SYNOPSIS: Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla abound. The only problem - those who go seeking their fortune never return. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. Black-eyed children, strange lights and ferocious wild men venture from the deep, dark ghost mine...as well as a sinister force hungry for fresh souls.
Former Rough Riders investigating a haunted mine. Auto-buy. Weird Western is one of my favorite genres, esp. when we get into the 'horror' side of weird. I've read some of Shea's books before, and he always has a fun, easygoing writing style and memorable characters. When Matthias and Angus appeared, I thought that maybe they'd end up being recurring characters throughout a series of his books. That doesn't seem to be the case, but it easily could have been: both were larger than life (pretty much literally, in Angus's case) and felt very fleshed-out. The monsters are fantastically done, with some great creative explanations behind them. (the DOG, you guys. I'm not going to give any spoilers right here, but just trust me and buy this for the scene with the dog) Quotes/lines: ((spoilers below!)) -- 'He wanted to be a miner like his daddy. For now, this was as close as he could come.' This is not gonna end well. Be careful, kid (and leave the mice alone!) -- Ohhhh, so we're gonna slingshot at cave rats now instead. This is a good idea. -- Poor rat. Burying it is a nice gesture, but hopefully next time you won't kill one to begin with. -- 'Something heavy crashed in the Stygian depths behind him.' Never mind, not gonna be a next time. Bye, kiddo, sorry. -- "Uh-uh-uh, Billy. It's not nice to take away my pets." oh okay I see we've already reached the OH HELL NO part of the book -- 'Scott and I knew each other from a brief stint in the Apache Wars' It might not be fair, sign of the times and all that, but I'm kinda predisposed not to like you. -- "Indians? I thought most of them were settled by now." Settled??? *bitter laughter* -- Being more concerned with the gold than with the soldiers who disappeared trying to find it? Yeah, rings true. -- "Yes, yes, yes. I know you want to talk to the complaint department. But you're being rude. I'm in the middle of a conversation with my friend here." I love you, Teta. Questionable nickname or no. -- "So you got a bunch of books, and only one bottle of whisky." Same, Teta, same. -- 'For the first time in my life, I kinda liked trains.' *snerk* Also, I love the schoolteachers, all heading for new jobs together and a couple deciding to have a fling on the train. I know they're probably not going to show up again, but they seem like fun and I wish they played a bigger part. -- 'The buttons on the front of her shirt were working hard to keep things together.' Between this and the women on the train, that's probably enough about breasts. I get it, they're there. ;) -- "I don't like this," Teta said. "It feels like we're buried alive." "In a way, we are." "Thank you, Nat. I needed your reassurance." Pfffft. I do love the bond between these two. -- 'The mines were the heart of Hecla, the reason for it ever being a town. I guess I just wanted to see if the heart was as dead as the rest of the body.' <3 -- "Do you have any food?" the girl asked. "We could use some water," the boy added.' I want to say 'poor kidlets', but I'm leaning more toward "black-eyed children SHUT THE DOOR" -- I KNEW IT (also, Billy, is that you??) -- Selma! <3 -- "I'm almost afraid to ask how you came by that name." I held up a warning hand. "Don't ask and he won't tell. You don't want to know." I'll go with that. -- You maaaaaay want to tell Selma about the black-eyed kids now. -- Ohhhh shit. Poor Lucille. -- I am an eternal sucker for the fighting (or retreating) back-to-back trope. -- 'At that moment, I didn't care if it was the second coming of Jesus. If that was the disguise he chose, his father couldn't blame me for taking a shot.' What a line. -- So I'm thinking this thing disguised itself as an old man and a dog? If so, that's a very The Thing-esque tactic and I LOVE. -- oh my god the DOG I want this to be made into a movie solely for that moment -- Geez, Nat, at least give her a chance to turn away. -- "Let's leave while we're still alive to do it." Amen, Teta. Though they're packed up and we're only halfway through the book, so something's going to keep them there. -- "The dog. Did you at least have the decency to bury the dog?" There it is. -- 'They were the smart ones. Leave it to the white man to stumble into this nightmare.' Fair. (and I think maybe Teddy isn't as fond of you as you think) The whole Apache Wars thing still gives me pause, but his fighting alongside Native Americans as well is at least a good sign. -- "This is where my companion and I have been headed ever since we heard the Trumpets of Armageddon." oh NO please don't tell me we're going into Creepy Cultist territory -- "The only cowboys I knew who thought fighting had to be fair never lived long enough to learn the error of their ways," I said. -- 'Matthias called out, "Would it be a bother if one of you told us what was going on out there?" I'm starting to like this weirdo. -- "How do you explain your inability to cross that barrier and the changing of the day into night? Think, Mr. Blackburn. I may be a reverend, but I don't have the power of Jesus to do such things." He has a point. -- "I don't hear anything," he said in a hush. "You can't," Angus said. "The dead don't talk to you. I'll go to them now." I love Angus. -- "I am going to kick Teddy's ass when I see him." Well-earned. (the kids, though, bless) -- 'I was growing irritable and had to suppress the urge to choke him. This confirmed for me that he was, indeed, Matthias.' Dorks. -- Okay so she's not a djinn but what the HECK -- Lucille, noooo. There had better be something more for her than that. -- ...sorry Nat but this thing with the dog when you were a kid kiiiinda makes me hate you -- 'If this was hell, it tore me up inside to think that this is where she ended up, just like the preacher had warned me when we made plans for her burial.' Imma just take a quick detour into the book to kick a preacher's ass, brb -- 'He (Matthias) said knowledge was power and there was no reason to hide anything from her just because she was a woman. I wasn't in a mood to argue.' Not that there's anything to argue about. ((also Matthias and Angus are now My Boys and I want a whole series of them driving around fighting ghosts and demons and such)) -- "You're one twisted bastard," I snarled. "I invented twisted bastards." Point one to the Devil. -- I like the parasitic spy take. -- Walking in an actual cross formation to go confront demons. LEGENDS. -- I never thought I'd say this, but I adore the black-eyed children. -- 'The adult spirits swept over us like a wave, jumping ahead of the children. It made sense. They had been their parents at one time, and were going to protect them even beyond death.' This book is not supposed to make me teary-eyed dammit. -- 'I don't think mocking Satan is such a good idea.' Heh. -- Nooooooo -- That ending; I'm cackling.
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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