Blood Ghast Blues

Black Box Inc. #2

by Jake Bible

Unspeakable horrors have been unleashed on Asheville, North Carolina.

Spectral demons tear victims apart from the inside out, leaving nothing but gory destruction in their wake. And their next victim is one of the biggest extradimensional crime lords around—the One Guy. To survive a fate equal to but also worse than death, he’ll have to convince Black Box Inc. to save his sorry ass.

Chase Lawter and his crack team—an omnisexual yeti, an ex-Fae assassin, and a business savvy zombie—are tasked with transporting the One Guy to Washington, D. C. where the Department of Extradimensional Affairs will put the crime lord into protective custody. That is, if Chase and Black Box Inc. can evade blood ghasts, dimentionalist rednecks, vengeance-seeking kobolds, and whatever other enemies are in hot pursuit of the One Guy.

He’s made a lot of enemies. Including Chase, who knows you can’t trust the One Guy as far as you can throw him.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Humor, Horror

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 13, 2018

About the author

Jake Bible, Bram Stoker Award nominated-novelist, short story writer, independent screenwriter, podcaster, and inventor of the Drabble Novel, has entertained thousands with his horror, sci/fi, thriller, and adventure tales. He reaches audiences of all ages with his uncanny ability to write a wide range of characters and genres.

Jake is the author of the bestselling Z-Burbia series set in Asheville, NC, the bestselling Salvage Merc One, the Apex Trilogy (DEAD MECH, The Americans, Metal and Ash) and the Mega series for Severed Press, as well as the YA zombie novel, Little Dead Man, the Bram Stoker Award nominated Teen horror novel, Intentional Haunting, the ScareScapes series, and the Reign of Four series for Permuted Press.

Find Jake at jakebible.com. Join him on Twitter @jakebible and find him on Facebook.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

3-1-2020
Blood Ghast Blues
Black Box Inc. Series, Book 2
By: Jake Bible
Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett
This one also has Chase, the guy who can reach between dimensions and manipulate the Dim, and his employees. These employees include a zombie, a Yeti, and a gal raised by fae Mafia. They get a job after ghasts are about and they are like ghosts but go inside someone/something then blows the individual up from the inside! There are lots of twists and turns in this story! Lots of action, adventure, new creatures, love the characters and plot, and world building! This is a fun book!
Narration is great 👍!


6-2019
Blood Ghast Blues (Black Box Inc. #2) by Jake Bible is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I am a big fan of his books anyway but this is certainly in a different off shoot from his other books. I didn't read the first book and had no problem jumping into this and not getting lost but I did read some spoilers from book one so read book one first! This is going in my favorites folder... Loved the great fantasy, magical power, creatures such as trolls, dopplers, ghouls as drivers, his team member is a Yeti, lawyer is a Siren, and so many more creatures! A crazy ride with a twisty plot, great unique characters, humor and snark added along the way! I will have to read book one now! Great job!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The next victim of gorily destructive demons is the One Guy, a major extradimensional crime lord. If he wants to survive a fate worse than death at their hands, the One Guy will have to go to Black Box Inc. to save him. Chase and his team at Black Box Inc. - Lassa, omnisexual yeti; Harper, an ex-Fae assassin; and Sharon, a business savvy zombie—will have to get the One Guy to Washington, D. C.'s Department of Extradimensional Affairs and get him into protective custody. First they'll just have to keep ahead of the blood ghasts, dimentionalist rednecks, vengeance-seeking kobolds, and his many other enemies, including Chase himself who knows first hand that you can’t trust the One Guy as far as you can throw him.

I was so happy to be approved for the sequel to Black Box Inc. because book one is just so much fun. Luckily, Blood Ghast Blues really lived up to my expectations. Jake Bible's brand of urban fantasy is quite unique as it deals with a wide variety creatures coming into our world via portals from other dimensions. He does a fantastic job writing butt kicking action scenes, cool worldbuilding, and awesome characters and dialogue. As cool as the magic system is in Chase's Asheville, North Carolina, the characters really make this story. I love the team at Black Box Inc. Everyone plays off of each other really well, the dialogue and banter is topnotch, and, even better, each player brings something special to the team. By the way, since I've been watching the tv series Lucifer I can't help but to compare Harper to Maze - and if that alone doesn't want to make you pick up this series I don't know what will. Finally, while technically this is the second book in a series, it is also described as a standalone sequel. You don't necessarily have to have read book one before jumping in here, but it's just all the better to already be familiar with the world and characters.

Blood Ghast Blues (Black Box Inc. #2) by Jake Bible is a fantastic new installment of an epic new urban fantasy series. If you're a fan of Lucifer, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, and The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne, I have a feeling you'll want to meet Chase Lawter and his crew at Black Box Inc. Since this is a standalone installment of the series, you don't already need to be familiar with the story before jumping in here. New a fun, fast-paced new urban fantasy series, then look no further. I hope we get to see more of Chase, Lassa, Harper, and Sharon in the future.



