Book Review: Wicked West edited by Abigail Linhardt and J.H. Fleming
The combination of Western and horror genres is a popular one; those wide open spaces in which people and entire towns can just disappear make for a setting that allows a lot of spookiness. This bespoke anthology has eleven stories in this subcategory.
“The Marble” by K.N. Nguyen kicks off the volume with the tale of a cobbler fleeing a certain incident in his past who stumbles across a small town that needs a cobbler. Some of the inhabitants seem to be drinking themselves to death, and then he finds the title object.
“A Cold Dark Line to Cross” by R.J. Howell has a revenant gunslinger compelled to get revenge for the child whose family he helped kill. Only one last target and then he’ll be able to rest. Or will he?
“I Heard a Plaintive Cry” by C. Mary Hultman frames its story with a Pinkerton interrogation. They interview the sole survivor of a posse sent to track outlaws across the Mexican border. If it’s any consolation, the outlaws didn’t survive either.
“Silver and Lead” by Jude Reid concerns a retired bounty hunter called out for one last missing person search. This one also takes a certain amount of inspiration from the noir subgenre.
“He Came on Western Winds” by Abigail Linhardt has a religious equivalent to a bounty hunter with his own special rules. He meets his counterpart from another part of the country, who appears to work with slightly different rules.
“Aboard the Airship U.S. Grant” and “The Dream Plague at San Sebastian” by Jon Gerung mix in some steampunk/alternate history elements. Lady preacher Mercy Goode and her rambunctious ward Pet first deal with the mystery of an airship stateroom that keeps having passengers die in it, then investigate a border town where there’s been a rash of missing children. These stories are also heavily influenced by Lovecraft and Hodgson.
“Fruits of the Desert” by Frank Sawielijew has another bounty hunter pursuing an outlaw. She and her companion ride into what’s supposed to be a ghost town, but is obviously thriving. Thriving way too much for their desert location. This one is creepy.
“Every Gun Sings a Song” by H. James Lopez gives us Kluis, a “hatchet witch”. His spells work best for vengeance, so he hires out to people to avenge wrongs done to them. He’s taken care of the local werewolf, but those things generally come in packs.
“I Shot the Sheriff” by Steven Streeter is clearly inspired by the classic pop song. A priest admits he shot the sheriff, but he did not shoot no deputy. But then, who did?
“Moonlight Massacre on the Land of Blood Gold” by Jasiah Witkofsky finishes the volume with a big clash between a Caribbean-French vampire pirate, a Chinese kung fu master, a mestizo werewolf and an African-American musician during the California Gold Rush. Lots of action at the climax, and a sequel hook.
Minibios of the authors are included.
Content note: murder, mutilation, body horror, cannibalism, racism, homophobia, pedophilia, implied extramarital sex, alcohol and drug use. It’s a horror anthology.
The Sawielijew and Lopez stories were the most effective for me. Overall, it’s a decent enough set of stories. The main problem here is that this book is very out of print, and you may have to resort to tracking one of the authors down to buy one of their copies to see it.
