Review: Cursed (even though Chupacabra Outlaw is a much better title)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 24, 2014
For me, the most disappointing thing about the Realm and Sands novella CURSED is the title.  Originally titled CHUPACABRA OUTLAW, I’m not sure why the title was changed to CURSED, but a simple Amazon search, which puts this book 15th on the list, suggests maybe they should have stuck with their first choice.  After all, you do a search for “Chupacabra Outlaw” now and CURSED is the #1 search result, of only 2 results.  Just seems like a no-brainer to me.Anyway.  So the story centers around a man named Ricardo who works in a small Kansas BBQ restaurant under a false name.  He likes the town, the people, the job, and has even met a woman he’d like to settle down with.  But the locals are starting to talk, about a series of goat killings, which has left the animals sucked dry of bodily fluids.  Talk like that is sure to bring Morales, the man who has been hunting Ricardo for the past century.Cuz, see, Ricardo isn’t like other people.  He’s got a beast inside him, one that demands occasional release and feeding.  The monster will live on goats, gladly, but if pushed, it’s not above feeding on humans.  So Ricardo is planning his escape one night, saying his goodbyes to those closest to him in the restaurant--even if they don’t know he’s leaving--when in barge two men with guns, demanding safe haven until the cops, who are sure to follow, move on.  For insurance, they’re going to take the woman Ricardo loves into the back room until all’s clear.  That doesn’t sit well with Ricardo.  And if Ricardo don’t like it, the chupacabra inside him definitely don’t like it.I’m not sure what I expected going into this story, but I know this wasn’t it.  That’s not to say I was disappointed.  It was an easy read, entertaining, and held my interest.  I liked the characters and Ricardo’s backstory, even if I’m still not sure how exactly he was cursed in the first place.  The story itself is really very simple--maybe too simple.  The plot is pretty basic, as is the setup.  New guy in town has a haunted past, is about the make his escape but is stopped by outlaws who threaten those the “hero” has come to care about.  Hero turns out to be a werewolf or some other monster, in this case the werewolf is swapped for a chupacabra which is definitely the strangest choice for a were-creature I’ve ever read.  The details may vary but the story at its most basic level is nothing new.  But that’s exactly why that original title would have worked so much better.  Chupacabra just isn’t a word you see in many book titles.  And maybe that’s the reason behind the change, because there’s so little chance of anyone stumbling across the book with that word in the title.  On the other hand, CURSED?  Really?  Not even almost close to resembling original.I can definitely say without a doubt I’m a much bigger fan of Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant’s more serious work as opposed to their “sitcoms”. I think these serious stories, like this one and VENGEANCE, read much better and feel more natural, less forced.On the downside, while I did enjoy CURSED, it wasn’t enough to send me to the second book in the series, CURSED 2: BEATEN, as the ending simply didn’t leave me curious enough to find out what happened next.  So while I enjoyed this story, I’m perfectly content to leave things as they are with this book and call it good.