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Skin Medicine
Utah Territory, 1882.
Tyler Cabe. Scarred Civil War veteran. Bounty Hunter. He has come to the wild, hell-for-leather mining town of Whisper Lake, hunting for a sadistic killer that strangles and dissects prostitutes. But there is a far worse evil in town and it has a James Lee Cobb.
Mercenary, cannibal killer, mass murderer, Cobb was born of pagan witchcraft, cursed by a malevolent hag, and nurtured by mountain demons of Native American folklore.
He has come to town in a box.
Not alive, but not dead enough.
And with him comes the secret of the skin medicine that unleashes the primal beast from within.
Tyler Cabe. Scarred Civil War veteran. Bounty Hunter. He has come to the wild, hell-for-leather mining town of Whisper Lake, hunting for a sadistic killer that strangles and dissects prostitutes. But there is a far worse evil in town and it has a James Lee Cobb.
Mercenary, cannibal killer, mass murderer, Cobb was born of pagan witchcraft, cursed by a malevolent hag, and nurtured by mountain demons of Native American folklore.
He has come to town in a box.
Not alive, but not dead enough.
And with him comes the secret of the skin medicine that unleashes the primal beast from within.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
58 people are currently reading
1167 people want to read
About the author
Tim Curran
149 books595 followersTim Curran lives in Michigan and is the author of the novels Skin Medicine, Hive, Dead Sea, Resurrection, The Devil Next Door, and Biohazard, as well as the novella The Corpse King. His short stories have appeared in such magazines as City Slab, Flesh&Blood, Book of Dark Wisdom, and Inhuman, and anthologies such as Shivers IV, High Seas Cthulhu, and Vile Things.
For DarkFuse and its imprints, he has written the bestselling The Underdwelling, the Readers Choice-Nominated novella Fear Me, Puppet Graveyard as well as Long Black Coffin.
Find him on the web at: www.corpseking.com.
For DarkFuse and its imprints, he has written the bestselling The Underdwelling, the Readers Choice-Nominated novella Fear Me, Puppet Graveyard as well as Long Black Coffin.
Find him on the web at: www.corpseking.com.
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January 15, 2018Update: 15/01/18. This - and Hag Night, Afterburn, Graveworm and Biohazard are currently on the Kindle Countdown Deal: £0.99p in the UK and $1.34 in the US. There may be a slight discrepancy with the US price. Maybe.
December 13, 2013
Tim Curran's Western style horror novel is just the sort of brutal, compelling read that I've come to expect from this talented author! Curran's flair for the old West shows through in this seamlessly woven tale, blending divergent story lines. Tyler Cabe, civil war veteran-turned bounty hunter is hunting a man dubbed the Sin City Strangler, known for his strangling prostitutes and then surgically disassembling them. What he finds when he gets to a town called Whisper Lake is a whole lot more than he has figured on.
And this is the part that Curran does better than most. He takes the most hard-to-believe scenario and makes it come alive. So much so, that you don't doubt for even a minute that all you've read is entirely possible. This is a blood-soaked, gory battle that is feels so authentic, you can't help but wonder how he comes up with these ideas! An incredible, powerful read!
Highly recommended!!
And this is the part that Curran does better than most. He takes the most hard-to-believe scenario and makes it come alive. So much so, that you don't doubt for even a minute that all you've read is entirely possible. This is a blood-soaked, gory battle that is feels so authentic, you can't help but wonder how he comes up with these ideas! An incredible, powerful read!
Highly recommended!!
December 10, 2014
Another grim, unflinchingly disturbing tale of the macabre from Tim Curran. The author has the ability to make you chuckle with one sentence and vomit the contents of your stomach the next.
Skin Medicine is the story of Tyler Cabe, a Civil War vet turned bounty hunter, stalking the sadistic "sin city strangler" whose victims are being killed in increasingly more disgusting ways. The killer's trail leads Cabe to a bustling mining town where the sheriff is none other than The Union soldier that left him scarred and vengeful during the war.
Oh yeah, then there is Jacob Lee Cobb, a character I won't describe here for fear of spoiling too much.
As usual, Curran invests a great deal of care in bringing his characters to life, while using language designed to leave you quaking in your boots.
My only complaint is that some of it gets a tad bit repetitive, but not enough to detract a star,
If you like Westerns and hardcore horror, you will love it.
Skin Medicine is the story of Tyler Cabe, a Civil War vet turned bounty hunter, stalking the sadistic "sin city strangler" whose victims are being killed in increasingly more disgusting ways. The killer's trail leads Cabe to a bustling mining town where the sheriff is none other than The Union soldier that left him scarred and vengeful during the war.
Oh yeah, then there is Jacob Lee Cobb, a character I won't describe here for fear of spoiling too much.
As usual, Curran invests a great deal of care in bringing his characters to life, while using language designed to leave you quaking in your boots.
My only complaint is that some of it gets a tad bit repetitive, but not enough to detract a star,
If you like Westerns and hardcore horror, you will love it.
March 1, 2014
I do love a western, as a kid I was weaned on John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, we don’t get much in the way of cowboys on the big screen these days but you never lose the feelings for the things you appreciated in your childhood and teenage years. Skin Medicine is a Western horror, seriously can things get any better.
Tyler Cabe is a bounty hunter tracking a Jack the Ripper style serial killer known as the Sin City Strangler and it’s the mining town Whisper Lake where he ends up, waiting, as the brutal murders resume. The town’s sheriff is Jackson Dirker, on seeing him Cabe is flooded with thoughts of revenge, these two have a history, a violent one at that, being from opposite sides of the old war between the Southern Confederate and the Northern Union.
Added to this we have the close lying towns habited by the Mormons, the Vigilantes intent on killing them all and a band of marauders butchering everything insight, things are about to explode in Whisper Lake and the wonderfully named towns of Redemption and Deliverance.
There’s a lot going on in Skin Medicine, some superb characters and there’s no skimping on history in a violent time, coupled with some inhuman antagonists, everything’s set for an action packed, brutal ending and I loved it.
Highly Recommended.
Tyler Cabe is a bounty hunter tracking a Jack the Ripper style serial killer known as the Sin City Strangler and it’s the mining town Whisper Lake where he ends up, waiting, as the brutal murders resume. The town’s sheriff is Jackson Dirker, on seeing him Cabe is flooded with thoughts of revenge, these two have a history, a violent one at that, being from opposite sides of the old war between the Southern Confederate and the Northern Union.
Added to this we have the close lying towns habited by the Mormons, the Vigilantes intent on killing them all and a band of marauders butchering everything insight, things are about to explode in Whisper Lake and the wonderfully named towns of Redemption and Deliverance.
There’s a lot going on in Skin Medicine, some superb characters and there’s no skimping on history in a violent time, coupled with some inhuman antagonists, everything’s set for an action packed, brutal ending and I loved it.
Highly Recommended.
