“Adrenalin pumped through his system
as he prepared to lock horns with scumbags who didn't deserve to keep
sucking God's good air.”
With that kind of testosterone, Mark
Allen's debut 'Warlock' novel, “Autofire Blitz”, is the perfect
companion piece to 80s action movies and books. In what he considers
an ode to the pop culture that inspired him, Allen created Damien
“Warlock” Locke, a bullet spewing vigilante with purpose.
The book begins with a swift flashback
to January 17th, 2011. Locke finds himself an amnesiac
left for dead in Afghanistan. With no prior knowledge of his life, or
who put the bullet crease in his head, Locke is left with a clean
slate on life. He has tattooed names of “Damian Locke” and
“Warlock” on his arm...so Locke and Allen are running with that.
Experience fighting bad guys? Yeah, Locke has it in spades. He can
only guess that he's had explicit training with the Navy Seals or
Delta Force, and from the action sequences here...I'd say that
skill-set and more.
Fast forward to present day and Locke's
current mission – rescue a 10-year old boy from the clutches of a
drug cartel. The only problem is that this particular cartel has
deep, corrupt ties to the DEA. As Locke hits various pool halls, bars
and alleys, the story starts to expand and “flesh” out –
meaning long, descriptive explanations of bullets penetrating organs
(like when horror authors dish out pink-gray froth for their intended
victims). That's really what sets Allen apart from the 80s and early
90s vigilantes. This author is way over-the-top in terms of rapid
fire delivery and graphic violence. I can't help but compare it to
horror novelists like Edward Lee or Jack Ketchum (and Allen himself
dabbles in the horror genre as well). It's expressive...to say the
least. Whether you like or dislike that sort of thing is the
measuring stick on your entertainment value here. For me personally,
I can run with over-the-top if it is fun, senseless and has some
boundaries.
“Autofire Blitz” is a fun,
compelling and gritty read from an author who is clearly a fan of the
action and adventure genre. While Paperback Warrior typically doesn't
read or review contemporary (maybe TWO A YEAR), this was an
entertaining novella that fueled my desire to check out more of
Allen's work. You can find him and his books on his Amazon page.
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