Burn Me Deadly (An Eddie Lacrosse Novel) (Eddie LaCrosse Novels) [Hardcover]

In March of 2008 I wrote of the first Eddie LaCrosse novel, The Sword-Edged Blonde:

"In private investigator Eddie LaCrosse, Bledsoe creates a character who is equal parts witty and charming, rough-and-tumble and roguish. LaCrosse's journey reveals him to be a character of surprising depth in a novel that is short (232 pages) by today's standards. Bledsoe uses each page to his advantage and has crafted a page turner story that had a few "I didn't see that coming" moments as it reached its conclusion."

Alex Bledsoe had merged the genres of sword-and-sorcery and pulp noir so successfully that I was unsure if such an amalgam could ever be topped. To which Mr. Bledsoe has now replied (to the voices in my head, at any rate), "Take that!"

Alex Bledsoe proved in his first novel that he could deftly interweave the kind of literary worlds created by authors like Robert E. Howard and Ian Fleming, infuse it with a witty sense of humor that respects both genres, and in the course of so doing breathe life into these well-worn literary conventions. Then he went out and did it again.

It takes a special skill, in my opinion, to write a sequel that provides readers, new and old, with enough background information to recap the previous story without bogging down the new story. This is one of many areas in which Burn Me Deadly succeeds. Alex Bledsoe drops the reader right into the action in a manner that compels the pages to be turned, and then he proceeds to introduce Eddie LaCrosse, beloved characters met in The Sword-Edged Blonde, and the world itself so skillfully that I never once felt like I was reading a `previously in The Adventures of Eddie LaCrosse...' info dump.

I had not realized just how much I missed Eddie's world until I cracked open the cover of Burn Me Deadly, and then it all came flooding back. The roguish charm and `damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't' heroism of the main character, `the kick-ass-and-ask-questions-later' women, dastardly-and deadly-villains, Eddie's relationship with his horse...there is just so much to love. Yet even as I type these lines I realize that there are some who might read them and think this is exactly the kind of thing they do not like about the sword-and-sorcery or pulp noir genres. I could list dozens of wonderful-and divergent-books, television shows, and films that come to mind when I read Bledsoe's books, and yet it isn't their similarity that makes this such a fun world to lose yourself in. It is the fact that Alex Bledsoe uses the familiar to do something creative and has once again crafted a read that is thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Unlike the criticisms of lack of character depth that can be lodged against these genres, Bledsoe writes characters that you care about, that have meat on their literary bones-characters that give you that twinge of melancholy when that last page is turned because you are just not ready to say goodbye.

It might seem prosaic to describe a book as "fun", but when I say that Burn Me Deadly, like its predecessor, is a really fun read, I mean it with genuine affection and see it as the highest praise. It is a book that will surely appeal to those who have found a home within these genres, but I submit that the book has a much more broad appeal if you will only give it a chance. My wife does not typically read books in the fantasy or noir genres. She is a big fan of mysteries, however. When she saw how much I was enjoying Burn Me Deadly, she quickly picked up The Sword-Edged Blonde and tore through it and then devoured Burn Me Deadly in its wake and she thought they were great.

As is my wont, I will not delve into great detail about the plot. That would spoil the fun. Suffice it to say that Alex Bledsoe has taken all the best from the genres he is paying homage to, has mixed in some religion, some dragons, some humor, romance, adventure and has crafted a book that will leave you thoroughly satisfied with the time spent reading it.

Thank you, Mr. Bledsoe, for more of Eddie LaCrosse, a character who is fast becoming one of my very favorites. I certainly hope to see more of Eddie in the future.

I hope it's not giving too much away, but this story is about dragons. It's not complicated, and it's easy to recognize the good guys from the bad guys, which I like. There are a few twists that you don't necessarily see coming, but the real enjoyment in reading this novel is in getting to spend a bit more time with Eddie LaCrosse. Eddie LaCrosse is a character you wish you could sit down and have a beer with just so you could hear his tales, and you know he's got a million of them. He's a lovely mix of impulse, experience, capability, and roguish charm, and he has a quiet deadpan wit that just draws you in. I look forward to more of his adventures. In fact, I hope he runs afoul of pirates next, that is a story I'd love to hear.

Burn Me Deadly is Bledsoe's second Eddie LaCrosse novel, which again plays the Noir/Fantasy combo very well. The action is believable as its main character Eddie gets as good as he gives most times. The pacing of Burn Me Deadly is a bit slower this time around, but it serves the story well after some hard action on Eddie at the start.

Eddie is one tough nut and won't let go even if he has no clue what is going. A promise made to someone he just met leads him down a harsh road and into the hands of [...] and questioning the allegiance of those closest to him. Although you get the feeling he is avenging his horse and pride more than the girl. Again the magic is on the low side, which makes you appreciate the little this is included. This is a land where legends have lied dormant for a long time and are just now stirring. But legends don't always turn out to be what you expect as Eddie and his companion Liz learn as they step into the mud. Liz was given some expected and needed depth this time around.

Burn Me Deadly comes off a bit like Abercrombie-light, which is not necessarily a bad thing as Abercrombie can be a bit much for some stomachs as was evidenced by some of the harsher scenes in Best Served Cold. That said this is the gruesome side of Bledsoe as he lets some truly harrowing things happen to a few characters with deeply tortuous acts. All in all this was a great revenge tale that pleases on all levels including the ending.

Bledsoe has again achieved an action packed adventure as Burn Me Deadly will keep you guessing at the truth of the matter in its truly noir style along with its likeable protagonist LaCrosse. Highly recommend to fans of detective style mashups. Folks new to the world should start at the beginning to get the best idea of where the characters have come from. I'd really like to see a map included in the next volume as the region and its divisions are discussed quite a bit and LaCrosse moves around a lot it would help to get some more footing for his movements.