Wraiths of the Broken Land

by S. Craig Zahler

A brutal and unflinching tale that takes many of its cues from both cinema and pulp horror, Wraiths of the Broken Land is like no Western you've ever seen or read. Desperate to reclaim two kidnapped sisters who were forced into prostitution, the Plugfords storm across the badlands and blast their way through Hell. This gritty, character-driven piece will have you by the throat from the very first page and drag you across sharp rocks for its unrelenting duration. Prepare yourself for a savage Western experience that combines elements of Horror, Noir and Asian ultra-violence.

You've been warned.

Genres: Westerns, Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Novels, Pulp

262 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2013

About the author

"S. Craig Zahler is certain to become one of the great imaginers of our time." ― Clive Barker

Novelist and cartoonist S. Craig Zahler is also the screenwriter, director, and musical co-composer for the movies, Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99, and Dragged Across Concrete. His second graphic novel Organisms from an Ancient Cosmos was released by Dark Horse Comics as an oversized hardback in December 2022. He wrote and illustrated this large-scale sci-fi work.

"What a fantastic read!" ― Patton Oswalt

"I had the best time reading this graphic novel. I never knew where it was going or how." ― Brian Michael Bendis

His debut graphic novel, Forbidden Surgeries of the Hideous Dr. Divinus and his crime book The Slanted Gutter came out in 2021.

Praise for his other books:
"Whether writing westerns, science fiction, or crime, Zahler (Corpus Chrome, Inc., 2013) always manages to bring something new to the genre. [We fell] completely under Zahler’s spell... A bravura literary performance.” —Booklist, Starred Review

"Zahler tells a gripping story." ― Kirkus Review

"Five-plus stars to Hug Chickenpenny. Complex, well-drawn characterizations, compelling imagery and a well-ordered story..." ― Publishers Daily Reviews

"Zahler’s mean streets are bizarrely mean. But Mean Business is often mordantly funny, too—and not to be missed." Booklist, starred review

“CORPUS CHROME, INC describes one of the weirder post-singularity futures. The characters are very much alive. I was entertained throughout.” —Larry Niven, Hugo & Nebula award winning author

"Zahler's a fabulous story teller..." Kurt Russell, star of Escape from New York, Tombstone, and Stargate

My dark western Wraiths of the Broken Land is also available in trade paperback, hardback and ebook editions. Below is some praise from Joe R. Lansdale, Booklist, Jack Ketchum, and Ed Lee:

"If you’re looking for something similar to what you’ve read before, this ain’t it. If you want something comforting and predictable, this damn sure ain’t it. But if you want something with storytelling guts and a weird point of view, an unforgettable voice, then you want what I want, and that is this." –Joe R. Lansdale, author of The Bottoms, Mucho Mojo, and Savage Season

"It would be utterly insufficient to say that WRAITHS is the most diversified and expertly written western I’ve ever read." –Edward Lee, author of The Bighead and Gast.

"[C]ompulsively readable…. Fans of Zahler’s A Congregation of Jackals (2010) will be satisfied; think Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. [C]lever mayhem ... leads to a riveting climax." –Booklist

"WRAITHS always rings true, whether it's visiting the depths of despair, the fury of violence, or the fragile ties that bind us together for good or ill. It's a Western with heart and intelligence, always vivid, with characters you will detest or care about or both, powerfully written." –Jack Ketchum, author of Off Season and The Girl Next Door

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Revenge is not a tactic.”

It is with desperation that Nathaniel Stromler answers an advert that needs a man with fancy dress and able to travel. His dreams are an empty shell. I don’t mean that metaphorical. They really are an empty shell represented by a half built, weathered hotel that will never be finished. With a little imagination he can still gaze upon the structure and see what almost was.

What little money he has left is evaporating, and though his beautiful, Irish fiancée, Kathleen O’Corely, has been patient with his reversal of fortune, he worries that once the money runs out so will she. There is a part of him, a festering pit of insecurity, that doesn’t believe she should stay. His prospects are as bleak as the windswept, desolate prairie that surrounds them.

The people who need his help are paying too much for his services. He asks a few questions to make sure what he is being asked to do does not require unlawful activity, but truth be known, staying within the confines of the law is a luxury for those with some semblance of future security.

His employers, the Plugfords, are assholes. Their friend Long Clay goes beyond asshole to occupy that psychotic otherworld of existence that doesn’t recognize any life as sacred. He has proven rather adept at mayhem and murder during war... and peace. He is a stone cold killer. Like a good dog, the only thing he acknowledges is an unswerving loyalty to Old Man Plugford.

They believe that Nathaniel is a tenderfoot, but he’s no fool. He may not understand why everyone is so edgy or even exactly why they need him along, but he pays attention. He has a moral code, but he also accepts the practicalities of life in the West. Sometimes civilisation becomes such a distant memory that a man can’t even conceive he ever experienced it. Little does he know that before too long he is going to be doing this: ”Nathaniel reached his left index finger and thumb into his mouth, pinched the prickly scorpion corpse and pulled. The tail slid up his throat and its folded legs blossomed like a hideous flower.”

*SHUDDER*

And what is in the foul smelling trunk the Plugfords insist on hauling with them?

This is, as it turns out, a rescue operation. The Plugford sisters have been taken captive and are being used as sex slaves in a bordello located in the catacombs of Mexico. ”A segmented bug with innumerable legs crawled across a wooden beam, and she recognized the creature as the vessel into which she sent her spirit while her body withdrew semen from weak men as if it were a toxin.” The men had better get there soon or there won’t be anything left worth saving.

I first became aware of S. Craig Zahler when I watched the movie he wrote and directed, Bone Tomahawk. Even before I was caught up in the plot, I was fascinated by his use of 19th century words in the exchanges of dialogue. There are some gruesome scenes in the movie as there are in his books, but they reflect the truly horrific things we do to one another. There is truth in shining a light on our brutality. I immediately searched for more movies by Zahler and found instead that he had written two books, both published by Raw Dog Screaming Press, that he considered to be the other two parts of a trilogy including Bone Tomahawk.

Okay, well that’s kind of frigging cool.

And this book also had some wonderful uses of that same 19th century dialogue that was in Bone Tomahawk. ”Your belly won’t want to give up my provender.” There isn’t so much of it that it becomes a burden to a modern reader, but those words did frequently bring a smile to my face as I rolled those unusual words across my tongue. The provider of the provender is Patch Up, who goes on to describe his job. ”Shirts, pants, shoes, lacerations, broken bones, dangling scalps--I’ve fixed them all.” A very handy man to have along on a dangerous rescue mission.

