“A slam-bang mix of old west myth and dark fantasy legend, A THING IMMORTAL is a gritty, gunslinging triumph, chock-full of powerful medicine. TRUE GRIT meets THE WITCHER.” — Victor Gischler
An immortal gunslinger, a wolf made of shadows, a manhunter cursed by a ghost, a warrior who flies on stolen wings, and a mysterious girl without a name, battle ancient gods and monsters from the void in an American West that never was.
Someday the mountain man will kill her and then she'll be free. That's what the girl without a name believes. Right up until the day the old gunfighter with eyes the color of wildflowers and skin as white as his long, scraggly hair comes riding up on a painted horse. Riding right past the wards carved into the trees and all the way to the door of the mountain man's shack...
I'm a huge fan of indie books. I've found, of late, that the stories I encounter in them are often far more inventive and unconventional than what I find with their traditionally published brethren. A Thing Immortal by Barry K Gregory is one such book. This story is a glorious mashup of the American West that exists only in popular culture with horror – that's the best way to explain it. I picked it up last year when it was a contender in SPFBO.
Gregory plays loose and fast with history to concentrate rather on a story of gradually unfolding mystery and dark terrors, as we follow the doings of a small handful of characters that include a Native man who can fly on borrowed wings, an old gunslinger, a Black bounty hunter, and a mysterious girl. Oh, and a massive spirit wolf.
I think what I liked the most about the story was that it didn't pull its punches. There's some seriously dark stuff happening here, reminiscent of early Stephen King, that left me feeling gritty behind the eyes. And I liked the fact that Gregory doesn't explain everything – he leaves much up for me to fill in the gaps, which is something else I appreciate. Yeah, so Trigger Warning time, there is some seriously Bad Stuff that happens to the girl (as can be expected in the context of the story's setting), but it's not on screen so to speak (thank dog) but if mention of this sort of thing in a story does bother you, perhaps this one is not for you. Beyond that, the setting is pretty brutal in how all minorities are handled, so be warned, there are people doing and saying things that wouldn't fly in a more civilised setting.
This is a solid read, and while there were a few little typo gremlins here and there, they didn't harm my overall enjoyment of a solid story that wraps with an almost Gaimanesque conclusion.
Rich is a word that gets bandied about a lot when talking about plot or world-building, often enough that it ceases to lose its impact. Yet, although a spare tale of hardship and life on the frontier, the book is both lush and rich.
We can feel the sandy grit of hard-packed town streets, the long grasses of mountain meadows, the slippery mud below our feet as Gregory unwinds his tale. It *is* an unwinding, like walking up a stairs of a very long turret. Each time we revisit scenes, we’re desperately trying to make more sense of the story; the characters within the scene move a bit each time and it is within those movements that the story unfolds.
The characters are frontier, at a time when white menfolk are lashing out in fright at all the civilization they don’t understand, subjugating the non-whites, debasing women of any colour, stealing women from their native husbands and being generally one step away from outlaw. The characters are also the gods whose stories are told by wisewomen around campfires … those of Coyote, Crow, Wolf, and their brothers. Not limiting himself to a pantheon of demi-gods, Gregory also brings in bigger guns, the gods of the Underworld.
We follow six people who loop in and around each other, having their own separate tales, but whose paths cross and entwine each other in dramatic ways. There’s a scene with a stagecoach at a rest stop that would make for great HBO cliffhanger fodder. Actually, the whole book is plotted well enough that I could see it attracting and holding audience in the same way that Deadwood did.
This is not the sort of book I normally choose, but I’m glad I’ve read it. Otherwise, I would have missed a remarkable book and a remarkable new author.
This book is quite different from my normal reads, but no less a part of books I love. This is a well-done story weaving together multiple characters with their separate journeys and how they relate to one another. The mythology centered around the book and the way everything has a purpose and is linked together is so well done. The end does a good job of showing how even the things in the beginning were significant to the end. The journey these characters take and the growth of the characters are at times heartbreaking or frustrating. I especially loved Black Wing's journey. I hesitate to say too much, for I am afraid of giving away anything that may take away from enjoyment of learning it on your own as you read. Gunslinger does make frequent use of Shakespeare, which can get a little annoying at times, but not horribly. And sometimes the writing style seemed odd, but it didn't detract too much for me. If you enjoy dark fantasy, Western, and a complex plot that does not fully reveal itself until almost the end, this is for you!!! There are multiple storylines that merge and go their separate ways and merge again, and I loved it. It's a very different read but no less enjoyable!
This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBO9 contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A wing-thief watches along the shaft of his nocked arrow as a naked man menaces a girl, wondering why a holy man has brought him here.
This is a strange opening, the dialogue of which does become repetitive as a device to describe what narration could have made short work of - however the use of character perspective to ground is in the scene of the story was very effective.
The tribal(?) characters are invitingly unusual. The opening is well focused on its characters and on the developing action. It reads fast, quickly invests the reader, and keeps them guessing.
This is another first chapter that also ends with a wonderful turn that breaks the possibilities of the world wide open and fairly demands the reader continue turning the pages to discover where it will go next.
This is uncluttered, a fast read, dialogue driven, something is happening from the first page, I get character, tension, a deepening sense of magic and otherworldly powers, & ch2 introduces an old gunslinger? I’m in!
Although it took me a while to finish and I do admittedly struggle with fantasy often, by the end of the book I was fully engrossed in the story. The characters are the real gems within the story. WARNING: the story is fantasy with characters based off indigenous peoples and their beliefs
Pros: + the characters are well conceived and interesting throughout + a fun mythology + interesting turn of events
Cons: - to me it felt like it took a long tim to get to the final conclusion - although there to set the importance of their fates some of the characters backstories felt heavy handed/long winded - the flow of the story being chapter by chapter a different character each chapter made it feel a little choppy at first. Once the story started coming together it flowed better
I enjoyed the read, especially the second half of the book. If you can make it past the gathering of characters then it becomes quite enjoyable.
WARNING: again this book takes place in a less PC time and the language in the book seems to represent that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A solid 5 star read. The first time I tried to read this, I stalled out about 50 pages in. I was having trouble keeping the characters sorted out in my head. So I put it aside, read some other books, then came back and started over. I'm so glad I did. As an older reader, sometimes my focus isn't as sharp as it once was. The author here has not so much told us a story teeming with ancient lore, magic, and horror set against the backdrop of the old west, so much as woven us a tapestry. One with threads that ensnare us, that tangle our sense of what may have been true or possible. A story that succeeds in altering our perceptions of a shared past and how we process the good, bad, and the evil. Every culture has a similar history, I think, of tales that bespeak a boogeyman. Stories to scare the children, if you will. Fertile imaginations from gifted storytellers keep it going. And thnk goodness they do.....
Sometimes you choose a book to read by the cover, despite the genre or description. “A Thing Immortal” by Barry K Gregory was that for me. I found the cover so intriguing, that I wanted to give it a go. And, I was not disappointed. This was a dark and grisly fantasy set in the wild west of the U.S. Gregory creates a world of magic and mystery with North American gods and a list of characters that you want to root for as they converge on their individual quests. The only negative I found was the constant quoting of Shakespeare by one of the characters followed by a simple translation of the meaning of the quote. Even the other characters in the book complain of this habit by the speaker. Still, the Gunslinger was a mostly likeable character despite this flaw. “A Thing Immortal” is creative, well written and enjoyable. If you like fantasy, “A Thing Immortal “ is a good read.
A Thing Immortal is simply amazing; a tour de force of western mythology fused with Barry Gregory’s imagination, creating a mythical world so amazing you wish the story never ended.
With individual chapters telling the story from four major viewpoints, it may be a little confusing at first, but the writing style soon becomes familiar and the story and characters captures both the heart and the mind.
The story is so delightful, I believe that like all good fantasy, it can survive multiple readings.
Be aware there are some triggers in the tale as it refers to s*x**l scenes and s*x**l abuse that mostly happen off-stage.
I don’t hand our 5 star reviews easily, but this book deserves it and then some!! This will definitely be one of my best reads of the year.
I have had a hard time finding a dark fantasy book that isn’t romance in disguise recently, so I thought I would give this one a try. I am so glad I did!
The way Mr. Gregory took several storylines and tied them all seamlessly together with no plot holes was amazing. The pacing was perfect. The dialog was incredible. Even the Shakespeare quoting makes sense in the end.
This book gave me American Gods vibes in some parts while being something uniquely its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of this author’s work.
This was my first time reading this author. I have read a lot of books but none like this before and what a journey it was! However, I am glad that it is over! While I did enjoy this book, I probably will not be reading more by this author due to his writing style. His choice of wording me frustrated throughout the entirety of the book. This is just my personal preference, and by no means is meant to take away from how amazing this book really is! I would absolutely recommend it, especially to those who are into Western folklore, the old gods, and zombies.
This book follows a little girl, a wing theif, a gunslinger and a man hunter on their own adventure in the west and what troubles they may face. Even though each character has their own chapter they are easy to follow and even if you don't realize it in the moment, you get drawn into the characters rather quickly.
This is a wonderful mix of horror, a dipping your toe into fantasy and a splash of western.
The last couple chapters left me wishing I could read faster and slower at the same time with the absolute perfect ending.
Barry K. Gregory crafts a weird Wild West tale that displays his talents with lore and worldbuilding. The book oozes western atmosphere, and the mystical moments are exceptional. The story structure follows several characters as their destinies intertwine. And that's a good word for this book: intertwine. Barry's writing confidence is on display with how he brings all the elements together. A engaging read. I will definitely be on the look out for more books by this wonderful writer.
This was an utterly fantastic read. There was not a single part of the book I disliked or would have changed. Originally, its synopsis of 'western horror' did not really pique my interest; however, I figured I'd give it a shot and am very happy I did.
Very unique storyline, excellent characters, nice doses of violence and unsettling scenes and a great ending.
This reminds me of Stephen King in his prime, Gunslinger-esque Roland Deschain. I rarely ever give a 5-star review. I'll say nothing of the plot, but if you enjoy Dark Tower-type reality adjacency/Neil Gaiman-kind of weird/Dean Koontz kinds of supernatural stories, this one with a twist of First Nations lore, this book will be a balm to the average story you may read. I very much enjoyed this book.
Not my typical read but glad I did! The writing is rich with atmosphere, capturing the grit and loneliness of the frontier while weaving in eerie, otherworldly elements. The characters are compelling, and I like how they entwine in some way or another as you follow their paths. I didn't find the gunfighter's poetic nature really added to the story, but as a shakespeare fan, I enjoyed it. The mix of classic Western themes with supernatural horror, definitely makes this book a stand out.
This is dark fantasy with a Wild West setting and a story that is as old as myths and legends with magic, medicine, Gods and questions of immortality. The author is a fantastic storyteller! I imagined myself under the stars sitting at a campfire with shadows dancing around while listening to this audiobook. I loved the time spent in this world! The narrator was also an excellent choice and made the characters and story come to life.
I found this story a mix of Old West, Native American, and Supernatural rolled onto a very unusual story. This book is a very dark and gritty story utilizing characters from Native legends, such as Coyote, Spider, and others. The MC are a Gunnslinger, a man hunter, an Native Blackwing who are helping Ana.
This is the kind of book you wish would never end. So well written, with characters that will stay with you long after the book ends. Do not be deterred by subject matter or genre. This work should appeal to anyone who loves great storytelling. Thank you Mr. Gregory.
Gripping scenes of western supernatural horror and violence, blended with a subtle plot of touching romance. As the plot unravels, the different characters take on larger than life personalities. Despite the horror and gore, I was moved by the underlying supernatural mystery and pathos of the characters caught in cascading a cosmic theme painted on a stage set in the wild west of old. The dark plot fiendishly manages to sweep the reader along with the same rolling motion of a stage coach bound on a rough trip to the nether regions of a bleak underworld. Woven into this rough fabric is a soft and compelling romance of characters cursed with the burden of other worldly powers.
Hmmm... this offering is basically four-ish tales woven together, which in itself is quite a task to accomplish and for some to read. There was a bit too much Shakespeare for my taste, also annoying some of the characters lol. There are a few survivors, with a surprise in the last chapter which makes me wonder if there will be Book 2?
I'm a big horror reader, but this was the first western horror I've read. And it was amazing. I was glued to it right from the beginning. I loved all of the main characters and how the author weaved it altogether. I'd recommend to any type of reader it was written so well.
My first time reading a western fantasy was such a great experience. Very dark and gritty, Grimdark fans will enjoy this. I love the myth and legend take on this book with the native deities. Very memorable characters in Hamish, Ozymandias and Black Wing.
I liked the story and the characters but it did take awhile before everything was explained. The one character quoting Shakespeare all the time was nerve racking. I found myself skipping Over whenever that happened. The ending was good.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but it was a totally different book than anything. I’ve read lately, which is refreshing. The storyline was unique and almost read like a mystery. I really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this story of how 3 men unknowingly work together to help a goddess. I like the ending and how it closes the story, but it also makes me want more stories of Hamish Frost.
This book was much more than I was expecting. Absolutely intriguing story that keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. An excellent tale of horror with an absolutely beautiful ending!
This was a story that was very well told! I loved the characters, they were very believable. I LOVED how it ended! ❤️. I would recommend this book to everybody!
This was phenomenal. Pure magic. I was immediately and completely immersed in the world the author created, and torn between consuming it as quickly as possible or lingering on every page to delay the inevitable conclusion.
This storytelling was amazing. A cool drink in the literary desert of popular fiction. Not what you would expect from the description. Barry K Gregory is a bit of a legend.
Interesting story. I hope this is not the last book. I would love to read about these characters again. The one thing that was a little disturbing was the use of the N word so freely.