The Coilhunter Chronicles - Omnibus (Books 1-3)

By: Dean F. Wilson

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

2019 Independent Audiobook Award Winner for Contemporary Fantasy

Coilhunter

Welcome to the Wild North, a desolate wasteland where criminals go to hide - if they can outlast the drought and the dangers of the desert. Or the dangers of something else.

Meet Nox, the Coilhunter. A mechanic and toymaker by trade, a bounty hunter by circumstance. He isn't in it for the money. He's in it for justice, and there's a lot of justice that needs to be paid.

Between each kill, he's looking for someone who has kept out of his cross hairs for quite a while - the person who murdered his wife and children. The trail has long gone cold, but there are changes happening, the kind of changes that uncover footprints and spent bullet casings.

Plagued by nightmares, he's made himself into a living one, the kind the criminals and con men fear.

So, welcome, fair folk, to the Wild North. If the land doesn't get you, the Coilhunter will.

Rustkiller

Welcome to the Rust Valley.

The Wild North is full of nasty places, but there are some places you just don’t go. One of them is that scrapyard desert known as the Rust Valley. It’s where vehicles go to die. That’s why you don’t go in after them.

The bounty hunter Nox made a promise to himself he’d never be caught dead there. Yet when a couple of kids end up wandering inside that metal maze, he finds himself with no other choice.

He decks himself out in his finest armor. He’ll need it. That land is where the rust-covered Clockwork Commune live, and if they don’t scavenge the metal off you, they’ll scavenge the flesh instead.

Nox is used to being called the Coilhunter, but this time, he’s saddling up with a new, more fitting title: the Rustkiller.

Dustrunner

Nox is a wanted man.

While searching for a criminal, the fabled Coilhunter wanders into a tribal village massacre. He didn’t do it, but that doesn’t matter. The clues point to him, and he’s made a lot of enemies over the years. Many would happily see the tables turned.

His pleas of innocence fall on deaf ears. No sooner does he try to find the real killers than posters go up across the Wild North - posters with his face and his name. He isn’t the only bounty hunter out there. Dozens assemble to cash him in.

Tasked with finding out who’s framed him, Nox must also survive the constant onslaught of frontier law. He’s used to hunting others. He’s not so used to life on the run.

©2017 Dean F. Wilson (P)2018 Blue Heron Audio

Did you like Wild, Wild West with Will Smith?

I received a copy of this book for free. I leave this review at my own discretion.

The best way I think I could describe this book to someone if hey asked what genre it falls into would be to ask if they have seen and enjoyed Wild, Wild West (with Will Smith). Personally, I liked the movie. It was ridiculous, but it was fun, which is exactly like this book. It's a western/steampunk/post apocalyptic(?)/ scifi(?)/ fantasy (?) series and if you enjoy characters like Batman, you'll probably enjoy The Coilhunter.

There is a lot of action in this series, and it is solidly written. Nox has enough toys to make encounters he has with his various opponents that it isnt just the same thing over and over. His backstory is simple, as is the same for most characters like him, but it fits well here. His old job of being a mechanic/toymaker 'before' gives him skills outside a gunfight and the gadgets he makes are well used in and out of fights.

The supporting characters in the three series are pretty thinly written and it is an issue for the entire series, except for Luke, Lara, and Sally.They get a good amount of face time in the stories. However, they are the only things that tie the stories together chronologically, and the ties are done in such a way that you could really read the 3 books in any order and very little would be impacted by it.

The ending of the third book definitely sounded like it was the end of the series, but if book 4 is written, I'll be in line to check it out.

Action-packed Weird Western

If you like the Gunslinger from the Dark Tower series, Hayley Stone's Make Me No Grave or you just wanted a grittier Walt Longmire, than look no further. You'll find all that and more here. Packed with action, these three books follow the Coilhunter on his quest for justice. But justice is a moving target in this post-apoc world where everything's running down. Sound familiar?

It should. The Coilhunter could easily cross paths with Roland from the Dark Tower series, and I'm not sure Roland would win. This is a straight up shoot-em-out Western like the ones I grew up loving with a touch of steampunk to spice up the action.

RC Bray is in fine form here, and he brings his own unique talent to this telling, conjuring up a Clint Eastwood-esque Coilhunter that will leave you ravenous for more.