Thanks again, NetGalley!

[Viking Jam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Publishing Date: April 2018

Publisher: Bell Bridge

ISBN:9781611948608

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5

Publisher’s Description: Chase Lawter and his crack team—an omnisexual yeti, an ex-Fae assassin, and a business savvy zombie—are tasked with transporting the One Guy to Washington, D. C. where the Department of Extradimensional Affairs will put the crime lord into protective custody. That is, if Chase and Black Box Inc. can evade blood ghasts, dimentionalist rednecks, vengeance-seeking kobolds, and whatever other enemies are in hot pursuit of the One Guy.

Review: Early into this ARC, the reviews are quite favorable. Most credit the high entertainment value to those stellar reviews, and I couldn’t agree more. The movement is of the “splat” variety and seeks to outdo itself from scene to scene, ramping up the gore in the process. The interactions and descriptions of other dimensional beings was highly creative and inventive when put in practice.

“So why you no give 5 stars!!?”. Derailing this express train of viscera was the author’s infusion of political and racist digs. Not that I am a fan of either side of the political spectrum, I just think it reduces the story line to the pointedly mundane. So rednecks are bad, and because they are rednecks they are generally racist? And the stupid meter for G. Bush is measured against other presidents that were smarter? And all white cops in the deep south are racist by design and breeding, especially when they see dark skin? I find that the people with the most biased and deranged opinions to be those that have never lived it. Trust me, I have lived it and this writer knows absolutely jack shjt in that specific arena.

That said, I still had a great time reading this and look forward to the next in this series as the ending hints at more fun. Hopefully the author keeps his stupid political opinions to himself as it has no place in fantasy land.

You can read all of my other reviews, Here.

[Jennifer Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell, this was so good! Even better than the first book. Once again, JB manages to create an ongoing plot/storyline, that can carry through to multiple books. The Black Box Inc series is full of fantastic creatures (one of which I had never heard of and had to look up), and great characters. Chase is absolutely the perfectly flawed hero, bumbling along, trying not to get himself or his team killed as they navigate the politics of their post-dimensional-portal world, and make some money along the way. Each character is superbly developed, and has an interesting back story that could easily lend to offshoot novels of their own. I hope for many more adventures within the Black Box Inc. universe.

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 rounded up to 3 stars. A slightly better read (for me) than Black Box Inc. #1 but I'm still just not feeling it with this cast.

"Blood Ghast Blues" benefits over its predecessor in that it takes place in OUR dimension and we at very least don't spend as much time getting to know folks as the last go-round. That, at least, left me feeling less frustrated by a lack of detail at very least towards the surroundings (I'm stil shaking my head at the brevity of our journeys through the wastelands in the last story). Bible also has significantly upped the attention paid to action sequences in this story, which in many ways, is just one long action sequence. We also get a pretty firm grip from the get-go about just how nasty things can be out there, so the reader needs to at least be paying attention.

BUT!!! I said it though with the first book and I'll say it here, too: it may not be so much these books as it is me (not a huge 'pure' urban fantasy fan). For me, both books were extremely 'put-downable' and I just didn't get into the main crew at all. I am still left feeling that at very least with our resident Yeti (Lassa) and the zombie (Sharon), too, that a lot of potential is being left on the table in terms of what they could be contributing to the plot. Yes, learning a little more about both Chase and Harper (both human-ish) and their skillset was interesting, but they come off as extremely shallow and one-dimensional... a horrible pun in many ways for what we're trying to accomplish here. And good gods (see also list, heading 'puns'), that whole 'I'm constantly hungry' schtick gets old. We get it: you're The Flash without the speed, have a Snickers and see if you feel better. Sigh...

I did enjoy the wider scope of non-Earth entities that were presented in this book, all of whom came across much more interesting than the Fae or devil folk in book 1, including either Daphne or 'Beelzebub' or I think 'Steve', too. The dragon mediation scene towards the end was particularly fascinating, especially if you know the area around Mars Hill . In the end, though, the banter was just second-rate, with far too much unnecessary cursing (wow, I'm cool, I say 'goddamn' all the time!) and I found it bordering on cheap 'noir mystery' styling. For me, the plot was created to literally go no where other than in circles as we're going to DC then we're not going to DC and then and then and then... oh yeah, we owe everyone BIG TIME before its all said and finished. Perhaps it's all being done this way to set up further chapters down the road but, quite frankly, if One Guy is in any of those, well, count me out. Perhaps the least interesting villain I've come across in a while but maybe that's part of that wacky charm he seems to try to exude (hint: he had none and I am still at a loss as to why he got this far).

