Billy Purgatory: I am the Devil Bird

"...my god this is good – it’s rare to read a book with so much promise, and even rarer for the first book in a series to kick ass so much – we’re talking better than Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and on a par with Prisoner of Azkaban, which was my favourite. I can only think of one trilogy which has a better opener, and that’s Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy."

-- Dane Cobain, Social Bookshelves, SocialBookshelves.com

"The first few pages of Billy Purgatory seal the deal. You quickly realize that this is no ordinary skatekid, vampire, monster, devil bird book. Billy Purgatory is a phantasmagorical thrill ride into a world of teenage love, blood dripping undead and one of the most outrageously entertaining birth scenes ever written. More than merely a humorous, stylish foray into the horror genre, however, this book also resonates with themes of love, loss and acceptance of the way that life can hold us back, even break us."

-- Tim Queeney, Amazon Review

"Billy is unlike any hero you've ever encountered, and yet he is the Every Hero. Dude's as badass as they come...but he starts out in the sweet shape of a ten year-old kid with a scar, a skateboard, and something of an attitude. His dad has a half-missing leg and a past he won't talk about, and Billy has questions about his long-absent mother that no one seems to want to answer. A not-so-chance encounter with a vampire clan and an elusive time-manipulating "zombie" sets him on a path of discovery that carries him into adulthood, on an unending mission to find her no matter what stands in his way to prevent it. All of this makes BILLY sound like a fun round of adventure (and it is, to be sure) which gets the story off to a running start. Then, in a magnificent sleight-of-pen, Freeman skillfully adds layers of mythology, weaves in elements of fable and story-tells in shades of tall tales and legend, until the story becomes as much larger-than-life as the hero at its core."

--Joe Vampire, Amazon Review

"The author has expert style, in both storytelling and development. The mind of ten-year-old Billy is so believable that it is unbelievable that Freeman didn’t write this when he was ten. The formula of a book that we, as authors, are taught never to break is broken a thousand times over in this novel, but not in a bad way. Freeman breaks all the rules without the reader knowing it because again, as with the skateboard and Billy’s badass interior, he hides everything under a veil of comedy and horror to throw people to the fact that he is actually telling a meaningful story and not one about a complete dumbass. And that’s really what the epitome of this book–and, I can only assume–series, is: a meaningful, emotional, painful story about a young boy who is left by everyone he crosses paths with time and time again and his near-failure to survive it, building up to the lesson that no one can save us but ourselves."

--Allie Burke, Organic Coffee, haphazardly, haphazardcoffee.com

"Billy’s life isn’t exactly normal from anyone’s standards, even before vampires and zombies cross his path. His father Ulysses has a wooden leg from the Vietnam War and once rode with a motorcycle gang called Lucifer’s Circus Motorcycle Club. Ulysses has many secrets, one of which involves dealings with a woman named Medusa. Then there’s the huge tequila-drinking rooster that lives in a cage in their backyard called Chicken Diablo, or Devil Bird. When Billy meets Anastasia, a black-haired, green-eyed vampire, his life takes an even stranger twist.

The novel follows Billy through the years and his complex relationship with Anastasia, who is most definitely evil, but imperfectly so. Meanwhile, he forges other relationships all the while searching for more information on his dead mother. This book has got to be one of the strangest books I’ve ever read, but I say that in a good way. It not only includes vampires, fortune tellers, time travel and larger than life birds, but it is rooted in Greek mythology. Although Billy tries to escape the monsters and supernatural elements that seem so attracted to him, he is obviously at the center of a bigger story that he has yet to discover."

--CellarDoorLitRants&Reviews, Amazon Review

"Mr. Freemen is absolutely amazing at describing, well, everything. Amazing! So many times I felt like I was right there along with Billy. Like I could smell the zombie...hear the rain...this man is good. Real good. I found myself gasping a few times. And...he even made me cry once...or twice. Maybe. Also, he gives you the single most badass birth scene you'll ever encounter..think "Kill Bill"...no joke!"

--Stephanie K. Fuller, Amazon Review

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