie but with no user manual. His boss had sent him after a certain stone but he isn't the only one trying to get it! Twists and turns weaved along the way. Very strange and entertaining. I like different!
Great narration.
by Stephen Blackmoore
This book wasn't as good as the Eric Carter series but still interesting and exciting. I just liked Eric better😁. This has a thug, Joe Sunday, working for a crime boss as our main character. As explained in the blurb, he is turned into a zombie but with no user manual. His boss had sent him after a certain stone but he isn't the only one trying to get it! Twists and turns weaved along the way. Very strange and entertaining. I like different!
Great narration.
November 8, 2012
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 his boss. However, things go a bit amiss when Joe ends up being killed himself. The problem is – he doesn’t stay dead. What has happened to Joe? What’s the deal with this gem? And who, exactly, is Sandro Giavetti?
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book – it is a different take on pretty much everything: zombies, vampires, demons, witches and wizards … nothing is quite what you expect and Joe himself is right in the middle of everything. There is a great deal of dark humor in the book – Joe has a lot of great one-liners, and has a lot of great one-liners said to him as well. If you are looking for something distinctly different in the urban fantasy genre – something that reminds me a bit of a Guy Ritchie flick – then you will love City of the Lost. Don’t miss this one!
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 his boss. However, things go a bit amiss when Joe ends up being killed himself. The problem is – he doesn’t stay dead. What has happened to Joe? What’s the deal with this gem? And who, exactly, is Sandro Giavetti?
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book – it is a different take on pretty much everything: zombies, vampires, demons, witches and wizards … nothing is quite what you expect and Joe himself is right in the middle of everything. There is a great deal of dark humor in the book – Joe has a lot of great one-liners, and has a lot of great one-liners said to him as well. If you are looking for something distinctly different in the urban fantasy genre – something that reminds me a bit of a Guy Ritchie flick – then you will love City of the Lost. Don’t miss this one!
January 13, 2012
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 got to figure out what's going on, who to trust, and how to save himself and Los Angeles at the same time.
I really like Joe. He's a bad guy who's easy to like, which continually amazed me. Despite his profession, he's got his own sense of honor. He'll often do the right thing... under the circumstances. Joe is a great noir anti-hero. You know, the bad guy who is also heroic.
While Joe is the central figure, Mr. Blackmoore does a great job fleshing out the rest of the cast of memorable characters in City of the Lost. It's quite a collection of characters too, some of whom I hope to see again in further novels. Stephen Blackmoore is particularly adept at writing dialog. He captures the back and forth conversational patter that I would expect to find in a noir-infused novel. It is a pleasure to read.
City of the Lost is fast-paced, sometimes gory (Joe is a zombie), sometimes amusing, and always well-written. It will keep you on your toes and you will enjoy being there. I suggest you set out a block of time for reading because once you start City of the Lost you are not going to want to put it down.
I give City of the Lost 5 Qwills.
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 got to figure out what's going on, who to trust, and how to save himself and Los Angeles at the same time.
I really like Joe. He's a bad guy who's easy to like, which continually amazed me. Despite his profession, he's got his own sense of honor. He'll often do the right thing... under the circumstances. Joe is a great noir anti-hero. You know, the bad guy who is also heroic.
While Joe is the central figure, Mr. Blackmoore does a great job fleshing out the rest of the cast of memorable characters in City of the Lost. It's quite a collection of characters too, some of whom I hope to see again in further novels. Stephen Blackmoore is particularly adept at writing dialog. He captures the back and forth conversational patter that I would expect to find in a noir-infused novel. It is a pleasure to read.
City of the Lost is fast-paced, sometimes gory (Joe is a zombie), sometimes amusing, and always well-written. It will keep you on your toes and you will enjoy being there. I suggest you set out a block of time for reading because once you start City of the Lost you are not going to want to put it down.
I give City of the Lost 5 Qwills.
March 23, 2012
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 - damn good book, don't have to like zombies to love it, may cause you to want more zombies in your life.
December 21, 2018
A zombie crime novel? Yep, and with just a little bit of the supernatural thrown in. The mildly entertaining and mildly humorous “City of the Lost” is nothing to text home about, but certainly fills a hole when you have a couple of hours to kill.