The characters are vividly drawn, and even though you may loath some of them, given the circumstances, you will start to understand why they are weak and why they are capable of such brutality. When dealing with the types of sadistic creatures who run these catacomb bordellos and those who frequent them as customers, even Nathaniel Stromler might have to become someone he doesn’t want to be.

If Quentin Tarantino ever wrote a novel, it would be something like this one.

If you feel like you are trapped in a reading rut, this will shake you out of it. You’ll leave the road and be thrown around by the gulches and gullies until you find yourself peering down into the chasm too deep and too dark to see the bottom. Roll on down my friend, you’ll have to see the bloody end and hope that someone staggers away from the carnage.

”Vultures applied their sharp beaks to obsidian corpses. Throughout the tableau, the hooked chisels of scavengers echoed.”

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at: https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten

[Dave Edmunds · Rating 5 out of 5]

"He knew that men could become something else - something that they loathed - when the wolf of lust growled within them."

4.9 🌟's (as close to a full five stars as you get)

Initial Thoughts

Howdy partner! I am 43 years old and have been a fan of westerns pretty much my whole life. My Grandfather loved them and he passed that love on to me. You know how the story goes.

I thought I'd seen everything the genre had to offer. That's until I watched a little gem called Bone Tomahawk by director S. Craig Zahler. A movie that blended the best elements of a western with some jaw dropping horror. I'd seen nothing like it and was hungry for more. So when I watched a review, on the Slowly Red YouTube channel, of a book written by the same director I hunted that one down like it was an outlaw with a $10'000 reward on its head.

So after finishing A Congregation of Jackalsa few weeks ago and absolutely loving it, I just couldn't stay away from his next book... Wraiths of the Broken Land. This one seems to get even more praise than the last! Surely it can't be better. How's that even possible?

If A Congregation of Jackals was anything to go by I was in for a treat. These westerns are not for the faint hearted. Nasty, violent but really well written. In much the same vein as Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. They're definitely my cup of grog...or whatever it is cowboys drink these days. So once again I was ready to saddle up with Mr Zahler and set of into a dazzlingly violent western landscape. Yeehah!

The Story

The story follows the Plugford family, and the desperate attempts of the father and his two sons, as they search for the two daughters who have been kidnapped and forced into servitude in an underground Mexican brothel. To do that they employ the help of a motley crew, including a cold-blooded killer, a makeshift medic and the unsuspecting Nathaniel Stromler, who can speak fluent Spanish.

But the Plugford boys aint getting the girls back without a fight and there's a boatload of horror in store for them in the depths of the Mexican fortress. But maybe the only thing worse than the Mexican banditos is the ones who call themselves the good guys. On the way into Hell sometimes it pays to take the Devil with you and these boys intend to shoot first and ask questions later. As the saying goes, know your enemy. If the bad guys had realised who they were kidnapping they certainly would have thought twice. But that mistake is going to cause them a whole world of pain that they didn't bargain on.



The Writing

Wraiths of the Broken Land is loaded with some flavoursome prose that are sharp, stylish and at times elegant. Much like with Larry MacMurtry's Lonesome Dove the language fits the period the story is taking place in. It really gave me a sense of the era the characters lived in.

I was certainly impressed, as Zahler grabbed me by the throat and rammed a load of scorpions down it. With the levels of brutality that's certainly what it felt like.

Yes, this book had some of the most violent scenes I've read and I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of the bloody stuff. Much like Bone Tomahawk some of the scenes verge on horror with the extreme brutality. The underground brothel is a nightmarish location and there's no shortage of depraved acts going on down there.

The pacing just doesn't let up and every time Zahler takes his foot of the gas he rams it right back down again. Hard! It's like a runaway freight train but it's not just non-stop violence as the author uses flashback and backstory to provide a much needed change of pace.

"Now, a poorly chosen word or a patronising question brought him directly to the precipice beyond which laid only violent action."

The Characters

Zahler's character work begins with the razor sharp dialogue, which you'd fully expect with his talent as a screenwriter and director. It has a natural flow but packs a ton of energy, making it a feature of the narrative. The interplay between the characters was a definite highlight. But it doesn't end there.

"We need to go all the way mean."

"My pleasure!" proclaimed the youngest Plugford. "The meaner the better!"

I was also hoping for the same detail with the characters that kept me enthralled while reading A Congregation of Jackals. But you know what? I think Zahler took it a step higher in this one.

The great achievement with the cast of Wraiths of the Broken Land is that each one is flawed to different degrees and each with very human and sometimes selfish motivations. This is what makes them much more realistic than your standard western character. The line between good guy and villain is completely blurred when each commits horrific acts that got me questioning their morality. When going up against a monster, sometimes you need to be a monster.

But despite that they all have aspects that made me at the very least intrigued by them and at the most give them my love and sympathy. They all have layers where you want to understand more about them.

But please, for the love of god, don't get attached to any of them. Each one is going to get put through the ringer and the stakes are high. There's no guarantees and I wouldn't make any bets on who's going to make it out alive. Zahler gives enough for you to start caring about them, with some well timed backstory, and then throws them in the meat grinder. It makes for some very difficult reading.

My favourite character had to be the old gunslinger /Long Clay who was a former partner of the Plugford father. Despite being on the side of the good guys he had all the characteristics of a villain with a complete lack of emotion. At times truly terrifying. My feelings toward him changed through the course of the book. Sometimes in nice to see those bad guys get a taste of their own medicine and they certainly get an extra dose with this guy!


Long Clay

Final Thoughts

So that's two books down from Mr S. Craig Zahler and two massive hits. Wraiths of the Broken land left me utterly breathless. You'd literally have to hold a gun to my head to stop me reading it. I was gripping the pages tightly and at no point knew how things were going to finish up.

It's a classic western that's been injected with steroids and given huge, sharp claws and teeth. At times it really is verging on a horror. I've got to admit, I absolutely love this style. But it might be a bit too much to handle for some snowflakes out there.

I can definitely imagine this book as a movie and last time I checked it was under option to be made. I seem to recall it being looked at by local boy Ridley Scott who was born just up the road from me. That would be fantastic and I'm praying that it does. I'd be first in line to watch that bad boy.

S. Craig Zahler is bringing westerns back in a big way. If you like yours hyper violent with unpredictable twists and turns then I'd thoroughly recommend this or A Congregation of Jackals. That's all she wrote for now...

Thanks for reading and...cheers!

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but violent, January 22, 2016

This review is from: Wraiths of the Broken Land (Kindle Edition)

Mr. Zahler can write. Whether or not you want to read what he writes is another matter. This is not your usual western, it is quite grim, hard and violent. It is filled with death, torture and evil. At the beginning it seems clear that one side of the conflict is evil. As matters progress, the rescuers are forced into evil of their own. Ironically, the "good guys" would not have succeeded in any way were it not for the hard and "evil" man who led them.

Uncommon words are used deliberately by Mr. Zahler, I suspect as humor. At least a couple of them are used in their archaic or obscure meanings. His knowledge of words is far better than his knowledge of firearms. For example in one scene Long Clay "fans" a lever-action rifle. The Plugford party also uses lever-action rifles with detachable cylinder magazines. In 1902 the only similar weapon available would have been the Spencer if by cylinder Mr. Zahler means loading tube. This weapon was obsolete some three decades earlier and would be an unlikely choice of weapon when heading into danger.

Two minor things also bother me. Near the beginning of the novel a point is made of Humberto Calles singing a song in which the Mexicans are depicted as true sons of the land, the rightful owners of the land taken from them by the Texans. I suspect that the native Americans who were living on the land before the Spanish came would disagree with this assessment. Then, of course, there are the tribes who were living on the land before those Indians took it. And so on back to the beginning of human habitation on the land. I doubt that there is a square foot of arable land on the planet which has not been stolen more than once. Then there is the Confederate song with the unsavory reference to Jews. Perhaps such a song does exist but it is not reflective of Jewish life in the Confederacy or the antebellum South. A huge majority of Southern Jews supported the Confederacy and were valued members of society, the military and the government. Judah Benjamin, the first Jewish U.S. Senator, was elected from Louisiana and was later a member of the Confederate cabinet.

[Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most hardboiled Western-thrillers I've ever read.
It shimmers with absolute beauty even when it's describing the most horrible tortures one man might inflict upon another man (or woman).
Relentless, the reader is hit with horror on the first three pages and the horrors only intensify the more pages the reader turns.

This brilliantly written novel is not for the squeamish.
Highest recommendation for the rest of you heathen.

[Evans Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing the unexpectedly amazing film BONE TOMAHAWK, I jumped at the chance to purchase the writer/director's novel from Raw Dog Screaming Press, signed by the author no less. After reading it, I'm quite torn.
On the one hand, there is a lot to admire - interesting characters, unique situations and an unflinching stance when it comes to casting an eye on the unsavory side of life and violence.
On the other, there are some annoyances: a resolutely obtuse diction permeates the prose like a boy that's put on way too much perfume before a date. Sure it smells good, but c'mon - a little goes a long way. At first I felt a bit un-ed-ju-micated reading all those arcane words, and thought perhaps the author was using them enhance a feeling of time and place. Unfortunately, the barrage of high-scoring Scrabble fodder quickly became tedious and gratingly inorganic.
Yeah, I can use a thesaurus, too. We all can.
Doesn't mean we should, every second of every day.
Some editorial assistance in this department would've helped, because even the least astute readers will quickly notice that many $10 words are utilized injudiciously. If you try to play a drinking game where you take a shot every time the word "hirsute" lifts its hairy head, you'll be dead long before the end of this book arrives. Similarly, the shockingly simple word "blue" is used to describe every noun in sight for a peculiar 5 page span of text. If that's not literary, nothing is.
Fortunately, the author grows weary of peacocking his literary plumage somewhere around the book's midsection, and the storytelling becomes much more straightforward.
Overall, I enjoyed the book despite its quirks - even though when you kick things off with a woman waking to find a dead turtle inside her vagina, you'd better have something that follows to back it up. This didn't, and the opening reeks of a cheap trick. I'm all for shocking things happening, but this particular event didn't make any sense at all upon retrospect.
The story? The set up was great, the denouement not so much. It did what it came to do, and that was fine. Very much inspired by "No Country for Old Men", taken back in time, if I was a betting man.
Which I'm not.
The novel lacks a bit of focus in terms of whose story we are supposed to care about, of which character the narrative is following. The drifting omniscient viewpoint wafts gently about the characters, so at least it's not confusing in a POV sense. The purported main character increasingly fades into the background until the very end, which to me diminished the power of that man's particular story.
I think this author will be one to watch, especially as maturity aids in getting the show-off impulse under control.
This book: 3.5 Stars

[William M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

S. Craig Zahler's second published western, Wraiths Of The Broken Land, is a wholly satisfying, tension-filled experience. Take the most violent western you've ever read and combine that with the most gruesome and brutal horror novel you've read. That is the level of destruction you will discover between the pages of this book. Beautifully written with the flavor of the period, Zahler's tight story is immediately gripping and starts off with such ferocity that many readers might bail out after the first chapter. But if you can stomach his dark and unflinching vision, you will be thoroughly rewarded.

Whether you are a fan of westerns or horror novels, or even dark fiction, this is a book that I highly recommend and that you are guaranteed to not soon forget. Rich characters, smart, believable dialogue, and descriptions so pitch-perfect, you will feel as if you were thrown headfirst into the middle of the action. There are no good guys or bad guys in this one, folks. Everyone here is a sinner to some degree. Not to mention having one of the most gratifying endings I've read in a long, long time. Author Zahler keeps you on your toes with constant surprises and strong back stories for each character. This is easily the best book I've read this year and gets my highest recommendation. It is simply breathtaking.

[Pisces51 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wraiths of the Broken Land [2013] by S. Craig Zahler
My Review 5.0 Stars

"It would be utterly insufficient to say that WRAITHS is the most diversified and expertly written western I've ever read." -Edward Lee, author of The Bighead and Gast

I read this Western Horror novel at the recommendation of a stellar Goodreads friend who I like and admire, not in any small measure for his taste in Horror Literature. I began by being mesmerized by the Cover Art (book design by Jennifer Barnes), then later astonished after reading this blended novel the author describes as a “savage Western experience that combines elements of Horror, Noir and Asian ultra-violence”. It sounded to me like he was listing the ingredients of a cocktail. He is a mixologist all right but not in a cocktail lounge. His recipe for “Wraiths” proved to be the most potent and addictive concoction I have ever read.

