Customer Reviews

Bureau 13: Damned Nation

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Damned Nation is, in many ways, an origin tale and prequel to the Bureau-13 novels by Nick Pollotta. Those unfamiliar with the series shouldn't worry, as you need to know nothing about the rest of the books to understand what is going on. The only thing you might miss is a few throw away lines and in-jokes by characters that have no real effect on the story or enjoyment of this novel.

Set in the early dark days of the American Civil War, this is the story of the very first case of the very first agent of Bureau-13. The Agency starts as a response to an assassination attempt on President Lincoln that requires a less public investigation than the military can be involved in thanks to the presence of the press. The man who saves the President's life is made a special Federal Marshall and sent upon his way with near carte blanche approach to his actions to do his duty. A man he trusts completely to do the job with loyalty and an open mind. A man willing to face dangers worse than those of the battlefields themselves.

The Man : J.P. Withers, presidential butler. The danger that leads to his appointment? A Supernatural horror that slipped thru the Capital defenses in the night and got close enough for President Lincoln to punch it in the jaw.

This is a more serious novel than many of Nick Pollotta's previous Bureau 13 stories. It lacks the silliness of his recent non-Bureau novel That Darn Squid God and this actually makes a tighter paced and better written work. It's not without it's humor, but when the humor is there it is of the more ironic level than the sometimes outright slapstick that can be found in his other books. It tells the story, it fills in the blanks for those familiar with the bits and pieces told in the stories later in the sequence, and is far more consistent in many ways in regards to details.

It's not perfect. There are a few minor faux pas in regards to history, but nothing that drastically affects the plot or character actions. They are noticible because of the use of detail on other levels that show the author's research on the civil war, such as on weapons and the membership of Lincoln's cabinet and the layout of the Capital building etc. It's the usual problem with a historical novel, for every detail you remember to check and cover there is inevitably something that some nit picker, history buff or historian will note and complain about. Ignore them and you'll find it a much more pleasant novel.

If you've been curious about the Bureau-13 series, this may be a good place to start, rather than reading the stories in 'published order'.

It's a reasonably fast, humorous read, despite it's 321 oversized paperback pages, and worth the time and effort to find (getting it from a local book seller may be a bit difficult, as Wildside has some problems with some of the distributors out there, but it can be found online in a lot of places). I give it a solid 4 stars out of 5, and thus a Keeper for the bookshelf and worth re-reading at a future date.

In the mists of history a small roleplaying game titled "Stalking the Night Fantastic" appeared. It attracted a small yet devoted following and managed to remain available through several editions and three novelisations despite being generally overlooked.

In a more widely known history America was torn apart by one of the bloodiest and most tragic conflicts ever recorded. Combining these two events brings us to Nick Pollotta's "Damned Nation."

It is not a promising mixture. A comic horror novel set in the American Civil War? With so many real horrors taking place one might think that this project is at best unnecessary and at worst a trivialisation of the anguish and sacrifices of the time; nor does it help that Mr Pollotta's previous books based on this game are slapstick romps more interested in low comedy and high explosives than anything else.

Time, however, has passed, and Nick Pollotta has written an awful lot of novels in the past decade. The experience shows. With "Damned Nation" he takes us back to the origins of Bureau 13, America's ultra-secret supernatural defence force, and creates a story vastly more compelling than the earlier entries in the series. It raises questions - Is central character J.P. Withers the same J.P. Withers who appears in the game world more than a century after the events of this novel? - and there are nits to be picked for the historically inclined, but mostly it follows the story of one relatively ordinary man out of his depth against an unknown foe, something that is killing soldiers from both sides and threatening two Presidents, right in the middle of war.

This is where "Damned Nation" scores over the previous books. Without the large cast of the Team Tunafish novels, able to call on magic and weaponry at the drop of a pointy hat, Mr Pollotta is able to tighten the focus on Withers in his role as Everyman, then gradually add new characters. The result is every bit as exciting the Tunafish books but an awful lot more involving, not least because this is also the relatively low-tech world of nineteenth century America. Only towards the end, as we (and Withers) are introduced to uncanny weaponry and strange magics, do the excesses of other Bureau 13 novels threaten to appear. Nonetheless, this is the best of the series by a long chalk. Strongest criticism? It's a rather expensive paperback.

Bad puns, cheap laughs, violence, horror and thrills. Nick Pollotta has polished his style until it gleams, and underneath that shine "Damned Nation" is not just a piece of cheap tin.

During the onset of the American Civil War, butler Joshua Witherspoon saves President Lincoln from an assassination attempt by a werewolf. As a reward, he is elevated to the rank of U.S. Marshall and commissioned by the President to follow up on the werewolf attack and to also investigate the rash of inexplicable deaths of both Union and Confederate soldiers, who seemed to be inflicted with minor, non-lethal wounds only.

Lest future enemies seek revenge on the new Marshall, Witherspoon changes his name to J.P. Withers. And now, Marshall Withers, woefully armed and lacking in arcane occult knowledge, must quickly catch himself up with mythology of the creatures of the night and achieve results lest malignant, mystical forces birth a truly damned nation. It's a good thing Withers is gifted with good common sense, as well as benefiting from a somewhat shady upbringing. J.P. Withers' discoveries and actions, in short time, lead the president to create a maverick department - answerable only to Abe Lincoln - to be in charge of all things occult. Withers is again promoted, this time to the rank of a United States Special Agent, given carte blanche and the power to command the military, answerable only to the President.

In the meantime, Withers must get used to his new status as he contends with werewolves, evil mirror twins, zombies, malevolent spells, a flying hell house, and the Drell, who are unstoppable, evil creatures equipped with four arms, three eyes, wiggling tendrils...and doctor's bags. On a less supernatural front, he also finds himself facing off against the more mundane criminals of the world. And jealous lieutenants.

After many years and with this new entry, Nick Pollotta finally writes a new Bureau 13 adventure - sort of. This time, he tells us of the genesis of Bureau 13 (named by Lincoln in honor of the 13 original colonies), and its inaugural member. It's true that, this time, Pollotta isn't as spoofy, as heavy handed with the puns and the broad humor (although there are groan-inducing hints of those here and there). This results in a more gripping novel with a higher sense of jeopardy for the lead character.

What also escalates the sense of drama is that Withers, a total amateur with no background at monster slaying, seems always to be a step behind and a hair's breadth away from getting his [...] handed to him. Also, unlike the present, vastly experienced Bureau 13 (shout out to Team Tunafish!), there aren't any proven procedures to fall back on. Withers has to constantly experiment with weaponry and other things (kosher salt, a crucifix, juju bags, silver...) to combat the various forms of beasties. And the level of technology at his disposal, of course, is 19th-century efficient (or deficient). So in the dark is the marshall that he finds himself consulting rabbis and circus fortune tellers. Fortunately for him, he comes across a fellow special agent (for the Confederates) to help him in his fight against the unholy creatures.

In this newest installment, Pollotta once again shows off his taut pacing, tight plotting, and his penchant for crazy beastie mayhem. In the final 50 pages, he takes the kid gloves off and treats the reader to an all-out, actionfest as Withers and his partner Logan descend into the pits of the hell house. One flaw I find with this book is the less than thorough proof-reading (tsk, tsk, Wildside Press). Not to be a grammarian or anything, but some of the obvious errors on page threw me off and momentarily bumped me out of the Bureau 13 universe. But, ultimately, the quality of Pollotta's work more than overcomes that. Anyway, I hope there's a sequel in the works for J.P. Withers, not to mention further books centering around Team Tunafish. This book, needless to say, is recommended.

The action-adventure fantasy novel Bureau 13: Damned Nation by Nick Pollotta is an exciting action-adventure fantasy novel set during the American Civil War. Amid the violence and chaos, something hideous is murdering and feeding upon wounded soldiers, leaving behind broken and twisted corpses. President Lincoln orders his trusted U.S. Marshall Joshua Withers to stop the terrible deaths. But what could be behind them? Not a vampire, werewolf or demon - the killer is immune to guns, fire, silver, and Holy Water. Further investigation reveals that killings strike the South as savagely as the North, and President Jefferson Davis also wants the murderer stopped. Something new and horrifically different is on the loose, and battlefield deaths are only the beginning! An entertaining and tongue- in-cheek, if at times gruesome, fantasy murder mystery with plenty of action.

A well-paced story with loads of (as best I can tell) authentic detail from the Civil War that gives a real depth. An entertaining page-turner and a must for fantasy/historic fantasy readers.

If you've read my reviews you know I'm a fan of Mr. Pollotta. I'm also a fan of the Bureau 13 RPG by Richard Tucholka. That sad, is this great for non-Bureau 13 readers as many of my post-read new Bureau 13 fans can attest.

As for old timers and fans this book goes back to the origins of J.P. Withers and the earliest days of the Bureau. Civil War buffs will find the setting and characterizations spot on to some of the biggest personalities of the period.

Some steampunk, some horror, action and a splash of Army of Darkness style humor, and you've got yourself another winner and a Damned good book.

As a big fan of the game these books are based on, I was not disappointed. Once again Nick Pollata gave us a rollicking good story that was both entertaining and exciting. It featured several plot twists and surprises and even had a quick cameo by Team Tunafish, even though the American Civil War was 175 years before their time! I heartily endorse this latest chapter in the staro of B13 and recommend it to anyone who loves the game itself, or just likes a good adventure story.

A fun read like all of the Bureau 13 novels by Pollotta. This time we get to see formation of the famous Bureau 13, how it all came into being. Some of the "historical incidents" alluded to in previous novels are played out in this story. If you have liked the previous Bureau 13 stories you are sure to enjoy this one. I enjoyed this one as much as the first novel in the series, which has always been my favorite. The characters are mostly new ones but this makes the story refreshing and the setting, during the American Civil War makes for some interesting situations.

i've read & ENJOYED the other books in this series, and i thought this book was just as good as the others, i reccomend it to others who read & enjoy books of this nature

If a werewolf attacks one of your military leaders, what do you do? Like all good butlers would, be of service and intervene with the tea tray! Innovation like this gets Joshua drafted as a US Marshal to look into the supernatural problem plaguing the Union army.

It goes further than he thinks, and the werewolves and just underlings to the Drell. After some more action, and another timely intervention, the President makes him a Special Agent of Bureau 13, with his whole purpose of employment now being to stop supernatural threats. He meets a Confederate agent named The Hammer with a similar task, and they team up to rescue a wizard and a Medusan, and destroy a base.