January 23, 2025
I saw a couple of horror-western movies and I find that I enjoyed them but when it comes to the literature side of things, I haven't see much of it. So, when I came across Skin Medicine, I just had to have it. The discourse for the novel also seem positive so I thought what I have here is a nice little gem.
Basically, Skin Medicine sees Civil War veteran turned bounty hunter, Tyler Cabe, come to the town of Whisper Lake, looking for a killer. What he found instead, is something a lot more sinister.
There's a lot of characters but not a lot of characterization, unfortunately. I love strong or powerful portrayal of characters, which are what gets me into the story. That's the first reason why reading this novel was a slog. There were very little moments where Tim Curran shows much of the trials and tribulations of the main protagonist and I just don't know why thematically Tyler Cabe was the main character that Curran chose to explore the story. Because of that, I found it hard to get invested on the story. What Curran seemed to be preoccupied with the most within this novel was the mood, the setting and in that he achieved that but I just don't find Tyler Cabe was fully explored and same goes with the many, many other characters that inhabited the pages of this novel.
The plot is...messy or maybe the structure of the plot is. The novel is broken up into four parts and the first part does nothing but set the stage for the story and it was a slog. The protagonist, Tyler Cabe didn't even appear until the second part where the story finally move forward albeit still a slow burn. Then there's a crazy violence but it happened somewhere else and it felt jarring especially coming after what came before it. The horror atmosphere wasn't there, despite the supernatural element finally appeared and while gory, it wasn't scary.
After the first two parts, part three is the origin of the antagonist and by origin, it really when far and deep to tell the story of said antagonist. Because of such exploration, the pacing went completely out the window.
The writing, written in third person omniscient POV, it was fine. It had a little folktale feel to it beside the old western mood that it had build up. Overall, the best quality of the book was the prose, on a line by line level.
Skin Medicine is a story full of characters but light on characterization with a plot that meanders often and comes to a complete halt to tell the backstory of the antagonist. It uses a bucket full of blood of gore in lieu of genuine horror. The saving grace was the writing on the prose level.
Basically, Skin Medicine sees Civil War veteran turned bounty hunter, Tyler Cabe, come to the town of Whisper Lake, looking for a killer. What he found instead, is something a lot more sinister.
There's a lot of characters but not a lot of characterization, unfortunately. I love strong or powerful portrayal of characters, which are what gets me into the story. That's the first reason why reading this novel was a slog. There were very little moments where Tim Curran shows much of the trials and tribulations of the main protagonist and I just don't know why thematically Tyler Cabe was the main character that Curran chose to explore the story. Because of that, I found it hard to get invested on the story. What Curran seemed to be preoccupied with the most within this novel was the mood, the setting and in that he achieved that but I just don't find Tyler Cabe was fully explored and same goes with the many, many other characters that inhabited the pages of this novel.
The plot is...messy or maybe the structure of the plot is. The novel is broken up into four parts and the first part does nothing but set the stage for the story and it was a slog. The protagonist, Tyler Cabe didn't even appear until the second part where the story finally move forward albeit still a slow burn. Then there's a crazy violence but it happened somewhere else and it felt jarring especially coming after what came before it. The horror atmosphere wasn't there, despite the supernatural element finally appeared and while gory, it wasn't scary.
After the first two parts, part three is the origin of the antagonist and by origin, it really when far and deep to tell the story of said antagonist. Because of such exploration, the pacing went completely out the window.
The writing, written in third person omniscient POV, it was fine. It had a little folktale feel to it beside the old western mood that it had build up. Overall, the best quality of the book was the prose, on a line by line level.
Skin Medicine is a story full of characters but light on characterization with a plot that meanders often and comes to a complete halt to tell the backstory of the antagonist. It uses a bucket full of blood of gore in lieu of genuine horror. The saving grace was the writing on the prose level.
December 20, 2009
Tim Curran is not the new voice of horror.
When you read a story by Tim Curran you can smell the dank of an old basement. The mildew of a musty comic book collection. That boxful of Perry Rhodan paperbacks in the far corner of an abandoned closet. Tim Curran writes pulp. Damn good pulp.
Baroque. Say it low and deep, like the nightcall of the great grandfather of bullfrogs, croaking in the bottom of a wished out well. Rich and ornate, and a little tacky. Think fugue. Like the colors of the rainbow pigpiling on ontop of the other, until nothing is left but the darkest shade of black.
SKIN MEDICINE begins with a wagon ride through hell. A nailed up coffin in back, making strange noises. Two scared-as-scared-can-git cowboys clicking to their horses nervously, wishing that their giddyup would get up and get going. All we need to make the picture complete is Yul Brynner and Steve Mcqueen sitting up front - looking thoughtful, amused and dangerous. SKIN MEDICINE is a tale of wild western horror. Dark doings benath a lonesome prairie moon.
SKIN MEDICINE is rough carpentry, at its finest. You can hear the creaking of coincidence and craft, grinding together like the hipbones of an antique stripper. There's gunplay and fiends from hell and Indian curses galore. SKIN MEDICINE is the bastard child of a burned out Louis Lamour, mating beneath an evil star with a hopped up Bentley Little. It's painted dark and rich, heavy on the metaphor and soaked clear through with carnage galore. It's fun in the style of such over-the-top cinematic classics as REANIMATOR, DOG SOLDIERS, and TREMORS. The battlescenes are juicier than KILL BILL volumes one through crazy eighty eight. Don't read it for edification, this is for entertainment only. SKIN MEDICINE is a well told yarn.
Tim Curran isn't digging up anything new here. Rather he's unearthing the ripest corpse in the boneyard, juicing it up with a little snake oil and tom-tom-foolery. It's old, and it's cold, and in the hands of Tim Curran, SKIN MEDICINE is solid cold.
I give it five yowzas on a scale of six.
Steve Vernon
ho
When you read a story by Tim Curran you can smell the dank of an old basement. The mildew of a musty comic book collection. That boxful of Perry Rhodan paperbacks in the far corner of an abandoned closet. Tim Curran writes pulp. Damn good pulp.
Baroque. Say it low and deep, like the nightcall of the great grandfather of bullfrogs, croaking in the bottom of a wished out well. Rich and ornate, and a little tacky. Think fugue. Like the colors of the rainbow pigpiling on ontop of the other, until nothing is left but the darkest shade of black.
SKIN MEDICINE begins with a wagon ride through hell. A nailed up coffin in back, making strange noises. Two scared-as-scared-can-git cowboys clicking to their horses nervously, wishing that their giddyup would get up and get going. All we need to make the picture complete is Yul Brynner and Steve Mcqueen sitting up front - looking thoughtful, amused and dangerous. SKIN MEDICINE is a tale of wild western horror. Dark doings benath a lonesome prairie moon.
SKIN MEDICINE is rough carpentry, at its finest. You can hear the creaking of coincidence and craft, grinding together like the hipbones of an antique stripper. There's gunplay and fiends from hell and Indian curses galore. SKIN MEDICINE is the bastard child of a burned out Louis Lamour, mating beneath an evil star with a hopped up Bentley Little. It's painted dark and rich, heavy on the metaphor and soaked clear through with carnage galore. It's fun in the style of such over-the-top cinematic classics as REANIMATOR, DOG SOLDIERS, and TREMORS. The battlescenes are juicier than KILL BILL volumes one through crazy eighty eight. Don't read it for edification, this is for entertainment only. SKIN MEDICINE is a well told yarn.
Tim Curran isn't digging up anything new here. Rather he's unearthing the ripest corpse in the boneyard, juicing it up with a little snake oil and tom-tom-foolery. It's old, and it's cold, and in the hands of Tim Curran, SKIN MEDICINE is solid cold.
I give it five yowzas on a scale of six.
Steve Vernon
ho
December 1, 2016
This book was just great. It hit every chord I needed strummed, tickled every fancy that was feeling ticklish.
Cowboys and cannibals, Mormons and monsters, hillbillies and hellbeasts. This Western/Action/Horror is the closest thing to perfection that I have read in a long, LONG time.
Got a taste for visceral gore, gritty mud-spattered gunfights, wise-cracking half-drunk Indian wisemen, or possessed witches eating babies? Saddle up; let's ride.
Cowboys and cannibals, Mormons and monsters, hillbillies and hellbeasts. This Western/Action/Horror is the closest thing to perfection that I have read in a long, LONG time.
Got a taste for visceral gore, gritty mud-spattered gunfights, wise-cracking half-drunk Indian wisemen, or possessed witches eating babies? Saddle up; let's ride.
June 28, 2015
3.5 stars
October 21, 2023
I have read Curran's Dead Sea several times so I thought I would give another of his books a go and picked up Skin Medicine. Really glad I did! I love Curran's dark, foreboding atmospheric prose and he can turn a phrase that sends shivers up your spine. If 'splatterpunk western' is a genre, Skin Medicine probably helped define it. While I have never been a big fan of westerns, this was one hell of a ride.
Curran starts this one off with two guys hauling a coffin down in a wagon from the Utah mountains to the town of Whisper Lake. Such a simple task, but it sets the creepy tone nicely as something is just not right about the dead man in the wooden box. Flash forward a bit and we are introduced to Tyler Cabe, a scarred civil war vet (reb) now working as a bounty hunter. He is after a nasty serial killer of prostitutes and the trail has taken him to Whisper Lake. Soon, however, finding the killer will be the last of his worries...
Set in the 'company town' (or more like three company town) of Whisper Lake, Curran serves up a slice of the old west here. Whisper Lake is booming, thanks to the silver mines, but odd things are happening around town. Miners and others are disappearing from outside of town and sometimes gnawed human remains are found. Indians on the warpath? Mormons? Looks like animals, but who knows. Cabe just wants to find his killer and collect 5000$, but he catches up to his past when it turns out the county sheriff was a Union officer that Cabe had a 'run in' with back in the war...
The characters are well drawn and vivid and the pacing is top notch. The 'evil' is also well done as Curran lays out the story of the cannibal killer and murder James Lee Cobb. No surprise here, but it was Cobb's body in the coffin to start the tale, but was he really dead? Half-dead? I will leave it to you to find out. One mean and nasty story, but also glistening with touches of humanity. Curran also serves up enough mayhem and violence for 10 Louis L'Amour novels. Definitely an author to check out if you like your horror fresh and brutal. 4.5 Colt .45s!
Curran starts this one off with two guys hauling a coffin down in a wagon from the Utah mountains to the town of Whisper Lake. Such a simple task, but it sets the creepy tone nicely as something is just not right about the dead man in the wooden box. Flash forward a bit and we are introduced to Tyler Cabe, a scarred civil war vet (reb) now working as a bounty hunter. He is after a nasty serial killer of prostitutes and the trail has taken him to Whisper Lake. Soon, however, finding the killer will be the last of his worries...
Set in the 'company town' (or more like three company town) of Whisper Lake, Curran serves up a slice of the old west here. Whisper Lake is booming, thanks to the silver mines, but odd things are happening around town. Miners and others are disappearing from outside of town and sometimes gnawed human remains are found. Indians on the warpath? Mormons? Looks like animals, but who knows. Cabe just wants to find his killer and collect 5000$, but he catches up to his past when it turns out the county sheriff was a Union officer that Cabe had a 'run in' with back in the war...
The characters are well drawn and vivid and the pacing is top notch. The 'evil' is also well done as Curran lays out the story of the cannibal killer and murder James Lee Cobb. No surprise here, but it was Cobb's body in the coffin to start the tale, but was he really dead? Half-dead? I will leave it to you to find out. One mean and nasty story, but also glistening with touches of humanity. Curran also serves up enough mayhem and violence for 10 Louis L'Amour novels. Definitely an author to check out if you like your horror fresh and brutal. 4.5 Colt .45s!
October 29, 2012
4.5 stars! Wild and freaky, western style!
February 23, 2016
Im a big fan of the Weird Western genre so I really enjoyed this horror western. At times I did think the plot meandered, but overall it was a good novel. It's on the gory side, with some wicked monsters doing wicked things. There's also a general creepiness factor underlying the entire book which really set the tone.
Overall if you like Weird Westerns, you'll probably enjoy this one.
Overall if you like Weird Westerns, you'll probably enjoy this one.
January 2, 2015
If I had to describe this book in one word it would have to be packed. You have three hundred or so pages of constant something, not a moment of rest. Even when retelling is used, you don't lose the feeling of dread. Here the past is not just something you tell others about. This is one of the rare books I've read where the same event or a person are described more than once and not a single time was boring. Sure, it is a repetitive, but just in a way you read about it again through different eyes. And here the author shines. Different characters are truly different.
Tim Curran's mind is a very dark place. Although I don't care for gore in books I read, I find it works quite well in this setting. More then well actually. The western historical setting seems to be perfect.
Bounty hunter Tyler Cabe is hunting for a not so ordinary killer. I'll spare you the details. They are gory and more than disturbing. The killer is another trope that is used in a masterful way. I can't say more without spoiling it. His hunt brings him to Whisper Lake where he has to face not only what he expects, but his own past. Now, that part was truly beautiful in a way that shines in that horrible place. Now that I think about it, even if there is a tiny detail that makes me dislike a book, here the story is so strong and the characters so distinctive that you can't but set aside the things that usually bother you.
Before reading this book, I wouldn't have believed that you can use tons of horror tropes in a single story and still make it work. Everything that could be suspected of something sinister in that 'human cesspool where humanity was a commodity like hides and whores' was used to make this story even more horrible than you originally thought. The rest shows Whisper Lake in most, but not all, of its glory.
And when you think about it, I didn't even touch on the real threat. Don't want to spoil all the fun.
Tim Curran's mind is a very dark place. Although I don't care for gore in books I read, I find it works quite well in this setting. More then well actually. The western historical setting seems to be perfect.