January 22, 2012
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.
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.
January 8, 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 you might not want to read it.
I liked the characters quite a bit. A zombie thug with a sense of humor, a young Bruja that has even the gangsters frightened, a demon bartender, and immortals... What else can I say? That says it all.
The reason I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4 is because of the constant omittance of common words like who and what. I can picture Joe Sunday speaking this way. It fits him, but I think it should have stopped there. Not everybody states questions this way, "The f*** you doing, man?" or "The f*** happened to her?". Both questions posed by different people. If it was just Joe speaking this way, it probably would have endeared me to him more. As I said though, a lot of characters asked questions this way and it just started to grate on my nerves.
I would still recommend this to certain friends or acquaintances of mine. It's a quick read and holds your attention throughout.
I liked the characters quite a bit. A zombie thug with a sense of humor, a young Bruja that has even the gangsters frightened, a demon bartender, and immortals... What else can I say? That says it all.
The reason I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4 is because of the constant omittance of common words like who and what. I can picture Joe Sunday speaking this way. It fits him, but I think it should have stopped there. Not everybody states questions this way, "The f*** you doing, man?" or "The f*** happened to her?". Both questions posed by different people. If it was just Joe speaking this way, it probably would have endeared me to him more. As I said though, a lot of characters asked questions this way and it just started to grate on my nerves.
I would still recommend this to certain friends or acquaintances of mine. It's a quick read and holds your attention throughout.
December 29, 2011
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, but there is some definite dark humor going on here. Almost reminds me of movies such as Death Proof or Planet Terror- I can't remember who to give credit to for those movies... But I got the same vibe from this book. I don't know if this is going to be a series by the ending- maaaybe? I hope so!
Highly recommend this book to those that love Urban Fantasy but need a new twist, different feel. Not for the faint of heart, lots of swearing and violence. I find one or the other necessary in my fantasy action (zombie crime!) novels. This is one wild ride that I would love to take again- More please, Mr. Blackmoore?
I love anti-hero Joe Sunday. Even his name sings to me. Joe is somewhat dry, but there is some definite dark humor going on here. Almost reminds me of movies such as Death Proof or Planet Terror- I can't remember who to give credit to for those movies... But I got the same vibe from this book. I don't know if this is going to be a series by the ending- maaaybe? I hope so!
Highly recommend this book to those that love Urban Fantasy but need a new twist, different feel. Not for the faint of heart, lots of swearing and violence. I find one or the other necessary in my fantasy action (zombie crime!) novels. This is one wild ride that I would love to take again- More please, Mr. Blackmoore?
December 16, 2011
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 Nazi wizard to a powerful witch who just wants to help her homeless vampires, and the one women who might have all the answers if Sunday can only figure out her angle. Before the week is out he,ll find out what lengths people will go to to live forever. And just how long someone can hold a grudge. If you love Zombies, Vampires, or just anything a little unexplained i highly recommend you read this book. captured my interest from page one. Stephen Blackmoore really is a fantastic writer look forward to reading more books by this author
February 20, 2012
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, Blackmoore keeps the book grounded and doesn't let it get too out of control.
This is rare for me to say about anything, but I wish this book was a little longer. Usually I gripe that 95% of movies, books, plays, everything is too long, but I feel like there are places where he could have lingered a little more. I guess I'll have to wait for the next one.
This is a very confident and entertaining first novel. An author to look out for.
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, Blackmoore keeps the book grounded and doesn't let it get too out of control.
This is rare for me to say about anything, but I wish this book was a little longer. Usually I gripe that 95% of movies, books, plays, everything is too long, but I feel like there are places where he could have lingered a little more. I guess I'll have to wait for the next one.
This is a very confident and entertaining first novel. An author to look out for.
May 30, 2025
Thankfully, I read the Eric Carter books before I read this!
City of the Lost is Stephen Blackmoore’s debut and our first introduction to the world of Eric Carter. But this book is nowhere near the level of quality to be found in those subsequent books. There is a nice feel of a noir detective story of old here, but that’s the only good thing I can say about it. It’s flat, two-dimensional and uninteresting. But don’t let it put you off! The Eric Carter series is a fantastic read.
