Dead Man

Black Magic Outlaw, Book 1

By: Domino Finn

Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

I'm Cisco Suarez: necromancer, shadow charmer, black magic outlaw. Sounds kinda cool, doesn't it? It was, right until I woke up half dead in a dumpster.

Did I say half dead? Because I meant 100% dead. Full on. I don't do things halfway.

So here I am, alive for some reason, just another sunny day in Miami. It's a perfect paradise, except I'm into something bad. Wanted by police, drenched in the stink of dark magic, nether creatures coming out of the woodwork, and don't get me started on the Haitian voodoo gang. Trust me, it's all fun and games until there's a zombie pit bull on your tail.

I'm Cisco Suarez: necromancer, shadow charmer, black magic outlaw, and totally screwed.

©2015 Domino Finn (P)2016 Domino Finn

voodoo, necromancy, the occult, potions, and more

Cisco Suarez wakes up in a dumpster after being killed 10 years ago.  He remembers none of the last decade, how he died, or how he got many of the skills and strength he now has.  After tracking down a couple of friends, he is able to piece together enough details to follow a trail toward his killers.  More questions arise as he finds out someone slaughtered his family and a Hattian voodoo gang wants him dead.

The action continues non-stop throughout the story, voodoo, necromancy, the occult, potions, and more fill the tale with magical violence.  The story is written in the first person, so the listener is inside Cisco’s head throughout; reliving his fears, insecurities, slowly returning memories and newly discovered abilities.  He is a self-taught necromancer and wielder of magic, so most of his skills are sometimes a surprise to him.

As the listener rediscovers Cisco’s lost 10 years, we relive his emotions with him, lost friendships, family, and lover.  It gets claustrophobic and redundant at times but remains generally entertaining.  The plot is less about making sense than following Cisco’s stumbling luck as an amateur occult detective.

Neil Hellegers performs the story well, giving it a personality.  His voice gets into the listeners head as he becomes Cisco.  A solid performance that is pleasant to listen to and gets out of the way when the action gets hot.

Dead Man is a detective story wrapped in the shell of magic and the occult.  There are enough dead bodies, zombies, and wizards to fill a small stadium.  Strange that the non-magic people don’t seem to notice much of it.  Never mind, that’s not the point.  It is Cisco’s world and you are invited to share it intimately as you ride on his shoulder.  While there is plenty of violence and most of it horrific, it is cartoonish and won’t give you nightmares.  The story is entertaining enough, fast paced and inventive.  Listen to the sample, it will give you enough to decide if the style is your taste.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Engaging despite the lack of ladies

I had the pleasure of reading the ebook back in 2016 but with the release of this series in audiobook format, I felt I needed to revisit this book. What follows is an updated review that includes my thoughts on the narration (which is excellent!).

Cisco Suarez, necromancer and a wee bit of a dumb ass, wakes up in a dumpster. Wait. Can the dead wake? Cisco is full on dead and he’s none too happy to learn about it, especially since a variety of folks are set on seeing him dead. Again.

The Miami heat can be harsh, especially if you’re already prone to giving off body odor. Cisco needs info and the first person he runs into that he knows is Milena, who was his sister Seleste’s BFF. Cisco soon learns what tragedy befell his family and he’s heart broken and ticked off all at the same time.

The Haitian gang, The Bone Saints, are after him and he’s not too sure why. They have a new leader, Baptiste, who is dead set on ending Cisco’s second life. Cisco has few options so he calls upon his friends for info and aide. There’s the Norwegian biker tattoo artist Kasper, his boyhood school friend Evan Cross (who’s as straight laced as you can get), and his buddy in studying the dark arts Martine. Unfortunately, Cisco will get less aide than he hoped for and more info than he can easily handle.

This is a wonderful nitty gritty urban fantasy detective story. Miami provides the author with the opportunity to mix in several cultures and languages. Of course, I loved all the food references. Cisco has that interesting mix of boyish charm, machismo, underdog, do-gooder, and more power than he can easily handle. Oh, and playing with dead things. It made for a fascinating character set in a place that ties together several cultures, and hence, several mythologies.

I often found myself cheering on this necromancer, which is not something I have done often. I mean, it’s just wrong to mess with the dead, right? But Cisco made me see the right of it. After all, there’s utilizing the dead for a higher purpose and then there’s abusing your necromancer privileges. Cisco sometimes walks a fine line, but that only added to the tension and enjoyment of the story.

My one quibble is the ladies. They are few and far between and mostly are comforters and sex objects. Now part of that is how Cisco sees the world, so I can see that adding to the character’s personality, but the ladies as a whole aren’t well represented. Martine has some skills in necromancy, but she has a pretty small role. Max, a body guard, I think has like 5 lines for the entire book and is one-dimensional. Seleste gets a nod and Milena has the largest role mostly because Cisco spends plenty of time admiring her figure. There’s an old girlfriend who also gets a nod but must be protected from the truth as she’s too fragile to handle it (eye roll). It’s modern-day Miami, which is known for a lot of things, including their bad ass women (for example the numerous ladies from the series Dexter). Alas, this book was lacking in this regard.

With that said, it was still a very engaging story and an excellent addition to the urban fantasy genre. Apparently, the dead can be used more creatively than I expected. The balance of humor and serious points kept me on Cisco’s side throughout the book.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Neil Hellegers delivers! I was definitely impressed with what Hellegers could do in this audiobook. There’s plenty of accents called for, all of which Hellegers does well. Then there’s several supernatural entities that required some creativity to voice and Hellegers pulled those off as well. He’s simply great at being Cisco Suarez, Dead Man bumbling his way through his second life.

Really Liked It

This was fun to listen too. The narrator was great. The story itself was compelling and kept me wanting to listen. The author paints a very vivid picture of the setting and the lead character was well written. If a book can transport me I consider it well written and this one definitely did. It has action, mystery, sex appeal, wit I don't know what more you ask for in a fiction novel. Definitely interested in reading more of this series!

it was okay

it didn't grab me any point I had to put it down several times okay

5 Stars

I gave up on this book a long time ago. I gave it another chance and found it entertaining. I'll get next book.

Epic, Dark, Funny, Perfect.

This series is one of my favorite go-to’s for entertainment. I have listened to each book at least 5 times each. It’s a perfect companion for road trips and bike rides because I get so wrapped up in the story, I forget time is passing! I can’t recommend this series enough.

Action packed! Great Narrator!

Where does Dead Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This series now ranks #1!!!

What other book might you compare Dead Man to and why?

Hard Luck Hank!

Which character – as performed by Neil Hellegers – was your favorite?

Felix the Lightning Elemental! His character and attitude was absolutely lively! That is besides Francisco.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The moment with his father at the grave side. His father said "Put down the knife son." He did not have the knife. . . That alluded to the knowledge that he killed his family under compulsion. then his father attempted to pull him into the grave. . .

Any additional comments?

He can be nicer to his best friend. . . . yet later books reveal that his anger is about his best friend marrying his girlfriend. So explainable.

Waking From The Dead

Domino Finn wrote a great story and so far series. Cisco tries to figure out what has happened to him and everyone else since he was dead for 10 yrs and is now back. Can he live with the answers he gets and what surprises are in store for him? Listen and find out it will keep listening once you start.

Awesome story

Great characters, plot, and overall everything. Can't wait to start on the next audio book.

Interesting premise but was just ok

I like that premise and the general story line. However, the execution fell short.