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Dead Reckoning
Jett is a girl disguised as a boy, living as a gambler in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. Honoria Gibbons is a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Both young women travel the prairie alone – until they are brought together by a zombie invasion! As Jett and Honoria investigate, they soon learn that these zombies aren’t rising from the dead of their own accord … but who would want an undead army? And why?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2012
69 people are currently reading
1226 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,542 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
August 16, 2012
Mercedes Lackey writing a Western? With zombies? I had two simultaneous reactions: "This I gotta see" and "I doubt that'll be good."
It wasn't terrible. It was okay. Mildly entertaining, easy to read, no thought or familiarity with zombie or western traditions required, even though the three main characters do seem to have stepped out of different genres.
Jett, the first and to me most sympathetic character, is the historical romance protagonist girl-inadequately-disguised-as-a-boy-to-search-for-her-brother. That's her on the cover, with the boobs. She is fiesty but secretly longs for her old Southern Belle life of pretty dresses and cute boys. She is from New Orleans so she can conveniently explain all about zombies to the other characters.
Honoria is visiting from Steampunk land. She is genius-scientist-girl-with-no-people-skills. Although she doesn't realize it because she cares only for Science, she is gorgeous, so everyone likes her even though she is rude and annoying.
White Fox is our Western character. He is wise and calm and good with horses because he was raised by Native Americans. But he is ethnically white so it is okay that white girls are attracted to him. He gets the least character development and is mostly in the story to be helpful and competent and good-looking. Otherwise Jett and Honoria would have to spend too much time doing practical stuff to survive, plus people might suspect they were lesbians. If there were any other people around, which there aren't.
This is a fun, quick read and will probably appeal to teens who haven't read much in these genres or want to avoid extremes of sex, violence, scariness, etc. But it is pretty fluffy compared with the dark and intense fantasy westerns of Gemma Files or even Cherie Priest.
It wasn't terrible. It was okay. Mildly entertaining, easy to read, no thought or familiarity with zombie or western traditions required, even though the three main characters do seem to have stepped out of different genres.
Jett, the first and to me most sympathetic character, is the historical romance protagonist girl-inadequately-disguised-as-a-boy-to-search-for-her-brother. That's her on the cover, with the boobs. She is fiesty but secretly longs for her old Southern Belle life of pretty dresses and cute boys. She is from New Orleans so she can conveniently explain all about zombies to the other characters.
Honoria is visiting from Steampunk land. She is genius-scientist-girl-with-no-people-skills. Although she doesn't realize it because she cares only for Science, she is gorgeous, so everyone likes her even though she is rude and annoying.
White Fox is our Western character. He is wise and calm and good with horses because he was raised by Native Americans. But he is ethnically white so it is okay that white girls are attracted to him. He gets the least character development and is mostly in the story to be helpful and competent and good-looking. Otherwise Jett and Honoria would have to spend too much time doing practical stuff to survive, plus people might suspect they were lesbians. If there were any other people around, which there aren't.
This is a fun, quick read and will probably appeal to teens who haven't read much in these genres or want to avoid extremes of sex, violence, scariness, etc. But it is pretty fluffy compared with the dark and intense fantasy westerns of Gemma Files or even Cherie Priest.
October 7, 2015
Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!
I had a lot of unexpected fun with this quick-moving tale of zombies in Texas - even when the steampunk aspect came in unexpectedly I was more than game for a late addition. I'm not one much for reading western novels in general; I grew up with a Louis L'Amour and Tony Hillerman-novel-guzzling dad and though he and I can find common ground on fantasy and science fiction (less so on contemporary YA romances, though I can't imagine why..), I rarely stray into his most beloved genre. I'm glad I took a chance here with Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill - sure, their version of the Wild Wild West has zombies and steampunk also going for it, but at the heart of it, Dead Reckoning is a darn good Western with gunslingers, smart women and barfights. I have read numerous other novels by Mercedes Lackey, though they are usually of the fantasy (Valdemar series, etc.) and fairytale retelling ilk (The Five Hundred Kingdoms series). This is a marked departure for her and I can't help but cast Ms. Rosemary Edghill as the beneficial influence - which is just a long-winded way of me saying that I enjoyed this novel of Lackey's far more than the previous eight by her I'd read.
In 1867 West Texas, "Jett Gallatin" is a gunslinger "someone who lives and died by the gun" workingher his way further and further West. Most of what is surface about Jett is utterly false - he is a she, and not even an adult. What is real about her is her talent with her guns, her independence and her own brand of knowledge. Her stated goal is finding her missing brother "Jasper" but several other factors added up to the 17-year-olds exodus from her original home in Louisiana. In this alternate version of America, not only is steam-power the new technology and hope for advancement, but the victorious North of the Civil War is definitely an antagonistic force for Jett personally. Fleeing the sack of her home and the razing of her town by the Union forces, Jett possesses some unfavorable views about "bluebellies" and "Union tyranny" but the strength of her personality overrides any distaste for her personal politics. Jett has a distinct dialect all her own ("Wonder if throwing my beer in his face will cool him down peaceable-like?") - on the whole, it might be a bit cliched but it fits for the persona Philippa Jett has created for her own safety. I appreciated the restraint the authors showed with regards to Jett's personal history. It isn't just handed out on a platter in an infodump, but is slowly revealed, piece by piece, memory by memory.
An immediate point in Dead Reckoning's favor is that it doesn't wait around and stall for action. There are zombies present and wreaking havoc by page thirteen of chapter one (in the ARC version at least) and there's an implicit promise for more zombies and death later on. The first fight is quick and bloody affair and one that leads to a chain of events stretching back two years, leading Jett into a deadly mystery and the two odd fellows she falls in with. While unfortunately the zombie action didn't stay as constant as the intial contact had me hoping and did drop off for a while during the mid-part of the novel, the different methods and ideas for the "zuvembie"/reanimated dead themselves were nicely thought out. The antagonist of the novel might suffer from the most extreme case of Syndrome Syndrome (a term I culled/created from Pixar's The Incredibles to use whenever a villain conveniently explains his nefarious plans to the hero before killing them) I've ever read seen, but his methodology, reason and modus operandi were at least fun to try and unravel.
Honoria (any M*A*S*H fans out there? No? Just me? Ok.) Verity Providentia Gibbons, she of that unholy mouthful of a name and a similarly perpetually running mouth, is a thoroughly clever and unusual young woman for the days and customs in which she lives. While this book is rather light on steampunk (and that's a relief after the mess that is The Steampunk Chronicles), the few additions shown in Dead Reckoning used are used sparsely and, most importantly, believably. As an independent investigator of all things paranormal, Honoria ventures alone into what some might call 'fool-hardy adventures' but girlfriend comes preparedwith three Gatling guns. She's also the mind behind the slight steampunkery evident in the novel as the "Auto-Tachypode" comes across as a steam-powered, whirligigged "horseless wagon" or proto-car. Honoria is a multi-faceted character - she's smart ("Science first. Then vapors."), protective, and loyal above all. She also is a prime example of how brilliant people aren't above being occasionally, thoughtless brainless for Science! There are a lot of similarities between her and Jett, once they get past the outer, major discrepancies. They are both two women who have had to work hard and against all convention to get what they want, and be where they want. There's an easy rapport despite the occasional bickering - even third character White Fox doesn't detract from the camaraderie in the cast. He actually rounds the gunslinger and the talkative inventor both, in very different manners. In fact all three are fish out of water - White Fox, as a white man reared among a native tribe, feels that he doesn't belong to either world. The three characters complement each other well, all without adding an unnecessary romance, or heaven forbid, a love triangle into the fray.
Despite being a bit short on the murdery death I thought I would be getting, Dead Reckoning is a winner. Don't let any of the labels attached to it scare you off, be it "western", "steampunk" or "zombie" - this is a quick-moving and fantastic read for a few hours. The steampunk part of the novel doesn't come off as mere convenience for the plot but is nicely enveloped into the tale, adding a further level of atmosphere and interest to the world Jett, Honoria and White Fox live in. The ending is final for the main plot of the book, but there are hints that more in this vein/series could be coming. Several ideas are left open for further exploration, and I hope there is demand for such. I want sequels.
I had a lot of unexpected fun with this quick-moving tale of zombies in Texas - even when the steampunk aspect came in unexpectedly I was more than game for a late addition. I'm not one much for reading western novels in general; I grew up with a Louis L'Amour and Tony Hillerman-novel-guzzling dad and though he and I can find common ground on fantasy and science fiction (less so on contemporary YA romances, though I can't imagine why..), I rarely stray into his most beloved genre. I'm glad I took a chance here with Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill - sure, their version of the Wild Wild West has zombies and steampunk also going for it, but at the heart of it, Dead Reckoning is a darn good Western with gunslingers, smart women and barfights. I have read numerous other novels by Mercedes Lackey, though they are usually of the fantasy (Valdemar series, etc.) and fairytale retelling ilk (The Five Hundred Kingdoms series). This is a marked departure for her and I can't help but cast Ms. Rosemary Edghill as the beneficial influence - which is just a long-winded way of me saying that I enjoyed this novel of Lackey's far more than the previous eight by her I'd read.
In 1867 West Texas, "Jett Gallatin" is a gunslinger "someone who lives and died by the gun" working
An immediate point in Dead Reckoning's favor is that it doesn't wait around and stall for action. There are zombies present and wreaking havoc by page thirteen of chapter one (in the ARC version at least) and there's an implicit promise for more zombies and death later on. The first fight is quick and bloody affair and one that leads to a chain of events stretching back two years, leading Jett into a deadly mystery and the two odd fellows she falls in with. While unfortunately the zombie action didn't stay as constant as the intial contact had me hoping and did drop off for a while during the mid-part of the novel, the different methods and ideas for the "zuvembie"/reanimated dead themselves were nicely thought out. The antagonist of the novel might suffer from the most extreme case of Syndrome Syndrome (a term I culled/created from Pixar's The Incredibles to use whenever a villain conveniently explains his nefarious plans to the hero before killing them) I've ever read seen, but his methodology, reason and modus operandi were at least fun to try and unravel.