City of the Lost is Stephen Blackmoore’s debut and our first introduction to the world of Eric Carter. But this book is nowhere near the level of quality to be found in those subsequent books. There is a nice feel of a noir detective story of old here, but that’s the only good thing I can say about it. It’s flat, two-dimensional and uninteresting. But don’t let it put you off! The Eric Carter series is a fantastic read.
August 17, 2012
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!
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!
December 8, 2011
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 not going to mention any plot spoilers here. It's revealed on the book cover that Sunday dies early in the book. It's what he does after he dies that really makes this book sing.
This is a book that written just a little differently could have failed in a big way but Blackmoore totally pulls it off. The action is non-stop as Sunday threads his way through the underbelly of LA searching for a way to survive his demise. There's blood and violence a plenty and it all serves a purpose: Joe Sunday is clawing his way back to life. Maybe.
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 not going to mention any plot spoilers here. It's revealed on the book cover that Sunday dies early in the book. It's what he does after he dies that really makes this book sing.
This is a book that written just a little differently could have failed in a big way but Blackmoore totally pulls it off. The action is non-stop as Sunday threads his way through the underbelly of LA searching for a way to survive his demise. There's blood and violence a plenty and it all serves a purpose: Joe Sunday is clawing his way back to life. Maybe.
December 10, 2011
Freaking fabulous!!!! I loved every minute of it, even when the main character goes all zombie badass!! I can't wait to see if the author decides to continue the saga of Joe Sunday. I want it, I need it, I gotta have more Joe Sunday.
I won this book via the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
I won this book via the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
September 11, 2020
Sort of a prequel for the Eric Carter series, but set before Eric Carter returned to LA.
March 1, 2022
This was kind of a zombie noir book. It takes place in LA, is gritty, has a mystery, a sexy mysterious dame a variety of a different characters. There is a lot of death, fighting and decay.
December 10, 2023
Das war überraschend gut (dafür, dass ich Zombie-Bücher nicht mag). Spannend mit einem guten Schuss trockenem Humor. 4,5 Sterne
December 27, 2011
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!
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!
August 7, 2016
Set in a gritty world populated by even grittier characters, I really enjoyed this read. Most of the zombie books I've read are from the perspective of the people fighting/running from/reporting on the shambling zombie hordes, but in those books I'm less interested in the zombies as characters, more the humans fighting to survive. There have been a few books I've read from the zombie's perspective and treading that fine line between grossing you out and making you sympathize and root for the character to triumph is a difficult job. Blackmoore succeeds here with Joe Sunday, a criminal used to doing bad things to other (mostly bad) people. Joe quickly winds up over his head and thrown into the supernatural side of LA. He has to do what he does best (kicking ass) to save himself and the rest of the magical underworld of LA.
Like the best noir stories, you aren't quite sure who to trust until the end, and even then it's an iffy proposition. Fast-paced, action-packed with sly humor, this zombie book is going on my favorites list. There is some gore (it IS a zombie book) but not so much that it took me out of the story. I got Joe. True, I would never hire him as a babysitter, but if I needed someone to take out a crazy-powerful sorcerer then Joe's a good fit for the job. I also liked the secondary characters, and for some of them, I liked their comeuppance even more. They all came together in this very dark world where vampires are junkies, demons abound, and you can't take anyone on face value.
City of the Lost is set in the same universe as the Eric Carter books, but it is not a part of that series. Some characters from this book do show up in both Eric Carter books. I think I can remember at least one. I sense a re-read of Dead Things. There are also two short stories, one that will be in Fireside Magazine later this year, and Fix, a free short story on Blackmoore's website.
Like the best noir stories, you aren't quite sure who to trust until the end, and even then it's an iffy proposition. Fast-paced, action-packed with sly humor, this zombie book is going on my favorites list. There is some gore (it IS a zombie book) but not so much that it took me out of the story. I got Joe. True, I would never hire him as a babysitter, but if I needed someone to take out a crazy-powerful sorcerer then Joe's a good fit for the job. I also liked the secondary characters, and for some of them, I liked their comeuppance even more. They all came together in this very dark world where vampires are junkies, demons abound, and you can't take anyone on face value.