It is ironic but my friend Rob was anxious for me to read this selection written by Zahler first. That is to say I had already purchased “The Slanted Gutter” (his “masterpiece crime novel”) and Zahler’s debut Western “A Congregation of Jackals” (2010) which garnered Spur and Peacemaker nominations. It appears that some critics feel strongly that “Wraiths of the Broken Land” is the poor cousin in this trio of Zahler’s works. The strong recommendation is to “prioritize the other two first”. Does this book really “vastly pale in comparison to his other western” (“A Congregation of Jackals (2010). That was a rhetorical question. I have already bought it, and I will endeavor to determine the veracity of that assertion to be sure. Both of these are Westerns, and I must say without comparative evidence that I certainly feel that “Wraiths of the Broken Land” is more than simply “Good”, and it remains to be seen if I am looking forward to true “Greatness” with Zahler’s debut Western “A Congregation of Jackals (2010)”. “The Slanted Gutter” is also granted the connotation of “Great”. I have always had an affinity for westerns, and it so happens that Zahler’s sophomore trip with “Wraiths” wreaked of greatness to me, what with a shout-out to the spaghetti westerns of yesteryear and the other half sheer extreme horror what was not to love? I fully expect a Five Star read with “The Slanted Gutter” as well. I also have read a spate of Organized Crime, International Thrillers. I have never tried to hide my eclectic roots. What can I do to pay you back Rob? You have made my Fall one “Hell Bent for Leather” and a slippery time with Zahler’s “nasty” crime tale as he refers to it.

Was that a tangent or what? I am shocked anyone reads my reviews. By the way, you guys know the author Ridley Scott. I used to love that man’s novels. Anyway, 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to (“Wraiths”) nine years ago. What the flock? Ridley Scott was destined to direct the last I heard.

What were we talking about? Ah…the book…” Wraiths of the Broken Land” (2013), Zahler’s second western novel. The story takes place in the untamed frontier, the lawless Wild West during the 1900s. The author picks up the thread of the story in Summer, 1902. The reader meets “The woman who had forgotten her name”. She has been held captive for the preceding eight months, addicted to drugs and forced to work as a prostitute while existing in squalor and forced to ingest slop by “the man with the wooden nose”.

She is one of two kidnapped sisters who were abducted and forced into doing the bidding of her captors. The catalyst for this powerful piece of western literature is the heartbreak and hatred of the desperate family members of the two abducted women. The father and the two brothers left behind will traverse the dangerous notorious badlands and blast through the gates of Hell itself to rescue their two sisters. They have interesting partners in this seemingly impossible endeavor.

S. Craig Zahler is being called “a fabulous storyteller” and the likes of Clive Barker has proclaimed “S. Craig Zahler is certain to become one of the great imaginers of our time.” This is a character-driven plot, and the blood-soaked action was in technicolor as I read. The author paints pictures with his beautiful prose and breathes life into the story and our sense of the time period. His colorful characters are surprisingly well developed for the relentless pace of the action and the scalding drama that unfolds. The captivating conversations and violent savage action kept me spellbound as it escalated to a crescendo.

This novel was dark as night and one of the most compelling and captivating reads for me this year. The story is morbidly fascinating, and the dialog is spectacularly good. There is a full house of heartbreaking murder of innocents, a straight red diamond flush of violence, rape, depravity and torture that is beyond unspeakable. Worse still, the battle scenes with the varied murder and stomach-churning torture methods rendered a royal flush of blood with the ground covered crimson. I was blindsided by its true elegance, superlative style, impactful storyline, and the overall elegance of the entire novel.

The savagery of mankind overshadowed themes of love and loyalty. The intensity and visceral impact managed to play my emotions like a maestro, and this was a heartbreaking novel that reached for riveting realism. It is my opinion that like the infamous quote in “30 Days of Night” where Danny Huston’s vampire looks around and in a smirking tone, utters “There is no God” to the kneeling, crying victim.

"WRAITHS always rings true, whether it's visiting the depths of despair, the fury of violence, or the fragile ties that bind us together for good or ill. It's a Western with heart and intelligence, always vivid, with characters you will detest or care about or both, powerfully written." -Jack Ketchum, author of Off Season and The Girl Next Door

ONE OF MY FAVORITE READS OF THIS YEAR 2025

[Kansas · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La prisionera, sola y repleta de asquerosa comida, se adormeció y se quedó dormida. En sus sueños, era una maestra de coro felizmente casada que vivía en San Francisco. Su nombre era Yvette."

No sabía que Craig Zahler además de un interesantisimo director de cine era además un novelista, así que en cuanto he podido le he he echado la zarpa a una de sus novelas; elegí este western porque pensé que quizá pudiera remitirme a Bone Tomahawk y aunque claro que tiene sus conexiones en cuanto a esa violencia imprevista e imprevisible conectada con un cierto terror, en el caso de esta novela más que de terror se trata de horror, por muchas de las situaciones al límite que nos narra aquí Zahler. Aunque es cierto que lleva esta violencia a las últimas consecuencias, sin dejarse nada en el tintero, sin temor a ser politicamente incorrecto, también tengo que decir que ha creado aquí una novela contundente mezcla de pulp, western antiromántico y a su vez saga familiar.

La novela básicamente nos narra el viaje que emprenden a México los Plugford, un padre (ex forajido) y sus dos hijos para rescatar a sus hermanas secuestradas. Las hermanas Plugford están retenidas en una especie de fortaleza llamada las Catacumbas. Los Plugford cuentan además con la ayuda de un pistolero y ex forajido Long Clay, Patch Up un hombre negro libre que forma parte de la familia de los Plugford, Lagunas Profundas un indio exiliado de su tribú y de Nathaniel a quien contratan como traductor de español: será Nathaniel el personaje que de alguna forma sea el hilo conductor de esta historia, a través de cuyos ojos y punto de vista nos formaremos una idea de la mayor parte de lo que vaya transcurriendo.

"-¿Le gustaría... escocés... en vez de tequila?- inquirió Juan Bonito en un arrastrado inglés.
-Sí -confirmó Nathaniel-. Prefiero escocés."

Wraiths of Broken Land es una epopeya en el más amplio sentido de la palabra porque me remite de alguna forma a lo que hizo John Ford en Centauros del Desierto, la búsqueda de una mujer secuestrada y el largo viaje que emprenden unos hombres para encontrarla, un viaje que puede resultar una excusa también para enfrentarse a sus propios fantasmas, y aquí cada uno de los personajes carga con sus propios fantasmas. Es en este viaje donde Zahler construye sus mejores momentos, los diálogos y la construcción de personajes tienen su carga psicológica siempre, y en ningún momento resulta una novela donde la violencia sea una sucesión de actos gratuitos porque el mundo que está retratando Zahler es el del infierno cuando llegado un punto ya no hay esperanza frente a la violencia. El primer capítulo que sirve como una especie de epílogo para ponernos en situación, aunque muy violento, me pareció magnífico, y el momento de la llegada de Nathaniel a las Catacumbas es otro de esos momentos atmosféricos donde la oscuridad y el morbo campan a sus anchas. Lo que sí que tengo que decir es que la traducción es mejorable y me resultó incómoda en algunos momentos. Craig Zahler finalmente como novelista me ha interesado tanto como cineasta.

"Muchos pecados le habían sido perpretados a ella, por ella y en lo profundo de ella.
"-Yo era diferente -le dijo Yvette al insecto."

🟌🟌 Novela que lei con los Still Corners como música de fondo...)

https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2022...

[Erik Kvinnsland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this novel late one night. It did not take long before it was like the walls of my house disappeared around me, and I found myself sitting beside a small campfire out on the open plains, reading this story from the old west under the light of the stars. My dog Zeb was with me the whole time, and I am glad, because this was a dark tale.
I am 40 years old, and I have been a book/movie freak my whole life. To be honest I thought I had read and watched everything, I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. Well, I was wrong.
Some say this author is clearly inspired by Quentin Tarantino and directors/writers like him, and I understand why they say that. But still I disagree. This is something different and fresh, this is the work of a very gifted writer, a true talent. Actually I would turn this around and say that directors like Tarantino should be inspired by him, because this is material for the movies. It grabs you by the throat and will not let go. It places you alongside the characters riding through the night, you are suddenly a part of it all. More than once I wanted to leave, because this story is not for the faint hearted. But I couldn’t, I had to follow these people to the end. The good, the bad and the ugly, they are all there. You can feel their pain, their hate, hope and remorse. And darkness follow them everywhere they go.
I read through the night, and finished the novel. Then I went to work and told everyone about “Wraiths of the Broken Land”. Now I am waiting for a package to arrive from Amazon, containing two more novels from this brilliant author. Please hurry up, I want more.

[Abe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t wait for the movie of this one! What a wild ride!

After watching Zahler's unexpectedly excellent film Bone Tomahawk, I immediately purchased all 5 of his books he had published to date. My reasoning: Bone Tomahawk expertly exhibits myriad elements of film that I greatly admire, and the dialogue in particular stands out to me as exceptional. The characters ring true in that film, and the brilliant wordplay Zahler fluidly incorporates into conversations lifts his characters to a heightened level of humanity. Any screenwriter who could craft a story so suspenseful, create such empathy in his viewers for the characters, and write with such dexterous skill, surely must also be able to apply that talent in novel form.

This is the first Zahler novel I have read, and I can affirm that the guy's talents do indeed translate to novels well. His command of descriptive language is exquisite: certain passages make me wince in pain.

Similar to Bone Tomahawk, the basic premise is not particularly original, because it needn’t be: a small group of men set out to rescue two kidnapped women, unaware of the women's exact situation or location. The true savor of this story lies in its execution: each major figure in the novel is deeply characterized (perhaps not so much the primary antagonist, but he is supposed to represent mankind on the whole, so this is likely intentional) the violence is unflinching in nature and serves the purpose of advancing both plot and character development, the settings are vividly detailed, and the English dialogue is excellent. Zahler captures nineteenth / early twentieth century American English rather well, both in the narration of the tale and its characters' words, and for the characters that qualification applies both to the spoken and the written word (as there are a few letters contained in the book).

While this book is admirable all around, I particularly love the character arc for the person known usually as “the gentleman.” The final paragraphs related to his character finish just about as perfect a personal journey as you can ask for in a novel. And the eloquent prose that dictates that story is icing on the cake. The contrast between the initial image and final image of this character is simply mesmerizing and greatly resembles a disconnect most people experience at some point in their lives: when ideals must be forgotten for the sake of helping others, can those ideals ever truly come back?

While I thank Raw Dog Screaming Press for making Wraiths of the Broken Land available in print form, this book could use some editing. Several typographical errors sneak in here and there, although they are not terribly frequent. Also, Zahler has a tendency to phrase his similes using the structure "thing x... that were thing y" (implying that one object is in reality another object) rather than simply using the word "like," which is understandable to a degree, but after 20 or so phrasings in the book similar to "two blue marbles that were his eyes," "the woman who was Yvette" etc. it gets a little tiresome, and you wish the sentence structure would shake up a bit. I realize it is a stylistic choice, but certain similes could have been rephrased more effectively, in my opinion.

The prominent sticky point in this novel, easily remediable through some minor editing, is that Zahler's Spanish dialogue is inauthentic. The limited Spanish dialogue he includes is translated literally, word-for-word, from the English equivalent. This instills several negative reactions in the reader.

Example: A waitress hands a man a drink and tells him, "En la casa." I wonder, "What is this, a cryptic message from the bartender to the customer revealing the location of the men he is going to meet up with? That does not make sense." I realize, "Oh, wait, this phrase must mean something in English." I translate word-for-word, "In the house." This still doesn't make sense in the context of the chapter. I re-translate, "On the house." Oh, right. That's an idiom. What the waitress means here, and by extent what Zahler means here, is "This drink is free." So, what the waitress should have said is a similar phrase, "Cortesía de la casa."

All of those reactions dilute Zahler's otherwise potent narrative authenticity and rip me out of the otherwise spellbinding story nearly every time he employs a Spanish phrase consisting of more than one word. Most times a character employs Spanish phrases, the sense of escape I yearn to experience in novels diminishes.

However, most Spanish conversations in this book are wittily and wisely conveyed through descriptive narration of the intercourse, rather than trying to incorporate them completely in the novel, so I do not believe the poorly translated Spanish detracts detrimentally from the experience of this book. Seriously, the summarizations he writes are often hilarious. Doubly however, however, because the amount of Spanish used in the book is relatively minute, it would take almost no time at all to have a fluent Spanish speaker go through and make the dialogue both more authentic and understandable. There is an exchange of Spanish dialogue near the end that is somewhat lengthy and quite cumbersome to read through because it is poorly translated, but I give Zahler the benefit of the doubt here: the character speaking in this instance is canonically non-Hispanic (American Midwestern, in fact), and is additionally under a great deal of psychological and physiological duress, so it is quite likely his Spanish is realistically bad during this exchange.

If you don't speak Spanish and want to read a fine Western novel that does not refrain from an accurately visceral portrayal of frontier violence, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. If you do speak Spanish, I recommend this book, but with the warning that the occasional Spanish phrase will trip you up a little bit. Overall, this book is a great deal of fun, the characters are excellently portrayed, and the narrative construction is solid. If a dedicated editor sat down with this book for a couple days, I would unreservedly give this book 5 stars. I would gladly help edit the book for future editions for free if Zahler asked me. (wink wink)

[Adam Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood Meridian on steroids. I found out about this book after watching Bone Tomahawk, and wasn't disappointed. I actually like this story better. Memorable characters, great dialog, and some gruesome, unforgettable scenes. Not to mention the prose, which is at times stunning, and at others, squick-inducing. I agree with Kurt Russell's assessment - Zahler is an incredible storyteller. High recommend for fans of grimdark westerns, horror, or Cormac McCarthy.

[Nate Comstock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was marketed as a horror western, but to me is mostly just a brutal and dark western, though some horrific things do happen throughout the book. This was my real introduction to Zahler's work as I've not read any of his other books nor have I seen Bone Tomahawk yet, but I will absolutely be paying attention to him now.

This was a gripping tale of revenge, redemption, and morality in the face of a lawless era and dire circumstances. The writing was superb, with a distinct way of using words that could easily feel unnatural but works incredibly well. The atmosphere is through the roof. The different transitions and framing devices were all handled beautifully.

The characters are also a standout here, you get to spend time with several of them and whether you agree or agree with them and their various worldviews, you understand them and empathize with them.

But oh, is this book dark, violent, and bleak. Within the first page you'll get a good idea of how far things will go. But it's necessary to paint this particular picture for the narrative. All in all, a captivating read that I enjoyed immensely.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I found this book after researching who the hell made Bone Tomahawk. That was one of the most interesting western films I had seen in quite some time, almost to the point of rejuvenating a well dated genre. Wraiths of the Broken Land is one book I wish I had read on paper, not the Kindle that I don't read as often. Annoying to break from the book when I'm not at work for example. S. Craig Zahler has crafted a book that I instantly wish was a film, but I hope he never decides to adapt it himself. That first chapter will make or break your interest in reading the book any further, so bear that in mind, it's an out there moment.
S. Craig Zahler twists the narrative so that most of the exposition happens towards the end of the book. I thought this play with narrative was an appropriate choice as you hit the ground with the darker side of the story. The two sisters are already going through hell when he first meet them, thanks to the lovable Gris character. The writing lifts of the page, very cinematic with descriptions, I wonder if this was once a screenplay.
The characters are very individual and you get a true sense of their loyalty very fast. One of my biggest issues was Gris, I felt he lacked that central villain presence, maybe I'm knit picking here. The rest of the characters bounce of each other and the dialogue/banter allows each character to flourish. You would only need to watch a S. Craig Zanier film to see his characters are never the same, a very common issue for other writers. Distinguishing each character is the key and the fact that he made sure all his characters were multilayered was a significant plus in my eyes.
Why the 4.5?
The finale didn't resonate with me and the villain while dark was missing that distinction for the final death to work. S. Craig Zanier has written one of the darkest and purest western I have read, I am eager to see if a film adaption can capture the horror of this book. It reminds me of a gritty Tarantino film, something he might have made prior to Kill Bill. It has layers upon layers and I honestly feel with an additional chapter with Gris coming across as a little more human could have given this book the 5. I won't fault the author, this is my subjective review of the material and I understand what it's like to live with a project. Maybe there was more here and was stripped away prior to publication, who knows. I loved this book for its tone and out there craziness, something I hope carries over onto future works. Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99 both made my end of yearstop 9, something I do with Instagram.
Check it out #2017bestfilms, #2017top9. I've started doing from 1984 so use that year much like the 2017.

My next book kindle book is Questions for a soldier by John Scalzi. Not a long book so I need to start searching for a new book. Thinking something pulpy.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, violent, and unforgiving, to label Wraiths of the Broken Land as simply a Western does it no justice. At first glance it's a tale of revenge, but with S. Craig Zahler's skill it becomes so much more intricate than you'd expect. It will blindside you.

You can read my entire review here at Horror DNA.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some novels read like screenplays. This reads at times like a storyboard. Zahler can conjure up vivid imagery, but at times the descriptions get a bit needlessly florid or too precise: we don’t need to know how many stars are visible through a small window, say. He is fond of characters who are just as verbose as he is, people who call food “comestibles” and sex an “assignation”. I think another draft would have helped, or perhaps a judicious editor could have trimmed away the excess verbiage, ten-dollar words, and unnecessary parentheses. Might do away with a number of the flashbacks, too.
From what’s on the page, it’s clear that Zahler is a talented storyteller, but I suspect that moviemaking may be more his forte.

[Peter Derk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw Bone Tomahawk, written by this dude, loved it. Saw Brawl in Cell Block 99, loved it more. So when I found out the same guy wrote some books, I decided to check one out.

It's pretty great.

Violent as all hell, so if you don't can't handle some pretty hefty, descriptive, gut-wrenching stuff, this ain't for you.

But if you liked the movies above, you'll dig this.

~

There's this thing going on with S. Craig Zahler right now, mostly because his newest movie, Dragged Across Concrete, cast Mel Gibson in a lead role.

This, combined with a few other elements of Zahler's movies, seems to have put his work under a microscope. The lens: Is his work too politically incorrect?

Here is one critic's take on Dragged Across Concrete:

"There's no shortage of significant works of art in which characters voice repellent ideas and do repellent things that, however, are distinguished artistically from the artist's own point of view. This isn't one of them."

I find this critique disingenuous. Because it purports to know and understand the creator's real-life opinion on things based on what sounds like a lack of a director/writer somehow stepping up within the movie and saying, "Hey, I don't necessarily agree with these characters." Sure, you could make sure that the bad guy gets punished at the end. Which gives you a movie like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It's fun and all, but jesus christ, could the bad military guy be any more bad military guy? As soon as you see him take a dino's tooth, you know it's going to end badly for him. Because that's how those type of movies work. If the bad guy isn't A) Clearly very bad and B) Thoroughly punished in cathartic fashion, then...we assume the director of that movie is endorsing the bad guy's behavior?

In most feature films, the characters are punished and rewarded, in tiered hierarchy, based on they way they've behaved over the last two hours. The best person has the best outcome, the worst person has the worst. The slightly good guys have a favorable, but not life-changing, outcome.

It's something I like about S. Craig Zahler's work that I don't like about the work of others. His stuff has a real life feel because no one is safe. A bad guy might get punished, and he might not. A good guy is very likely to get an undeserved punishment. It reflects real life. In real life, being a jerk doesn't seem to correlate to dying in spectacular fashion that everyone else can feel good about. Nor does being a nice person mean you'll be spared a gruesome death.

For the record, I very much disagree with the criticism above because my tastes run towards art that doesn't tell the person experiencing it how to feel. I like leaving something and not necessarily knowing how I feel about it, and I don't require that whoever made it explicitly tell me how I'm supposed to feel or how they intended I feel. I like filling that in myself. I think that means the story was more interesting, nuanced, and it felt more like an individual's vision as opposed to a product cobbled together by a marketing department.

If you take a Marvel movie, you are very clearly supposed to feel a certain way at the ending. You are meant to feel one way at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, and another at the end of Infinity War. Not many people walk out unsure how they feel about Spider-Man dissolving into dust. Nor do they walk out wondering whether the makers of the film felt that Thanos was right, misunderstood, or trapped in a situation that was beyond his control. You know exactly how you feel about every aspect, and you can be very certain that everyone in the theater with you felt shades of the same. For the record, I mostly like Marvel movies, but not in the same way I like something like the book I'm sort of reviewing here.

With Zahler's stuff, you are not told how to feel. You have to decide for yourself. Which I think baffles modern critics as they don't have a defined personal feeling, but more than that, they don't know whether to trust their personal feelings because they couldn't get a bead on the creator of the piece, a crucial aspect of modern criticism. Does the creator see the world as presented in the movie? Do they feel the ways the characters felt? Are they presenting a racist character as bad? Are they presenting a hero as good in every possible way?

I suppose this is a long way of saying I admire someone who doesn't make things to be liked personally. S. Craig Zahler is one of the best in terms of that. I genuinely think he's okay making things that convince some people that he's a bad person. I don't even think he's making things to be understood. I think he makes things because they're interesting, compelling, and reflective of the world as it is as opposed to the world as he might (or might not) want it.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe schon einige brutale Bücher gelesen und halte mich in der Literatur für nicht besonders zart besaitet. Aber dieses Buch hat mich an meine Grenzen gebracht. Selten habe ich etwas so Brutales gelesen- und seltsamerweise lesen wollen. Trotz oder vielleicht auch wegen der Detailtiefe ist dieser Western einfach verdammt gut geschrieben.

[Daniel Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A character driven, blood soaked masterpiece. That's the best way to describe S. Craig Zahler's Wraith's of the Broken Land. With an opening chapter that's as interesting as it is horrifying, Zahler masterfully sets the stage for a violent and darkly funny thrill ride of vengeance where no one will escape unscathed, even the reader. The story revolves around a father and his two sons searching desperately for their daughters/sisters who where kidnapped and forced into prostitution in Mexico. The father enlists in the help of a "dandy" to infiltrate the brothel, a Native American warrior, and a cold, calculating killer also known as a "Wraith", to get his daughters back. The characters are written so well that they feel real, flaws and all. Sometimes they commit horrific acts that made me question their morality, then in the next chapter they do something endearing and my attitude toward them would change. Especially when it came to the "Wraith". One chapter I wanted to see him dead, then I found myself rooting for him the next. After that I'd hate him again. It a circle that repeated itself throughout the book.

One night I decided to sit down and read a chapter or two before bed. Before I knew it I had read 12 chapters and ended up with 3 hours of sleep that night. This novel will grab you from the beginning and it won't let go. I finished reading it a week ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. With this novel S. Craig Zahler has become one of my favorite modern writers. Read it if you're a fan of graphically violent, westerns with unpredicable twists and turns. I guarantee you've never read anything like this before.

[David Bjorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic, blood-drenched tale from S. Craig Zahler.

[Dave P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and brutal. So brutal, in fact, that at times I felt it was becoming too much to take, but overall brilliance wins out.

[Bill Kenkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Ridley Scott makes a movie out of this, it's going to make The Hateful Eight look like Yosemite Sam.

[David Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been sitting on my shelves for a while. It is one of those books that I knew I was going to likely enjoy, but it fell to the side amongst all the other great titles I have in my library. Then I saw Bone Tomahawk, which was an awesome movie, and decided if Zahler writes like he makes movies then I should make the move Wraiths soon. I was not disappointed.

I love weird/violent/horror westerns and this book fits nicely into that subgenre. The characters are interesting and original. The violence is splattery and it is timed well so it doesn’t take away from the story. Think Tarintino and Joe Lansdale. The tension and action are paced well throughout the entire book. The chapters are short so it is an easy book to follow. Honestly, it is easy to tell that Zahler is a film writer because the story flows like a movie in your head, which to me is the difference between a good storyteller and a good writer. You can be both but some are better at one or the other.

Anyways if you have read The Thicket by Joe Lansdale, Blood Meridian by Mccarthy, or the lesser know Haints Stay by Colin Winette then you should really like this book. If you are into the horror western sub-genre like me, then you will like Zahler’s work for sure.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise! When I started the book I thought OK, this will be a spaghetti western style story. I never imagined it would turn into so much more, the way S. Craig Zahler build tension and makes you care for the characters is admirable.
The book definitely goes from less to more as the story progresses, but by the first quarter of the book you kind of know you're in for something very good. Mr. Zahler is not afraid to have things happen to his characters, that's not a common thing. Very well done, and not as violent as one would imagine from the references on the back cover.
My only complaint would be the Spanish (Mexican) dialogue, a good portion of it is not well translated, the grammar is wrong and look to have been made with Google translate. It should have been revised by someone native, still everything is understandable and it's the only blemish on an otherwise magnificent book.
Now, Mr. Zahler, I'm forced to get not only your other books but to check out your metal bands! Well done!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wildly brilliant and incredibly disturbing novel by Mr. Zahler. Thank goodness I had a five hour flight from Tennessee so that I could be uninterrupted while devouring this story. It is my mission to read every book he has written.

[Nick Padula · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me to enjoy something in the Western genre, the storyteller really has to dig into the gruesomeness of the American frontier without a hint of unironic romanticism. I need my Westerns to be darker than dark. Thankfully, S. Craig Zahler is all about horror and brutality with what he writes. He first came to my attention with his incredibly gruesome but well-crafted film Bone Tomahawk. From there I figured he earned himself a fan and I would check out most of his movies. Only recently I found out he also writes books and brings that same edge and grit to his prose.