Honoria (any M*A*S*H fans out there? No? Just me? Ok.) Verity Providentia Gibbons, she of that unholy mouthful of a name and a similarly perpetually running mouth, is a thoroughly clever and unusual young woman for the days and customs in which she lives. While this book is rather light on steampunk (and that's a relief after the mess that is The Steampunk Chronicles), the few additions shown in Dead Reckoning used are used sparsely and, most importantly, believably. As an independent investigator of all things paranormal, Honoria ventures alone into what some might call 'fool-hardy adventures' but girlfriend comes prepared
Despite being a bit short on the murdery death I thought I would be getting, Dead Reckoning is a winner. Don't let any of the labels attached to it scare you off, be it "western", "steampunk" or "zombie" - this is a quick-moving and fantastic read for a few hours. The steampunk part of the novel doesn't come off as mere convenience for the plot but is nicely enveloped into the tale, adding a further level of atmosphere and interest to the world Jett, Honoria and White Fox live in. The ending is final for the main plot of the book, but there are hints that more in this vein/series could be coming. Several ideas are left open for further exploration, and I hope there is demand for such. I want sequels.
April 8, 2012
It’s awesome! It’s a little bit steampunk, and a western, AND it has zombies in! what more could a girl ask for?
Our primary protagonist is named Jett, a young woman from Louisiana who is out west searching for her twin brother. He went missing during the Civil War and she’s convinced that he’s somewhere in the wide open spaces of the western territories. Of course, she can’t just travel as a genteel flower of the South. Jett has disguised herself as a gunslinger and has the skills to back up her costume. She’s small and looks young so people test her frequently. When she gets into yet another saloon brawl she has no reason to think that anything different will happen this time. However, her private argument is broken up by a horde of zombies! Only the fact that her horse is brave and loyal saves Jett from the horrible fate of the rest of the town.
Outside of town Jett runs into the other two driving forces of this book; Miss Honoria Gibbons, a socialite and inventor from San Francisco, and White Fox, a freelance scout for the Army. Tensions are initially high as Jett has no reason to like those who worked for the Union army, but White Fox soon proves a staunch ally and a good friend.
Both Honoria and White Fox are in search of the same thing. Entire towns have been going missing all over the southwest. Honoria’s father is a rich, but terribly gullible man. Shysters have written to him claiming that flying machines have come and stolen all the people. They could bring him proof, for a modest consideration. Honoria travels constantly trying to debunk the hundreds of crooks who write to her father. She uses her travels as chances to test out her new inventions. Her latest invention is a sort of steam-powered horseless wagon with a few surprises for less than friendly visitors.
White Fox is also following the path of the missing. He was asked by a soldier to find out why his family had stopped writing. When he arrived at the settlement he found everyone gone and signs of a struggle. He began to track rumors and follow clues until he arrived at the same place as Honoria and Jett. Together, the three new friends will try to discover what the creatures that attacked Jett and the townsfolk are and who or what created them.
There are definite overtones of COWBOYS VS. ALIENS here, but only in the best ways. The two authors have come up with engaging characters and a fantastic world for them to play in. There are indications that this will not be the last we see of Jett and her companions, and I for one, am hoping for many more books!
Our primary protagonist is named Jett, a young woman from Louisiana who is out west searching for her twin brother. He went missing during the Civil War and she’s convinced that he’s somewhere in the wide open spaces of the western territories. Of course, she can’t just travel as a genteel flower of the South. Jett has disguised herself as a gunslinger and has the skills to back up her costume. She’s small and looks young so people test her frequently. When she gets into yet another saloon brawl she has no reason to think that anything different will happen this time. However, her private argument is broken up by a horde of zombies! Only the fact that her horse is brave and loyal saves Jett from the horrible fate of the rest of the town.
Outside of town Jett runs into the other two driving forces of this book; Miss Honoria Gibbons, a socialite and inventor from San Francisco, and White Fox, a freelance scout for the Army. Tensions are initially high as Jett has no reason to like those who worked for the Union army, but White Fox soon proves a staunch ally and a good friend.
Both Honoria and White Fox are in search of the same thing. Entire towns have been going missing all over the southwest. Honoria’s father is a rich, but terribly gullible man. Shysters have written to him claiming that flying machines have come and stolen all the people. They could bring him proof, for a modest consideration. Honoria travels constantly trying to debunk the hundreds of crooks who write to her father. She uses her travels as chances to test out her new inventions. Her latest invention is a sort of steam-powered horseless wagon with a few surprises for less than friendly visitors.
White Fox is also following the path of the missing. He was asked by a soldier to find out why his family had stopped writing. When he arrived at the settlement he found everyone gone and signs of a struggle. He began to track rumors and follow clues until he arrived at the same place as Honoria and Jett. Together, the three new friends will try to discover what the creatures that attacked Jett and the townsfolk are and who or what created them.
There are definite overtones of COWBOYS VS. ALIENS here, but only in the best ways. The two authors have come up with engaging characters and a fantastic world for them to play in. There are indications that this will not be the last we see of Jett and her companions, and I for one, am hoping for many more books!
May 28, 2012
In quite towns out West the townsfolk have gone missing! Three unlikely strangers team up to figure out the mystery of where everybody went. How did they become ghost towns? Was it a sickness? Or was it zombies!?!
A perfect book for your picky early teen!
Does your youngin' hunger for zombies?
A tad bit too young to have him/her reading books that might make them scream and wind up in bed with you?
Then fear not Mom and Dad because Dead Reckoning is the tween friendly zombie book with this mother's Stamp of Approval.
After reading Dead Reckoning I found it perfectly suited for any 12+ child.
But what about those picky boys? Oh bah!! Don't even get me started on how picky 12 year old boys are.
Well, the story is set around Civil War times out west and there is a smarty pant girl that your son might not dig, but there is also a young indian tracker, and a girl who is all tomboy and even dresses as a dude.
And did I mention the guns?
THat's right!! The Indian and the Tomboy both carry guns!! OH! And they also drink booze!!! Pure awesomenss for junior!!
And on top of guns, booze, and the wild wild west we also have the most important factor of all... ZOMBIES!!!!
While this book isn't the next Hunger Games it does remind me of an older version of The Magic Tree house. I definitely think fans of that series will adore the historical aspect of this book along with all the zombies sprinkled in. It's definitely worth a shot. (pew pew pew)
A perfect book for your picky early teen!
Does your youngin' hunger for zombies?
A tad bit too young to have him/her reading books that might make them scream and wind up in bed with you?
Then fear not Mom and Dad because Dead Reckoning is the tween friendly zombie book with this mother's Stamp of Approval.
After reading Dead Reckoning I found it perfectly suited for any 12+ child.
But what about those picky boys? Oh bah!! Don't even get me started on how picky 12 year old boys are.
Well, the story is set around Civil War times out west and there is a smarty pant girl that your son might not dig, but there is also a young indian tracker, and a girl who is all tomboy and even dresses as a dude.
And did I mention the guns?
THat's right!! The Indian and the Tomboy both carry guns!! OH! And they also drink booze!!! Pure awesomenss for junior!!
And on top of guns, booze, and the wild wild west we also have the most important factor of all... ZOMBIES!!!!
While this book isn't the next Hunger Games it does remind me of an older version of The Magic Tree house. I definitely think fans of that series will adore the historical aspect of this book along with all the zombies sprinkled in. It's definitely worth a shot. (pew pew pew)
May 28, 2012
2.5 Stars.
Original review posted here.
Jett has seen them—the walking dead. She was there the night they attacked Alsop, and only escaped with her life through the dedication of her faithful steed. When after fleeing she comes upon Gibbons and White Fox, who are both investigating mysterious disappearances, they are hard pressed to believe her tale. However, they’ll learn soon enough that things are like good ol’ Sherlock said and “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sing of the Four).
Deep in the heart of Texas three young souls, each on their own mission, band together to battle (you guessed it) zombies. Jett Gallatin is a young woman passing as a man, gambler, and sharpshooter as she scours the west looking for her twin brother who disappeared at the end of the war. Honoria Gibbons is a headstrong woman with a scientific mind set out to investigate mysterious disturbances and whether or not they can be credited to the invisible air ships someone is attempting to sell her father. White Fox (who for some reason isn’t even mentioned in the publisher’s blurb, he is a main character, see him there on the cover behind Jett and much more visible than Gibbons?) is a white man raised by natives, working as a civilian scout for the US Army set out to investigate what has happened to a soldier’s family.
Is anyone else extremely turned off when books are pitched as ‘perfect for fans of _________’? This almost always assures I won’t pick up a book. I feel like I’m constantly thinking ‘oh, this is another dystopian that wants to be the next Hunger Games? No, thank you.’ And Dead Reckoning fell into that pile for me when I read the lines “perfect for fans of Cowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.”, particularly since I have negative interest in either of those. But still, I haven’t read any Mercedes Lackey yet this year, which is kind of a *gasp* moment for me since she’s one of my all-time favorite authors and I read through the Queens Own and Mage Winds trilogies on a frequent loop. I’m not a huge fan of most of co-authored stuff, but I’d never read any of Lackey’s non-fantasy work, and since girls dressed as boys is a surefire trigger for my book sense, I had to give Dead Reckoning a go.
Needless to say, Dead Reckoning did not disappoint, but it didn’t impress either. The story of a zombie army being raised and controlled in the old west of Texas was interesting. I really liked that because Jett was from New Orleans she was familiar with the notions of hoodoo, and found the notion quite hair raising, but that Gibbons insisted on a more scientific base for the creatures’ existence as well. A crazed cult leader gone over the edge, spoiling his ingenious mind with notions of grandeur made me just uncomfortable enough to be on the edge of my seat through portions of our story.
Each of our three main characters had an interesting foundation. Jett is a highborn lady of New Orleans whose family has been destroyed by the Yankees after they conquered the south in the Civil War. She refuses to believe her brother, Philip, is dead, and sets out to find him. Jett doesn’t put on her masquerade because she despises girly things, in fact, she longs to return to the days of petticoats and luxury. Unfortunately, she knows that her disguise is the only thing that has kept her safe and alive in the west for the past two years. Gibbons is a scientific mind, raised by a father with such tunnel vision into his scholarly pursuits that he hardly noticed she was a girl. She is logical, intelligent, and bent on having an explanation for everything. She refuses to be belittled because she is a woman, and is at times the envy of Jett who lives in hiding. White Fox was raised from the time he was quite young by natives who took him in after his wagon train was destroyed and he was the only survivor. Part of me wished he would have just been a native himself, but part of me also loves this storyline. I was obsessed with Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski and other stories of white children raised by native tribes as a child, so needless to say, I took a liking to White Fox.
Now, notice I said ‘good foundation’ back there. On the surface, these characters and the story had a lot of potential, but in the end it all sort of fell flat for me. I constantly felt as if I was being told the story, rather than shown it, and it was neither strong enough in plot or character development to make up for a lack of the other. I just kept wishing for more depth. I wanted to feel the developing friendships between Gibbons, Jett, and White Fox, I wanted to care about their pasts and potential futures. I wanted to be afraid of the zombies, and feel chills across the back of my neck when the air got cold. But I didn’t. In fact, Dead Reckoning did so little to quench my gore craving, I wasn’t sure I cared if the things did destroy Texas.
The same lack of oomph goes to the whole steampunk element of this book. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure why it was there when it seemed unnecessary. Other than the brief mention of air ships (which as far as we know, did not actually exist), and Gibbon’s auto, there wasn’t really anything steampunk here. I’m not sure why a book can’t be set in the Victorian time period, have scientifically minded characters, and not be an attempt at steampunk, when in fact this time period was full of scientific pursuits and progress. For example, I would have love to have seen more focus on the railroads or telegraph! I feel like steampunk writers need to go big or go home, and in this case it needed to be ramped up quite a bit. I did like that it was steampunk in the wild west, which was a fantastic and fresh idea, I just wasn’t digging the application.
All things considered, Dead Reckoning was a quick read with a new take on some old tropes. There’s no romance, smart and strong women, zombies, and a bit of a cult. If all these things appeal to you, I’d say it’s worth a shot!
Original review posted here.
Jett has seen them—the walking dead. She was there the night they attacked Alsop, and only escaped with her life through the dedication of her faithful steed. When after fleeing she comes upon Gibbons and White Fox, who are both investigating mysterious disappearances, they are hard pressed to believe her tale. However, they’ll learn soon enough that things are like good ol’ Sherlock said and “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sing of the Four).
Deep in the heart of Texas three young souls, each on their own mission, band together to battle (you guessed it) zombies. Jett Gallatin is a young woman passing as a man, gambler, and sharpshooter as she scours the west looking for her twin brother who disappeared at the end of the war. Honoria Gibbons is a headstrong woman with a scientific mind set out to investigate mysterious disturbances and whether or not they can be credited to the invisible air ships someone is attempting to sell her father. White Fox (who for some reason isn’t even mentioned in the publisher’s blurb, he is a main character, see him there on the cover behind Jett and much more visible than Gibbons?) is a white man raised by natives, working as a civilian scout for the US Army set out to investigate what has happened to a soldier’s family.
Is anyone else extremely turned off when books are pitched as ‘perfect for fans of _________’? This almost always assures I won’t pick up a book. I feel like I’m constantly thinking ‘oh, this is another dystopian that wants to be the next Hunger Games? No, thank you.’ And Dead Reckoning fell into that pile for me when I read the lines “perfect for fans of Cowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.”, particularly since I have negative interest in either of those. But still, I haven’t read any Mercedes Lackey yet this year, which is kind of a *gasp* moment for me since she’s one of my all-time favorite authors and I read through the Queens Own and Mage Winds trilogies on a frequent loop. I’m not a huge fan of most of co-authored stuff, but I’d never read any of Lackey’s non-fantasy work, and since girls dressed as boys is a surefire trigger for my book sense, I had to give Dead Reckoning a go.
Needless to say, Dead Reckoning did not disappoint, but it didn’t impress either. The story of a zombie army being raised and controlled in the old west of Texas was interesting. I really liked that because Jett was from New Orleans she was familiar with the notions of hoodoo, and found the notion quite hair raising, but that Gibbons insisted on a more scientific base for the creatures’ existence as well. A crazed cult leader gone over the edge, spoiling his ingenious mind with notions of grandeur made me just uncomfortable enough to be on the edge of my seat through portions of our story.
Each of our three main characters had an interesting foundation. Jett is a highborn lady of New Orleans whose family has been destroyed by the Yankees after they conquered the south in the Civil War. She refuses to believe her brother, Philip, is dead, and sets out to find him. Jett doesn’t put on her masquerade because she despises girly things, in fact, she longs to return to the days of petticoats and luxury. Unfortunately, she knows that her disguise is the only thing that has kept her safe and alive in the west for the past two years. Gibbons is a scientific mind, raised by a father with such tunnel vision into his scholarly pursuits that he hardly noticed she was a girl. She is logical, intelligent, and bent on having an explanation for everything. She refuses to be belittled because she is a woman, and is at times the envy of Jett who lives in hiding. White Fox was raised from the time he was quite young by natives who took him in after his wagon train was destroyed and he was the only survivor. Part of me wished he would have just been a native himself, but part of me also loves this storyline. I was obsessed with Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski and other stories of white children raised by native tribes as a child, so needless to say, I took a liking to White Fox.
Now, notice I said ‘good foundation’ back there. On the surface, these characters and the story had a lot of potential, but in the end it all sort of fell flat for me. I constantly felt as if I was being told the story, rather than shown it, and it was neither strong enough in plot or character development to make up for a lack of the other. I just kept wishing for more depth. I wanted to feel the developing friendships between Gibbons, Jett, and White Fox, I wanted to care about their pasts and potential futures. I wanted to be afraid of the zombies, and feel chills across the back of my neck when the air got cold. But I didn’t. In fact, Dead Reckoning did so little to quench my gore craving, I wasn’t sure I cared if the things did destroy Texas.
The same lack of oomph goes to the whole steampunk element of this book. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure why it was there when it seemed unnecessary. Other than the brief mention of air ships (which as far as we know, did not actually exist), and Gibbon’s auto, there wasn’t really anything steampunk here. I’m not sure why a book can’t be set in the Victorian time period, have scientifically minded characters, and not be an attempt at steampunk, when in fact this time period was full of scientific pursuits and progress. For example, I would have love to have seen more focus on the railroads or telegraph! I feel like steampunk writers need to go big or go home, and in this case it needed to be ramped up quite a bit. I did like that it was steampunk in the wild west, which was a fantastic and fresh idea, I just wasn’t digging the application.
All things considered, Dead Reckoning was a quick read with a new take on some old tropes. There’s no romance, smart and strong women, zombies, and a bit of a cult. If all these things appeal to you, I’d say it’s worth a shot!
June 4, 2012
In a Sentence: In spite of Dead Reckoning's charming moments, for me, it was lacking in depth and not a particularly memorable read.
My Thoughts
My reason for agreeing to be a stop on the Dead Reckoning blog tour was primarily because of two things: my love of historical fiction and my fondness for zombies. With the synopsis of Dead Reckoning advertising itself as a mash-up of the two, I was sold. I HAD to check out this book and see if zombies paired with nineteenth century Texas was as cool as it sounded. By the time I finished Dead Reckoning, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but it was still an entertaining read that I used to pass the time while riding around in the car with family on my trip to St. Louis.
I was warned about this before starting Dead Reckoning, but just to give you all a heads up if you're planning on reading it...the zombies in DR aren't really your stereotypical George Romero zombies. In fact, while they were definitely deadly and smelly and all that good stuff, these zombies didn't seem to have much interest in actually eating your brains. Killing and maiming they were game for, but they seemed to mostly keep their cravings for human flesh on the downlow. If you're wondering what to expect, think more along the lines of the legendary Haitian voodoo zombies, which to me, were still interesting, but I have to admit...I still prefer my zombies to be of the brain-eating variety.
The three main characters in Dead Reckoning are Honoria Gibbons, an eccentric but intelligent feminist; Jett Gallatin, a Southern girl masquerading as a rough and rowdy gunslinger; and White Fox, an orphan raised by Native Americans and working as a consultant for the US Army. As far as these characters go, I mostly enjoyed getting to know more about them, but I also felt that most of the characterization in Dead Reckoning existed only on the surface level. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but either there was too much going on in the plot or not enough pages in the book to give these characters the development I wanted to see.
The character that I thought stood out the most in Dead Reckoning was definitely Gibbons. As an inventor and scientist with no mother to enforce the ideals of proper nineteenth century femininity, Gibbons is extremely independent and progressive, given her sex, age, and the time period. However, at the same time, Gibbons occasionally got on my nerves, mainly because she could be pretty obnoxious at times. While I appreciated her intelligence, she could also be somewhat of a condescending know-it-all.
As far as the writing style is concerned, I have to admit that I found it to be a little confusing and disorienting at times. I think the attempt to equally characterize three main characters without dividing their points of views into chapters or page breaks resulted in a stream-0f-consciousness feel that I have experience with as a literature student, but I honestly wasn't expecting to encounter in Dead Reckoning.
Finally, I had a little trouble with the believability of how the zombies were created. The authors tried to explain it scientifically, and while I'm not exactly a science nerd, I know enough about the field and the human body that I found the explanation to be kind of ludicrous. Maybe if all of Gibbons' experimental questions were answered during the course of the novel, instead of leaving some of them up in the air, I would have been more convinced, but as it was, I found myself feeling rather skeptical towards this particular plot aspect.
I think there's a good chance that younger readers might better enjoy Dead Reckoning. It is, after all, an interesting adventure tale with zombies in it. I'm not going to say that I didn't enjoy this book at all, but there were too many plot holes and not enough characterization for it to really meet my expectations.
My Thoughts
My reason for agreeing to be a stop on the Dead Reckoning blog tour was primarily because of two things: my love of historical fiction and my fondness for zombies. With the synopsis of Dead Reckoning advertising itself as a mash-up of the two, I was sold. I HAD to check out this book and see if zombies paired with nineteenth century Texas was as cool as it sounded. By the time I finished Dead Reckoning, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but it was still an entertaining read that I used to pass the time while riding around in the car with family on my trip to St. Louis.
I was warned about this before starting Dead Reckoning, but just to give you all a heads up if you're planning on reading it...the zombies in DR aren't really your stereotypical George Romero zombies. In fact, while they were definitely deadly and smelly and all that good stuff, these zombies didn't seem to have much interest in actually eating your brains. Killing and maiming they were game for, but they seemed to mostly keep their cravings for human flesh on the downlow. If you're wondering what to expect, think more along the lines of the legendary Haitian voodoo zombies, which to me, were still interesting, but I have to admit...I still prefer my zombies to be of the brain-eating variety.
The three main characters in Dead Reckoning are Honoria Gibbons, an eccentric but intelligent feminist; Jett Gallatin, a Southern girl masquerading as a rough and rowdy gunslinger; and White Fox, an orphan raised by Native Americans and working as a consultant for the US Army. As far as these characters go, I mostly enjoyed getting to know more about them, but I also felt that most of the characterization in Dead Reckoning existed only on the surface level. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but either there was too much going on in the plot or not enough pages in the book to give these characters the development I wanted to see.
The character that I thought stood out the most in Dead Reckoning was definitely Gibbons. As an inventor and scientist with no mother to enforce the ideals of proper nineteenth century femininity, Gibbons is extremely independent and progressive, given her sex, age, and the time period. However, at the same time, Gibbons occasionally got on my nerves, mainly because she could be pretty obnoxious at times. While I appreciated her intelligence, she could also be somewhat of a condescending know-it-all.
As far as the writing style is concerned, I have to admit that I found it to be a little confusing and disorienting at times. I think the attempt to equally characterize three main characters without dividing their points of views into chapters or page breaks resulted in a stream-0f-consciousness feel that I have experience with as a literature student, but I honestly wasn't expecting to encounter in Dead Reckoning.
Finally, I had a little trouble with the believability of how the zombies were created. The authors tried to explain it scientifically, and while I'm not exactly a science nerd, I know enough about the field and the human body that I found the explanation to be kind of ludicrous. Maybe if all of Gibbons' experimental questions were answered during the course of the novel, instead of leaving some of them up in the air, I would have been more convinced, but as it was, I found myself feeling rather skeptical towards this particular plot aspect.
I think there's a good chance that younger readers might better enjoy Dead Reckoning. It is, after all, an interesting adventure tale with zombies in it. I'm not going to say that I didn't enjoy this book at all, but there were too many plot holes and not enough characterization for it to really meet my expectations.
May 3, 2015
Well, this was ... okay? Not particularly mind-blowing in any way, and I'm sure I'd find things to nitpick, but in my current state of mind, an easy, not really brain-taxing but moderately exciting read was what worked, so there's that.
Light on the characterisation and not super-deep on the plot, but it rolled along at a reasonable pace, events made enough sense that it didn't make me groan, and while none of the main characters, including Jett, the girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy protagonist, really got to be explored properly (seriously, all I learned about Jett, really, is that she was 17, pretended to be a boy in order to ride around on her own looking for her lost twin brother - disappeared five years before but apparently world-wise enough at 12, before disappearing, to teach Jett all about how to act like a boy, including eyeing girls, and knew a lot about zombies and hoodoo) ... well, they may have been cardboard-thin (at least Jett and Gibbons got some characterisation, poor White Fox got none really), but they also didn't really offend me.
Rating: if I'm honest, probably more like two stars than three, but it felt nice to read something different-ish again and it didn't take me forever to finish, so three it is.
Light on the characterisation and not super-deep on the plot, but it rolled along at a reasonable pace, events made enough sense that it didn't make me groan, and while none of the main characters, including Jett, the girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy protagonist, really got to be explored properly (seriously, all I learned about Jett, really, is that she was 17, pretended to be a boy in order to ride around on her own looking for her lost twin brother - disappeared five years before but apparently world-wise enough at 12, before disappearing, to teach Jett all about how to act like a boy, including eyeing girls, and knew a lot about zombies and hoodoo) ... well, they may have been cardboard-thin (at least Jett and Gibbons got some characterisation, poor White Fox got none really), but they also didn't really offend me.
Rating: if I'm honest, probably more like two stars than three, but it felt nice to read something different-ish again and it didn't take me forever to finish, so three it is.
November 12, 2016
Not as engaging as I'd hoped. And I guess it was meant to turn into a series that never happened, so while the immediate story was resolved, the overall arc is incomplete.
March 22, 2018
This book was exciting to me because there was a suspense on survival.Yet along the way there were questions that were later solved.The ending was good but there is one question that remains.That question is one that may not have an answer.
May 5, 2012
See the full review at:
Read My Mind
My Review:
When steampunk is mentioned, most people think of a Victorian setting, but DEAD RECKONING integrates the steam sensibility into a western setting, and does it well. I've only read Mercedes Lackey's high fantasy books, and though I enjoyed every single one that I read, I was really happy to see her branching off into a new genre, especially in the YA category.
DEAD RECKONING tells the tale of a disparate group of young people that find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving the disappearance of a whole town, the possibility of a zombie army, and a creepy cult that has created a religion around a fanatical leader, and the idea that reanimation is holy. Even with the relative ease that this book can be read, there is still a fair amount of meat to it, owing to the writing skills of both Lackey and Rosemary Edghill.
Though some of the background of the main characters, Jett, Honoria and White Fox is revealed as the story unfolds, DEAD RECKONING keeps its focus on the three trying to figure out the truth behind the zombies. Honoria's science blends nicely with Jett's street smarts and White Fox's tracking skills and intellect. They make a good team and I like how each one has their chance at POV, while not narrowing the rest of the plot.
DEAD RECKONING is a good read for someone looking for a book that straddles the line between western, steampunk and paranormal/fantasy. It has a nice adventure plot, mixed with two smart female characters, and an interesting male character. It is the type of book that would appeal to both sexes over 12, and has appropriate language and content for those readers also. The journey swept me along, the plot wrapped up satisfactorily for the pace, and DEAD RECKONING is a stand-alone that stands on its own.
4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language
My Rating: 12.5/15 (3.5 stars)
Highly Recommend, if you liked:
The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
Wilder's Mate by Moira Rogers
Find Mercedes Lackey at:
Website | Blog | Twitter | GoodReads | Facebook
Find Rosemary Edghill at:
Website | Journal | GoodReads
My Review:
When steampunk is mentioned, most people think of a Victorian setting, but DEAD RECKONING integrates the steam sensibility into a western setting, and does it well. I've only read Mercedes Lackey's high fantasy books, and though I enjoyed every single one that I read, I was really happy to see her branching off into a new genre, especially in the YA category.
DEAD RECKONING tells the tale of a disparate group of young people that find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving the disappearance of a whole town, the possibility of a zombie army, and a creepy cult that has created a religion around a fanatical leader, and the idea that reanimation is holy. Even with the relative ease that this book can be read, there is still a fair amount of meat to it, owing to the writing skills of both Lackey and Rosemary Edghill.
Though some of the background of the main characters, Jett, Honoria and White Fox is revealed as the story unfolds, DEAD RECKONING keeps its focus on the three trying to figure out the truth behind the zombies. Honoria's science blends nicely with Jett's street smarts and White Fox's tracking skills and intellect. They make a good team and I like how each one has their chance at POV, while not narrowing the rest of the plot.
DEAD RECKONING is a good read for someone looking for a book that straddles the line between western, steampunk and paranormal/fantasy. It has a nice adventure plot, mixed with two smart female characters, and an interesting male character. It is the type of book that would appeal to both sexes over 12, and has appropriate language and content for those readers also. The journey swept me along, the plot wrapped up satisfactorily for the pace, and DEAD RECKONING is a stand-alone that stands on its own.
4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language
My Rating: 12.5/15 (3.5 stars)
Highly Recommend, if you liked:
The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
Wilder's Mate by Moira Rogers
Find Mercedes Lackey at:
Website | Blog | Twitter | GoodReads | Facebook
Find Rosemary Edghill at:
Website | Journal | GoodReads
September 24, 2012
This genre-blending collaboration between fantasy author Mercedes Lackey and fantasy and sci-fi writer Rosemary Edghill tells the story of three adventurous young people in the postbellum southwest who cross paths and join forces to defeat a zealous religious leader with a vision of world dominance and his army of zombies. Former southern belle Jett Gallatin poses as a male gunslinger as she flees her home in devastated Louisiana in search of her missing twin brother; Honoria Gibbons follows the path of westward expansion seeking adventures in scientific exploration and spreading the message of enlightenment and equality for women; White Fox, a Caucasian raised by a native tribe, is on a mission scouting for the army. Although all three characters are presented as protagonists, the two female characters dominate the action and the narrative, and the character of White Fox, who could play a pivotal role in the presumed love triangle, is overshadowed by Jett’s inner conflicts and misgivings over the war and Honoria’s relentless enthusiasm for intellectual pursuits.
Riding the gritty wave of zombie westerns, this book falls flat in the attempt to deliver a western-zombie-steampunk-romance for teens. It tries to achieve too much, and fails to deliver a satisfying example of any genre. Judging the book by its cover, and also by the assumed age of the three central characters, it is hard to say with certainty that the intended audience is even the teen market. Jett, Honoria, and White Fox all seem to be in their early twenties; the recommendation of this book for teens is based on the cleanliness of the content – there is only the slightest hint of a brewing romance and no sexual content; zombie mayhem is minimal – these zombies seem more interested in plundering than devouring; and the language is decidedly mild and appropriate for a younger audience.
Fans of steampunk may take an interest in the inventions and forms of locomotion described, but the appeal fizzles, just as the promise of romance or zombie horror. The few action scenes are interlaced with long lulls of meandering, pretentious debate between Jett and Honoria on strategies to outwit their enemy. Jett’s original mission to find her brother is left dangling, and White Fox’s role as scout seems to be completely unnecessary to the plot line. There is a suggestion of a sequel, although the zombies and their creator are defeated and there is little compelling reason to follow the series (assuming a series is in the works).
To be fair, there are moments of humor and the foundation of an exciting genre-blending romp through the zombie-ransacked west on a wondrous steam-powered “auto-tachypode” but the title is recommended with reservations as a moderately enjoyable light read for young teens who can identify with an older protagonist or adults who like genre mash-ups.
Riding the gritty wave of zombie westerns, this book falls flat in the attempt to deliver a western-zombie-steampunk-romance for teens. It tries to achieve too much, and fails to deliver a satisfying example of any genre. Judging the book by its cover, and also by the assumed age of the three central characters, it is hard to say with certainty that the intended audience is even the teen market. Jett, Honoria, and White Fox all seem to be in their early twenties; the recommendation of this book for teens is based on the cleanliness of the content – there is only the slightest hint of a brewing romance and no sexual content; zombie mayhem is minimal – these zombies seem more interested in plundering than devouring; and the language is decidedly mild and appropriate for a younger audience.
Fans of steampunk may take an interest in the inventions and forms of locomotion described, but the appeal fizzles, just as the promise of romance or zombie horror. The few action scenes are interlaced with long lulls of meandering, pretentious debate between Jett and Honoria on strategies to outwit their enemy. Jett’s original mission to find her brother is left dangling, and White Fox’s role as scout seems to be completely unnecessary to the plot line. There is a suggestion of a sequel, although the zombies and their creator are defeated and there is little compelling reason to follow the series (assuming a series is in the works).
To be fair, there are moments of humor and the foundation of an exciting genre-blending romp through the zombie-ransacked west on a wondrous steam-powered “auto-tachypode” but the title is recommended with reservations as a moderately enjoyable light read for young teens who can identify with an older protagonist or adults who like genre mash-ups.
June 21, 2012
I didn't think I was going to be able to finish this novel. It started out at an extremely slow pace and the characters were just... weird. So, I set Dead Reckoning aside. For weeks. And then I decided to give it another try... and I fell in love and couldn't stop reading.
First off, I'm not a fan of the novel's description. Not only does it make Dead Reckoning sound much more happy and girly than it really it, it doesn't mention the third main character, White Fox, at all. I feel like the description is trying to promote some type of girl power vibe, which is somewhat present in the novel, but not to the extent implied.
That said, Jett and Gibbons are definitely strong, unique women. Once I got used to Gibbons' quirks and learns more about Jett, I kind of loved them. A lot. And, though we didn't get to know White Fox quite as well, he grew on me as well. In fact, I'm actually very curious to see what happens to them next. When the characters finally started to grow on me and I became more invested in the story, I though to myself, I actually don't mind this, but I don't think I'd read a sequel... but now I take that back.
For me, the best part of Dead Reckoning was the interactions and relationships between the three main characters. They are all ridiculously different that being together at the beginning is a mess, but, as they grew on me, they also grew on one another. At one point, White Fox notices that the two girls are bickering like sisters - and it was true! And then I realized, this odd little trio actually works together. Whoa.
Dead Reckoning combines many elements that really shouldn't work together: westerns, zombies, steampunk, and cults, but Lackey and Edgehill make it work. I'm not sure how they came up with such a crazy idea for a novel, but it's obvious they thought it through because I never found myself thinking "okay, that's just too far-fetched"... as I read about zombies, westerns, cults, and steampunkery.
I also found Dead Reckoning to be rather funny. And sometimes quite touching. And sometimes scary. And other times exciting. I was surprised by how much I felt as I read this novel, considering that I'd almost given up on it.
I'm so glad that I gave this novel a second chance, and I'm hoping that my review will convince you to give this crazy book a try. It won't be for everyone, but there are readers out there who are going to love the hell out of it!
First off, I'm not a fan of the novel's description. Not only does it make Dead Reckoning sound much more happy and girly than it really it, it doesn't mention the third main character, White Fox, at all. I feel like the description is trying to promote some type of girl power vibe, which is somewhat present in the novel, but not to the extent implied.
That said, Jett and Gibbons are definitely strong, unique women. Once I got used to Gibbons' quirks and learns more about Jett, I kind of loved them. A lot. And, though we didn't get to know White Fox quite as well, he grew on me as well. In fact, I'm actually very curious to see what happens to them next. When the characters finally started to grow on me and I became more invested in the story, I though to myself, I actually don't mind this, but I don't think I'd read a sequel... but now I take that back.
For me, the best part of Dead Reckoning was the interactions and relationships between the three main characters. They are all ridiculously different that being together at the beginning is a mess, but, as they grew on me, they also grew on one another. At one point, White Fox notices that the two girls are bickering like sisters - and it was true! And then I realized, this odd little trio actually works together. Whoa.
Dead Reckoning combines many elements that really shouldn't work together: westerns, zombies, steampunk, and cults, but Lackey and Edgehill make it work. I'm not sure how they came up with such a crazy idea for a novel, but it's obvious they thought it through because I never found myself thinking "okay, that's just too far-fetched"... as I read about zombies, westerns, cults, and steampunkery.
I also found Dead Reckoning to be rather funny. And sometimes quite touching. And sometimes scary. And other times exciting. I was surprised by how much I felt as I read this novel, considering that I'd almost given up on it.
I'm so glad that I gave this novel a second chance, and I'm hoping that my review will convince you to give this crazy book a try. It won't be for everyone, but there are readers out there who are going to love the hell out of it!
June 10, 2012
Dead Reckoning was a fun little read. As soon as we met Jett, a girl dressed up as a gunslinging cowboy searching for her lost brother, I knew this was going to be entertaining. I'm a sucker for a girl dressing as a boy to make her way in the world.
This book wasn't great. But it is a steampunk zombie Western that's fairly good and I'm okay with that. Jett Gallatin, gunslinger, confederate sympathizer, and a girl (who misses pretty dresses!) is my type of heroine. She's not ridiculously intelligent or good looking. Instead, she's determined and brave. She's looking for her twin brother who went missing after the Civil War. She would do anything to find and protect him. That's why she's dressed as a man. It's not because she hats being a girl, though she's not such a fan of corsets anymore, but that she loves her brother. Jett is the heart of this book.
This book has some pretty big flaws. The worst is it's tendency to tell rather than show which frustrated me. Give your readers some credit. They can make connections without the characters explaining them. Also this book is told in 3rd person, jumping between Jett, Gibbons and White Fox's point of views. Honestly this felt like a mistake. Probably 80% of the book follows Jett's POV. Her's is the most fleshed out and compelling. Jumping to Gibbon's and White Fox's felt a little lazy. With a little more effort the book could've stayed with Jett. The problem with telling, rather than showing, was also more prevalent in the other point of views.
At the end, the book left some threads hanging and Gibbon's blatantly said she thought the characters would see each other again (really telling and not showing, again. Her character is the worst for it). I might like the idea of this book more than the execution. Nonetheless I want to read the sequel mainly because I want to find out what happened to Jett's brother, a mystery the story leaves dangling. If you see this book and you're in the mood for a steampunk zombie western, I'd give it a try.
This book wasn't great. But it is a steampunk zombie Western that's fairly good and I'm okay with that. Jett Gallatin, gunslinger, confederate sympathizer, and a girl (who misses pretty dresses!) is my type of heroine. She's not ridiculously intelligent or good looking. Instead, she's determined and brave. She's looking for her twin brother who went missing after the Civil War. She would do anything to find and protect him. That's why she's dressed as a man. It's not because she hats being a girl, though she's not such a fan of corsets anymore, but that she loves her brother. Jett is the heart of this book.
This book has some pretty big flaws. The worst is it's tendency to tell rather than show which frustrated me. Give your readers some credit. They can make connections without the characters explaining them. Also this book is told in 3rd person, jumping between Jett, Gibbons and White Fox's point of views. Honestly this felt like a mistake. Probably 80% of the book follows Jett's POV. Her's is the most fleshed out and compelling. Jumping to Gibbon's and White Fox's felt a little lazy. With a little more effort the book could've stayed with Jett. The problem with telling, rather than showing, was also more prevalent in the other point of views.
At the end, the book left some threads hanging and Gibbon's blatantly said she thought the characters would see each other again (really telling and not showing, again. Her character is the worst for it). I might like the idea of this book more than the execution. Nonetheless I want to read the sequel mainly because I want to find out what happened to Jett's brother, a mystery the story leaves dangling. If you see this book and you're in the mood for a steampunk zombie western, I'd give it a try.
June 1, 2012
4.5 Stars
I really loved this book! There were so many aspects that I loved, it's hard to mention them all. I knew the book was about zombies, but really the zombies weren't totally the focus of the book. Instead of focusing on the typical, gory zombie attacks, the authors really hone in on how the characters solve the mystery and use their brains to outsmart the zombies.
The story has a steampunk feel, especially with Honoria's steam-powered travelling contraption. But again, the steampunk aspect didn't take over the whole story. It was almost trying to hide within the rest of the story. I loved that it was a historical setting as well, it's just so much more of an escape, especially in this type of fantasy story.
The three mismatched main characters were fantastic. I loved Honoria the most because she was so unexpected. She was very wealthy, and also her father made sure she was heavily educated in science. The steam powered vehicle she drives, yeah, she invented it. She's extremely book smart, but also, so practical and smart in common sense ways too. She has preparedness down to a science. Jett was a lot of fun to read about, her accent was very charming, as was her style of disguising herself as a boy instead of a girl. White Fox was a bit of an enigma, a bit of the strong silent type. Overall, the three of them made a great team. I'd love to see more from these characters and this setting in the future.
Overall, a great mix of historical, zombies, steampunk, and mystery! The leading characters really made this book a keeper.
ARC sent by publisher in exchange for an honest review
reviewed for http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com
July 15, 2012
an interesting take on the zombie craze.
take the wild west, a southern belle masquerading as a gunslinger, a suffragist female scientist, and a native american add a zombie mystery, and you've got dead reckoning.
some parts were predictable, some were weird, but all were enjoyable. I really liked the different take on zombies. sometimes the bleak future zombie novels get to be a bit much, so seeing a historic take was really interesting. it felt a little world war z to me- the mysteries in the past might be zombie attacks. good for dystopia fans, steampunk fans, history fans, and I think boys will enjoy this as well. there was no romance/love story, which I found to be a refreshing change. every story doesn't need a tragic romance. overall, I quite liked this one.
take the wild west, a southern belle masquerading as a gunslinger, a suffragist female scientist, and a native american add a zombie mystery, and you've got dead reckoning.
some parts were predictable, some were weird, but all were enjoyable. I really liked the different take on zombies. sometimes the bleak future zombie novels get to be a bit much, so seeing a historic take was really interesting. it felt a little world war z to me- the mysteries in the past might be zombie attacks. good for dystopia fans, steampunk fans, history fans, and I think boys will enjoy this as well. there was no romance/love story, which I found to be a refreshing change. every story doesn't need a tragic romance. overall, I quite liked this one.
July 27, 2012
Didn't finish.
Look at the cover.It completely capures your attention. I mean zombies and the wild west. Bring it.You would think that it would be a good mix and completely blow your mind. Unforunately, it doesn't. The book is so boring, I found myself skipping pages. Especially georgies, or whatever her name is -the inventor's daughter, she completely killed it. Her voice is very very frustrating, I wanted a zombie to eat her brains, already. The other two are okay but not enough. I wanted to get scared, or queasy,I wanted action, blood, guns,horses, and more action I mean zombies. Come on people, zombie books are suppose to do that to you. All I felt was a big disappointment.
Look at the cover.It completely capures your attention. I mean zombies and the wild west. Bring it.You would think that it would be a good mix and completely blow your mind. Unforunately, it doesn't. The book is so boring, I found myself skipping pages. Especially georgies, or whatever her name is -the inventor's daughter, she completely killed it. Her voice is very very frustrating, I wanted a zombie to eat her brains, already. The other two are okay but not enough. I wanted to get scared, or queasy,I wanted action, blood, guns,horses, and more action I mean zombies. Come on people, zombie books are suppose to do that to you. All I felt was a big disappointment.
April 5, 2014
Forget Cowboys vs Aliens; Cowboys vs Zombies is where it's at! Dead Reckoning is a fun, fast-paced book set in America in 1867. I loved the historical elements, and I'm not as learned as I could be in this era, so I wasn't bothered by any inconsistencies. Jett, White Fox and Gibbons, are intriguing characters and their personalities compliment each other extremely well. This book doesn't tell us nearly enough about any of them; there are hints of romance, missing relatives and potential zombie retaliations to explore! The ending hints at potential sequels (not to mention Jacob is still missing) I would definitely pick up any future sequels.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
July 8, 2012
I picked this one up because I love Mercedes Lackey. The cowboy/zombie thing... I wasn't so sure about. However, I was determined to read on to see what she would do with it, and it wasn't bad. Considering the very unique topics, I found quite a bit of it fairly predictable. However, Lackey delivers some interesting characters that I found myself wanting to know more about. The zombies are a little scary, but they're fairly tame for the undead. I would probably suggest this for younger readers who want a little bit of action without the wet-the-bed nightmares of The Walking Dead.
July 3, 2012
Zombies and steampunk and post Civil War Reconstruction era Wild West should be the most awesome combination ever, right? Alas, while the concept for Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill was excellent, I found the overall execution to be quite lacking.
Read the rest of my review here link goes live 7/4/12
Read the rest of my review here link goes live 7/4/12
April 21, 2015
I read about two thirds of this book, until the little group figured out everything that was going on in about five pages of exposition.
I really miss when Mercedes Lackey wrote for adults. I think this book wouldn't be too far out of the range of something an eight year old friend of mine who's steadily working her way through the Boxcar Children could read, aside from the subject matter of zombies.
VERY young adult. Your mileage may vary.
I really miss when Mercedes Lackey wrote for adults. I think this book wouldn't be too far out of the range of something an eight year old friend of mine who's steadily working her way through the Boxcar Children could read, aside from the subject matter of zombies.
VERY young adult. Your mileage may vary.
December 21, 2012
I thought this was a great deal of fun. Western, zombie, strong girls bucking social norms, hint of romance, with a feeling of steam punk (but not actually steam punk). Sounds like a mess but I liked it, mostly it was refreshing to not have a love triangle, not have romance be the center, and to have just a plain ole’ quest adventure tale (granted with some weird zombies).
July 18, 2021
Jett is a girl disguised as a boy, living as a gambler in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. Honoria Gibbons is a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Both young women travel the prairie alone – until they are brought together by a zombie invasion!
January 6, 2013
Holy crap! I actually finished a steampunkish book. The verbal sparring between Jett and Honoria were the main reasons to stick with this. Well, that and the fact that it involves zombies although they are more of the mindless do what they're told zombies than the craving flesh kind.
Want to read
May 7, 2012Hells yeah.
November 5, 2012
I am not a Zombie lover But I am a western lover, I was not ready
for the zombies. It was a good read but not for the ZOMBIES , I would not run out and buy this book.
for the zombies. It was a good read but not for the ZOMBIES , I would not run out and buy this book.
May 27, 2024
I have complicated feelings about this book.
I take no issue with having a character in 1867 who has a Confederate backstory. Nor with that character being slow to trust Northerners and especially the Army. Jett's Louisiana plantation home was destroyed by the Union Army before the story begins, and that's her trauma history she has to grapple with in order to work together with a Northerner and an Army scout. That's part of Jett's character development I really liked, actually—by the end, she still refers to Gibbons as a fool yankee but she's learned how to make peace. And that's great!
But. And this is a very serious "but." This book includes the myth of Black Confederate soldiers. I have just begun reading Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth, and it has attuned me to instances of the myth that I wouldn't otherwise have remarked upon It's a testament to how pervasive the myth is. I don't think it's a case where the authors deliberately set out to rehabilitate the image of Confederates as not-racist, but that's what effectively happens in novels when you repeat a historical myth of a racially integrated Confederate Army. Suffice to say, the Confederate Army utilized the labor of free and enslaved Black people in camps, but those Black people were neither soldiers, nor trusted with weapons, nor regarded as equals by the whites around them. White Southerners during the war certainly believed that the enslaved Black people in the Confederate encampments were "loyal" to their cause, but when a soldier tells you that the enslaved bodyservant he took to the Confederate Army encampment is loyal and perfectly happy about the enslaved status, you shouldn't accept that at face value.
Jett as a white Southerner in 1867 who grew up on a small Louisiana plantation would most likely have known that the Black people in Confederate Army camps were there as servants, and that most were enslaved. Jett's backstory includes positive feelings about a Creole woman enslaved by her family, but that's the extent to which this book remarks on slavery. It would be consistent with history for Jett to have unexamined ideas about slavery like this, but it is not consistent for Jett to simultaneously have grown up around slavery as something normal AND to believe that enslaved people could be trusted not to revolt when given access to weapons, without having abolitionist sympathies.
White Fox's backstory is of being born in a white family and having been orphaned young and raised by a specific named Native American group that found him. He doesn't feel like he fits in with white people, and the group that raised him no longer exists by the start of the story. His character has some stereotypical mysterious-Indian elements and is quite flat, but I don't feel comfortable saying any more than that as a white person.
I enjoyed the constant banter between Gibbons and Jett. I especially liked Gibbons' character as an eccentric daughter of a rich eccentric father who was the kind of eccentric that forgot to enforce gender roles.
I take no issue with having a character in 1867 who has a Confederate backstory. Nor with that character being slow to trust Northerners and especially the Army. Jett's Louisiana plantation home was destroyed by the Union Army before the story begins, and that's her trauma history she has to grapple with in order to work together with a Northerner and an Army scout. That's part of Jett's character development I really liked, actually—by the end, she still refers to Gibbons as a fool yankee but she's learned how to make peace. And that's great!
But. And this is a very serious "but." This book includes the myth of Black Confederate soldiers. I have just begun reading Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth, and it has attuned me to instances of the myth that I wouldn't otherwise have remarked upon It's a testament to how pervasive the myth is. I don't think it's a case where the authors deliberately set out to rehabilitate the image of Confederates as not-racist, but that's what effectively happens in novels when you repeat a historical myth of a racially integrated Confederate Army. Suffice to say, the Confederate Army utilized the labor of free and enslaved Black people in camps, but those Black people were neither soldiers, nor trusted with weapons, nor regarded as equals by the whites around them. White Southerners during the war certainly believed that the enslaved Black people in the Confederate encampments were "loyal" to their cause, but when a soldier tells you that the enslaved bodyservant he took to the Confederate Army encampment is loyal and perfectly happy about the enslaved status, you shouldn't accept that at face value.
Jett as a white Southerner in 1867 who grew up on a small Louisiana plantation would most likely have known that the Black people in Confederate Army camps were there as servants, and that most were enslaved. Jett's backstory includes positive feelings about a Creole woman enslaved by her family, but that's the extent to which this book remarks on slavery. It would be consistent with history for Jett to have unexamined ideas about slavery like this, but it is not consistent for Jett to simultaneously have grown up around slavery as something normal AND to believe that enslaved people could be trusted not to revolt when given access to weapons, without having abolitionist sympathies.
White Fox's backstory is of being born in a white family and having been orphaned young and raised by a specific named Native American group that found him. He doesn't feel like he fits in with white people, and the group that raised him no longer exists by the start of the story. His character has some stereotypical mysterious-Indian elements and is quite flat, but I don't feel comfortable saying any more than that as a white person.
I enjoyed the constant banter between Gibbons and Jett. I especially liked Gibbons' character as an eccentric daughter of a rich eccentric father who was the kind of eccentric that forgot to enforce gender roles.
May 14, 2018
I had already read several other collaborations between Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill, but had never heard of this one before stumbling across a copy. Weirdly, the odd blend of genres wasn't the stumbling block for me. Instead, details of the zombie stuff and also of the characters kept jarring me out of the story.
Let's start with the characters. Just a couple of years after the Civil War, a renegade scientist, an Army scout and a young woman disguised as a young man meet in west Texas and encounter a strange and horrific situation.
Okay, so here's my problem with the central characters...the authors didn't quite think them through. For instance, the information about the Army scout's past suggests that the bad guy has been working on this zombie thing for a LONG TIME, as in a decade or more, and affected the early life of the scout. In addition, for reasons not explained, they somehow ambushed a wagon train several hundred miles from their apparent headquarters. Now, even if you assume that they started out in Kansas, and only moved to Texas later, that's still a lot of zombies moving 700 miles in the open, without being noticed by ANYONE who survived and got away.
With the girl disguised as a boy disguised as a roving gunslinger, I had a problem with the date of the story. If you look it up, you will see that the "classic" period of gunfighters and outlaws wasn't until later, by a decade or so, so the whole disguise aspect of her role was kind of pointless when the story took place. Also, it's pretty unclear how she supported herself in her wanderings.
Leaving those things aside, the zombie story was a little weird, too. If the zombies were decaying, as suggested in the story, then the overall supply of them had to be enormous to cover a decade of secret zombie attacks. Attacking out-of-the-way locations is fine, but you still have to get a lot of zombies to and from the attack points, apparently by shambling on foot. That really limits your attack points, if they have to be back in storage by dawn. I'm still not sure about the vanishing cattle herd from the story, as that part is never really explained. As described, it wasn't clear how zombies would be able to catch ALL of the cattle in a stampeding herd, which is what you would get. Also, catching all of the riders with the herd seemed unlikely. Even at night, there would be one or more outlying riders on duty.
That said, I mostly enjoyed the story itself, which really did involve that odd combination of genres I listed. The steam-powered wagon with heavy weaponry may have been a bit much, but only because it wasn't really used to proper effect. I wanted to see what she could DO with it, but instead it was mainly a form of transportation. The mystery of the disappearing people, the horrific reality of what was going wrong, the literal steam aspect of the tale, and the western setting all blended well, albeit strangely.
Also, the dialogue was brilliant, even when they were talking about odd things. I wish this book had been cleaned up a bit, but it was still worth reading. I just think that it could have better.
Let's start with the characters. Just a couple of years after the Civil War, a renegade scientist, an Army scout and a young woman disguised as a young man meet in west Texas and encounter a strange and horrific situation.
Okay, so here's my problem with the central characters...the authors didn't quite think them through. For instance, the information about the Army scout's past suggests that the bad guy has been working on this zombie thing for a LONG TIME, as in a decade or more, and affected the early life of the scout. In addition, for reasons not explained, they somehow ambushed a wagon train several hundred miles from their apparent headquarters. Now, even if you assume that they started out in Kansas, and only moved to Texas later, that's still a lot of zombies moving 700 miles in the open, without being noticed by ANYONE who survived and got away.
With the girl disguised as a boy disguised as a roving gunslinger, I had a problem with the date of the story. If you look it up, you will see that the "classic" period of gunfighters and outlaws wasn't until later, by a decade or so, so the whole disguise aspect of her role was kind of pointless when the story took place. Also, it's pretty unclear how she supported herself in her wanderings.
Leaving those things aside, the zombie story was a little weird, too. If the zombies were decaying, as suggested in the story, then the overall supply of them had to be enormous to cover a decade of secret zombie attacks. Attacking out-of-the-way locations is fine, but you still have to get a lot of zombies to and from the attack points, apparently by shambling on foot. That really limits your attack points, if they have to be back in storage by dawn. I'm still not sure about the vanishing cattle herd from the story, as that part is never really explained. As described, it wasn't clear how zombies would be able to catch ALL of the cattle in a stampeding herd, which is what you would get. Also, catching all of the riders with the herd seemed unlikely. Even at night, there would be one or more outlying riders on duty.
That said, I mostly enjoyed the story itself, which really did involve that odd combination of genres I listed. The steam-powered wagon with heavy weaponry may have been a bit much, but only because it wasn't really used to proper effect. I wanted to see what she could DO with it, but instead it was mainly a form of transportation. The mystery of the disappearing people, the horrific reality of what was going wrong, the literal steam aspect of the tale, and the western setting all blended well, albeit strangely.
Also, the dialogue was brilliant, even when they were talking about odd things. I wish this book had been cleaned up a bit, but it was still worth reading. I just think that it could have better.
July 28, 2020
Jett is masquerading as a gunslinger out West as she tries to track down her brother, her only remaining family after the Civil War. She's wandered into the little town of Alsop, Texas, and isn't there too long before she witnesses something really disturbing and hightails it out of there. Outside of town, Jett stumbles into White Fox and Miss Gibbons who have just realized they are both researching the strange disappearances being reported in the area. White Fox is researching for the Army, Miss Gibbons is employing science to put to rest her father's conviction that airships are abducting people in the area before he wastes his money on another person trying to con him. When Jett relays to White Fox and Miss Gibbons that she just witnessed a horde of zombies attacking Alsop, the two are skeptical (Miss Gibbons, firm believer in science and disbeliever in anything else, especially). Come sunup, the trio venture back into Alsop with the goal to figure out what is going on, why, and how to stop it.
Well this was a fun reimagined history mystery with a very colorful trio of sleuths. Jett was raised in New Orleans as a debutante and is only able to pull off her gunslinger masquerade thanks to her twin brother and their antics growing up. She is deeply mistrustful of anyone from the North. As Gibbons puts it, Jett views the Yankees as the conquering nation who killed her family and stole their land. Gibbons is a headstrong, book smart but purposefully socially awkward young woman. Her father is exceedingly gullible and she is spending all her time keeping his money in his pockets by exposing frauds. White Fox was rescued from a massacred wagon train at a young age by a Native American tribe. He was raised by them and considers them his family. He's now working for the US Army because of a personal tragedy. Each of the three has different strengths, none of them is used to working with others, but they have to learn how to trust and cooperate to solve this mystery and save any others from getting hurt. The mystery was well done and the pacing of the story was just right. If you like reimagined histories, or colorful characters solving a very odd mystery with a good mix of Western and scientifically approached sleuthing methods, pick this up.
Notes on content: Around 15 or so mild swears. No sexual content. Gross zombies and whole towns getting wiped out (though there's really very little description of gore of any kind, the horror and revulsion are more psychologically conveyed). Some smoking and alcohol consumed by characters. Drinking in excess is portrayed as very negative (deadly in one instance). There's a twisted cult leader messing with people's minds.
Well this was a fun reimagined history mystery with a very colorful trio of sleuths. Jett was raised in New Orleans as a debutante and is only able to pull off her gunslinger masquerade thanks to her twin brother and their antics growing up. She is deeply mistrustful of anyone from the North. As Gibbons puts it, Jett views the Yankees as the conquering nation who killed her family and stole their land. Gibbons is a headstrong, book smart but purposefully socially awkward young woman. Her father is exceedingly gullible and she is spending all her time keeping his money in his pockets by exposing frauds. White Fox was rescued from a massacred wagon train at a young age by a Native American tribe. He was raised by them and considers them his family. He's now working for the US Army because of a personal tragedy. Each of the three has different strengths, none of them is used to working with others, but they have to learn how to trust and cooperate to solve this mystery and save any others from getting hurt. The mystery was well done and the pacing of the story was just right. If you like reimagined histories, or colorful characters solving a very odd mystery with a good mix of Western and scientifically approached sleuthing methods, pick this up.
Notes on content: Around 15 or so mild swears. No sexual content. Gross zombies and whole towns getting wiped out (though there's really very little description of gore of any kind, the horror and revulsion are more psychologically conveyed). Some smoking and alcohol consumed by characters. Drinking in excess is portrayed as very negative (deadly in one instance). There's a twisted cult leader messing with people's minds.
July 8, 2024
For the most part this book was just mediocre, not terrible, but not great either. I had originally planned to rate this book 3 stars. But there are just some things I can’t get over.
Firstly, the characters weren’t very greatly developed. White Fox didn’t add much to the story and Gibbons got on my nerves (for reasons I’ll explain later). Jett was the most developed character out of the three, but not by much. They were boring to read about because there was nothing that made me actually want to read about them.
Secondly, the book spent so much time saying how good of a gambler and a gunslinger Jett was, but never showed it. You never see Jett gamble, and the only time Jett shoots, she misses every shot.
Third, the ending was very lackluster. It’s not the worst ending in the world, but it left a lot to be desired.
Lastly, and the thing that bothered me most, is the misogyny. There are two female characters, Gibbons and Jett. Gibbons was the problem. She used the word “tyranny” to describe corsets and petticoats. It was annoying but I thought it was just one of Gibbons quirks but Gibbons also thought that other women were ignorant for wanting to be feminine and marry a man. The authors clearly did so much research in some areas, but it feels like the only research they did on corsets was that one scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where the maids tie Swan’s corset to tight. The misinformation on corsets was ridiculous. When Jett and Gibbons were moving a body Jett was like “good thing I’m not wearing a corset, there’s no way I could do this in a corset.” Which is wrong. Working woman wore corsets, and even worked on farms while wearing them, you could have absolutely moved a body in a corset. Then White Fox was telling Gibbons a story about how he followed his friend, who was a doctor, to go help a sick woman. And he described the woman as sick and dying until the doctor cut her corset off and she was magically saved. It was ridiculous. Corsets are not the devil the media has made them out to be. There was a lot a feminine=bad undertones that I did not like. This and the corset propaganda is what really brought the rating down.
Firstly, the characters weren’t very greatly developed. White Fox didn’t add much to the story and Gibbons got on my nerves (for reasons I’ll explain later). Jett was the most developed character out of the three, but not by much. They were boring to read about because there was nothing that made me actually want to read about them.
Secondly, the book spent so much time saying how good of a gambler and a gunslinger Jett was, but never showed it. You never see Jett gamble, and the only time Jett shoots, she misses every shot.
Third, the ending was very lackluster. It’s not the worst ending in the world, but it left a lot to be desired.
Lastly, and the thing that bothered me most, is the misogyny. There are two female characters, Gibbons and Jett. Gibbons was the problem. She used the word “tyranny” to describe corsets and petticoats. It was annoying but I thought it was just one of Gibbons quirks but Gibbons also thought that other women were ignorant for wanting to be feminine and marry a man. The authors clearly did so much research in some areas, but it feels like the only research they did on corsets was that one scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where the maids tie Swan’s corset to tight. The misinformation on corsets was ridiculous. When Jett and Gibbons were moving a body Jett was like “good thing I’m not wearing a corset, there’s no way I could do this in a corset.” Which is wrong. Working woman wore corsets, and even worked on farms while wearing them, you could have absolutely moved a body in a corset. Then White Fox was telling Gibbons a story about how he followed his friend, who was a doctor, to go help a sick woman. And he described the woman as sick and dying until the doctor cut her corset off and she was magically saved. It was ridiculous. Corsets are not the devil the media has made them out to be. There was a lot a feminine=bad undertones that I did not like. This and the corset propaganda is what really brought the rating down.
June 11, 2012
Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers
Cardsharp. Gunslinger. Outlaw. Decked out in black and studded with silver from head to toe, Jett Gallatin cuts a stunning figure. With his fine black stallion and well worn slick pistols, Jett looks like the kind of young man that boys want to emulate, and girls want to sweep them off their feet. What most folk don't realize, though, is that everything about Jett - from the slightly flamboyant wardrobe to the tightly and slightly higher holstered double pistols - is painstakingly crafted to create and project a persona so that no one will ever suspect one devastating truth: Jett Gallatin is a girl.
When the Civil War came, it claimed Jett's twin brother as a soldier, leaving Jett and her family behind on their New Orleans plantation. With the defeat of the south came plundering Yankees and the end of the kind of life Jett always knew. To make any sense of this new world, she decides to leave her home and search for her lost brother, under the guise of a man - a game that the twins used to play when they were children, now a necessary way of life for Jett as she travels alone across the wild frontier of the west. Jett's last stop takes her to the one-street (but rapidly growing, thanks to the new railroad) town Alsop, Texas - but the town doesn't stay quiet for long. Not an hour after she rides in and makes the usual inquiries at the town saloon does trouble come roaring in after her - a hoard of impossibly strong, impossibly alive zombies attack the town. Guns and weapons have no effect on their terrible onslaught, and soon the town is overrun, all her inhabitants dead. Jett, thanks to her trusty steed Nightingale, is barely able to make it out alive.
A few miles away, Jett runs into two unlikely allies in her quest to figure out just what kind of undead menace is sweeping through the southwest, and why. Honoria Gibbons is a beautiful, highly intelligent, and extremely unconventional young woman - the only child of a very rich (and also very eccentric) man, Honoria has had the time and the means to devote her life to the pursuit of science, and she has no qualms about traveling alone as a woman in the west, thanks to the incredible invention of her auto-tachypode (a horseless mechanized transportation device). White Fox, with his dark skin and his horse saddled in the Indian style with just a single blanket and rope for bridle, could easily be mistaken for a Native. And in truth, he is - a young man that was orphaned as a child, White Fox was taken in and raised to be one of the Meshkwahihaki, or Red Earth people. Now, a scout for the tenth Cavalry out of Fort Riley, Kansas, White Fox is a Buffalo Soldier seeking out mysterious disappearances of whole towns and caravans in the area.
Together, Jett, Gibbons, and White Fox will find their paths converge, and will work to discover why people are disappearing and to what sinister end.
Dead Reckoning is, at first glance, a melange of very familiar tropes: one part steampunkish western (but really NOT steampunk - one steampowered contraption does not a steampunk novel make), one part girl-dressed-as-boy to survive/get information, one part plucky unconventional-but-effortlessly-beautiful heroine, one part orphan-raised-as-Indian, all mixed in with zombies. The elements are all very familiar. That said, there is plenty of fun and even some innovation to be found in Dead Reckoning, especially with regard to Jett Gallatin (whom I consider the true hero of the piece - Gibbons and White Fox are great, to be sure, but this book really is Jett's). Easily, the best thing about Dead Reckoning is the character of Jett. Most times when I read a book about a girl dressed as a boy (or when the trope is depicted on the big screen), there's always a level of disbelief - these are usually very pretty girls that hack off their hair (or some of the more disingenuous put on a wig), and almost automatically are taken as slightly odd but passable young men. Contrasting this sort of half-assed attempt at passing as a man against the very calculated and intelligent Jett and her impersonation: Jett very carefully decides to draw attention to herself as a gunslinger and an outlaw (naturally she has the speed and straight shooting to back herself up). She smiles at pretty girls to complete the facade, and she knows when and from who trouble is coming thanks to her very keen and observant eye. For Jett, her very survival depends on her facade - and her facade is very, very good. Too, Dead Reckoning explores the effects that this impersonation has on Jett's identity - even though her new friends know she is a girl, Jett lives and breathes her role, to the point where she doesn't ever stop talking or acting like Jett. It's fascinating, and very genuine, really.
In contrast, the other two characters of Gibbons and White Fox are also strong, but somewhat less impressive. Gibbons - beautiful, brilliant, and highly eccentric - is a very familiar type of character in and of herself. The rapport that builds between this woman, who has no problem going around as a single woman in uncharted territory, and Jett is an interesting friendship (though Honoria's constant, unceasing referral to SCIENCE! and RATIONALITY! is a bit grating at times). White Fox on the other hand is a character that barely gets screentime in comparison to the book's two heroines. What we do learn of White Fox, his past, and the motivations that drive him, however, is well-conceived (if very sad).
On the plotting front, however, things are slightly less impressive. I love zombies and I love westerns. The mixture of the two is always a fun thing - and essentially that is what Dead Reckoning is. Fun. The story proper, involving Crazy Cultists and MoneyxPowerxRespect, is well written and competent, but small in scale and predictable once we catch our first glimpse of New Jerusalem and its inhabitants. That said, predictability and smaller scale novels aren't necessarily bad things, and there are enough twists on the features of this particular type of zombie - more in tune with The Serpent and the Rainbow than Night of the Living Dead - to make up for any shortcomings in terms of basic/banal plotting. And isn't that the important thing the having fun while reading part? I think so. Ultimately, Dead Reckoning is an enjoyable novel with a great protagonist and a diverting storyline. Should Jett, Gibbons and White Fox team up again for a future adventure, I'll certainly be there.
Cardsharp. Gunslinger. Outlaw. Decked out in black and studded with silver from head to toe, Jett Gallatin cuts a stunning figure. With his fine black stallion and well worn slick pistols, Jett looks like the kind of young man that boys want to emulate, and girls want to sweep them off their feet. What most folk don't realize, though, is that everything about Jett - from the slightly flamboyant wardrobe to the tightly and slightly higher holstered double pistols - is painstakingly crafted to create and project a persona so that no one will ever suspect one devastating truth: Jett Gallatin is a girl.
When the Civil War came, it claimed Jett's twin brother as a soldier, leaving Jett and her family behind on their New Orleans plantation. With the defeat of the south came plundering Yankees and the end of the kind of life Jett always knew. To make any sense of this new world, she decides to leave her home and search for her lost brother, under the guise of a man - a game that the twins used to play when they were children, now a necessary way of life for Jett as she travels alone across the wild frontier of the west. Jett's last stop takes her to the one-street (but rapidly growing, thanks to the new railroad) town Alsop, Texas - but the town doesn't stay quiet for long. Not an hour after she rides in and makes the usual inquiries at the town saloon does trouble come roaring in after her - a hoard of impossibly strong, impossibly alive zombies attack the town. Guns and weapons have no effect on their terrible onslaught, and soon the town is overrun, all her inhabitants dead. Jett, thanks to her trusty steed Nightingale, is barely able to make it out alive.
A few miles away, Jett runs into two unlikely allies in her quest to figure out just what kind of undead menace is sweeping through the southwest, and why. Honoria Gibbons is a beautiful, highly intelligent, and extremely unconventional young woman - the only child of a very rich (and also very eccentric) man, Honoria has had the time and the means to devote her life to the pursuit of science, and she has no qualms about traveling alone as a woman in the west, thanks to the incredible invention of her auto-tachypode (a horseless mechanized transportation device). White Fox, with his dark skin and his horse saddled in the Indian style with just a single blanket and rope for bridle, could easily be mistaken for a Native. And in truth, he is - a young man that was orphaned as a child, White Fox was taken in and raised to be one of the Meshkwahihaki, or Red Earth people. Now, a scout for the tenth Cavalry out of Fort Riley, Kansas, White Fox is a Buffalo Soldier seeking out mysterious disappearances of whole towns and caravans in the area.
Together, Jett, Gibbons, and White Fox will find their paths converge, and will work to discover why people are disappearing and to what sinister end.
Dead Reckoning is, at first glance, a melange of very familiar tropes: one part steampunkish western (but really NOT steampunk - one steampowered contraption does not a steampunk novel make), one part girl-dressed-as-boy to survive/get information, one part plucky unconventional-but-effortlessly-beautiful heroine, one part orphan-raised-as-Indian, all mixed in with zombies. The elements are all very familiar. That said, there is plenty of fun and even some innovation to be found in Dead Reckoning, especially with regard to Jett Gallatin (whom I consider the true hero of the piece - Gibbons and White Fox are great, to be sure, but this book really is Jett's). Easily, the best thing about Dead Reckoning is the character of Jett. Most times when I read a book about a girl dressed as a boy (or when the trope is depicted on the big screen), there's always a level of disbelief - these are usually very pretty girls that hack off their hair (or some of the more disingenuous put on a wig), and almost automatically are taken as slightly odd but passable young men. Contrasting this sort of half-assed attempt at passing as a man against the very calculated and intelligent Jett and her impersonation: Jett very carefully decides to draw attention to herself as a gunslinger and an outlaw (naturally she has the speed and straight shooting to back herself up). She smiles at pretty girls to complete the facade, and she knows when and from who trouble is coming thanks to her very keen and observant eye. For Jett, her very survival depends on her facade - and her facade is very, very good. Too, Dead Reckoning explores the effects that this impersonation has on Jett's identity - even though her new friends know she is a girl, Jett lives and breathes her role, to the point where she doesn't ever stop talking or acting like Jett. It's fascinating, and very genuine, really.
In contrast, the other two characters of Gibbons and White Fox are also strong, but somewhat less impressive. Gibbons - beautiful, brilliant, and highly eccentric - is a very familiar type of character in and of herself. The rapport that builds between this woman, who has no problem going around as a single woman in uncharted territory, and Jett is an interesting friendship (though Honoria's constant, unceasing referral to SCIENCE! and RATIONALITY! is a bit grating at times). White Fox on the other hand is a character that barely gets screentime in comparison to the book's two heroines. What we do learn of White Fox, his past, and the motivations that drive him, however, is well-conceived (if very sad).
On the plotting front, however, things are slightly less impressive. I love zombies and I love westerns. The mixture of the two is always a fun thing - and essentially that is what Dead Reckoning is. Fun. The story proper, involving Crazy Cultists and MoneyxPowerxRespect, is well written and competent, but small in scale and predictable once we catch our first glimpse of New Jerusalem and its inhabitants. That said, predictability and smaller scale novels aren't necessarily bad things, and there are enough twists on the features of this particular type of zombie - more in tune with The Serpent and the Rainbow than Night of the Living Dead - to make up for any shortcomings in terms of basic/banal plotting. And isn't that the important thing the having fun while reading part? I think so. Ultimately, Dead Reckoning is an enjoyable novel with a great protagonist and a diverting storyline. Should Jett, Gibbons and White Fox team up again for a future adventure, I'll certainly be there.
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