skylar2's review
4.0
The plot is pretty straightforward, with a strong focus on the foreground and hardly any background. Despite that, the characters are relatable, and the world is an excellent portrayal of a steampunk, sci-files dystopia.
liisp_cvr2cvr's review
5.0
Perfect blends don’t only come in packs of tea. Coilhunter will offer you elements of scifi, steampunk and western as promised, all fused together in perfectly measured amounts.
Nox- a man that has lost all he held dear is now the unofficial sheriff of the Wild North. A bountyhunter that many fear. Wearing a multifunctional mask over his nose and mouth, he travels on his monowheel, accompianied by a mechanical duck, to hunt down the faces on the Wanted posters, while keeping an ear to the ground to find out who murdered his family.
There’s money to be made, but Nox doesn’t do it for the money. He does it for justice. If your face was on the Wanted poster, consider yourself hunted. Even worse, consider yourself most certainly on borrowed time and soon dead if it was the Coilhunter that was after you.
Nox himself is of course the most important and full-bodied character of the novel. With a troubled soul and an immense drive to make sure he saves people before they become the victims of the criminals, there is no grey area with him. It’s either black or white. Criminal? You get a bullet. And the Wild North has taught his trigger finger not to tremble when facing scum.
But Nox isn’t just a grumpy, mask wearing guy trading bodies for coils (that’s moolah, btw). He can also be quite sarcastic and what I loved most about him was the fact that in certain situations he just walked away. Like he was too good, too busy to mingle with the underbelly of society. He doesn’t waste time nor breath on small talk or flirtations. Nox is cunning, smart and a man on a mission.
From beginning to end, this novel is action packed and fast paced. Where there’s Coilhunter, there’s plenty of background criminals. Sorry, characters! Each with a fantastically fitting name. We have TNT Tom, Danny Deadmaker, Nine-finger Nancy… nine-finger Nancy, who ‘only needs one finger to pull the trigger‘… heh… fabulous!
Wild North is like a sandy jungle of gangs and criminals, all making money off whatever they can. But there are some rules. Rules created by those who have the most money, power and presence in the vast desert.
The writing, as the case has always been with Wilson’s creation, is flawless and full of thoughtful little gems in addition to making the desert arena come alive with descriptions which will make you feel the sand and dust, the smell of gunpowder, the tense yet slow motion moments of pistols being drawn. The scenes where the tension was the highest (and there were many of those) fully captured me. These intense moments offered equal amounts of apprehension, humor and matter-of-fact philosophy.
Nox- a man that has lost all he held dear is now the unofficial sheriff of the Wild North. A bountyhunter that many fear. Wearing a multifunctional mask over his nose and mouth, he travels on his monowheel, accompianied by a mechanical duck, to hunt down the faces on the Wanted posters, while keeping an ear to the ground to find out who murdered his family.
There’s money to be made, but Nox doesn’t do it for the money. He does it for justice. If your face was on the Wanted poster, consider yourself hunted. Even worse, consider yourself most certainly on borrowed time and soon dead if it was the Coilhunter that was after you.
Nox himself is of course the most important and full-bodied character of the novel. With a troubled soul and an immense drive to make sure he saves people before they become the victims of the criminals, there is no grey area with him. It’s either black or white. Criminal? You get a bullet. And the Wild North has taught his trigger finger not to tremble when facing scum.
But Nox isn’t just a grumpy, mask wearing guy trading bodies for coils (that’s moolah, btw). He can also be quite sarcastic and what I loved most about him was the fact that in certain situations he just walked away. Like he was too good, too busy to mingle with the underbelly of society. He doesn’t waste time nor breath on small talk or flirtations. Nox is cunning, smart and a man on a mission.
From beginning to end, this novel is action packed and fast paced. Where there’s Coilhunter, there’s plenty of background criminals. Sorry, characters! Each with a fantastically fitting name. We have TNT Tom, Danny Deadmaker, Nine-finger Nancy… nine-finger Nancy, who ‘only needs one finger to pull the trigger‘… heh… fabulous!
Wild North is like a sandy jungle of gangs and criminals, all making money off whatever they can. But there are some rules. Rules created by those who have the most money, power and presence in the vast desert.
The writing, as the case has always been with Wilson’s creation, is flawless and full of thoughtful little gems in addition to making the desert arena come alive with descriptions which will make you feel the sand and dust, the smell of gunpowder, the tense yet slow motion moments of pistols being drawn. The scenes where the tension was the highest (and there were many of those) fully captured me. These intense moments offered equal amounts of apprehension, humor and matter-of-fact philosophy.
see_sadie_read's review
DNF 30%
It's not that it's bad, I just can't stand the writing style. The relentless statements like this, "Mid-stride, Handcart Sally took an ornate, copper pistol from her belt. Nox spotted it with his eagle eyes, and was ready with his eagle claws to fling some bullets of his own..." Ugh, it's all like this, over and over and over again.
Plus, I'm at 30% and there's no sign of a plot yet. I know Nox lost his family. This seems to be the only bit of background the reader is expected to need, not exactly a deep character, and he considers himself so badass he can't be bothered to do anything but threaten and kill people. 30% and that's literally all I know. I'm giving up now as I'm not yet invested and don't expect I will become invested anytime soon.
It's not that it's bad, I just can't stand the writing style. The relentless statements like this, "Mid-stride, Handcart Sally took an ornate, copper pistol from her belt. Nox spotted it with his eagle eyes, and was ready with his eagle claws to fling some bullets of his own..." Ugh, it's all like this, over and over and over again.
Plus, I'm at 30% and there's no sign of a plot yet. I know Nox lost his family. This seems to be the only bit of background the reader is expected to need, not exactly a deep character, and he considers himself so badass he can't be bothered to do anything but threaten and kill people. 30% and that's literally all I know. I'm giving up now as I'm not yet invested and don't expect I will become invested anytime soon.
jasonoffer's review
4.0
I was not to keen on the story at first, but ultimately it turned out to be a good old fashioned gunslinging adventure.
intermittent_reader's review
1.0
Dean seems to effortlessly write strong action sequences, but I found that there was too much action and not enough plot and character. A better balance of all three would make for some greatly improved story telling.
deearr's review
5.0
This latest offering from author Dean F. Wilson is a treat for those lovers of pulp fiction. It is a mixture of sci-fi, adventure, the American Old West, and just all-around good fun.
Nox is the Coilhunter, a bounty hunter in a land that might be the only thing tougher than him. The story pulls the reader into his life of searching for wanted criminals, and sandwiched between these captures and killings is his never-ending search for the murderer of his family. Nox moves from one encounter to the next with a melodramatic flair, a one-liner for every situation (though most of his answers usually center around death or a bad outcome for the other person).
The Coilhunter is a man bordering on near superhero status. He has fantastic gear that he employs, and his skills are far above most men. In one instance, when a fleeing criminal takes to the rooftops, Nox “…ran towards the wall, simultaneously throwing a knife from his belt at the stone, where it lodged in place, and then another a little further up, and another higher still. He used them like stairs, dashing up the sides of the blades.” While this might strain one’s belief level, Dean Wilson’s talent makes it all seem like an everyday thing. After all, why wouldn’t the Coilhunter possess these skills?
Though this book leads into a Coilhunter series, Mr. Wilson ties everything up nicely and avoids the potential cliffhanger. This was a quick, enjoyable read and I look forward to the next Coilhunter Chronicles Novel. Five stars.
Nox is the Coilhunter, a bounty hunter in a land that might be the only thing tougher than him. The story pulls the reader into his life of searching for wanted criminals, and sandwiched between these captures and killings is his never-ending search for the murderer of his family. Nox moves from one encounter to the next with a melodramatic flair, a one-liner for every situation (though most of his answers usually center around death or a bad outcome for the other person).
The Coilhunter is a man bordering on near superhero status. He has fantastic gear that he employs, and his skills are far above most men. In one instance, when a fleeing criminal takes to the rooftops, Nox “…ran towards the wall, simultaneously throwing a knife from his belt at the stone, where it lodged in place, and then another a little further up, and another higher still. He used them like stairs, dashing up the sides of the blades.” While this might strain one’s belief level, Dean Wilson’s talent makes it all seem like an everyday thing. After all, why wouldn’t the Coilhunter possess these skills?
Though this book leads into a Coilhunter series, Mr. Wilson ties everything up nicely and avoids the potential cliffhanger. This was a quick, enjoyable read and I look forward to the next Coilhunter Chronicles Novel. Five stars.
scott_a_gardner's review
4.0
Great pulp novel
The Coilhunter is a non-profit stop action ride. A pulp novel with a mix of western, steampunk and dystopian future, Nox is a hard bitten antihero with a deadly mechanical duck. Great adventure!
The Coilhunter is a non-profit stop action ride. A pulp novel with a mix of western, steampunk and dystopian future, Nox is a hard bitten antihero with a deadly mechanical duck. Great adventure!
brian's review
4.0
A coilhunter is the name given to bounty hunters in this steampunk/Deadlands style adventure.
A quick read, this introduces Nox as he goes looking for the people who killed his family while cleaning up the Wild North.
It dives straight into the action from page 1, and it's easy to pick up details about the world Nox inhabits as the story progresses.
The characters are interesting and well written, and the background of them and the world is filled in while leaving room to be expanded in later books.
A quick read, this introduces Nox as he goes looking for the people who killed his family while cleaning up the Wild North.
It dives straight into the action from page 1, and it's easy to pick up details about the world Nox inhabits as the story progresses.
The characters are interesting and well written, and the background of them and the world is filled in while leaving room to be expanded in later books.
imzadirose's review
4.0
I liked this book. Good character, good story. Great narration from the great R.C. Bray. Will read more.
nerobucciarati's review
3.0
Couldn’t finish it because of the main character and how unbelievably cheesy he came off. I will say world building elements and the gadgets he described were really neat, but wasn’t enough to keep me interested.
(Edited bc of an egregious typo)
(Edited bc of an egregious typo)
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