Good start, I'll be continuing the series. I like Deacon, and the premise. ( )

4.5/5 gritty and funny, I've enjoyed it! :) review soon! ( )

That Thing At the Zoo is a good size dark urban fantasy prequel novella introducing a character whose physical appearance I can picture perfectly. Rarely can I say that, I'm mostly left with a vague overall impression but Mr. Deacon Chalke is a man that cannot and will not be ignored. He's an intimidating 6'4 and 300 pounds. Think WWE star with no hair and lots of tattoos. This guy looks like he could cause trouble and with a classic muscle car complete with a 4-corpse trunk full of weapons, he's equipped to deal with it. Reminds me of a certain beloved Impala belonging to a pair of monster-hunting brothers on TV. Loved that show.

Bottom line: Deacon Chalk, occult bounty hunter, is a total badass. He could kick Harry Dresden's butt easy-peasy. And that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

You may actively avoid meeting Deacon on the street or a dark alley but he's not the thug his appearance advertises him to be. He's a man still reeling from, and is haunted by, personal trauma. Monsters murdered his family and now he hunts those dangerous to humans. He's not the "tough guy" cliché often expressed in movies where the hero ultimately gets over his tragic loss by kicking some lame villain's butt then settles down with a waitress he just happened to encounter along the way, completely trivialising the effect his past had on him. No, Deacon has full-on flashback panic attacks he tries desperately to stifle and hopes no one notices his distant, pained silences as he experiences a post-traumatic stress episode. These lapses in concentration aren't professional and are downright inconvenient when hunting deadly nasties but he has no control over when they occur. You feel for his anguish, knowing that if he wasn't a Catholic he would rejoin his family in death.

The side character I'm most eager to get to know is the priest:

I don't know what his life was before becoming a Catholic priest, but he can shoot like a sniper and knife fight like a convict. He has my back anytime I need it, whether that means tending bar at Polecats [strip club] or two steps behind me, shotgun in hand.

The writing style is reminiscent of pre-controversy Anita Blake. Gory and gritty. Visceral. No one is safe from being ripped apart and carelessly tossed aside without dignity.

Although it's obvious this has been written by a debut author, I've found something I've been missing from UF of late: a real sense of darkness without the distracting focus on angst-ridden romance (is it really necessary every...single...book?). There's nothing but the characters, plot and the danger around the next corner to occupy the reader -what a relief. My only real negative is the lack of contractions i.e. can't, won't, etc. which in my opinion, slow the pace and jar the reader out of the story. I'm also surprised Deacon so readily disfigured his tattoos to get some blood to "chum the waters" so to speak. I thought tattoos were treasured permanent works of art but it was emergency so I'll let it go.

When it comes to non-full-length prequels authors aren't usually interested in making a concerted effort to give readers an accurate taste of what's to come, with a few exceptions like this. Next up, [b:Blood and Bullets|11843017|Blood and Bullets (Deacon Chalk, #1)|James R. Tuck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1314319371s/11843017.jpg|16798499].


Favourite Quotes
'Rednecks are part of the South, and even when they don't look like much, they usually turn out to be tough as leather and full of skills that save your ass.'

"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Putting this thing in the back of my pants like they do on the TV."

'I found Dr. Critter trying to hold off the [spoiler removed] with a bullwhip and an office chair.'


***My thanks to the author for the ebook in return for an honest review.*** ( )

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before - Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

Why was that baleful Creature made, Which seeks our Quiet to invade, And screams ill Omens through the Shade? – Anne Kingsmill Finch, The Owl

Then we’re gonna need a bigger gun. – Roy Scheider

That Thing At The Zoo is the first James R. Tuck book (well, this is a novella) that I have read. The Deacon Chalk series has been being discussed on a couple of my goodreads Urban Fantasy discussion groups, and it sounded interesting. Being the first in the Chalk series, and at .99 for the novella, That Thing At The Zoo seemed the perfect way to get a taste of the series.

I wasn’t wrong. It was a perfect place to start, and of course, I now have yet another series added to my tottering TBR stacks. As if I needed more to read! Deacon Chalk is an Occult Bounty Hunter – he hunts the things that the normal police force of Atlanta either can’t handle, or don’t even know anything about. At 6’4” and round about 300 pounds, Deacon is one big tough guy, tattoos, shaved head and all. However, there is a lot of heart to the guy, as you soon find out. And his reasons for taking down the monsters will break your heart and give you a deeper understanding of the guy, huge-ass semi-redneck or not.

When we meet Deacon, he is standing under a tree in the Atlanta zoo, waiting for Jimmy the zookeeper to push something out of the branches. Something that turns out to be a 500 plus pound lion, skinned, drained, and ripped. What could have possibly drug that lion into the tree – and all without leaving a mark anywhere on the tree, or the ground?

With the remote assistance of his two cohorts, Kat, the manager of Deacon’s strip club Polecats, and a computer whiz, and Father Dominic Boru Mulcahy, a rather unusual Catholic Priest who moonlights as a bartender at the club (and who can shoot like a sniper and knife fight like a convict) Deacon and Jimmy the zookeeper (well, and a load of silver coated weapons) track down the creature decimating the Atlanta zoo.

Full of blood, fighting, and a dry sense of humour, the Deacon Chalk series starts off with a bang, and promises to fulfill its semi-redneck, violent, and creepily horrific opening in the upcoming installments. Part horror, part UF and all guts and glory, I am looking forward to reading the next in the series, Blood and Bullets soon.
( )

Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of urban fantasy, especially darker, male-oriented urban fantasy
Trigger Warnings: murder of animals and humans, evil babies

My Thoughts: This is a doozy of an introduction to Deacon Chalk, that's for sure! I've been wanting to read this series for some kind, so I finally just decided to buckle down and do it since I had the time this week. This is just an introductory, prequel novella, but it gives a very good taste of what is to come. Deacon is a very complex character and I'm looking forward to learning more of his backstory and seeing him in action in the first full-length novel in the series, Blood and Bullets. I was also very excited to learn that the author runs a tattoo studio only about an hour away from where I live, so who knows? Maybe my next tattoo will be done by someone famous! Stay tuned!

Series Information: That Thing at the Zoo is a prequel to the Deacon Chalk series.
Book 1: Blood and Bullets
Book 1.5: Spider's Lullaby
Book 2: Blood and Silver
Book 2.5: Circus of Blood
Book 3: Blood and Magick

Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Shredding monsters is his stock and trade. He sniffs them out, tracks them down, and corners them. End of story. But when the tables are turned, expect the unexpected.

Knowing his enemy is a rule Deacon Chalk swears by. But he's never seen anything like whatever is leaving the Atlanta Zoo's most dangerous predators bloodless, skinned, and hanging high in the treetops. And he's only got until sunrise to keep it from turning the entire city into a slaughterhouse.

Now Deacon is in zoo lockdown with a handful of staffers to save. His zookeeper backup has more guts than monster-hunting experience. And the only chance Deacon has to run this thing to holy ground is to unleash his darkest, most uncontrollable instincts... ( )