Hurry up and record the next volumes in this fun series, Mr. Bray. This set was an absolute pleasure to experience. Dean's writing is sharp and crackling with wit. Write a dozen more please!

A great fun ride!

The Coilhunter series is a quick and fun new take to the traditional westerner. Nox is an interesting character but really only shines with companions. Otherwise, when Nox is alone I sometimes fill like he is a little too hard and static. Luckily it is his interactions with his law-abiding companions that redeem him and allow us some introspection of the character. I particularly enjoyed the second book of the series, Rustkiller. Not only did I feel I really finally got to know Nox through his interactions with Luke and Luara, I felt the rust valley had an awesome vibe and interesting lore. Speaking of which, I would have liked a little more details on the Regime and its coming to be. Another note as I went along I really felt the writer getting comfortable and all around becoming better at describing certain scenarios and providing deeper metaphors. Any way you look at it, the series is well worth a credit, its an easy read with little to no downtime without action.

Not Subtle, Not Complicated, But Fun

"You're the disease, and I'm the cure." - Marion Cobretti

Lines like this were a mainstay in 80's action flicks; this gem is from the Sylvester Stallone movie, Cobra. If you recognized it and smiled, then this book is definitely for you. The Coilhunter Chronicles is 3-parts Cobra, 2-parts The Outlaw Josey Wales, and a few pinches of Firefly to round out the few sci-fi elements. Together they form a blunt force story of a bounty hunter (Coilhunter) who relentlessly pursues wanted fugitives across desert plains, distributing the only form of justice he knows how, at the end of a barrel (queue 80’s music here.)

The Coilhunter Chronicles won’t reveal anything new about the human condition, stretch your sci-fi imagination, or even deeply connect with any of the characters… but I did enjoy it. While I enjoy complex stories and characters sometimes I just want to turn off my brain and watch an old 80’s action flick. For this action flick, you exclusively follow Nox as the story’s POV and see the world through his eyes. As stated, the world isn’t complicated and most of Nox’s emotions are left out of the story but you'll watch as he tracks down each wanted fugitive. Along the way he picks up several sidekicks with their own simple motivations and experience their eventual bonding. Some conflict and tension makes it way into the stories although I wish we could have gotten more of the Josey Wales dynamic as our team learns to trust each other. I also hope to learn more about the Iron Empire, which is the ruling force in this world.

As for the narration? R.C. Bray… nuff said.

To summarize, there seems to be a complex world in here but little is fleshed out. Enough to enjoy but not enough to fully satisfy. A chocolate bar for breakfast; a guilty pleasure we can spoil ourselves to occasionally but nothing to build a healthy diet too. I received this book for free and was not asked to leave a review.

A modern...ish western

Not my usual choice of book but as RC Bray was the narrator, well, that made it worth the credit. I was not disappointed either with the narration nor the story. It kept along at a good pace and I would happily listen to more.

Fantastic listen

I'm really glad I listened to this book. I had read the series prior to this, and liked it but it wasn't the best thing since sliced bread or anything. Good story, kept me interested, definitely worth the read. Boy did the narration change that.

The narrator sounds like the guy from Bastion and it now has the feel of a true western. The style of the narration really added to the story, The husky, gravelly voice of R.C. Bray brought this story to life, and made me fall in love with each character.

After listening to this book, I think it would make a great video game, and I also love the covers. great job, and a wonderful listen. Thanks to the author for providing a complimentary audio code for this book.

Best of both worlds

A perfect mix of old-timey and possible post-apocalyptic. Nox fits you usual law bringer in an outlaws world but still manages to change things up. Narrator does a great job of making him feel menacing and giving variety to other voices.

Great storytelling!

Action from the Start. Great Westren with a twist. Seriously worth your time , R.C. Bray does an amazing job!

Coilhunter

I received a copy of this book in trade for an honest and fair review.

The Coilhunter was an interesting hero. He was certainly flawed and tormented by his past which drove him to seek justice in the wild north.

It took a while to get used to R.C Bray's "voice" for Nox, the Coilhunter. I enjoy his narration but struggled for a few minutes to match the voice to the body. In the end I envisioned Clint Eastwood in a dark steampunk western outfit serving justice one bullet at a time.

I would listen to this again at some point.

I deducted a star for repetition of certain phrases. I thought it pulled me out of the story just a little.

Great ride

A little on the nose but done so well. Wild West meets Batman meets Rorschach.