This is definitely more graphic than Bone Tomahawk which featured one of the goriest, disturbing deaths I’ve seen on film. The horror and dread that I felt while reading barely let up, and I love those feelings when I’m reading a novel!

P.S. Definitely look up trigger warnings if you’re worried because a lot of the bad things that can happen to a person…happen in this book.

[Ben Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never read a western so was intrigued to pick this up after watching one of his films, Bone Tomahawk. I really enjoyed it. Incredibly brutal and violent at times, but not taking away from the rich characters and storyline.

[The Shayne-Train · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS
BOOK
Y'ALL!

Holy shit, this book. First page starts with a mix of sickening depravity, shocking ultra-violence, and flowing prose full of big words you have to Google. And it keeps it up the entire goddamn run. This book is SO my jam, I loved every page.

[Kansas · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La prisionera, sola y repleta de asquerosa comida, se adormeció y se quedó dormida. En sus sueños, era una maestra de coro felizmente casada que vivía en San Francisco. Su nombre era Yvette."

No sabía que Craig Zahler además de un interesantisimo director de cine era además un novelista, así que en cuanto he podido le he he echado la zarpa a una de sus novelas; elegí este western porque pensé que quizá pudiera remitirme a Bone Tomahawk y aunque claro que tiene sus conexiones en cuanto a esa violencia imprevista e imprevisible conectada con un cierto terror, en el caso de esta novela más que de terror se trata de horror, por muchas de las situaciones al límite que nos narra aquí Zahler. Aunque es cierto que lleva esta violencia a las últimas consecuencias, sin dejarse nada en el tintero, sin temor a ser politicamente incorrecto, también tengo que decir que ha creado aquí una novela contundente mezcla de pulp, western antiromántico y a su vez saga familiar.

La novela básicamente nos narra el viaje que emprenden a México los Plugford, un padre y sus dos hijos para rescatar a sus hermanas secuestradas. Las hermanas Plugford están retenidas en una especie de fortaleza llamada las Catacumbas. Los Plugford cuentan además con la ayuda de un pistolero y ex forajido Long Clay, Patch Up un hombre negro libre que forma parte de la familia de los Plugford, de un indio exiliado de su tribú y de Nathaniel a quien contratan como traductor de español: será Nathaniel el personaje que de alguna forma sea el hilo conductor de esta historia, a través de cuyos ojos y punto de vista nos formaremos una idea de la mayor parte de lo que vaya transcurriendo.

"-¿Le gustaría... escocés... en vez de tequila?- inquirió Juan Bonito en un arrastrado inglés.
-Sí -confirmó Nathaniel-. Prefiero escocés."

Wraiths of Broken Land es una epopeya en el más amplio sentido de la palabra porque me remite de alguna forma a lo que hizo John Ford en Centauros del Desierto, la búsqueda de una mujer secuestrada y el largo viaje que emprenden unos hombres para encontrarla, un viaje que puede resultar una excusa también para enfrentarse a sus propios fantasmas, y aquí cada uno de los personajes carga con sus propios fantasmas. Es en este viaje donde Zahler construye sus mejores momentos, los diálogos y la construcción de personajes tienen su carga psicológica siempre y en ningún momento resulta una novela donde la violencia sea una sucesión de actos gratuitos porque el mundo que está retratando Zahler es el del infierno cuando llegado un punto ya no hay esperanza frente al mal. El primer capítulo que sirve como una especie de epílogo para ponernos en situación, aunque muy violento, me pareció magnífico, y el momento de la llegada de Nathaniel a las Catacumbas es otro de esos momentos atmosféricos donde la oscuridad y el morbo campan a sus anchas. Lo que sí que tengo que decir es que la traducción es mejorable y me resultó incómoda en algunos momentos. Craig Zahler finalmente como novelista me ha interesado tanto como cineasta.

"Muchos pecados le habían sido perpretados a ella, por ella y en lo profundo de ella.
"-Yo era diferente -le dijo Yvette al insecto."

🟌🟌 Novela que lei con los Still Corners como música de fondo...)

https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2022...

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus Christ. Makes Blood Meridian look like a kid’s book

[Schurkenblog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein böser, brutaler Western für hartgesottene Leser! Mit viel Blut und Splatterelementen. Und eindrucksvollen widersprüchlichen Figuren.

In Catacumbas, Mexiko, werden zwei Schwestern brutal zur Prostitution gezwungen. Schon hier wird klar, dieses Buch ist böse. Es metzelt. Es blutet. Es ist brutal. Gewalttätig.

Draußen in Texas macht sich eine bunte Gruppe auf. Die Familie Plugford sammelt sich und bezahlt Nathaniel Stromler dafür, dass er sie begleitet und sich als reichen Mann ausgibt. Denn die zwei gefangen gehaltenen Frauen sind die Schwestern der Familie Plugford. Doch Stromler hat keine Ahnung, auf was er sich da einlässt. Und schon gar nicht, wie diese geheime Befreiungsaktion enden wird. Und die kommt mit brutalen Splatterelementen daher, von daher: Dieses Buch ist wirklich nur für die hartgesottenen Leser.

In die Handlung hat Zahler eines sehr gut eingearbeitet: Die Rassenansichten von damals, der Zeit um 1900. Stromler wird als Gentleman bezeichnet, der Vater Plugford als Patriach, Long Clay als Cowboy, Deep Lakes als Indianer, die Mexikaner als Mexikaner, nur Patch-Up wird rassistisch als „Neger“ (und noch böseren Worten) bezeichnet.
Doch Zahler zeigt auch, dass mancher Rassismus nur nach außen getragen wird. Im Herzen sieht es es oft ganz anders aus. Dieser Widerspruch ist ihm wirklich gut gelungen, macht die Charaktere menschlich, bleibt dabei aber erstaunlicherweise glaubwürdig. Überhaupt ist die Charakterisierung durch ihre vielen Facetten ein Genuss, ein Highlight des Buches. Hätte ich so nicht erwartet.

Die Handlung selbst ist brutal. Da fließt schon mal Hirnmasse aus, finden Verstümmelungen statt, Zwangsernährung, Tierquälereien, Folter, und natürlich viele blutige Schusswechsel. Und Zahler schont dabei weder seine Figuren noch seine Leser.

Ein Western, der im Vollgalopp stattfindet, der blutig ist, der aber auch vor allem eines zeigt: Menschen sind widersprüchlich. Das hat Zahler wirklich gut gemacht!