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Billy Fox #1
Blind God's Bluff
Ante up for the game of a lifetime!
Billy Fox, a small-time gambler on a losing streak, has more than enough problems on his hands, owing too much money to some very impatient people. But when he rescues a blinded stranger from a swarm of bloodthirsty fairies, Billy’s life gets a lot more complicated. . . .
Seems the stranger is actually a powerful local god who is involved in a high-stakes Florida poker tournament against various supernatural challengers. And with his eyes currently missing, he needs somebody to take his place at the gaming table. Before Billy knows it, he finds himself playing against the likes of an ancient Egyptian mummy, an unbearably seductive succubus, a mechanical man, an insect queen, and a cannibalistic beast-man. And not just cards are in play; magic, bloodshed, and cheating are not only expected, they’re encouraged.
Everybody, including a sexy satyr-girl with her own cards up her sleeve, thinks that Billy is in way over his head. But Billy is a born gambler and, when the chips are down, he might just change his luck for good!
Blind God's Bluff is an outrageously addictive urban fantasy that will keep you flipping pages until the very last hand.
Billy Fox, a small-time gambler on a losing streak, has more than enough problems on his hands, owing too much money to some very impatient people. But when he rescues a blinded stranger from a swarm of bloodthirsty fairies, Billy’s life gets a lot more complicated. . . .
Seems the stranger is actually a powerful local god who is involved in a high-stakes Florida poker tournament against various supernatural challengers. And with his eyes currently missing, he needs somebody to take his place at the gaming table. Before Billy knows it, he finds himself playing against the likes of an ancient Egyptian mummy, an unbearably seductive succubus, a mechanical man, an insect queen, and a cannibalistic beast-man. And not just cards are in play; magic, bloodshed, and cheating are not only expected, they’re encouraged.
Everybody, including a sexy satyr-girl with her own cards up her sleeve, thinks that Billy is in way over his head. But Billy is a born gambler and, when the chips are down, he might just change his luck for good!
Blind God's Bluff is an outrageously addictive urban fantasy that will keep you flipping pages until the very last hand.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Richard Lee Byers
198 books370 followersA resident of the Tampa Bay area, Richard spends much of his leisure time fencing, playing poker, shooting pool and is a frequent guest at Florida science-fiction conventions. His current projects include new novels set in the Forgotten Realms universe and the eBook post-apocalyptic superhero series The Impostor.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 9, 2013
Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of urban fantasy, especially fans of male-oriented action-type stories
Trigger Warnings: general violence, cannibalism
Animal (-like creatures) Abuse: A lot of the minions and thralls are creatures of various types and are beaten or otherwise mistreated.
My Thoughts: Several sections of this book are, basically, playing poker. Specifically Hold 'em poker, about which I know next to nothing. I think if a person understands the game, there would be more in this story. For me, those sections are basically “blah blah blah Ace/Queen/King blah blah blah cheating blah blah blah violence”. Since the thing is told from Billy's point of view, it does give us a better glimpse into his thought processes though, so I wouldn't say it's a waste, just that if you—like me—don't really understand much about the game, there will likely be some subtle clues missed. Another section with billiards was the same way. It would have been nice if the book had been written so that people who are clueless about these games would have had a better idea what was going on.
Timor is a cruel, sadistic, and paranoid old jerk. Wow. I don't blame his people for wanting to be rid of him. Of course, the others really aren't all that much better. They all seemed like the type that would stab you in the back while smiling and saying, “Hail, fellow, well met,” and acting like they were going to clap you on the shoulder.
This copy was a galley, which means it still was to go through a final round of editing, so I will assume that the few editing errors I noticed will have been cleared up for the final copy.
However, don't take all that to mean I didn't like the book, because I really did. This is the sort of book I am fondest of, a book that has a lot of action, magic, great characters, twists and turns, and is just generally a lot of fun. I think the term that is running around in the book community to describe this sort of story is “dick-lit”, since it tends to appeal more to men, but I love this sort of thing. If you like action-oriented urban fantasy, you should really enjoy this book. Be sure to check it out.
Disclosure: I received an e-galley from Night Shade Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Billy Fox, a small-time gambler on a losing streak, has more than enough problems on his hands, owing too much money to some very impatient people. But when he rescues a blinded stranger from a swarm of bloodthirsty fairies, Billy’s life gets a lot more complicated. . . .
Seems the stranger is actually a powerful local god who is involved in a high-stakes Florida poker tournament against various supernatural challengers. And with his eyes currently missing, he needs somebody to take his place at the gaming table. Before Billy knows it, he finds himself playing against the likes of an ancient Egyptian mummy, an unbearably seductive succubus, a mechanical man, an insect queen, and a cannibalistic beast-man. And not just cards are in play; magic, bloodshed, and cheating are not only expected, they’re encouraged.
Everybody, including a sexy satyr-girl with her own cards up her sleeve, thinks that Billy is in way over his head. But Billy is a born gambler and, when the chips are down, he might just change his luck for good!
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of urban fantasy, especially fans of male-oriented action-type stories
Trigger Warnings: general violence, cannibalism
Animal (-like creatures) Abuse: A lot of the minions and thralls are creatures of various types and are beaten or otherwise mistreated.
My Thoughts: Several sections of this book are, basically, playing poker. Specifically Hold 'em poker, about which I know next to nothing. I think if a person understands the game, there would be more in this story. For me, those sections are basically “blah blah blah Ace/Queen/King blah blah blah cheating blah blah blah violence”. Since the thing is told from Billy's point of view, it does give us a better glimpse into his thought processes though, so I wouldn't say it's a waste, just that if you—like me—don't really understand much about the game, there will likely be some subtle clues missed. Another section with billiards was the same way. It would have been nice if the book had been written so that people who are clueless about these games would have had a better idea what was going on.
Timor is a cruel, sadistic, and paranoid old jerk. Wow. I don't blame his people for wanting to be rid of him. Of course, the others really aren't all that much better. They all seemed like the type that would stab you in the back while smiling and saying, “Hail, fellow, well met,” and acting like they were going to clap you on the shoulder.
This copy was a galley, which means it still was to go through a final round of editing, so I will assume that the few editing errors I noticed will have been cleared up for the final copy.
However, don't take all that to mean I didn't like the book, because I really did. This is the sort of book I am fondest of, a book that has a lot of action, magic, great characters, twists and turns, and is just generally a lot of fun. I think the term that is running around in the book community to describe this sort of story is “dick-lit”, since it tends to appeal more to men, but I love this sort of thing. If you like action-oriented urban fantasy, you should really enjoy this book. Be sure to check it out.
Disclosure: I received an e-galley from Night Shade Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Billy Fox, a small-time gambler on a losing streak, has more than enough problems on his hands, owing too much money to some very impatient people. But when he rescues a blinded stranger from a swarm of bloodthirsty fairies, Billy’s life gets a lot more complicated. . . .
Seems the stranger is actually a powerful local god who is involved in a high-stakes Florida poker tournament against various supernatural challengers. And with his eyes currently missing, he needs somebody to take his place at the gaming table. Before Billy knows it, he finds himself playing against the likes of an ancient Egyptian mummy, an unbearably seductive succubus, a mechanical man, an insect queen, and a cannibalistic beast-man. And not just cards are in play; magic, bloodshed, and cheating are not only expected, they’re encouraged.
Everybody, including a sexy satyr-girl with her own cards up her sleeve, thinks that Billy is in way over his head. But Billy is a born gambler and, when the chips are down, he might just change his luck for good!
July 15, 2013
Years and years ago, back when I was just thinking I'd like to write, Richard Byers spent some time with me talking about what it was like to be a writer. I bet he doesn't even remember, but because of his patience and willingness to share his time with me, I felt delighted when I recently saw he'd written an urban fantasy.
And wow, what an urban fantasy! It takes place mainly around a poker table... except not. Our hero is transported hither and yon, everyone's trying to kill him and you're rooting for him from the edge of your seat the whole way through.
Now I don't know how to play poker, but while poker is a key element, the bits about poker are generally kept to a single paragraph here and there, and it's pretty clear from the context whether our hero is winning or losing.
Blind God's Bluff is not like anything else I've read in the genre. If you like "the same only different" then look elsewhere, cuz Blind God's Bluff (like my own books, I like to think) is more like "different only different." And yet, it's still definitely an urban fantasy, with all the details and highlights to bring Tampa alive for the reader.
Because I, too, write urban fantasy, I tend to feel I have to read the first book in a lot of different series, almost as "homework." I rarely read on. But our hero's circumstances are so incredibly changed at the end of the book (is that a spoiler?) that I must read the next book just to see how he handles it.
I picked up hard copy from Bakka-Phoenix, my local sci-fi/fantasy indie bookstore. But it's also available in all formats.
Pick it up. You won't be sorry.
And wow, what an urban fantasy! It takes place mainly around a poker table... except not. Our hero is transported hither and yon, everyone's trying to kill him and you're rooting for him from the edge of your seat the whole way through.
Now I don't know how to play poker, but while poker is a key element, the bits about poker are generally kept to a single paragraph here and there, and it's pretty clear from the context whether our hero is winning or losing.
Blind God's Bluff is not like anything else I've read in the genre. If you like "the same only different" then look elsewhere, cuz Blind God's Bluff (like my own books, I like to think) is more like "different only different." And yet, it's still definitely an urban fantasy, with all the details and highlights to bring Tampa alive for the reader.
Because I, too, write urban fantasy, I tend to feel I have to read the first book in a lot of different series, almost as "homework." I rarely read on. But our hero's circumstances are so incredibly changed at the end of the book (is that a spoiler?) that I must read the next book just to see how he handles it.
I picked up hard copy from Bakka-Phoenix, my local sci-fi/fantasy indie bookstore. But it's also available in all formats.
Pick it up. You won't be sorry.
January 9, 2013
Great modern-day fantasy book where Tampa is almost a major character January 7, 2013
By Perry F. Bruns
Format:Paperback
This is an outstanding introduction to Richard Lee Byers, to the city of Tampa, to urban/modern fantasy, to poker, and to Billy Fox and the weird world in which he finds himself.
Billy Fox is not your standard-issue flawed hero, in that he doesn't just have the usual "failure to launch" syndrome so many have had, and his past wasn't one most people would ever have envied. But he's not hopelessly tragic either.
The characters that surround him in his new environment are certainly strange, yes, but their appearances aren't the end of who they are. They're still real people too, whether they have fins on their heads, or they're not exactly among the living, or they have the bodies of snakes. As an added bonus, Billy winds up with one of the worst bosses anyone has seen in a long time.
Tampa is more than just a backdrop, or a couple of set pieces; it's written from the standpoint of one who has lived here, and knows the ins and outs, although the title character winds up running through what I think is the Interbay area for the first time in his life. Of course, anyone who lives here knows that Tampa is a massive sprawl, and it's pretty easy to find new and unusual places. Maybe some of them ARE populated with Old People (and not the kind who hunch over the steering wheels of ancient Lincolns and Cadillacs).
"Blind God's Bluff: A Billy Fox Novel" isn't a long read, but it tells a helluva story.
By Perry F. Bruns
Format:Paperback
This is an outstanding introduction to Richard Lee Byers, to the city of Tampa, to urban/modern fantasy, to poker, and to Billy Fox and the weird world in which he finds himself.
Billy Fox is not your standard-issue flawed hero, in that he doesn't just have the usual "failure to launch" syndrome so many have had, and his past wasn't one most people would ever have envied. But he's not hopelessly tragic either.
The characters that surround him in his new environment are certainly strange, yes, but their appearances aren't the end of who they are. They're still real people too, whether they have fins on their heads, or they're not exactly among the living, or they have the bodies of snakes. As an added bonus, Billy winds up with one of the worst bosses anyone has seen in a long time.
Tampa is more than just a backdrop, or a couple of set pieces; it's written from the standpoint of one who has lived here, and knows the ins and outs, although the title character winds up running through what I think is the Interbay area for the first time in his life. Of course, anyone who lives here knows that Tampa is a massive sprawl, and it's pretty easy to find new and unusual places. Maybe some of them ARE populated with Old People (and not the kind who hunch over the steering wheels of ancient Lincolns and Cadillacs).
"Blind God's Bluff: A Billy Fox Novel" isn't a long read, but it tells a helluva story.
June 19, 2021
Great
A great page turner. It had humor, action, and romance, with well fleshed out characters. I hope that there is a sequel.
A great page turner. It had humor, action, and romance, with well fleshed out characters. I hope that there is a sequel.
January 20, 2022
A fun quick read. Fans off poker and fantasy should enjoy this.
March 18, 2023
13. The synopsis sounded excellent and the writing style isn’t bad but the quality of the dialogue and plot is, just, well, very teenagery. Despite a strenuous effort, I just couldn’t finish it.
February 12, 2013
Billy Fox bums around Tampa in his '57 Thunderbird, looking for poker games. His luck has also been bumming around, and blowing on some other guy's dice, so Billy owes a pile of money to the usual sort of unsavory folk. He is running from them when he runs into yet another bum, who is blind, because *he* is running from malevolent fairies who like to tear out eyeballs. Now everybody gets to run together!
The bum turns out to be an arrogant bastard even when he's blind. He claims to be in the middle of a high-stakes poker game -- for the city -- where sending eyeball-ripping fairies against your opponents is just the sort of light-hearted table manners that makes poker fun. And while he's growing his eyes back, would Billy Fox mind keeping his seat warm? He can pay well, if Billy wins.
Magic plus poker means comparing to Tim Powers. (Magic plus spies also means comparing to Tim Powers, as does magic plus pirates, magic plus Romantic poets, magic plus Cold War spies... okay, Tim Powers is hot shit. This review is not about Tim Powers, however. Let me start over.)
The author tells an excellent poker story. He's not nearly as comfortable telling an urban fantasy story. The opening scene is full of awkward infodumping and "let me explain about magic" speeches -- from someone who is supposed to be an arrogant bastard demigod. It all feels very shoehorned in to *be* an opening scene. The magic is too often conveyed in dialogue, not in reactions and assumptions and the way things are seen. (Which is, of course, what Tim Powers excels at.)
It's a pity, because once we get to the poker game, everything flows smoothly. The table jargon feels natural and there's plenty of context to clue in the non-poker-adept reader. We can play poker with Billy Fox; he doesn't have to explain it.
(I am a non-poker-adept reader, but as far as my knowledge runs, the poker in this book is good. I particularly appreciated that the tournament is not decided by James-Bond-style crazy hands -- the straight flushes and etc -- but by having the three-of-a-kind or two-pair when the other guy doesn't.)
There is plenty of magic mixed in with the cards. Our hero learns some tricks as the tournament runs on; he spends as much time running around the city dealing with, you know, *deals* as he does sitting at the table. The scenes get a little smoother, or maybe I just got used to the style. To be clear, the *stuff that happens* is all pretty cool. I'm not objecting to the author's sense of drama, just to the way he presents it. I also object to the repeated use of the "I explained to my friend what we were going to do" narrative-palming trick.
If the author can manage to steer his fantasy elements with the same aplomb as his poker, he will have some good books ahead. I assumed while reading that Richard Lee Byers is a first-time author. This turns out not to be true -- he's mostly been writing D&D tie-ins, which is why I didn't recognize the name -- but I hope he continues adapting to urban fantasy.
The bum turns out to be an arrogant bastard even when he's blind. He claims to be in the middle of a high-stakes poker game -- for the city -- where sending eyeball-ripping fairies against your opponents is just the sort of light-hearted table manners that makes poker fun. And while he's growing his eyes back, would Billy Fox mind keeping his seat warm? He can pay well, if Billy wins.
Magic plus poker means comparing to Tim Powers. (Magic plus spies also means comparing to Tim Powers, as does magic plus pirates, magic plus Romantic poets, magic plus Cold War spies... okay, Tim Powers is hot shit. This review is not about Tim Powers, however. Let me start over.)
The author tells an excellent poker story. He's not nearly as comfortable telling an urban fantasy story. The opening scene is full of awkward infodumping and "let me explain about magic" speeches -- from someone who is supposed to be an arrogant bastard demigod. It all feels very shoehorned in to *be* an opening scene. The magic is too often conveyed in dialogue, not in reactions and assumptions and the way things are seen. (Which is, of course, what Tim Powers excels at.)
It's a pity, because once we get to the poker game, everything flows smoothly. The table jargon feels natural and there's plenty of context to clue in the non-poker-adept reader. We can play poker with Billy Fox; he doesn't have to explain it.
(I am a non-poker-adept reader, but as far as my knowledge runs, the poker in this book is good. I particularly appreciated that the tournament is not decided by James-Bond-style crazy hands -- the straight flushes and etc -- but by having the three-of-a-kind or two-pair when the other guy doesn't.)
There is plenty of magic mixed in with the cards. Our hero learns some tricks as the tournament runs on; he spends as much time running around the city dealing with, you know, *deals* as he does sitting at the table. The scenes get a little smoother, or maybe I just got used to the style. To be clear, the *stuff that happens* is all pretty cool. I'm not objecting to the author's sense of drama, just to the way he presents it. I also object to the repeated use of the "I explained to my friend what we were going to do" narrative-palming trick.
If the author can manage to steer his fantasy elements with the same aplomb as his poker, he will have some good books ahead. I assumed while reading that Richard Lee Byers is a first-time author. This turns out not to be true -- he's mostly been writing D&D tie-ins, which is why I didn't recognize the name -- but I hope he continues adapting to urban fantasy.
May 8, 2014
On the positive side, the characters are interesting, especially the supernatural ones - clearly a lot of creativity went into their natures and actions. The story is likewise a good one, well-plotted and intriguing.
The atmosphere, however, I found a bit cartoonish - the dialogue is too glib, with even the supernatural creatures talking in modern casual slang. Maybe this is the norm for the "urban fantasy" being prolifically written these days - haven't read a lot of it but clearly there's an audience for it. I wasn't wild about it though. And the way the protagonist goes about figuring things out when he finds himself in a fantasy world, it comes across almost exactly as if he's playing a role playing or video game - I wouldn't have necessarily said this was a bad thing, but the way it's executed here was a bit too transparent for me, making it feel like the reader's the one playing a character.
On a more minor note, there were maybe one too many occasions where Billy explains his plan, but it's not revealed to the reader. When done well, this ploy is not noticeable, and enhances the suspense for the reader. Since it jumped out at me here, though, I was left thinking of it as an obvious strategic choice by the author. Likewise the extensive dropping of poker jargon without explanation for the uninitiated seemed calculated to make the poker-familiar reader feel like an insider. Same with some of the chatter about weaponry and automotive details.
But again, the story itself is not bad at all, and with the twists and turns seemingly leaving Billy with no good options, I honestly wanted to know how things were going to work out. The climax felt a little tacked on initially, but in the end things came together for a fun finish.
The atmosphere, however, I found a bit cartoonish - the dialogue is too glib, with even the supernatural creatures talking in modern casual slang. Maybe this is the norm for the "urban fantasy" being prolifically written these days - haven't read a lot of it but clearly there's an audience for it. I wasn't wild about it though. And the way the protagonist goes about figuring things out when he finds himself in a fantasy world, it comes across almost exactly as if he's playing a role playing or video game - I wouldn't have necessarily said this was a bad thing, but the way it's executed here was a bit too transparent for me, making it feel like the reader's the one playing a character.
On a more minor note, there were maybe one too many occasions where Billy explains his plan, but it's not revealed to the reader. When done well, this ploy is not noticeable, and enhances the suspense for the reader. Since it jumped out at me here, though, I was left thinking of it as an obvious strategic choice by the author. Likewise the extensive dropping of poker jargon without explanation for the uninitiated seemed calculated to make the poker-familiar reader feel like an insider. Same with some of the chatter about weaponry and automotive details.
But again, the story itself is not bad at all, and with the twists and turns seemingly leaving Billy with no good options, I honestly wanted to know how things were going to work out. The climax felt a little tacked on initially, but in the end things came together for a fun finish.
August 9, 2014
4.0 stars
I want to start by saying that I'm glad nightshade books has joined with Baen to release digital copies of their titles. I did pick this up and read the digital copy.
The new work by Richard Lee Byers was interesting. I liked the characters and the premise brings certain tales about ancient gods into a modern setting quite well. The story line was well planed and while the main character triumphing in his own way is predictable his interactions with all the characters is what made the story.
I did have a problem in the beginning of the novel. There were a couple of disjointed segues between scenes and bringing in some characters early in the novel. I've seen worse but being in the first few chapters made me worried the book wasn't as polished as it ended up being. Hopefully readers can move past the 1 or 2 rough spots to read a pretty good novel.
Personally I'm a little disappointed, the world wasn't as descriptive as I like in a new novel. We didn't really get a full glimpse behind the curtain as it were. The main character and the reader are only given the barest glimpse of this new reality. In the end the sheer ignorance seemed a little over the top.
I hope we see more of Billy Fox because overall the novel shows promise of a rich and interesting tableau for future adventures.
gallandro
March 20, 2013
Sadly, this loses out on all my criteria of acceptability for urban fantasy. Shame really because he can write well but the ideas fail to take off.
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March 14, 2013
Very different. Loved it
December 18, 2013
This is a particularly deep novel, but there is nonstop action, and it's a lot of fun. Knowing how to play Texas Hold'em will help the reader's understanding.
May 26, 2014
Really fun urban fantasy book, non-stop thrills. Would recommend to urban fantasy fans and readers of the Cal Leandros, Harry Dresden, etc series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews