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Strange Matter #16
The Weird, Weird West
A monster is coming after Shane Reece.
An earthquake two hundred miles from Fairfield has unleashed something terrible - Clayton T. Motley, a zombie gunslinger looking for revenge.
Back in the middle 1800s, one of Shane's ancestors ran Motley out of Fairfield by putting a bullet in his hide. A posse chased the fleeing bandit for weeks until Motley holed up in a cave, where he eventually succumbed to his gunshot wound. The bullet inside him, however, was made out of something . . . strange.
Now, almost one hundred and fifty years later, the earthquake has freed the undead gunfighter from his rocky prison - and he wants revenge.
He's coming after the only Reece left in Fairfield - Shane.
. . . and this town's not big enough for the both of them.
An earthquake two hundred miles from Fairfield has unleashed something terrible - Clayton T. Motley, a zombie gunslinger looking for revenge.
Back in the middle 1800s, one of Shane's ancestors ran Motley out of Fairfield by putting a bullet in his hide. A posse chased the fleeing bandit for weeks until Motley holed up in a cave, where he eventually succumbed to his gunshot wound. The bullet inside him, however, was made out of something . . . strange.
Now, almost one hundred and fifty years later, the earthquake has freed the undead gunfighter from his rocky prison - and he wants revenge.
He's coming after the only Reece left in Fairfield - Shane.
. . . and this town's not big enough for the both of them.
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First published July 25, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 1, 2025
So, fun story: I had a couple of these Strange Matter books as a kid that I got out of those catalogs they'd hand out in school. I liked the CG covers. Fast forward twenty some years later, I've joined an art group and went to one of the member's homes for figure drawing. I walk into his library, see every book in the series on the shelf, and mention how I had a couple.
"Oh yeah, I wrote most of them," was his response. So uh, I'm friends with an author whose work I read as a kid?
He didn't write this one though.
"Oh yeah, I wrote most of them," was his response. So uh, I'm friends with an author whose work I read as a kid?
He didn't write this one though.
January 31, 2023
We return to Strange Matter for a rootin' tootin' western adventure. I'm sorry for that. This one I ordered off thriftbooks since I felt like it and it wasn't on archive. And of course it was added soon after, figures. Still, of the two I randomized, I knew I'd get this as it was pretty luck. I like a good western so I knew I wanted to read and it turned out quite well.
Shane Reece is a mild troublemaker, often getting his friend Gabe into some antics. One day there's an Earthquake in the next town over and at first it's not a big deal. But when his grandpa comes over to watch over him, he finds out about the legend of Clayton Motley an old west evil gungslinger who killed a lot of people. He was taken down one day by Nathaniel Reece, Shane's Great x 4 grandfather. Now it seems like Clayton is back and of course he's out for revenge on a Reece.
So this has to be one of my favorite Strange Matter books I've read so far. It'll be hard to rank due to the nature of it there are things about it that really appealed to me. To start with the flaws, it is a low burn. It's all about the build up to the big showdown which somehow isn't at high noon. They have some action before than not by as much as you may want. I can some getting that fireworks factor feeling.
That's two reviews in a row where I make that reference, and this is the 3rd book in a row I've covered that is about ghostly revenge. Weird. I don't mind the slow burn nature as it smartly puts thing into place but there are bits I could cut. I get some things need to be established but you can trim a bit. I wish Shane lead to Clayton being unleahsed to play more into the themes, as it is the earthquake feels a bit random.
There's stuff with magic bullets that isn't quite fully explained. I get it's meant to add to the whole legend/mystic you have in these kind of things but it does feel a bit random that this stuff happens to exist. It plays into the themes at least.
Those minor things aside, this one is pretty fun. It commits to the western tropes and has fun with them, nailing the dialouge you'd see in them. There may not a ton of action but it works when we get it, like a bit with horses. There's some good detailed gross descriptions, especially when we finally see Clayton.
This is a Johnny Ray Barnes one and he clearly is a fan of the genre as they got it right. You've got the forced saloon brawl and all that. There's one bit that made me laugh out loud, like it was funny on purpose and everything.
The writing is especially good here, it seems like the nature of westerns made them want to turn things up. There's plenty of good sentences and descriptions here, which helps make some slower parts work better. Shane has a decent monologue as well. Characters are all mostly memorable or at least have good chemistry with others, from Gabe to Grandpa.
On top of all that, there's a major theme here. It's about legacy, the idea of how your actions impact how you're viewed in the future. I'm not stretching, it is not subtle. Shane being a trouble maker is revealed suddenly but it's not too annoying and there is a clear arc. He learns that his actions have consequences and gets a mirror in the form of others who either left a negative impact or did so by accident.
