Dead of Winter [Mass Market Paperback]

Lee Collins (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 30, 2012

Cora and her husband hunt things - things that shouldn't exist. When the marshal of Leadville, Colorado, comes across a pair of mysterious deaths, he turns to Cora to find the creature responsible, but if Cora is to overcome the unnatural tide threatening to consume the small town, she must first confront her own tragic past as well as her present.

File Under: Dark Fantasy [ Winter Chill | Small Town Blues | Dead Reckoning | Sharp Shooter ]

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A brilliant, bloody, violent dark fantasy – Charlie Huston turned up past 11.”
- Andy Remic, author of the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles

“From its opening chapter, The Dead of Winter lassoed me into
its gritty world of gunslingers and demons. A page-turning thrill ride
of a novel that could well redefine your perception of the ‘wild’ west.”
- Rio Youers, author of Westlake Soul

“The Dead of Winter ain’t your granddad’s Western. Lee Collins paints a picture of the Colorado wilds as cold and unforgiving as the creatures that inhabit them. And in Cora Oglesby, Collins has created a heroine as tough as saddle-leather, and as fiery and sharp as rotgut whiskey. Read it with the lights on – but for damn sure read it.”
- Chris F Holm, author of Dead Harvest and The Wrong Goodbye

About the Author

Lee Collins has spent his entire life in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he generally prefers to stay indoors reading and playing video games. As a child, he never realized that he could create video games for a living, so he chose to study creative writing at Colorado State University. Upon graduation, he worked as an editorial intern for a local magazine before securing a desk job with his alma mater.

Lee's short fiction has appeared in Ensorcelled and Morpheus Tales, the latter of which awarded him second place in a flash fiction contest. In 2009, a friend challenged him to participate in National Novel Writing Month, and the resulting manuscript became his debut novel, Dead of Winter.

In his spare minutes between writing and shepherding graduate students at his day job, Lee still indulges in his oldest passions: books and video games. He and his girlfriend live in Colorado with their imaginary corgi Fubsy Bumble.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Angry Robot (October 30, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780857662729
• ISBN-13: 978-0857662729
• ASIN: 0857662724
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Collins has spent his entire life in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he generally prefers to stay indoors reading and playing video games. As a child, he never realized that he could create video games for a living, so he chose to study creative writing at Colorado State University. Upon graduation, he worked as an editorial intern for a local magazine before securing a desk job with his alma mater.

Lee's short fiction has appeared in Ensorcelled and Morpheus Tales, the latter of which awarded him second place in a flash fiction contest. In 2009, a friend challenged him to participate in National Novel Writing Month, and the resulting manuscript became his debut novel, The Dead of Winter, published in October 2012. The sequel, She Returns From War, arrives in 2013.

In his spare minutes between writing and shepherding graduate students at his day job, Lee still indulges in his oldest passions: books and video games. He and his girlfriend live in Colorado with their imaginary corgi Fubsy Bumble.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Halloween Read for Paranormal Western Lovers October 30, 2012

By Bookworm Dreams

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Cora and her husband Ben are bounty hunters on paranormal creatures. In this book we follow them while they are solving a couple of cases in a small western town. If you are not a lover of western novels, better skip this book because this book has all the elements: sheriffs, deputies, saloon, whores, miners, trains, etc.

One of the things I liked when I read the summary for this book was that main characters will be a married couple. That was a refreshing change from solo hunters/assassins. I was hoping for something different and was disappointed when Cora and her husband behaved more like partners and platonic friends than married couple. But we get an explanation for this in the end, so now in retrospective I understand the reasons for that.

So, the main focus of this book is not a couple - only Cora Oglesby. All important character development we get is related to her. Everybody else, even her husband Ben, are neglected.
Maybe this would not be such a big deal to me if I liked Cora as character, but I didn't. I like female kick-ass sassy heroines with a bit of dry humor, but I can only describe Cora as bitchy and grumpy. And her irrational desire to start a fight with everything (even a tree branch!) was irritating me.

To make my reading of this book even more painful, the plot development in first 60% of the book is very slow. I was struggling with reading and more and more contemplating marking this book as DNF, when at about 65% there was a big twist & discovery that finally got me intrigued and interested. I finished the rest of the book in one sitting, literally glued to the pages.

So how to rate a book that is 60% 2 and 40% 4-5 star read? I settled on 3.
I am adding the next part of the series to my tbr list, because although case is resolved and there is no cliffhanger, I am interested to read how Cora's character will develop in the future.

I recommend this book to: lovers of western novels with a dash of horror.

Disclaimer: I was given a free ebook by the publisher Angry Robot via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This review is also posted on Goodreads and my blog.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A debut with a difference January 1, 2013

By M. Wanchoo VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

ANALYSIS: Lee Collins' debut was one that I almost missed out on. I had gotten hold of an e-copy earlier however due to work and my TBR pile, kept on passing it over. But I kept seeing praise about it on twitter and with me being in a recent book slump of sorts, I decided to take a look at it. It began a bit slowly but I'm glad I took a chance on it as I think I've discovered another debut that might make the year-end lists.

The book begins in 1883 in Colorado and features Cora and Ben Oglesby. They both are bounty hunters who hunt vampires and have been successfully doing so for more than a decade. As they are passing through the small settlement of Leadville in Colorado, they are beseeched to save the settlement from a mysterious animal that has been killing the poor folk. With their fees being settled, Cora and Ben get down to their job only to find out that the creature they are hunting might not be their usual supernatural quarry. Things get even hairier as they find out what they might be against. The plot then has them dealing with further problems as they make the acquaintance of a British vampire hunting academic who tells them of a problem infesting his lord's mines. Its up to Cora and Ben to make light amid all the problems and save themselves as well as all the people around them.

This debut is one that stands out because of its settings and mixing of genres in the main storyline. On one hand it's a historical fantasy but it also has some elements of horror to it and lastly it also has some very potent characterization to it in regards to the main characters. Lets get to the meat of it then, kudos to the author for writing this story and placing it in the western setting as the tagline suggests, "True Grit meets True Blood". This tagline is pitch perfect and sums up the book with near perfection. The story's pace is also something that isn't the fastest but never slackens and does its best to keep the reader hooked. Also the plot twists as well as the author's descriptive prose help in enriching the read and making sure that it does not seem as a run-of-mill debut. The main character of Cora Oglesby is absolutely a treat to read about. Being a tough no-nonsense woman in a male-dominated field has earned her a reputation as "Mad Madam". She strives to do her best and truly is a wonder to behold when she's doing what she does best. While Ben acts as the smooth glove to her iron fisted approach, their team has acquired a legendary name of sorts within the western towns. The author has given birth to a very fascinating character and the grit she showcases is simply brilliant to read.

Next there is one wild twist that occurs near the middle of the story for which the author has to be applauded. While it's not completely easy to anticipate, the reader will probably notice some irregularities for them to give it a thought. Though the end result might not be the same, kudos to the author adding this to the story to make that much more interesting. Lastly the setting and pace of the story is such that the readers are constantly kept on the edge and this book is one that will have the readers coming back for seconds, thirds and much more. There are also various nods to history and several small factoids that are smartly incorporated in the story. I particularly enjoyed this debut and feel that this would make a truly fun cinematic experience be it in the form of a movie or even a TV series.

Not that that this debut is flawless, firstly it takes a while to get things in place and the first 50 odd pages, the readers might feel a little lost with all the happenings. Be assured that its done on purpose and I would recommend that readers pay particular attention to the happenings as otherwise you'll be scrambling back to these pages when the twist is revealed. Lastly the plot has two main threads to it and while the first one ends in the middle before leading on to the second, the transition doesn't go as smoothly as the author envisions.

CONCLUSION: Lee Collins marks himself out with his debut that has an eclectic mix of genres and some pretty terrific prose and characterization to dazzle readers with. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and for those readers who are on the fence about this book, my advice is to get off it as quickly as you can and read this one, as its ingenuity will mark itself out among the year end lists and the minds of readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good Story November 7, 2012

By pammur

Format:Mass Market Paperback

First book by this author. Almost didn't buy it. However, sounded interesting, and am glad I bought it. I read it in one day. I found the story interesting, but . . . . . one thing was pretty much obvious from almost the start. (See spoiler) Cora was obviously an alcoholic, but she was also definitely a bad a _ _ ! She was able to be a monster killer where others weren't. The story did hold my interest. I may pick up the next book in the series, haven't decided yet. I have a whole pile of books to get through at this point!

S P O I L E R !!

It was pretty obvious from about the third chapter on that "Ben" wasn't really there. There were too many people asking to meet him or asking what he looked like. I figured it out pretty quickly.