Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Stories (Paperback)

by Steve Niles (Author)
Key Phrases: ghoul nodded, fucking ghoul, Los Angeles, Edgar Cain, Whitney Green (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The world has two faces. The natural and the supernatural. The face we see every day, people filing past us in an almost zombie-like stupor, numb to the horrors of everyday life or driven to madness by the pain and agony of modern-day existence. And those are the people who aren't zombies or monsters! Cal McDonald is a detective with one foot in the real world, and one in the world of magic. For Cal, the horrors we all dream about in the fevered darkness of the night are all too real, kept at bay through an almost constant influx of drugs to numb the pain, but never erase it. Cut from the same mold as Sam Spade, Jake Gittes, and the famous detectives of Chandler, Hammett, and Spillane, Cal McDonald, whether he likes it or not, is all that stands between us and the nightmare world just outside our vision.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st Dark Horse Books Ed edition (January 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159582118X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595821188
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #226,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Detective Horror noir fiction, January 9, 2008

By	lorekeeper "lorekeeper" - See all my reviews

Steve Niles created Cal Macdonald as a comic character but that has been transcended now thanks to 3 novels and several short stories and rumor has it a feature film in the work. If you are a fan of 30 days of night (the comic not the horrible film) or have never heard of Mr. Niles you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot.

Cal Macdonald is a drug using , foul mouthed, monster associating anti hero in the same vein as Mel Gibson's character in payback, or Travis Mcgee (if you threw in less beaches and more zombies)

5.0 out of 5 stars Cal MacDonald, February 10, 2009

By	Jorge B. Valdes Jr. "Almost Yuya" (Lufkin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoy reading Steve Niles writing because the way he invents the life style of Cal MacDonald as a hardcore, righteous junkie; with superstitious attributes. The details, the drugs and the internal turmoil that Cal reflects throughout the novel and short stories really bring to life Cal and his adventures.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must read!!, April 21, 2008

By	Eve Jades (midwest) - See all my reviews

I have only recently come to love the character of Cal McDonald, and he's got me, hook, line, and sinker. This particular book is a very amusing collection of many "cases" Cal has worked- and they are absolutely hysterical. If you like noir detectives (and monsters) with a modern, gritty feel, this one's for you. The humor is abrupt and biting, and all the plot is well thought out, and there is actual character developement here. Even if you've never previously read a word of this world that steve niles has created, you will still be able to pick up from the begining like you've immersed yourself to the gills. Amen!