- By Steve Niles
- Published by Dark Horse Books
- Pages: 472
- Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Macabre-Complete-McDonald-Stories/dp/1506727476/
What’s it About?
This book is a complete anthology of the Cal McDonald Stories and includes two new stories as well as an introduction by John Carpenter (which, to be honest, is three short paragraphs that summarizes the back cover of the book).
Cal McDonald is a private investigator, beginning the book in Washington DC and then moving to L.A. in a later story. He’s not just a normal PI, he recognizes the undead for what they really are, and they seem to be everywhere. Check and see, your postal letter-carrier is probably a ghoul. Anyway, some of the supernatural creatures are friendly, like Cal’s partner Mo’Lock, a really helpful, but annoying ghoul. Together they solve crimes, at least in the few pages where Cal isn’t strung out on drugs or passed out in the bathroom; it’s tough being Cal.
Commentary
This book is a compilation of thirteen stories revolving around Cal and Mo’Lock and the weird underworld they inhabit. The first story, “Savage Membrane,” is the longest, and in my opinion, the best, and the following stories get shorter and shorter as the book progresses. These are from Peter Niles, probably better known for creating “30 Days of Night.” I am mostly unfamiliar with his comics work, but apparently Cal McDonald has been in a lot of comic adventures before this compilation.
I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but I have to admit the further it went on, the less interesting the stories became. It was almost as if the writer was just cranking out stories because his fans demanded it, not from the love of the character. The first half of the book is really good, and since they’re all just short stories, you can stop at any time.
Overall, if you like Urban Fantasy, or maybe Supernatural Mysteries, this is pretty cool!