City of the Lost is set in the same universe as the Eric Carter books, but it is not a part of that series. Some characters from this book do show up in both Eric Carter books. I think I can remember at least one. I sense a re-read of Dead Things. There are also two short stories, one that will be in Fireside Magazine later this year, and Fix, a free short story on Blackmoore's website.
March 12, 2013
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 mysterious, blue-eyed blonde. Each, including the main character Joe Sunday, are after a stone that gives the power of immortality to the holder. Joe needs this stone to keep his unholy zombie appetites under control after being double-crossed and murdered. However, there are many others who want it for more dubious reasons.
The writing in this novel crackles with imagery without bogging it down with unnecessary words to boost the length of the book. It seamlessly becomes a hard-boiled detective novel without one even realizing it happened. The first person perspective is terse yet conversational, descriptive and incredibly engaging. The writers skill at creating a highly readable plot knitting Los Angeles' dark side into a fantastical underworld above ground is incredible. This book is a dark adventure that takes so many twists and turns it'll keep your bedside light turned on well into the night.
The combination of Noir and Paranormal Pulp is irresistible.
This isn't just a good read. It's a must read.
Stay Salty!
A. T. Hicks
http://www.saltygurl.com
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 mysterious, blue-eyed blonde. Each, including the main character Joe Sunday, are after a stone that gives the power of immortality to the holder. Joe needs this stone to keep his unholy zombie appetites under control after being double-crossed and murdered. However, there are many others who want it for more dubious reasons.
The writing in this novel crackles with imagery without bogging it down with unnecessary words to boost the length of the book. It seamlessly becomes a hard-boiled detective novel without one even realizing it happened. The first person perspective is terse yet conversational, descriptive and incredibly engaging. The writers skill at creating a highly readable plot knitting Los Angeles' dark side into a fantastical underworld above ground is incredible. This book is a dark adventure that takes so many twists and turns it'll keep your bedside light turned on well into the night.
The combination of Noir and Paranormal Pulp is irresistible.
This isn't just a good read. It's a must read.
Stay Salty!
A. T. Hicks
http://www.saltygurl.com
January 4, 2012
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 the time. But now that I'm done, I can get to my review.
I, being somewhat of a conservative, thought the use of the the "F-word" was a bit excessive, but I pushed past that and read on. The book also seemed a little rough in the beginning. We're thrown hard into the story. Things happen fairly quickly. I even had a hard time caring about the character until about halfway through. But the book does quickly smooth out.
I liked how Joe's zombieism seems fresh. A thinking zombie is not new, but put it on a character with his background and what he must do to stay standing upright is different. The other paranormal beings in his "new" world just added to the story for me = not pasted on like some other things I have read.
I read books for the entertainment value not to decifer the author's meaning, if any, behind it. Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Once I got into the story, I enjoyed it. Is this book for everybody? No. I joined the contest because I like reading zombie stories. Some "zombie purists" wouldn't go for it, I'm sure. But that's for them to decide.
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 the time. But now that I'm done, I can get to my review.
I, being somewhat of a conservative, thought the use of the the "F-word" was a bit excessive, but I pushed past that and read on. The book also seemed a little rough in the beginning. We're thrown hard into the story. Things happen fairly quickly. I even had a hard time caring about the character until about halfway through. But the book does quickly smooth out.
I liked how Joe's zombieism seems fresh. A thinking zombie is not new, but put it on a character with his background and what he must do to stay standing upright is different. The other paranormal beings in his "new" world just added to the story for me = not pasted on like some other things I have read.
I read books for the entertainment value not to decifer the author's meaning, if any, behind it. Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Once I got into the story, I enjoyed it. Is this book for everybody? No. I joined the contest because I like reading zombie stories. Some "zombie purists" wouldn't go for it, I'm sure. But that's for them to decide.
December 13, 2011
“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 needs to get his hands on it. This begins Joe’s journey of meeting new people to find answers.