Bounty hunter Tyler Cabe is hunting for a not so ordinary killer. I'll spare you the details. They are gory and more than disturbing. The killer is another trope that is used in a masterful way. I can't say more without spoiling it. His hunt brings him to Whisper Lake where he has to face not only what he expects, but his own past. Now, that part was truly beautiful in a way that shines in that horrible place. Now that I think about it, even if there is a tiny detail that makes me dislike a book, here the story is so strong and the characters so distinctive that you can't but set aside the things that usually bother you.
Before reading this book, I wouldn't have believed that you can use tons of horror tropes in a single story and still make it work. Everything that could be suspected of something sinister in that 'human cesspool where humanity was a commodity like hides and whores' was used to make this story even more horrible than you originally thought. The rest shows Whisper Lake in most, but not all, of its glory.
'Then you add to that heady mix these murders and the Mormons and the vigilantes and too many hot-hands and not enough cool heads and you had real trouble.'Whisper Lake is a real hell-hole. But it is a also hell hole with good people. Witty too. Curran even manages to make a moment of Cabe and Graybrow's visit to a place that is even worse than Whisper Lake funny.
"'Ever tell you, Tyler Cabe, about the two fools that rode into the town of devils?' 'Nope. What happened?' ' They got killed. Way I heard it, anyway.'"The only thing that annoyed me are occasional apostrophes and wrong words (Apache's for plural, 'more skeleton that flesh, no one else if left), but fortunately that is not often. Even that, plus the thing that usually bothers me can't compete with the greatness of this story.
And when you think about it, I didn't even touch on the real threat. Don't want to spoil all the fun.
June 29, 2011
4 AND 1/2 STARS
I've heard of author Tim Curran for a while now, and decided to try one of his books. Based on his other material, it seems that along with horror, he has a taste for the western genre. So I decided, based on reviews and the fact that the book has been re-released, to give "Skin Medicine" a read.
Man, can this guy write. He has very rich and colorful characters, each with their own independent voice and back stories. This book was consistently dark and original, and a real pleasure to read. Curran builds up suspenseful momentum and really makes you believe there is no hope for our heroes against such a powerful and soulless evil, although the motivation of the villain was bit clouded.
The graphic nature of this novel was quite intense, even for this veteran horror reader. The western world came alive beautifully through Curran's dialogue and descriptions, completely submerging the reader in this nasty and dangerous environment. The author's descriptions are also some of the best I've encountered in the genre. He has a terrific vocabulary and uses it at just the right moments without overdoing it.
Throughout the book, there were a number of typos that were disappointing to find. Severed Press is a brave publisher, but really needs to step it up in the copy editing department. The final 50 or so pages were loaded with errors. I also felt that the author, during the last act, rushed a few things and dropped the ball with some missed opportunities between characters and suspenseful setups.
Those few details aside, "Skin Medicine" gets a very high recommendation and, without a doubt, I'll be actively seeking out more of Tim Curran's work.
I've heard of author Tim Curran for a while now, and decided to try one of his books. Based on his other material, it seems that along with horror, he has a taste for the western genre. So I decided, based on reviews and the fact that the book has been re-released, to give "Skin Medicine" a read.
Man, can this guy write. He has very rich and colorful characters, each with their own independent voice and back stories. This book was consistently dark and original, and a real pleasure to read. Curran builds up suspenseful momentum and really makes you believe there is no hope for our heroes against such a powerful and soulless evil, although the motivation of the villain was bit clouded.
The graphic nature of this novel was quite intense, even for this veteran horror reader. The western world came alive beautifully through Curran's dialogue and descriptions, completely submerging the reader in this nasty and dangerous environment. The author's descriptions are also some of the best I've encountered in the genre. He has a terrific vocabulary and uses it at just the right moments without overdoing it.
Throughout the book, there were a number of typos that were disappointing to find. Severed Press is a brave publisher, but really needs to step it up in the copy editing department. The final 50 or so pages were loaded with errors. I also felt that the author, during the last act, rushed a few things and dropped the ball with some missed opportunities between characters and suspenseful setups.
Those few details aside, "Skin Medicine" gets a very high recommendation and, without a doubt, I'll be actively seeking out more of Tim Curran's work.
October 28, 2012
What an incredible and crazy ride! Curran masterfully weaves a tale that will have you riveted to each and every page. This is extreme wild west horror at its absolute finest!
February 28, 2018
A Slaughterhouse of Brilliance
One of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It was gritty, bloody, riveting, disturbing and downright insane but I loved it. Tim Curran paints a delightfully morbid picture of the Wild West where the O.K Corral becomes one with the deepest regions of Hell. The characters had great backgrounds, personalities and all had their own purpose. If you ever want to read a western horror this is the book to read. It's not for those with weak stomaches but man does it make for an excellent western drenched in absolute carnage.
One of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It was gritty, bloody, riveting, disturbing and downright insane but I loved it. Tim Curran paints a delightfully morbid picture of the Wild West where the O.K Corral becomes one with the deepest regions of Hell. The characters had great backgrounds, personalities and all had their own purpose. If you ever want to read a western horror this is the book to read. It's not for those with weak stomaches but man does it make for an excellent western drenched in absolute carnage.
April 15, 2013
Skin Medicine is just one great fantastic weird western ride by horror maestro Tim Curran, and what a fun outing it is. The skill in this tale of bloody evil, living in a mining community, is the masterful weaving of both the good old wild west and the bloody gruesome imagery of the horror genre. In every western book I have ever read there is always a distinctive and strong hero, a man who, although worn down by the tough life of the lonesome cowboy, stands head and shoulders amongst his peers, and who will always do the right thing! Tyler Cabe, civil war veteran turned bounty hunter, is on the trail of a murderer known as Sin city Strangler and his journey leads him to the mining settlement of Whisper Lake…what he finds here will change his life forever and you the reader are set to be terrified beyond your wildest imagination! There is a great list of characters; Jackson Dirker, sheriff (Tyler met him during the war) Janice Dirker the sheriffs wife, Charlie Graybow, Virgil Clay and his monster brother Elijah Clay, Sir Tom Ian, English gunslinger, Carny the barman, Henry Freeman (texas ranger?) Caleb and Hiram Callister the local undertakers with some truly revolting habits! and the real villain of the story James Lee Cobb the bringer and purveyor of “skin medicine” These are some of the characters and villains that pass effortlessly through the pages of this great adventure…just look at the writing:
“Then he crossed the muddy, sucking streets and fell through the door of a tent-roofed saloon called the Oasis. Inside, the floor was covered in sawdust. There was a bar and tables with pine benches pulled up to them. A woodstove in the corner belched greasy fumes that mixed with tobacco smoke, cheap cologne, and body odor. A dozen worn, beaten-looking men slouched over beers and whiskey. A lone gambler played solitaire in the corner.”
“ The door had swung open and a tall man had stepped in. He wore a knee-length overcoat, the cuffs and collar trimmed in fur. Atop his head was a round buffalo fur cap. His face was narrow, angular, the moustache riding beneath the sharp nose trimmed immaculately. He was a handsome man and his pale blue eyes simmered with authority and bearing. There was a badge pinned to his breast. It read: SHERIFF BEAVER COUNTY UTAH.”
What I love about westerns is the spit, the sawdust, the bad manners, the total disregard for authority, the great devide between good and bad and always the simmering uneasiness that lingers…death is never far away..
”The double-doors opened and two men in gray dusters stepped in. They wore wide-brimmed hats that thrust their faces into pools of shadow. Their eyes seemed to glisten like wet copper. Everyone stopped what they were doing, watched the strangers…The strangers closed the doors. They looked on all and everyone with flat, dead eyes, hungry eyes. The eyes of wolves taking in a tasty herd of steer, wondering which one they would take down first.”……
The story rattles along at a relentless pace and ends in a spectacular gruesome gun battle…will the sheriff bring peace to this unsettled mining community and will our hero Tyler Cabe put his past demons to rest and maybe build a future for himself with the love of……..ah but you will have to read the story to find out, and I do hope you do as this must surely be one of the best examples of the weird wild west genre that has ever been printed.
“Then he crossed the muddy, sucking streets and fell through the door of a tent-roofed saloon called the Oasis. Inside, the floor was covered in sawdust. There was a bar and tables with pine benches pulled up to them. A woodstove in the corner belched greasy fumes that mixed with tobacco smoke, cheap cologne, and body odor. A dozen worn, beaten-looking men slouched over beers and whiskey. A lone gambler played solitaire in the corner.”
“ The door had swung open and a tall man had stepped in. He wore a knee-length overcoat, the cuffs and collar trimmed in fur. Atop his head was a round buffalo fur cap. His face was narrow, angular, the moustache riding beneath the sharp nose trimmed immaculately. He was a handsome man and his pale blue eyes simmered with authority and bearing. There was a badge pinned to his breast. It read: SHERIFF BEAVER COUNTY UTAH.”
What I love about westerns is the spit, the sawdust, the bad manners, the total disregard for authority, the great devide between good and bad and always the simmering uneasiness that lingers…death is never far away..
”The double-doors opened and two men in gray dusters stepped in. They wore wide-brimmed hats that thrust their faces into pools of shadow. Their eyes seemed to glisten like wet copper. Everyone stopped what they were doing, watched the strangers…The strangers closed the doors. They looked on all and everyone with flat, dead eyes, hungry eyes. The eyes of wolves taking in a tasty herd of steer, wondering which one they would take down first.”……
The story rattles along at a relentless pace and ends in a spectacular gruesome gun battle…will the sheriff bring peace to this unsettled mining community and will our hero Tyler Cabe put his past demons to rest and maybe build a future for himself with the love of……..ah but you will have to read the story to find out, and I do hope you do as this must surely be one of the best examples of the weird wild west genre that has ever been printed.
July 18, 2017
I'm not sure if Tim Curran would appreciate this, but ever since visiting the bio on his website and seeing the covers of horror comics that influenced him, I can't help but picture his stories as horror comic panels while I'm reading them.
I'd like to think that's a compliment to a writer, in that his descriptions of place and mood are so vivid that a picture is easily seen in my mind.
Before starting this novel, I had given up on Don Winslow's The Cartel at 44% in. That novel had too much of a non-fiction vibe to it that I felt totally disassociated with the characters and place. It was simply a blow-by-blow account of what happened.
So I picked up Skin Medicine, not even sure if I was in the mood for a horror western novel.
Well, it sure didn't take long to realize that I was getting what I was missing in The Cartel, and that is fine storytelling.
It really is a shame that Winslow is so highly regarded as a writer and making tons of money with sales, and here's Tim Curran, a much more gifted storyteller and fractionally as known.
Apples and oranges here as far as genres go, but you know what I mean.
Those of us here at Goodreads who know his work like him a lot. So hopefully the word will continue to spread and this guy continues to have a wider following.
Now, Skin Medicine. It clocks in at 272 pages on my Kindle, but I was quite taken by how broad this story became. Some pretty cool things afoot, aaaaand yeah, lots of horrific guts n stuff. So, if you're still into that horror comic book feel you used to have as a kid hiding under the covers with a flashlight, Tim will get you right back to that time and place no matter how many years ago that was for you.
Thanks again Tim, for pulling this 55 year old fella back through the years to get that feeling once again. Some parts of us never grow up, huh?
4.5 stars!
I'd like to think that's a compliment to a writer, in that his descriptions of place and mood are so vivid that a picture is easily seen in my mind.
Before starting this novel, I had given up on Don Winslow's The Cartel at 44% in. That novel had too much of a non-fiction vibe to it that I felt totally disassociated with the characters and place. It was simply a blow-by-blow account of what happened.
So I picked up Skin Medicine, not even sure if I was in the mood for a horror western novel.
Well, it sure didn't take long to realize that I was getting what I was missing in The Cartel, and that is fine storytelling.
It really is a shame that Winslow is so highly regarded as a writer and making tons of money with sales, and here's Tim Curran, a much more gifted storyteller and fractionally as known.
Apples and oranges here as far as genres go, but you know what I mean.
Those of us here at Goodreads who know his work like him a lot. So hopefully the word will continue to spread and this guy continues to have a wider following.
Now, Skin Medicine. It clocks in at 272 pages on my Kindle, but I was quite taken by how broad this story became. Some pretty cool things afoot, aaaaand yeah, lots of horrific guts n stuff. So, if you're still into that horror comic book feel you used to have as a kid hiding under the covers with a flashlight, Tim will get you right back to that time and place no matter how many years ago that was for you.
Thanks again Tim, for pulling this 55 year old fella back through the years to get that feeling once again. Some parts of us never grow up, huh?
4.5 stars!
November 15, 2024
A wonderful horror Western book. The story is well told with plenty of characters, a twisty story (that does a great job of circling back on itself) and PLENTY of gore laden scenes.
My only minor critique would be that some parts, I felt, were TOO long winded (mainly the backstory of characters) and I found myself skimming paragraphs. Overall though, I loved the story and the characters.
Would highly recommend if this genre of horror is your bag.
My only minor critique would be that some parts, I felt, were TOO long winded (mainly the backstory of characters) and I found myself skimming paragraphs. Overall though, I loved the story and the characters.
Would highly recommend if this genre of horror is your bag.
March 17, 2013
Very promising start, but then the story was all over the place...
Jack the ripper, war, old grudges, Wendigo, witches, curses, possession and werewolfs, the book was trying to tell you all those stories at once, which unfortunately became a chaotic mess, with none of the above stories getting a satisfying finale.
Also somewhere in the middle of the main story, the author decided to tell you yet another story, that of the main antagonist. This "jump" however felt really disconnected and went on for about 1/3 of the book...
