Damned Nation [Paperback]

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 have perished by way minor, normally non-lethal wounds.

To help safeguard against enemies seeking revenge on the new Marshall, Witherspoon changes his name to J.P. Withers. And now, Marshall Withers, woefully armed and not very well-versed in the supernatural, must quickly catch himself up with mythology concerning creatures of the night, must quickly provide counters 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 to the founding of a maverick department responsible for all things occult and answerable only to the President. 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, again 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 nasties 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 of not doing much in the writer's corner, Nick Pollotta recently wrote this 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 suspense 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, er, stars and stripes 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, no historical records to consult. To combat the varied forms of beasties, Withers finds himself constantly experimenting with assorted weaponry and other things, be they kosher salt, a crucifix, juju bags, or silver... 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 wage his hidden war.

In this newest installment, Pollotta once again shows off his flair for mad dash pacing, taut plotting, and an ability to come up with crazy beastie mayhem. In the final fifty pages, he rips off the kid gloves and treats the reader to an all-out, balls to the wall slayfest as Withers and his partner Logan descend into the pits of the hell house. What a mad, creepy adventure! I hope there's a sequel in the works for J.P. Withers, not to mention further books centering around Team Tunafish. BUREAU 13: DAMNED NATION is, needless to say, highly recommended.

Reading a historical book, even a fictional historical book can be a daunting prospect. However, that being said, this was a fun read. It is difficult to write a historical book and not choose a side, but the author walks a careful tightrope making characters intelligent and likeable yet still historically accurate. The Civil War is a war that people have a great deal of feelings about. This book was written very cleverly in a way that should make everyone happy.

On to the story itself: I found myself rooting for the protagonists to beat the obviously very evil bad-guys. Werewolves, demons and a plan to destroy the world is a great reason to get people who otherwise would be at each other's throats, to work together.

All in all, a fun read. Read this, and then pick up the 3 Bureau 13 books. You will not be dissapointed.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars