In an Old West overrun by monsters, a stoic gunslinger must embark on a dangerous quest to save her friends and stop a supernatural war.
Sharpshooter Melinda West, 29, has encountered more than her share of supernatural creatures after a monster infection killed her mother. Now, Melinda and her charismatic partner, Lance, offer their exterminating services to desperate towns, fighting everything from giant flying scorpions to psychic bugs. But when they accidentally release a demon, they must track a dangerous outlaw across treacherous lands and battle a menagerie of creatures—all before an army of soul-devouring monsters descend on Earth.
The Witcher meets Bonnie and Clyde in a re-imagined Old West full of diverse characters, desolate landscapes, and fast-paced adventure.
I was in the mood for something different, and this one? Hell yes, it scratched that itch.
This is a solid western, with just a small hint of some tech, and a lot of…well…monsters. Hey, she’s a monster gunslinger, right?
Overall, a straightforward story, with enough twists and turns to keep me satisfied. If I have any complaints, they’re minor. The first is, I would have liked to have seen a bit more romantic entanglement between Melinda and Lance up front. They felt more like friends and partners, and it took me a few pages to cotton to the fact that they were a couple.
The second is, most of the monsters felt buglike. I will say, there were absolutely non-insectile monsters, but I would have liked to have seen Grifant go a little wilder with the monsters.
That being said, when Melinda crosses over the Edge? This is where Grifant’s writing and imagination just soar. The Edge is painted as a very strange and otherworldly reality. Aside from that, there’s a fantastic cast of characters, great settings, and it checks all the right boxes for anyone who loves westerns, horror, or especially both.
God, I love a good western horror.
I will say, I would not want to be the editor highlighted at the beginning of the book. While a solid 98% of the book is very good, when it goes off the rails, it really does. There’s a stretch, for example of two pages (pgs 145-146) where the Irvin character, in the span of a few paragraphs, is referred to as “Irvin” and “Irvine” and “Irwin”…which is just bad attention to detail.
But aside from that? Honestly, I really loved this novel, and I’ll absolutely read more from this author.
