GUNS DRUGS & MONSTERS:CAL MCDO

Cal McDonald Mystery #2

by Steve Niles

In the sequel to Savage Membrane, supernatural private detective Cal McDonald and his assistant Mo'Lock, head for Los Angeles, where they take on a savage pair of bestial killers, a bloodthirsty vampire, and other demons of the night in order to help an old friend. Original.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Noir, Monsters

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2001

About the author

STEVE NILES is one of the writers responsible for bringing horror comics back to prominence, and was recently named by Fangoria magazine as one of it's "13 rising talents who promise to keep us terrified for the next 25 years."

Niles is currently working for the four top American comic publishers - Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse. He got his start in the industry when he formed his own publishing company called Arcane Comix, where he published, edited and adapted several comics and anthologies for Eclipse Comics. His adaptations include works by Clive Barker, Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison.

Steve resides in Los Angeles in his bachelor pad with one cat. While there's no crawlspace, there is a questionable closet in one corner and no one is quite sure what is hidden in there...but we have an idea.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Andrew Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty noir and a page-turning story, I liked this tale a bit better than 'Savage Membrane ' though I've enjoyed Cal's gritty chaos either way. A change in Cal's body could be a cool thing for future stories but we'll see if it sticks or not.

Cal McDonald is D.C.'s "favorite" crackpot spook hunting detective. Cal is also a functioning drunk who gambles recklessly in his stupor. After fending off a psychopath, McDonald loses his home and finds opportunity with his west coast counterpart (Sam Burnett) to try his luck in Los Angeles. L.A. is beyond weird though, with portal-hopping teenage cultists, hipster werewolves, gang-banging half vamps and centuries old pooping vampires. Cal seems to land in one hardship after another, with some fairly heart wrenching losses but a deal with the darkness rips the fabric between worlds.

[Bambi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be the worst book I've ever read. What a joke.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Cal McDonald, Monster Hunter book. I read it in under twenty-four hours. It's not that long a book, but awesome all the same. I really enjoyed the first book Savage Membrane, so had to read the next one. And it didn't disappoint, that's for sure.

Cal's not exactly conventional. He was a cop once upon a time but got kicked out because of drugs. So now he's a private investigator. Except, he investigates things related to monsters and his best friend's a ghoul called Mo'Lock. In GD&M, Cal is down on his luck and when he receives the still-living head of an old friend via the postal system, he leaves DC and ventures into the freakiness of LA.

Things pretty much go downhill from there and Cal gets into all kinds of shit. Hey, I'm just getting into the spirit of things. The adventure is really cool and Cal takes more than just one beating. Though he's crude and spends most of his time in a drunken and/or drug stupor, I still think he's likeable. I like the idea of someone who sees so much below the surface that it drives him to drugs and alcohol in hopes of escaping.

Sure, this book's probably not for everyone, but I loved it. It's a fast-paced, fun read into a dark world that's creepy, yet familiar. I personally can't wait to read more about Cal McDonald's adventures -- especially now that he's in the City of Angels...

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read, only 196 pages, several of which are blank filler pages. The story, however, had a very noir feeling to it. There is the old, scarred detective, named Cal Mcdonald, living in a rat-hole of a place, where it always seems to be raining and working jobs no one else will touch. Just one thing though, he works cases that involve the supernatural. You know, things like vampires, warewolves, and pimple faced kids using black magic. He also has a partner that is a Ghoul, which for those of you that don’t know, is an undead person walking around. Cal doesn’t seem to mind though, ghouls are very passive and hard workers. They make great postal workers.

This story starts out with Cal receiving a head in the mail. It is an old friend of his from LA, and after the head explains how it got there, Cal decides to pack his bag and head over to help fix things.

This is definitely a bizarre trip through an America populated by monsters, freaks and ghouls. The book was printed in Canada and costs $16.99 but I found it at Borders. I loved reading it and I think anyone with a sense of humor and a fondness for the strange and unusual, will like it as well. You can read this book without reading any of the others, but I think I’m hooked and will be buying some of the other Cal McDonald mysteries, starting with Savage Membrane.

[Willow Redd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cal McDonald is back and in an even bigger mess than he's ever been in before.

First, a former enemy breaks out of jail seeking revenge, then he finds out an old friend is in serious trouble when that friend's head shows up in the post! Of course, that's nothing compared to the bigger shock, when that same head opens its eyes and starts yelling at Cal for help!

With that, Cal's off to Los Angeles to find the sick freak that did this to his friend, but first he has to deal with werewolves, vampires, and the US Postal Service.

Things get weird, even for Cal's tastes.

What I love about Niles' Cal McDonald stories is how they perfectly blend the hard-boiled detective with the classic monster hunter figure. Cal is a hard fighting, hard drinking, hard living detective with something that draws the weird and supernatural to him. The drinking and the drugs are partly to help him deal with that, so he says. Add to that his closest friends are undead ghouls, and it starts to make sense.

Here we have the second Cal McDonald novel, a welcome follow-up to the first, and a nice step-up on the weirdness factor. Add to that Cal's change of scenery from DC to LA and we see our hero thrown for a loop as he faces all new problems, and some all too familiar.

[Juno · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was an instant fan of Steve Niles the moment I started reading this book. I was on a train ride to Dallas from Sacramento when I read it. It was so cool I almost wanted to read it again when I finished it. But I had 2 other books I wanted to finish by the end of the trip so I never got around to it. I actually read it again in 2007 and I don't know if it's because my tastes in books changed, but I wasn't too crazy about it the second time around. But I guess not all books are like movies where it's ok to watch it again if it's really good the first time. (maybe that's just me.)

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much read this in one afternoon...
A nice, quick, entertaining read. No need to concentrate while reading, almost pure pulp fiction.
Very similar to Joe Lansdale in writing style, but a much simpler and shorter story.

[Daniel Data · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. I read this book so long ago that I don't even remember the main characters name. I only remember that he kills some monster and then takes a rip off of some kids bong. I'm sure that's why I enjoyed the book so much. It was a book definitely about guns, drugs and monsters.

[Brett]

pretty good book.

[Du4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Cal McDonald idiot's adventure. Steve Niles rules when he writes this stuff. He should put more effort into producing prose-- I think he's better at it than his comic work.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so awesome. The main character is such a mess, contantly high or drunk (usually both). And being that way usually saves his life. Hilarious.

[Zach Ellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!! SO AMZING, SO INTEST FOM BIGING TO END.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doesn't get much better than this!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ricker gave me this to read. I dont remember much of it other than I liked it.

[K.N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome installment in this series, monster hunter Cal takes care of business again.