Joe is somewhat of a stoic character which gives a monotone-like feel to the story. Yet there is definitely humor to this point of view that the reader takes on with the story. These two elements make the story sound real and at the same time fun to read. The sentences are short and comical and I had several favorite lines. At the end, with a vague and sly remark from one of the characters and a major decision that Joe makes, we’re left feeling like that is not the end, it has to continue. A second part to this book would be awesome!
I kept getting the feeling that with this particular plot and its entertaining events, a more exciting and livelier take on the story, with more action, would have been a better match instead of the monotone-like vibe. Almost making me give a four. Other than that, it’s a great, well written book!
Received free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
Joe is somewhat of a stoic character which gives a monotone-like feel to the story. Yet there is definitely humor to this point of view that the reader takes on with the story. These two elements make the story sound real and at the same time fun to read. The sentences are short and comical and I had several favorite lines. At the end, with a vague and sly remark from one of the characters and a major decision that Joe makes, we’re left feeling like that is not the end, it has to continue. A second part to this book would be awesome!
I kept getting the feeling that with this particular plot and its entertaining events, a more exciting and livelier take on the story, with more action, would have been a better match instead of the monotone-like vibe. Almost making me give a four. Other than that, it’s a great, well written book!
Received free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
July 25, 2018
Stephen Blackmoore has given me, yes me, a character I can enjoy and follow for a very long time. Joe Sunday, a mob enforcer made dead; yes dead, by the hands of another crazy dead man. Wait, What? This story is nuts and one hell of a wild ride. My lord, you have crazed zombies, death around every corner, a magic stone, drink serving demons, a witch, wild magic and immortals. (Well, to an extent maybe.) This is not a hint into certain characters within the story, oh no. It’s simply a question that does not detract from the tale but makes it interesting in a way. There is so much insanity-taking place I was left with feeling bad for Joe. I mean, he was just trying to do the job given him and he ends up dead, having to eat a heart a day to keep the flesh rotting away. Plus when this does happen, he blacks out and is now left with a newly reanimated corpse that is trying to tear into someone else the way Joe tore into his or her chest.
Oh hell, I forgot the homeless vampire population, the Nazi wizard with his razor-toothed midget and handler constantly threatening Joe. This was a load of fun. I think there are more books to for a series, but I could be wrong. I sure hope so because this one left off with the possibility. It not, that’s okay as well because for me it was a good, fun romp through an already insane LA scene.
Oh hell, I forgot the homeless vampire population, the Nazi wizard with his razor-toothed midget and handler constantly threatening Joe. This was a load of fun. I think there are more books to for a series, but I could be wrong. I sure hope so because this one left off with the possibility. It not, that’s okay as well because for me it was a good, fun romp through an already insane LA scene.
April 18, 2012
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 trust anybody.
If Quentin Tarantino made a zombie movie, it would look something like City of the Lost. Dark, violent, and sometimes wickedly funny, this book was hands down great. I loved the stark language and Joe's casual brutality. The supporting characters are vibrant and pop right off the page, especially the women. Gabriela is my new favorite witch - she's tough and compassionate and not afraid to skin people alive if she feels a lesson is warranted.
I don't know if this will be a series, but I hope so because I loved the hell out of this book.
If Quentin Tarantino made a zombie movie, it would look something like City of the Lost. Dark, violent, and sometimes wickedly funny, this book was hands down great. I loved the stark language and Joe's casual brutality. The supporting characters are vibrant and pop right off the page, especially the women. Gabriela is my new favorite witch - she's tough and compassionate and not afraid to skin people alive if she feels a lesson is warranted.
I don't know if this will be a series, but I hope so because I loved the hell out of this book.
October 30, 2017
2.5 to 3 stars. Not as good as his later books set in the same, um, setting (the Eric Carter books). Don't feel I would have missed anything by foregoing this one. Reminded me in some ways of - but lacking in comparison to - Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt books.
December 7, 2011
A wonderful change of pace to the books I normally read. Action packed and excitement the whole way through!
May 27, 2012
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
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
February 17, 2012
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.
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.
April 19, 2012
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.
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.
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