Guns of Perdition (Armageddon Showdown #1) by Jessica Bakkers #bookreview #darkfantasy #TuesdayBookBlog

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews

IT TAKES GRACE TO HUNT WHEN IT’S DARKSOME

Jessie expects he’ll be forever cleaning up after the cowpokes of the Bad Hoss Saloon. That’s until the day a drifter strides through the doors, and blows away a blood-sucking demon, along with Jessie’s belief in an everyday world. Jessie is captivated by the enigmatic Grace, with her pearl-handled revolvers, and wolf companion. He throws in his normal life and follows her across the Wild West, as she hunts down and slays the evil creatures that roam the frontier.

Along the way, they seek the aid of a Native American warrior, cross paths with a Cajun Queen, and encounter a small-town tycoon with a deadly hunger for gold. Animosity and distrust plague Grace and Jessie, and their strange group of allies, but they must put their differences behind them if they’re to have any hope of finding and defeating the frontier’s true evil, the Darksome Gunman.

The Armageddon Showdown is a dark-fantasy, weird western series of epic proportions, focusing on the age-old battle between good and evil, though in the Wild West, it’s not always clear just who is good and who is evil.

Join Grace Dyer and her band of miscreants as they battle demons and demi-gods, in the frontier’s deadliest conflict…the Armageddon Showdown. 

I haven’t read many westerns – to my knowledge this book makes a sum total of two. It’s not one of my favorite genres, but toss in Armageddon, dark fantasy, and a battle between good and evil and I’ll snatch it right up regardless of the genre.

The genre blend of western, dark fantasy, and horror is done so well and will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Some parts are a bit graphic, so heed the warning if that’s something you prefer to steer clear of (or just skim over those parts). It’s clear the author did her research for this time period, and I really enjoyed the western vernacular.

Morally gray characters are my favorite and these characters? Shades of gray dripping on nearly every page. Jessie had no idea what he was getting into the day Grace walked into the saloon where he worked or how much his life would change after leaving town with her. His character arc from young and naive to weathered and jaded is fascinating, but also kind of heartbreaking at his loss of innocence. It’s one of the things I enjoyed most. And Grace? She’s badass, hardened, lethal and ruthless, but I loved how the author also allowed her softer side and undying loyalty to her friends to shine through.

Vile creatures, unsavory characters, shocking twists, somber moments – my emotions were all over the place. Alexa read this to me from my Kindle and I had to rewind her more than once because I let some curses slip out over suprising plot developments. The author absolutely didn’t pull her punches from the first page to the last.

Readers of westerns, horror, and dark fantasy will be delighted with this gruesome, gritty tale and after this book, I’ll have to retract my statement about not being a western fan. It’s a powerful debut, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

44 thoughts on “Guns of Perdition (Armageddon Showdown #1) by Jessica Bakkers #bookreview #darkfantasy #TuesdayBookBlog”

  8. Hi Teri, I recently read and reviewed this book. I was very impressed with the word building . . . the lingo and old slang flowed flawlessly. The story line kept me glued to the Kindle and the characters were colorful. Jessica did an outstanding job and I wouldn’t hesitate to read anything else written by her. Thanks for sharing! Your review was fantastic!

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    2. Oh-oh… feline stress. Crystal is super sensitive. It took months for me to do all the moving prep. During all that stress, her whiskers all fell out. They never have come back in properly. She has a few, but they’re short… I’m just saying that I can relate to the situation. Hugs.

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      1. Poor Crystal! I can’t imagine losing the whiskers. Bond and Sora aren’t that bad. They generally avoid each other, but then out of the blue will go tearing through the hallway chasing each other (they take turns) and take a few swipes at each other. It’s pretty entertaining.

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  13. Pingback: Home Again – Jessica Bakkers

  14. Great review, Teri. I couldn’t agree more. I love dark tales, flawed characters, and this book fits the bill. It’s brutal. I also don’t read many westerns, and became a fan of this mash-up. Congrats to Jess for another awesome review. 😀

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    1. Thanks, Diana! Dark tales and flawed characters lure me in every time. I mentioned I hadn’t read many westerns and because of this book, I requested another western blend from NetGalley I just finished reading.

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