Oh well, ultimately just not my taste. Bible's writing remains solid as does his story-telling skills and I'm not taking any of his other titles off my long TBR list. But when it comes to fantasy of this ilk, I guess my tastes rest more with series such as 'Monster Hunters International' or especially 'The Laundry Files'. C'est la vie said the French dragon lady...

[Crittermom · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the A-Team were able to kick butt with magic as well as munitions, then they would probably look something like Chase Lawter and his team.  An omnisexual yeti, a Fae trained assassin, a zombie business manager and Chase - the only known worker of dim - make for a group as vibrant and varied as the iconic 80s commandos. It”s difficult to say whether I enjoy the action or the banter more.  Despite having the occasional squabble, Black Box Inc works as a team, and will always stand up for each other.


In Blood Ghast Blues, Chase is given an offer that he can’t refuse.  The day starts like any other. A client who hasn’t paid his bill needs Chase to open his “box”.  To facilitate things, a local crimelord, The One Guy offers to pay the bill. But this is only the first odd event. Someone has summoned blood ghasts and they are leaving blood and terror in their wake.  After calling Chase to the crime scene, The Feds reveal their purpose. They want Chase and his team to transport The One Guy to Washington. The One Guy makes the same request. The task looks straightforward, but knowing that The One Guy is always lying doesn’t make unraveling his tapestry of lies, plans and countermeasures any easier.  Chase and his team quickly find that allies are few and far between and that the Feds and the One Guy are playing for much larger stakes - and that means trouble, BIG trouble.


Blood Ghast Blues has action in abundance and an equal quantity of snarky banter.  With its fast pacing, unique characters and over the top fights, readers scarcely have a chance to take a breath.  Blood Ghast Blues is adrenalin rich fun that will appeal to fans of urban fantasy, superhero fiction ala Guardians of the Galaxy, and action.


5 / 5


I received a copy of Blood Ghast Blues from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


-- Crittermom

[Joanne Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review "Blood Ghast Blues", the second installment of Jake Bible's Black Box Inc. series. Although I did not read the first book - Black Box Inc. - that is a situation that will be quickly remedied after finishing Blood Ghast Blues. This is the first book in a long while that I finished withing a day of starting.
The Defiler of Dimensions is at it again, this time working against the DEX and The One Guy (he's the One Guy that everyone knows, as in, 'I know a guy who can...'
Thankfully, Mr. Bible fills us in at the beginning of this book as to the reason that there are now so many 'aliens' on earth - the dimensions are bleeding into our reality. In the course of the novel we meet the members of Black Box Inc., a 'shaved Yeti' (the omnisexual Lassa, Sharon, the zombie, and Harper an ex-fae assassin.
BBI are tasked with taking the One Guy to DC from Asheville - something that sounds simple, but really, really isn't. Because Chase decides to do it his way; and there are a lot of beings who don't want him to succeed.
Don't want to spoil any of the plot, but this road trip rivals the Cannonball Run. And along the way, we meet a vampire, two Headless Horsemen, and others, as well as six - count them, six - dragons, who decide the fate of Black Box Inc.
An uproarious time ensues. Recommended for fans of Jim Butcher, Ilona Andrews, Kevin J. Anderson's Zombie Detective series, and others.

[Anne Szlachcic · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say ………..THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT . I have found that most sequels don't usually live up the 1st in the series ……… but this does more than that , it exceeds it .

Charles Lawter has a special gift …… he can pull 'dim' from another dimension and shape it into boxes for clients to store anything they want to …….. and place it back into that dimension safe from all .
Along with his 'motley' crew he is tasked with transporting the 'One Guy' to Washington to keep him safe from the Blood Ghasts that have been killing the Department of Extradimensional Affairs CIs .

The trip is filled with betrayal upon betrayal ………..who can be trusted ? who will survive the Blood Ghasts ?
With the aid of new and old allies and at the whim of the Dragons our team might just survive to fight another day .

I was unsure if this type of fantasy book was my thing , but this Author's worldbuilding , multi-faceted characters and great storyline kept me enthralled from start to finish .
I look forward to future books set in this world …….. I will be first in line to buy them .

I was given an arc of this book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest review

