Deadlands: Perdition's Daughter

Deadlands Dime Novel Series #1

by Shane Lacy Hensley

Something happened in the darkness of Gettysburg--something that scarred Ronan Lynch for life. Now, years later, he wanders the West finding trouble and generally shooting it for a price.

But things are about to get strange in the snowy Rockies. There he meets new allies and a deadly threat that's been around for a long, long time. This chance encounter will change him-and what's left of his life--forever.

This is the first Dime Novel in the legendary Deadlands series, setting up the adventures of Ronan Lynch, Bad Luck Betty, and Velvet Van Helter. It contains the fiction of the original and all new art. These new editions of the Dime Novels do not contain an adventure for the Deadlands Roleplaying Game.

Genres: Fiction, Role Playing Games, Westerns, Fantasy, Pulp

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2011

About the author

Shane Lacy Hensley is an author, game designer, and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Group.
(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was good. The characters are interesting and the pacing was good. Reading this had definitely made me interested in getting the Deadlands RPG. My only concern is that I feel like this book costs a little too much given it's fairly short, but that's not a huge deal.

[Peter De Kinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story and characters were adequate to give you some entertainment. The main critique of the book would be the simple and straightforward story. It could have been a bit more complex, maybe even adding a bit to the page count (which is also on the lower end).

[Eric Troup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been familiar with the Deadlands role-playing game since around 2005—at least, that's what my memory says. If history of the game says that's not possible, by all means, history wins. My memory ain't what it used to be. ,at any rate, I've never played the game, but I love the setting. Wild west meets horror meets steampunk ... what more could a body want? This story is a great introduction to the world of Deadlands, and it oughtta be, having been written by the world's creator. This makes me want to try the game—but even more, it makes me want to read the next dime novel in the series. Highly recommended. I've been familiar with the Deadlands role-playing game since around 2005—at least, that's what my memory says. If history of the game says that's not possible, by all means, history wins. My memory ain't what it used to be. ,at any rate, I've never played the game, but I love the setting. Wild west meets horror meets steampunk ... what more could a body want? This story is a great introduction to the world of Deadlands, and it oughtta be, having been written by the world's creator. This makes me want to try the game—but even more, it makes me want to read the next dime novel in the series. Highly recommended.

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as weird-west books go, Hensley has done a good job composing a shorter tale that contains just the right amount of action, mystery and supernatural elements. The trio of characters are interesting and engaging, each with a unique backstory and character traits.

The action in this novella is also handled well, each engagement being short, yet realistic. Even the magic used in the story is handled with a certain amount of realism, lending it credibility. The antagonist is wonderfully handled and is actually one of the best ones I've read.

The only issue I really had with this story was the defeat of the antagonist's bodyguard was too easy, and I found his ability to use the Bruntline Special to be a bit unrealistic. The ease at which he handles the long barrelled gun was too easy for something so unwieldy. (most who were gifted this gun tended to cut the barrel down for ease of use)

Yet in the end, this is a really good story and I enjoyed it immensely. If anyone is looking for a quick read in the weird west genre, I highly recommend Hensley's story, and look forward to reading the other stories in this series.