The last chapters/ending seemed rushed, likewise the character development near the end.
Jack the ripper, war, old grudges, Wendigo, witches, curses, possession and werewolfs, the book was trying to tell you all those stories at once, which unfortunately became a chaotic mess, with none of the above stories getting a satisfying finale.
Also somewhere in the middle of the main story, the author decided to tell you yet another story, that of the main antagonist. This "jump" however felt really disconnected and went on for about 1/3 of the book...
The last chapters/ending seemed rushed, likewise the character development near the end.
September 8, 2013
Tim Curran is like some mad scientist of horror. Just when I think he might stumble with something like, say, a western horror novel, he shines. Speaking of western horror stories, there aren't enough of them and this one about bounty hunter, Tyler Cabe, shines like a gold nugget freshly picked in 1851.
In Utah, that's when the story unfolds. Cabe is hunting a serial killer named The Sin City Strangler and winds up in a town with a sheriff he met on the opposite side of the civil war. The tension is palatable between these two and add in some other colorful characters including a hilarious "giant" who comes into town to avenge his slain brother and an antagonist who starts the story dead and then becomes much worse. I loved how the author tells the present and then gives us an interesting and worthwhile flashback to explain the history of the villain in the story. There is also a clever nod to a real world figure in that time.
Curran did his research on this one and it shows in both language, detail and substance. This is Tim Curran's storytelling at his best that I've seen, right up close to the Dead Sea. My tiny complaint with the story, and it's very small, is that I found the wife of the sheriff a bit cheap and undesirable to my liking. I found it difficult to warm up to her which dampened some of my excitement as the story progressed (but not enough to ruin my overall enjoyment). The fact that a character sparks strong emotion is generally a great thing (unless every character invokes negative emotions -- I have to have someone or something to root for).
I'm not taking away any partial stars because I want the author to write a sequel to this story and feel this is one of those rare gems among horror novels. It's a slight notch behind DEAD SEA as my favorite Curran novel (I have a couple more to read, thankfully) and came highly recommended among my horror loving reader friends. I've seen the author hint that a sequel might be a possibility. Man, I wish there were more western horror tales! I see where Curran left open a door for more tales, too. Please recommend more western horror tales in the comments if you have read and enjoyed them. This is some of Tim Curran's brightest characterization, BTW, not to mention his regularly scheduled awesome description and imagery skills. Bump this up your TBR ASAP. 5 stars. Highly recommended. 5,843 Kindle locations. Approximately 276 pages.
In Utah, that's when the story unfolds. Cabe is hunting a serial killer named The Sin City Strangler and winds up in a town with a sheriff he met on the opposite side of the civil war. The tension is palatable between these two and add in some other colorful characters including a hilarious "giant" who comes into town to avenge his slain brother and an antagonist who starts the story dead and then becomes much worse. I loved how the author tells the present and then gives us an interesting and worthwhile flashback to explain the history of the villain in the story. There is also a clever nod to a real world figure in that time.
Curran did his research on this one and it shows in both language, detail and substance. This is Tim Curran's storytelling at his best that I've seen, right up close to the Dead Sea. My tiny complaint with the story, and it's very small, is that I found the wife of the sheriff a bit cheap and undesirable to my liking. I found it difficult to warm up to her which dampened some of my excitement as the story progressed (but not enough to ruin my overall enjoyment). The fact that a character sparks strong emotion is generally a great thing (unless every character invokes negative emotions -- I have to have someone or something to root for).
I'm not taking away any partial stars because I want the author to write a sequel to this story and feel this is one of those rare gems among horror novels. It's a slight notch behind DEAD SEA as my favorite Curran novel (I have a couple more to read, thankfully) and came highly recommended among my horror loving reader friends. I've seen the author hint that a sequel might be a possibility. Man, I wish there were more western horror tales! I see where Curran left open a door for more tales, too. Please recommend more western horror tales in the comments if you have read and enjoyed them. This is some of Tim Curran's brightest characterization, BTW, not to mention his regularly scheduled awesome description and imagery skills. Bump this up your TBR ASAP. 5 stars. Highly recommended. 5,843 Kindle locations. Approximately 276 pages.
December 28, 2024
Tyler Cabe è un veterano della gu3rra civile, terminata da pochi decenni, e ormai la sua occupazione è quella del cacciatore di taglie. Questa volta si troverà a dover dare la caccia ad un serial K1ll3r che ha la "passione" per le prostitut3: le soffoca, le "apre" (se ci capiamo) e orna la stanza dove compie il misfatto con le interiora, lasciando dietro di sé uno scenario da brividi, per usare un eufemismo. Non sarà però semplice scovare il colpevole, anche perché in paese è giunta una bara che, a detta dei trasportatori, non contiene un corpo morto.
L'ambientazione h0rr0r/western è semplicemente spettacolare, perfetta per i miei gusti, per una lettura divertente ed emozionante. È stato il mio primo approccio con questo autore e che dire: mi ha cavato fuori le bud3lla!
La miscela fra tematiche post gu3rra civile, segregazione e maltrattamento delle popolazioni indigene, mistero e soprannaturale fanno di questo romanzo una carica di dinam1te pronta ad esploderci tra le mani.
Ciò che più mi ha colpito è stata la capacità di questa storia di catapultarmi di colpo in questo mondo ormai perduto, fatto di duelli, insulti e sfide d'altri tempi, loschi figuri, spacconi da saloon, magia indigena e chi più ne ha più ne metta. Insomma il western è di casa e mi ha divertito un sacco.
Voto: 7,5/10
L'ambientazione h0rr0r/western è semplicemente spettacolare, perfetta per i miei gusti, per una lettura divertente ed emozionante. È stato il mio primo approccio con questo autore e che dire: mi ha cavato fuori le bud3lla!
La miscela fra tematiche post gu3rra civile, segregazione e maltrattamento delle popolazioni indigene, mistero e soprannaturale fanno di questo romanzo una carica di dinam1te pronta ad esploderci tra le mani.
Ciò che più mi ha colpito è stata la capacità di questa storia di catapultarmi di colpo in questo mondo ormai perduto, fatto di duelli, insulti e sfide d'altri tempi, loschi figuri, spacconi da saloon, magia indigena e chi più ne ha più ne metta. Insomma il western è di casa e mi ha divertito un sacco.
Voto: 7,5/10
November 7, 2025
If you like Westerns with some cosmic horror sprinkled in, this hard-hitting story is for you.
The dialogue felt very authentic, which really brought the characters to life. At times, it’s humorous, but in an instant, horrifying and grotesque with the casual flip of a switch.
Tim Curran’s Skin Medicine is a delightfully amusing, blood-soaked read that moves along at a brisk pace.
I’m a sucker for a good Western, so my review is undoubtedly biased in that regard, but I simply enjoyed this seamless mix of horror and western too much to give it anything less than a stellar review. So…
5.0 ⭐️ (with a grain of salt)
The dialogue felt very authentic, which really brought the characters to life. At times, it’s humorous, but in an instant, horrifying and grotesque with the casual flip of a switch.
Tim Curran’s Skin Medicine is a delightfully amusing, blood-soaked read that moves along at a brisk pace.
I’m a sucker for a good Western, so my review is undoubtedly biased in that regard, but I simply enjoyed this seamless mix of horror and western too much to give it anything less than a stellar review. So…
5.0 ⭐️ (with a grain of salt)
Read
September 20, 2012An absolute masterpiece of western horror.
August 9, 2017
I read this a couple months ago in the midst of a reading funk, no fault on the part of the author. A nice blend of horror and western but it didn't fully connect with me.
June 4, 2025
I've read some of Curran's short stories, but this was my first time reading one of his novels. Being a fan of Western Horror, this sounded like something I would enjoy, but it ended up being a slight disappointment.
There were some things I liked about this:
I thought it had a good protagonist in Tyler Cabe and I also liked the character of Dirker, a war veteran turned Sheriff who has a bit of a "frenemy" relationship going on with Cabe.
There were moments of good action and carnage, and I liked the idea of the witchcraft/voodoo creating "Skin Medicine" and allowing people to turn into the creatures they do. (I'll remain vague here to avoid spoilers)
However, there was more I disliked about this than not:
This book felt sooo messy, disjointed, and had such a weird flow to it. It's split up into 4 parts, with none of them being connected to one another all that well. Part 3, specifically, serves as this long history/backstory of a small western town, and tells of witchcraft and satanism and I believe is supposed to act as the origin story for the Skin Medicine, but it feels like an unnecessary info dump and disrupted the flow of the story for me.
There were also some subplots in this that never went anywhere. Cabe hunting a serial killer takes up the majority of the first half of the book - but is abandoned and left unresolved as Cabe and his posse go after the "Skin Medicine Monsters", instead.
There's also some side characters and backstories given them that feel entirely inconsequential to the plot.
Overall it just felt like a bit of a jumbled mess, like Curran had too many ideas and lumped fragments of them all together. This really kept me from enjoying this more.
In summary, I thought this book was... fine. It had decent characters, some fun creature feature action and gore, some over the top western dialogue and slang for humor... but was held back by a lack of focus and commitment to one central idea and theme.
Also, can't fault Curran for this (editor issue) but there were several grammatical errors in the kindle version I read. Just thought I'd mention it, I guess.
Skin Medicine gets a 2.75⭐ rounded up to 3⭐.
There were some things I liked about this:
I thought it had a good protagonist in Tyler Cabe and I also liked the character of Dirker, a war veteran turned Sheriff who has a bit of a "frenemy" relationship going on with Cabe.
There were moments of good action and carnage, and I liked the idea of the witchcraft/voodoo creating "Skin Medicine" and allowing people to turn into the creatures they do. (I'll remain vague here to avoid spoilers)
However, there was more I disliked about this than not:
This book felt sooo messy, disjointed, and had such a weird flow to it. It's split up into 4 parts, with none of them being connected to one another all that well. Part 3, specifically, serves as this long history/backstory of a small western town, and tells of witchcraft and satanism and I believe is supposed to act as the origin story for the Skin Medicine, but it feels like an unnecessary info dump and disrupted the flow of the story for me.
There were also some subplots in this that never went anywhere. Cabe hunting a serial killer takes up the majority of the first half of the book - but is abandoned and left unresolved as Cabe and his posse go after the "Skin Medicine Monsters", instead.
There's also some side characters and backstories given them that feel entirely inconsequential to the plot.
Overall it just felt like a bit of a jumbled mess, like Curran had too many ideas and lumped fragments of them all together. This really kept me from enjoying this more.
In summary, I thought this book was... fine. It had decent characters, some fun creature feature action and gore, some over the top western dialogue and slang for humor... but was held back by a lack of focus and commitment to one central idea and theme.
Also, can't fault Curran for this (editor issue) but there were several grammatical errors in the kindle version I read. Just thought I'd mention it, I guess.
Skin Medicine gets a 2.75⭐ rounded up to 3⭐.
May 11, 2018
So, even being a horror guy like myself, I've never been much into creature-features. I like many variations of violence and terror, but most of the time in good taste. I like to know the characters and feel for the characters so that when they do get disemboweled in the most horrific way, I can feel bad and say "aww man, that's terrible " or even "aww man, its about time". But when you have a giant grasshopper running around crushing buildings in New York city and slaughtering citizens by the thousands, I feel like I've been a little desensitized and the shock value has diminished...
Okay, I'm sorry, I've gotten way off point. There are no evil overgrown insects in this book, but there are "skin mediciners" as described by main character Tyler Cabe... or what we would refer to as Werewolves.
I wouldn't classify this as a werewolf novel, but it kind of was. I wouldn't classify this as a Creature-feature, but it definitely had its elements. But even though there was mass slaughter in a few scenes, some were done in good taste. Tim Curran is very good at his descriptions. Lots of blood and sinew, and the smells... I could smell these things to a tee by way of Curran's illustrative imagination.
Overall, this was a fun book to read. I've said this about books before, but it seems like this would have been better if it were longer. This was not a straight story line. Curran put in a lot of backstory for characters and lots of background on places and settings. I really enjoyed reading them, they really supported the story, but I felt that they also shortened the primary story. I think all in all, it took place over the course of a couple of days.
Okay, I'm sorry, I've gotten way off point. There are no evil overgrown insects in this book, but there are "skin mediciners" as described by main character Tyler Cabe... or what we would refer to as Werewolves.
I wouldn't classify this as a werewolf novel, but it kind of was. I wouldn't classify this as a Creature-feature, but it definitely had its elements. But even though there was mass slaughter in a few scenes, some were done in good taste. Tim Curran is very good at his descriptions. Lots of blood and sinew, and the smells... I could smell these things to a tee by way of Curran's illustrative imagination.
Overall, this was a fun book to read. I've said this about books before, but it seems like this would have been better if it were longer. This was not a straight story line. Curran put in a lot of backstory for characters and lots of background on places and settings. I really enjoyed reading them, they really supported the story, but I felt that they also shortened the primary story. I think all in all, it took place over the course of a couple of days.
September 8, 2014
Tim Curran can paint some pretty horrifying scenes populated with a believable cast of characters that are well fleshed out and up to the task of either being a hero of the story or something as foul as anything you've ever read.
"Skin Medicine" has multiple parallel and converging storylines, each of which would have made a great story on its own. Tied together, the storylines comprise a frightening old-west horror tale.
4 STARS
"Skin Medicine" has multiple parallel and converging storylines, each of which would have made a great story on its own. Tied together, the storylines comprise a frightening old-west horror tale.
4 STARS
October 16, 2016
This was a hard book for me to rate.
First off, I am a Curran fan. I have read a few of his works and find him to be an amazing horror writer with a flare for presenting horrific scenes that haunt you long after you put the book down. Skin Medicine has plenty of these, which also interestingly enough work well in the weird west genre. From the landscapes to characters to abandoned towns, Curran manages to present you a picture that chills you.
Another thing that Curran manages to do well is his characters. He has created some pretty interesting characters with a lot of history within this novel. They play off each other beautifully and at times you can't help but turn the page to find out what happens next. His protagonist is wonderfully flawed, has a very valid reason to go up against the sheriff, and he is fairly believable as far as western protagonists go.
Curran also does a good job with his prime antagonist, giving him a very vicious and disturbing nature with some interesting supernatural backing. (putting the weird into this western) Curran could easily have written this entire novel about the antagonist and it would have been equally as interesting. Instead, what Curran gives us is part of the problem.
This novel falls short not because of Curran's ability to set a scene or create beautiful characters, but rather how this novel plays out. We get treated to the protagonist and his journey, reasons for being in the town, and a general look at his characters. He's set up against the locals, including the sheriff, who he has issues with, for good reason. Then suddenly, the novel switches into a history of Cobb, the antagonist. This isn't done in snippets, but rather the entire story is derailed to give the reader this.
By the time the reader gets back to the main story, it almost seems as if Curran wanted to close the story up and rushes to the end. The protagonist's issue with the sheriff gets resolved all too easily, as does his encounter with the Hellbilly, and the person that brought the protagonist to the town in the first place doesn't ever get resolved, and in fact just gets brushed aside!
Even the final confrontation with the antagonist is resolved with an almost casual shrug. Looking back, I just now realized that I don't think the other monsters that were taught Cobb's ways were destroyed at all... To add to this, there are also a few spelling errors that should have been caught near the end which just added to the rushed feel of the ending.
In the end, that's why this book gets a low rating from me. Curran is an amazing and talented writer, but it feels like he lost interest with this novel once he was done with the history of the antagonist. If your are a fan of Curran's work, this is worth picking up. But if you are looking for weird west books to pick up like I was, I would put this about mid-way in your pile. It's not one of Curran's stronger works in my mind, but could be interesting to those who want to try it.
First off, I am a Curran fan. I have read a few of his works and find him to be an amazing horror writer with a flare for presenting horrific scenes that haunt you long after you put the book down. Skin Medicine has plenty of these, which also interestingly enough work well in the weird west genre. From the landscapes to characters to abandoned towns, Curran manages to present you a picture that chills you.
Another thing that Curran manages to do well is his characters. He has created some pretty interesting characters with a lot of history within this novel. They play off each other beautifully and at times you can't help but turn the page to find out what happens next. His protagonist is wonderfully flawed, has a very valid reason to go up against the sheriff, and he is fairly believable as far as western protagonists go.
Curran also does a good job with his prime antagonist, giving him a very vicious and disturbing nature with some interesting supernatural backing. (putting the weird into this western) Curran could easily have written this entire novel about the antagonist and it would have been equally as interesting. Instead, what Curran gives us is part of the problem.
This novel falls short not because of Curran's ability to set a scene or create beautiful characters, but rather how this novel plays out. We get treated to the protagonist and his journey, reasons for being in the town, and a general look at his characters. He's set up against the locals, including the sheriff, who he has issues with, for good reason. Then suddenly, the novel switches into a history of Cobb, the antagonist. This isn't done in snippets, but rather the entire story is derailed to give the reader this.
By the time the reader gets back to the main story, it almost seems as if Curran wanted to close the story up and rushes to the end. The protagonist's issue with the sheriff gets resolved all too easily, as does his encounter with the Hellbilly, and the person that brought the protagonist to the town in the first place doesn't ever get resolved, and in fact just gets brushed aside!
Even the final confrontation with the antagonist is resolved with an almost casual shrug. Looking back, I just now realized that I don't think the other monsters that were taught Cobb's ways were destroyed at all... To add to this, there are also a few spelling errors that should have been caught near the end which just added to the rushed feel of the ending.
In the end, that's why this book gets a low rating from me. Curran is an amazing and talented writer, but it feels like he lost interest with this novel once he was done with the history of the antagonist. If your are a fan of Curran's work, this is worth picking up. But if you are looking for weird west books to pick up like I was, I would put this about mid-way in your pile. It's not one of Curran's stronger works in my mind, but could be interesting to those who want to try it.
March 26, 2012
Tim Curry is a master craftsman. I highly recommend SKIN MEDICINE. Listen to this description of a cowardly gunman in a saloon who's about to let his temper get him into a gunfight he knows he can't win:
"Clay looked like a hot iron had been shoved up his ass. He came forward, stopped, turned, danced a crazy little jig. Sir Tom smiled at him and more than one man stepped away from the bar."
Or this description of a northern Mexico battlefield during a lull in the Mexican-American War:
"The dry winds were born of blast furnaces and ovens. They scoured the desolate countryside, howling through dry ravines and whistling along the peaks of rocky precipices. Dense stands of chaparral and wiry brush trembled. Sand blew and snakes hid amongst the crags. Buzzards circled in the yellow hazy sky above. Flies lit on the faces of the living and the dead and the wind tasted of salt, heat, and misery."
Wow. Right?
This action-packed, fast-paced book's got a little bit of just about everything. Cowboys and "injuns", miners and Mormons, preachers and demons, Sheriffs and outlaws, Rebels and Yanks, big wars and little wars . . . and monsters.
It's ranked #10,900 on Amazon. Just goes to show it's worthwhile to dig for gold.
"Clay looked like a hot iron had been shoved up his ass. He came forward, stopped, turned, danced a crazy little jig. Sir Tom smiled at him and more than one man stepped away from the bar."
Or this description of a northern Mexico battlefield during a lull in the Mexican-American War:
"The dry winds were born of blast furnaces and ovens. They scoured the desolate countryside, howling through dry ravines and whistling along the peaks of rocky precipices. Dense stands of chaparral and wiry brush trembled. Sand blew and snakes hid amongst the crags. Buzzards circled in the yellow hazy sky above. Flies lit on the faces of the living and the dead and the wind tasted of salt, heat, and misery."
Wow. Right?
This action-packed, fast-paced book's got a little bit of just about everything. Cowboys and "injuns", miners and Mormons, preachers and demons, Sheriffs and outlaws, Rebels and Yanks, big wars and little wars . . . and monsters.
It's ranked #10,900 on Amazon. Just goes to show it's worthwhile to dig for gold.
November 10, 2016
I first read this book years back when I didn't use Goodreads and I re-read it over the last few weeks. I forgot just how good it was. Although I'm not a big fan of western movies I do enjoy books written in the setting, especially horror. This book contains a bit of everything for the horror fan, werewolves, wendigo's, black magic and plenty of unsavory characters with great back stories. Curran's descriptions are excellent and put you right in the midst of the action. I would recommend this book to anyone and be comfortable knowing they would have a great time with it. I think it may be time to re-read some more of Tim's work and grab a few that I have missed.
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