The Devil's Bag Man

May 25, 2015
Mansbach’s bloody, terrifying sequel to The Dead Run brings a 500-year-old power struggle to a climax inside the body of Jess Galvan, which he shares with the soul of the evil, homicidal Aztec priest Cucuy. Mansbach skillfully keeps the characterization and language of ancient priests and gods distinct from the modern idiom, so when Mexican prisons, cross-border cartels, modern police investigations, and fatherly concern finally come together with magically beating hearts and armies of undead virgins, the effect of worlds colliding is devastatingly effective. Galvan embodies a fascinating mix of psychological struggle, bravado, and raw brutality, fighting against the demon’s voice inside him while using Cucuy’s superhuman strength to protect those he loves. He singlehandedly shakes up carefully balanced drug wars through pure killing power, and his human struggle and family context make the singlemindedness of his inhuman power all the more horrifying. Mansbach believably builds a scenario for the destruction of the world, showing the best and worst of humankind brought to their knees by the power of gods, and leaving the rest of us to tremble. Agent: Richard Abate, Endeavor Agency.

February 1, 2015

Anyone who can write a faux lullaby titled Go the F**k to Sleep has edge, which Mansbach shows off in 2013's The Dead Run and in this sequel. Imprisoned in a Mexican jail for a crime he didn't commit, Jess Galvan struck a nasty bargain to gain his freedom. Now he finds his mind and body taken over by the dark soul of Cucuy, a 500-year-old Aztec priest and leading drug lord who'd love to see the world destroyed. Back at Ojos Negros prison, Cucuy's second-in-command springs another bad guy so that he and his particularly vicious biker gang can chase down Jess. At least his possession by Cucuy has given Jess superhuman strength. One of those gut-wrenching, horror-flecked, edge-of-seat supernatural thrillers.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2015
Just the blood-soaked, demon-ravaged, terrifying sequel to The Dead Run (2013). Mansbach (Rage Is Back, 2013, etc.) is better known for his zeitgeist-firing children's book Go the Fuck to Sleep (2011) and the subtle critiques of race relations and underground culture in his earlier novels. No matter-rarely has a writer demonstrated he's having as much fun as Mansbach clearly is with this demented series combining contemporary crime action, Mexican mythology, irreverent comedy, and straight-up horror. To recap, antihero Jess Galvan barely defeated the 500-year-old demon El Cucuy by absorbing his soul. Now Jess is living out in the desert with a head full of angry Aztec god. On the plus side, he's been imbued with inhuman strength and endurance, but on the minus side, he's having a hell of a time keeping Cucuy at bay. "Two souls, one body. The math was a bitch," Mansbach writes. Down in Mexico, Cucuy's right-hand man is trying to keep the family business together, but the ongoing war between the cartels is making things tough. To gain control of Galvan, who starts murdering bad guys left and right, Cucuy's empire engages Kurt Knowles, president of the True Natives motorcycle club, to kidnap his daughter, Sherry, and bring her to Cucuy's prison headquarters. Like great pulp fiction or midnight movies, the book's profane, hyperactive, and gloriously violent style will repel more sensitive readers and make those who revel in Tarantino scripts, Breaking Bad, or zombie flicks giddy with anticipation. Books like Colson Whitehead's Zone One and Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven can keep their erudite social allegories-we'll be over here gobbling popcorn and waiting to see if Mansbach can keep this up.

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June 1, 2015
In The Dead Run (2013), Jess Galvan bartered his freedom from a Mexican prison for the grisly duty of delivering a heart possessed by an ancient Aztec priest to a diabolical cult leader. Unsurprisingly, the job got complicated, and Galvan ended up hosting the vengeful priest, Cucuy, in his own body. In this sequel, Galvan is fighting Cucuy's will, but the priest's human minions have already launched his plot for world domination. They've cultivated and trained cartel armies and have targeted Galvan's daughter, Sherry, as leverage to force him to surrender his body to Cucuy. Seemingly outgunned and outmaneuvered, Galvan seeks help from Cucuy's otherworldly enemies and throws himself into a war that pits undead against criminal warriors to confront an ancient betrayal. Mansbach, also the author of the wildly popular Go the F**k to Sleep (2011), wraps up The Dead Run's major conflicts with an adrenaline-pumping bang teeming with vivid, violent imagery. Imagine an Indiana Jonesstyle story, starring the Hulk and directed by Robert Rodriquez; surely satisfying for readers craving a bloody supernatural jolt.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)