Book Review: Blood Oath (No Man's Land Book One)

Blood Oath (No Man's Land Book One). Luke Atkinson, Amazon Publishing, October 26, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 457 pages.

Review by Wayne Turmel.

If you enjoy Western adventures and the fantasy tropes of elves, vampires, and shamanistic magic, Luke Atkinson’s new novel is the book for you. It’s an entertaining tale that puts an Old Western spin on current urban fantasy tropes.

At first blush, Calamity (Cal) Cooper is the kind of outlaw you see in Western novels and stories all the time. He’s a cowboy, outlaw, and (mostly reformed) bank robber. What’s different is that he fights magical creatures in the town of Hexed Springs in the middle of No Man’s Land.

The book is full of violent, bloody—and occasionally funny—action. Readers who are into either urban fantasy or westerns will enjoy this unique story and the skillful way both the violence and magic snake through the book like a desert rattler. A good list of supporting characters includes his ex-partner in crime saloon keeper, a Haitian expert in the occult, and a vampire king with bad intentions towards the town.

Blood Oath is the first in a projected series. It is an excellent introduction to the characters and setting, and Atkinson’s world-building is solid. The book feels a bit longer than most in the genre, and it feels like there are many strange beings to keep track of, but overall, it was a fun read, and it makes me want to read the future adventures of Cal Cooper.