Black Badge: Tales of a Demon Hunter [Stubbed]
Self-Published
Community Rating
Description
Chapters to be posted MWF at 11 AM EST.
Book 1 onAmazon.Audible.
Life isn't simple for a demon hunter.
James Crowley didn’t choose this life. No. He didn’t choose life at all.
Shot dead in a gunfight many years ago, now he’s stuck in purgatory, serving the whims of the White Throne to avoid falling to Hell.
Not quite undead, though not alive either, the best he can hope for is to work off his penance and fade away.
His not-so-sacred duty as a Hand of God? Use his new abilities to hunt down demonic beings that have infiltrated the mortal realm. Because in the West, there are worse things to fear than bandits and outlaws....
"The rich mystical elements feel every bit as authentic to the west as the gunslinging and grit."—Shirtaloon, author of He Who Fights with Monsters
What to expect:
• Gunslinging Action
• An Outlaw with a Heart of Gold
• A Beloved Horse Companion
• Hellish and Demonic Monsters
• Magic-fueled shootouts
• Mysterious angelic handlers. Can they be trusted?
• First-person POV
• No Harem.
Information
- Status
- Ongoing
- Year
- 2025
- Author
- Fierstown
Tags
Royal Road Stats
- Rating
- 4.5/ 5.0
- Followers
- 747
- Views
- 28,658
Chapters(6 total)
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Community Reviews(6)
- KvothetamerRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Honestly not a lot to say except that this is a really cool story.
Not a litrpg, but an actual fantasy story with a real plot, characters, the works. Its honestly a breath of fresh air. The plot is super interesting, and there isnt a wasted chapter. Everything in the story has a purpose. All the characters are fleshed out, you actually get sad when some of them die. The fantasy aspects are really cool, I've always been a sucker for religion based fantasy stuff(Like Constantine) and this is it. Would highly recommend checking this story out. - NovelNinjaRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0I picked up Black Badge when it was traditionally published, and for a moment I thought some particularly bold pirate had put it here on Royal Road. Turns out everything is fine.
This is one of the best pieces of historical fantasy out there. I highly recommend it if you like fantasy Wild West material. - Theo HodgesRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0I have been following this series for years and have not found another weird west urban fantasy with this quality and engagement. The audio version trumps all because one of the standout qualities is the realism. With Roger Clark narrating it feels like a novelization in the vein of Red Dead Redemption in a whole new universe. The dialogue is crisp and he nails that tone.
Still, one of the downsides of audiobooks is drifting off in your own world. The text we get here is like a new experience reminding me about how well they describe the world and characters. Stay tuned for a lot of surprises. Leave a review when you've had a chance to engage in this awesome world and story. - CRANTRoyal Road★★★★ 3.5When I read the description, I thought that this could be an interesting story. When I saw that Shirtaloon, author of he who fights with monsters, gave it a positive shout, I thought that this story must be terrible since that story is garbage.
What I found is a story that is starting off strong. It doesn't immediately grab your attention, but when you stick with it, Fierstown is able to show that they have a very well developed style of writing that, when coupled with his strong descriptions and interesting characters, make for an intriguing story.
If Fierstown can ride the line between potentially offending his readers with his depictions of angels, demons, and supernaturals, and telling a compelling story, then they may have a winner on their hands. After all, who doesn't love a good Western?
My advice is two-fold: make James Crowley definitively and miserablely fail on occasion in a way that actually matters to both him and your readers, and if you haven't already, read the Dresden Files. - cucioRoyal Road★★★ 3.0If bacon tastes yummy and chocolate is delicious, it only gets better if you combine them, right?
Well, not always. But Supernatural, Noir and Western tend to blend well if done carefully, and this series is so far doing a good job of it. Think Dresden Files first few books, not the rubbish cosmic soap opera it devolved into.
Another plus is that it seems planned so far as self-contained books/arcs recounting each a single case/monster. Even if there is an overarching setting and recurring characters, Crawley isn't pursuing any kind of ultimate end game other than doing his job as a lovable zombie errant knight trying his best to right wrongs at the behest of his somewhat tyrannical handler. And I hope it stays that way, there's more than enough progression fiction out there.
Writing flows well, the main character is your usual hardass with a heart of gold complex enough to remain interesting, dialogue, action and pacing move swiftly without feeling rushed... it's good fun all-around.
Good job, thanks for sharing!
EDIT: Unfortunately, the second book takes a very different tone. The drama dial is turned up and characters act very irrationally, driven by their own particular obsessions. Noir ambience is gone and it's starting to look more of a supernatural soap opera (think late Dresden Files.) I'm not enjoying it anymore, so I'll be quitting here.
I still recommend book one and maintain my 4/5 rating for it, but will drop overall rating to 3/5. - SteeleoneRoyal Road★★★ 2.5The author writes well and in a distictive voice.
The story is a bit of a slower burn but does a good job of world building without info dumps.
The problem,for me, is this is one of those stories where the MC is basically mediocre at everything. Which means things tend to happen to him rather than because of him. He's not a great shot, isn't very smart, doesn't seem to be a good fighter, or a detective. Yet from the story description you expect a to read about professional gun slinger taking out demons, which is not what you get. Still worth a try but a pass for me.