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Halflife Chronicles #4
Dead Easy
What do you get when you mix a squid-headed Ancient One, a mystical force-five hurricane, Rasputin's privates, the city of New Orleans, and an undead Captain Nemo? Christopher Csejthe, the reluctant hero stuck halfway between being undead and alive, is back, and is going to find out, whether he wants to or not.
A few years ago Christopher survived a blood transfusion with a vampire only to discover that he was infected with one of the two viruses that transform the living into the undead. Since then he has survived by his wits as men, monsters, government agencies, and remnants of the Third Reich have hunted him for the secrets his mutated blood may hold.
With a sexy vampire for a bodyguard, a werewolf lover, and bewildering advice from the ghost of his dead wife, Christopher's semi-undead existence was confused enough already. But now he's in for an underwater Mardi Gras of epic proportions complete with an army of drowned vampire zombies.
Not to mention a Lovecraftian take on Gidget and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, and Christopher may be about to join them.
A few years ago Christopher survived a blood transfusion with a vampire only to discover that he was infected with one of the two viruses that transform the living into the undead. Since then he has survived by his wits as men, monsters, government agencies, and remnants of the Third Reich have hunted him for the secrets his mutated blood may hold.
With a sexy vampire for a bodyguard, a werewolf lover, and bewildering advice from the ghost of his dead wife, Christopher's semi-undead existence was confused enough already. But now he's in for an underwater Mardi Gras of epic proportions complete with an army of drowned vampire zombies.
Not to mention a Lovecraftian take on Gidget and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, and Christopher may be about to join them.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2007
6 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Wm. Mark Simmons
13 books47 followersWilliam (Wm.) Mark Simmons was born in 1953 and spent his formative years in Independence, Missouri, the hometown of President Harry S. Truman and fantasy author Jim Butcher.
He has had a varied career as an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, musician, and entertainer.
His first novel, In the Net of Dreams, was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award and made Locus Magazine’s “Best List” in 1991. To date he has published seven novels and one novella in the United States with translations in Russia and the Czech Republic. His unique blend of humor and plots that unfold "like an origami sculpture designed by M.C. Escher" have won him the title of “master of twisted humorous fantasy and horror.”
Mark currently resides in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, not far from the world famous Cosmosphere Space Museum. For the last 13 years of his 40-plus years as a broadcaster and a journalist, he was the Music Director for Radio Kansas and heard as the network’s morning Classical host throughout nearly half of the Sunflower State up until his retirement in 2018. His eighth novel, "A Witch in Time," was released in April of 2019. He currently serves as Game Warden for the nature preserve that is his back yard, wrangles cats, and is working on two new novels in his now copious free time.
(source: http://www.sff.net/people/wm.mark.sim...)
He has had a varied career as an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, musician, and entertainer.
His first novel, In the Net of Dreams, was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award and made Locus Magazine’s “Best List” in 1991. To date he has published seven novels and one novella in the United States with translations in Russia and the Czech Republic. His unique blend of humor and plots that unfold "like an origami sculpture designed by M.C. Escher" have won him the title of “master of twisted humorous fantasy and horror.”
Mark currently resides in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, not far from the world famous Cosmosphere Space Museum. For the last 13 years of his 40-plus years as a broadcaster and a journalist, he was the Music Director for Radio Kansas and heard as the network’s morning Classical host throughout nearly half of the Sunflower State up until his retirement in 2018. His eighth novel, "A Witch in Time," was released in April of 2019. He currently serves as Game Warden for the nature preserve that is his back yard, wrangles cats, and is working on two new novels in his now copious free time.
(source: http://www.sff.net/people/wm.mark.sim...)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 17, 2018
Well that was an ending. Oo
Nothing like wiping the slate clean and never really returning.
Nothing like wiping the slate clean and never really returning.
November 14, 2021
This is a lesser entry in the Halflife Chronicles - I'd have given it 4 stars if that wasn't rude, and I don't think I could actually justify more than 4.5. It's still better than most urban horror, though.
June 23, 2019
Good story, worked in the Elder Gods, well done and not full of typos and "grammos" like so many books nowadays.
May 1, 2020
3.5/5 - I always like the the lead up to the endings, but the last few chapters or so in each book in this series are always kind of a slog to get through.
July 3, 2009
I didn't realize that this was book four of a series when I picked it up at the library, but I gave it a try anyway. It didn't really require reading the other books (you certainly get told everything you need to know in the narrative). Man infected by the vampire virus, separated from his pregnant werewolf wife who is targeted by other werewolves because of her pregnancy, working with a voodoo priestess, an Aztec demon, and a fae who wants to get a hold of his child, faces off against Cthulu with the help of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus.
Basically, it's a kitchen-sink novel that's a little too in love of its pulpy style. Definitely not interested in the rest of the series.
Basically, it's a kitchen-sink novel that's a little too in love of its pulpy style. Definitely not interested in the rest of the series.
February 2, 2009
A mostly fun read that crashes Simmon's universe with Lovecraft. Fun! The resonances with Katrina were well-handled, I thought, and interesting.
I alsohave a great admiration for Simmon's technique here. Many series have the problem of what I call "encrustation": every new volume adds pals and allies and new powers, to the point that several novels into the series, it's ridiculous. In this novel Simmons ruthlessly removed a lot of the encrustation that had been accumulating- something many authors don't do. Good for him! It leaves us with a lot more options in the future.
I alsohave a great admiration for Simmon's technique here. Many series have the problem of what I call "encrustation": every new volume adds pals and allies and new powers, to the point that several novels into the series, it's ridiculous. In this novel Simmons ruthlessly removed a lot of the encrustation that had been accumulating- something many authors don't do. Good for him! It leaves us with a lot more options in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2009
The last installment of the Halflife Chronicles is intriguing and a fun read, but don't start this one until you've read the others, or you'll have a really tough time figuring out what is going on! I am looking forward to the next one!
March 19, 2009
Simmons' take on adding the Cthulhu mythos to his Halflife setting. A little darker and a whole lot odder than the previous installments, though "quirky" describes all of them pretty well.
October 25, 2015
Good book, crappy and very disappnting end.
October 30, 2015
This book deserves either one or four stars. I decided that any book where the world is saved from Cthulhu with softly asked questions regarding personal happiness, deserve four.
November 10, 2007
read 08.11.07
great series.
great series.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews