Grady Hendrix was right on the money when he described this title as " 'Salem's Lot but with more Uzis.". Nightblood contains all the silly goofiness you'd expect from an 90's horror title paired with a masculine flare, relying on TOUGHNESS delivered by the main character, Chris Stiles, to defeat evil for good and rid Isherwood of its vamps. The consistent war terminology (thankful for the one war flashback and not multiple), gun lingo, and general vibe of testosterone oozing from the prose is normally enough to make me DNF a book but, this worked for me.

The MANLY MAN moments are counterbalanced by Chris and his brother Alex's relationship, bringing sentimentality to the plot that feels genuine. This relationship is then paralleled via Bart and Del, which elevated the connections throughout. Although the brothers' relationships allowed for character development over time, Billie's character was posed as a two-dimensional prop, seemingly only to serve as Chris' love interest and Bart and Del's mother. Yes, I'm aware this is a cheesy 90's horror novel but, I would've appreciated it if Billie played a more integral and less predictable role.

While Martindale's style isn't distinctly unique, the imagery conjured from the scenes throughout is impressive. Specifically, the interactions (FIGHT SCENES MAINLY) between the vampires and humans were wholly engaging.

Nightblood is fun, heavy on the cheese, and although was a little after its time releasing in the early 90's, fits right in with the books penned during the mass market paperback horror boom. Reccommend if you're in the mood for gun slingin', vamp huntin' foolery.