[Rabid Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this fun, action packed story. Chase Lawter and his Black Box Inc. team of an ex-fae assassin, a highly sexual yeti and a shrewd business zombie are maneuvered by the DEA into transporting Chase’s old nemesis, The One Guy, to Washington, DC. Sounds simple, but when deadly blood ghasts, avenging kobolds, bigoted rednecks and opposing DEA factions are trying to stop you, then things tend to go wrong. The action, humour, snark and array of mythical creatures in this story is great. I love Harper’s loyalty and determination, Sharon’s no-nonsense business acumen, Lasa’s horniness and Chase’s ability to eat! The storyline is an entertaining, twisting ride with great characters and thrilling action. The narrator, J Scott Bennett, brought the story to life, giving individual voices to the characters and really showing the sarcasm and humour in the book. This is a thrilling story that ends with Chase’s desperate actions against the blood ghasts coming back to haunt him. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diving into this second book in the series without having read the first book, I wasn’t sure what to expect as it is touted as a standalone. Well, I had absolutely no problems at all with understanding, enjoying, and grasping everything going on. In point of fact, I don’t think I lost anything by not having read the first one (but I will still go back and read it because I of how much I enjoyed this world). This book was fun, action-packed, well-written, and had some very unique characters which enhanced my enjoyment of this book. I really liked the protagonist and his very unique ability to handle “dim,” a substance no one knows too much about. I think I’ve found a new author to enjoy, and I think you should try him, too, if you love urban fantasy with snarky, fun characters. I can’t wait to read more in this interesting world! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Bell Bridge Books for the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.

[Shiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader's copy of Blood Ghast Blues by Jake Bible from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first novel by Jake Bible that I have read and even though I'm always a little leery jumping into an ongoing series even if a book is billed as a standalone, it was not terribly difficult to pick up the world of Blood Ghast Blues.

The good: I found the novel to be well written and the dialogue between the characters (primary characters as well as secondary) was entertaining and fact paced. Also, the publisher's summary gets a thumbs up - great way to whet the reader's interest.

The bad: my main critique was that some of the gory descriptors seemed to be there for shock rather than advancing the story/scene. Seemed gratuitously gory for the gross out factor rather than setting the scene.

Overall, an enjoyable author and new series I will look for in the future.

[Alyce Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows right on the heels of book 1. This, I think, is slightly darker and bloodier than book 1, but it definitely keeps the fun and humor. Once again, we have an absolutely relentless pace, with our heroes fighting their way through all sorts of interdimensional nasties. Gotta say, The One Guy is a pretty fascinating character. He did a Thing toward the end that I am not sure how he did and would really, really like to know because it could either be a plot problem or an awesome character trait and I want to know which it is. (no spoilers here so not saying what the Thing is, but if you've read it you probably know what I'm talking about)

Anyhow, this was another fun-filled, action-filled read, ending on an obvious open door for the next installment. So, hey. When's the next book coming out???
**waits impatiently**

[Valerie - Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. It's been four years since "Skin Game" was published. Four LOOOONG years. If you've read any of the Dresden Files, Harry Dresden has a certain je ne sais quoi that no other character manages...until now.

Snarky with a sarcastic wit, Chase Lawter is the "defiler of dimensions"; that's a lower case d. You'd think this sounds like a prodigious title, but alas, no, it's completely an insult. Chase wields "dim" to form and store boxes in between dimensions, and he's the only one that does. He has made a business, Black Box, Inc.., out of doing so. His merry bunch of misfits consists of Lassa, the handsome omnisexual shaven yeti; Sharon, zombie business manager extraordinaire; and Harper, savage, ex-fae assassin. This is actually the second book in the series, but as the title says is a standalone ass whompin'. No prior experience needed.

Read the full review at Cats Luv Coffee

[Victoria Haugen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the first book in the series, Black Box Inc., and was sure I'd love the second installment just as much. And, totally do love it! Again, it's gross, hilarious, scary, creepy, great action and suspense, a total creepily fun ride. I really loved the smart-a$$y language, the writing, and the narration are great. Definitely recommend this series to everyone!!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

For one, I like my urban fantasy to be something else than a roll call of every creature even conjured for the humankind. And I like an original, thoughtful worldbuilding, not an easy fix like 'oh! a dimensional mishap!' that we have here.

The dialogues are juvenile and the gore is way over the roof, so, as I said, not for me.

J. Scott Bennett does an excellent job with the narration, though.

[Tobias Queen · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reading goodness!

Look, it aint pride and prejudice, but if you like action, wit, humor, fantasy, a smidge of horror, and a good time, then read Jake's books. Can't go wrong :)

[Melissa Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. It's rare, but this sequel is better than the first book. Well written, plenty of action and betrayal, a hidden world within ours full of Magic and interdementional creatures to round out this urban fantasy. Recommend this series.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second outing for the Black Box Inc team and this time they are hired to make a delivery, but nothing is as it seems and they only people they trust us themselves. Good light-hearted book, with good characters.

[PJ Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow!

It's a splat-fest, a nightmare, a disaster of epic proportions! Just a day in the life for the guys of Black Box Inc.
Fun with a capital F!

[Ryan Purvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

A fun fantasy story that is executed in an intriguing way. I could not put it down which is consistent - I can’t wait for the sequel in the series!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror to love. Impossible to stop reading once you’ve started. Definitely aiming to read the first one and reread this again.

[Preeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book and excellent story. Characters are excellent with the twist and turn story is very interesting.
More fun to listen on audible.