They do a good job of having other elements work to this theme, and we get a good wrap up where the lesson is clear.. It's not subtle but it is well executed. As someone who thinks a lot about this concept, I'm glad to see this tackle that as it is a good lesson for not just kids, but plenty of adults.
It's a well done package that has good writing, solid western homages, plenty of setup and payoff, and a well explored take on legacies. It can be slow with a few pointless bits and conveniences but the other stuff makes up for it. I prefer the more fast paced ones but something about this appealed to mine, through the writing and theme.
If you need a good western adventure with a bit more to it, it's worth a look as a standout for Strange Matter. Yee yaw indeed.
SIDE NOTE: Shane at one point says he could wear a kilt to school and no one would look twice. Didn’t know Fairfield was so progressive.
CONTINUITY WATCH: Shane says he once hung out with Waylon Burst, who we talked about in Doorway to Doom. I checked and Shane isn't mentioned in either of his major books. Shreif Drake has a notable role and he would later be a thing in The Farfield Triangle, Russel is even mentioned.
Next time, we have Deadtime Stories. Both I had to pick from have tv episodes so yay for that. I went with the one that I know i've seen the episode of before, so that should be fun.
See ya then.
Shane Reece is a mild troublemaker, often getting his friend Gabe into some antics. One day there's an Earthquake in the next town over and at first it's not a big deal. But when his grandpa comes over to watch over him, he finds out about the legend of Clayton Motley an old west evil gungslinger who killed a lot of people. He was taken down one day by Nathaniel Reece, Shane's Great x 4 grandfather. Now it seems like Clayton is back and of course he's out for revenge on a Reece.
So this has to be one of my favorite Strange Matter books I've read so far. It'll be hard to rank due to the nature of it there are things about it that really appealed to me. To start with the flaws, it is a low burn. It's all about the build up to the big showdown which somehow isn't at high noon. They have some action before than not by as much as you may want. I can some getting that fireworks factor feeling.
That's two reviews in a row where I make that reference, and this is the 3rd book in a row I've covered that is about ghostly revenge. Weird. I don't mind the slow burn nature as it smartly puts thing into place but there are bits I could cut. I get some things need to be established but you can trim a bit. I wish Shane lead to Clayton being unleahsed to play more into the themes, as it is the earthquake feels a bit random.
There's stuff with magic bullets that isn't quite fully explained. I get it's meant to add to the whole legend/mystic you have in these kind of things but it does feel a bit random that this stuff happens to exist. It plays into the themes at least.
Those minor things aside, this one is pretty fun. It commits to the western tropes and has fun with them, nailing the dialouge you'd see in them. There may not a ton of action but it works when we get it, like a bit with horses. There's some good detailed gross descriptions, especially when we finally see Clayton.
This is a Johnny Ray Barnes one and he clearly is a fan of the genre as they got it right. You've got the forced saloon brawl and all that. There's one bit that made me laugh out loud, like it was funny on purpose and everything.
The writing is especially good here, it seems like the nature of westerns made them want to turn things up. There's plenty of good sentences and descriptions here, which helps make some slower parts work better. Shane has a decent monologue as well. Characters are all mostly memorable or at least have good chemistry with others, from Gabe to Grandpa.
On top of all that, there's a major theme here. It's about legacy, the idea of how your actions impact how you're viewed in the future. I'm not stretching, it is not subtle. Shane being a trouble maker is revealed suddenly but it's not too annoying and there is a clear arc. He learns that his actions have consequences and gets a mirror in the form of others who either left a negative impact or did so by accident.
They do a good job of having other elements work to this theme, and we get a good wrap up where the lesson is clear.. It's not subtle but it is well executed. As someone who thinks a lot about this concept, I'm glad to see this tackle that as it is a good lesson for not just kids, but plenty of adults.
It's a well done package that has good writing, solid western homages, plenty of setup and payoff, and a well explored take on legacies. It can be slow with a few pointless bits and conveniences but the other stuff makes up for it. I prefer the more fast paced ones but something about this appealed to mine, through the writing and theme.
If you need a good western adventure with a bit more to it, it's worth a look as a standout for Strange Matter. Yee yaw indeed.
SIDE NOTE: Shane at one point says he could wear a kilt to school and no one would look twice. Didn’t know Fairfield was so progressive.
CONTINUITY WATCH: Shane says he once hung out with Waylon Burst, who we talked about in Doorway to Doom. I checked and Shane isn't mentioned in either of his major books. Shreif Drake has a notable role and he would later be a thing in The Farfield Triangle, Russel is even mentioned.
Next time, we have Deadtime Stories. Both I had to pick from have tv episodes so yay for that. I went with the one that I know i've seen the episode of before, so that should be fun.
See ya then.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews