Congratulations to author Richard J. O’Brien, on the release of his latest novel, To Dream the Blackbane!
To Dream the Blackbane
Publication Date: December 29th, 2018
Genre: Fantasy/ Urban Fantasy
A cosmic event in 2015 fused Earth with the faerie realm. Scientists referred to the event as The Anomaly. A byproduct of The Anomaly was the advent of hybrid beings—people who became mixed with whatever animal or object was closest to them the moment the event occurred. Humans, or pedigrees, soon relegated fairy refugees and hybrids into ghetto zones in large cities.
Seventy years later, Wolfgang Rex, a second-generation hybrid—part human, part Rhodesian Ridgeback—is a retired police detective who runs a private investigation business in Chicago’s Southside. It’s a one-hybrid show; though Rex couldn’t survive without his assistant, the faerie Sally Sandweb.
One night, two vampires visit Rex and offer him a substantial reward for the recovery of a stolen scroll. Later that same evening, Charlotte Sweeney-Jarhadill, a pedigree woman from Louisiana, visits Rex and hires him to exorcize the headless ghost of a Confederate soldier from her home.
To complicate matters, the private detective ends up falling for Charlotte. Meanwhile, the vampires demand results in the search for the missing scroll. When Rex’s assistant Sally goes missing, he must stay alive long enough to find her. Charlotte and the vampires, however, have other plans for Rex.
Add to Goodreads
Excerpt
My name is Wolfgang Rex. I am a private detective. Once upon a time I’d been a police lieutenant. After twenty-five years of service to the city of Chicago, I retired in 2063 and opened up Chi-town Detectives, a private investigation firm.
I’m what they call in the medical books a second-generation Anomalous cross-breed. My father was a cop like me. One night he was out walking his dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Rex. My mother hated that dog. After she died I learned that she had always wished that Rex would meet some unfortunate demise. She got her wish on the night of The Anomaly. My father came home from his walk without the dog—in a manner of speaking. For lack of a better term, he and the dog had fused. And the result was a humanoid—with a hairy body, a tail, and the head of his old dog Rex. My mother was horrified, but my parents were both Catholic. So they stuck it out. I was born in the tenth year of The Anomaly. When I was a kid, my mother used to read me fairy tales. She died before I finished high school. So it goes, like Kurt Vonnegut once wrote. I turned out to be the spitting image of my father post-Anomaly. I lucked out with being born without a tail. My father had somehow managed to keep his human vocal cords. My face was less hairy than his, but our snouts were nearly identical.
Learning to speak with a dog’s mouth was tricky when I was coming up, but I eventually got the hang of it. And thank Christ I’d been born with opposable thumbs; otherwise, I would’ve starved to death a long time ago. Still, given that many people melded with inanimate objects—much like that poor bastard who became a stone gargoyle—I constantly considered myself lucky. My father cursed his lot for the rest of his life. Some people, like my old man, never learned to adjust.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Richard J. O’Brien is a graduate of the Fairleigh Dickinson University MFA in Creative Writing Program. Richard’s novels include Under the Bronze Moon, Infestation, and The Garden of Fragile Things. His short stories have appeared in The Del Sol Review, Duende, Pulp Literature, The Dr. T.J. Eckleburg Review, Weirdbook, and other magazines. Richard lives in New Jersey, where he teaches at Rowan College at Gloucester County and Stockton University.
Richard J. O’Brien | Goodreads | Amazon
For your chance to win a copy of To Dream the Blackbane, click on the link below!
My Review
4 stars
Seventy years ago The Anomaly happened. It blended our world with the mythical creatures from stories and blended people with objects that they were near. Wolfgang Rex, a second generation hybrid is part Rhodesian ridgeback from his father who was walking the dog when The Anomaly occurred. He used to be a police officer but now works as a private investigator.
Rex is just finished up with a case when he is approached by two vampires. It seems the scroll with the vampire history has been stolen and they want Rex to find it. As soon as they leave his office a woman comes in and asks him to help her with an exorcism of a headless Civil War soldier.
Rex jumps on the woman’s case and travels from Chicago to Louisiana to help her. But when he gets there strange things happen that has him questioning the validity of the case. Of course the vampires are on him determined to get their scroll back ASAP. Even going so far as to kill a client of Rex’s. Rex better solve both cases before they end up doing him in.
This is a great mesh of fantasy and noir detective story. Wolfgang Rex is your classic detective but in a dog’s body. He has two vampires waiting for him wanting him to look for their history scroll and don’t really give him much wiggle room and time to find it. They don’t even let him get through the first night without approaching and threatening him. They are very persistent about this case.
Then there is Miss Charlotte. She travels from Louisiana to Chicago looking for an exorcist? Strange. Then when Rex gets to her house she would rather jump his bones than talk about the case. Stranger? And the local kids hint that there is a lot more happening than what Rex has been told. Strangest!!
This is a great classic detective story. There are a couple clues that seemed to slip by Rex but I had an idea where the story might go. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the mystery or Rex’s hound dog ways. I really liked this world and would love to read more about it. I definitely want to read more from Richard O’Brien.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
International Giveway: For your chance to win 1of 2 digital copies of To Dream the Blackbane!
North America Only: Win 1 of 2 print copies of To Dream the Blackbane!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Tour Schedule
Jan 7th
Reads & Reels (Excerpt) http://www.readsandreels.com
Life at 17 (Review) https://lifeat17.wordpress.com/
Tranquil Dreams (Excerpt) https://klling.wordpress.com/
The Invisible Moth (Review) https://daleydowning.wordpress.com/
Jan. 8th
On the Shelf Book Reviews (Excerpt) https://ontheshelfreviews.wordpress.com
Jessica Rachow (Review) http://jessicarachow.wordpress.com
Your Books, My Reviews (Review) https://yourbooksmyreview.wordpress.com
Jan. 9th
I Smell Sheep (Excerpt) http://www.ismellsheep.com/
The Voluptuous Book Diva (Excerpt) http://www.thevoluptuousbookdiva.com/
Rockabilly Spoonie (Interview) https://lauramorningstar.com
Splashes into Books (Excerpt) https://splashesintobooks.wordpress.com/
Jan. 10th
Anthony Avina (Excerpt) http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com
The Bookworm Drinketh (Review) http://thebookwormdrinketh.wordpress.com/
The Return Cart (Review) http://thereturncart.com/
Didi Oviatt (Excerpt) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com
Jan 11th
Reading Nook (Excerpt) http://readingnook84.wordpress.com
Cats Love Coffee Book Reviews (Review) https://catsluvcoffeez.blogspot.com
Bronder Book Reviews (Review) https://jbronderbookreviews.com/
Sammie Reads (Review) https://sammiereadsbook.wordpress.com
Blog Tour Organized By:
I would like to thank R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and share this book.
Read Full Post »
jbronderbookreviews 