For untold years, the thought-dead gunslinger James Crowley has roamed the wild west doing the bidding of the White Throne – hunting wretched nephilim that prey on humans and subvert creation, like vampires. This was his reward for dying in virtue despite a life mired in vice.  Love of a woman and his own conscience, though, have made him an apparent enemy of the Throne:    he rescued someone that the forces of evil and “good” both desired to make a weapon for their respective forces.  Doing what was right in their own hearts didn’t work for the Hebrews, and it’s made Crowley a target for other Black Badges like himself.  A vampiric talisman is keeping him concealed for the moment, but  given the amount of  supernatural interest in Rosa,   the imperiled couple will be found, and by all the hounds of hell and horsemen of the apocalypse.   So begins the unpredictable but grimly satisfying end to the Black Badge series.

Vein Pursuits truly stood the Black Badge series on its head,  as it took us not only out of the west, but into ‘civilization’  – New Orleans,  where depravity and demonic energy reign.  Crowley’s stubbornness has often put him at odds with the messenger of the White Throne who was his handler – Shar – but    in Vein Pursuits his contempt for the cruelty that Shar often ignored saw him fall from what passed for grace in his life.   As if to confirm that Shar – and possibly the White Throne – were not  truly righteous, they have resurrected the murdering rapist who killed Crowley and made of him a Black Badge.    How could “good” use such a vile creature as Ace, who makes use of necromancy and enlists werewolves as allies?  Ace in the Hole  is the drama of Crowley,  Rosa, and his aging horse Timp attempting to evade or destroy the legions sent after him and the monster driving them.  But now they’ll go worse than the Big Easy: they’re going to the Federal City itself, the beast on the Potomac.

Ace in the Hole takes into some strange,  fantastic, and arcane territory. What is Rosa that angels, demons, and vampires are all fixated on her?  As Crowley and Rosa flee,  the severity of their dilemma grows more obvious, and there are some fantastic “horror” elements, including monsters that seem plucked straight from Lovecraft.   Although working for the White Throne, Ace is consorting with arcane powers of darkness, doing things like possessing a trainload of passengers to attack Crowley as they search for answers and sanctuary:  what’s more, Ace’s diabolical powers allow him to overwhelm those who have energies of their own, like a servant of the Traitor, Father of Vampires. This means that not only is Crowley habitually robbed of allies,  but deceit and treachery sit as thick in the plot as a London fog.   He’s left with questions and desperation, and so is the reader: what does God need with a mere woman?  

This book is all kinds of interesting from theological, mythological, and even historical points of view. The action culminates  within – or rather, below – the Washington monument,  in which we learn that many of the Traitor’s scions were involved in the founding of America, and their vision brings  to mind the Freemasons – especially for historically literate readers who know which founders were Masons.  I thought this was fascinating, especially given that the Catholic Church views Freemasonry with condemnation,  regarding it almost as anathema.  That element is never directly addressed, but readers who are cued in will find much of interest. 

Ace in the Hole is an ending to the trilogy, though offers a graphic novel series for those who can’t get enough. I might count myself in this category: Bruno and Castle’s world-building captured me from the word go, with its interesting blind of Christian and southwestern native cosmotology.   Of course, being a fan of RDR2 I am an utter sucker for the outlaw with a heart of gold, even when he ain’t voiced by Oirthur Morgan hisself.  Overall, I definitely enjoyed the book, but it’s definitely not a read-along: a reader has to be invested in both Crowley and the Crowley-Rosa relationship that’s been building for years, to get the most out of it. I’m sad that this is the end of the line — it’s a new world, and they don’t want folk like us no more — but it was a great series while it lasted, with a fun mix of western action and fantasy that ranged from light to epic.