দ্য স্টার্ভিং

The Weston Records #1

by Jon Dobbin, ইরাজ উদ্দৌলা দিবাকর (Translator)

কলোরাডোর প্রাণকেন্দ্রে অশুভ কিছু ঘনিয়ে উঠছে...!!!
বুনো পশ্চিমের একজন পুরোনো অধিবাসী বিল ওয়েস্টন। এখানকার জনজীবন, লোকালয় আর ছড়িয়ে থাকা নানা উপকথার সবকিছুই তার নখদর্পণে। এখানে থেকেই জীবিকার্জনের জন্য সে খুঁজে নিয়েছে বাউন্টি হান্টারের কাজটি : ‘মৃত্যুদণ্ড ঘোষিত অপরাধীদেরকে ধরে পুলিশের কাছ থেকে পুরস্কারের অর্থ লাভ করা’।
কিন্তু সবকিছুই বদলে গেলো যখন ‘ফারাওয়ে সু’ নামের এক আদিবাসী আউট’ল-কে বন্দী করে কলোরাডোর জঙ্গলাকীর্ণ অঞ্চলের মধ্য দিয়ে যাত্রা শুরু করলো ওয়েস্টন। সেই তুষারাচ্ছন্ন ভয়াল জঙ্গলে এক প্রাগৈতিহাসিক অশুভ শক্তির সম্মুখীন হতে হলো তাকে- যুগযুগান্তের সীমাহীন ক্ষুধা কুণ্ডলী পাকিয়ে উঠেছে যার জঠর গহ্বরে; তাকে করে তুলেছে সর্বগ্রাসী বুভুক্ষু! প্রতিটি মানুষকেই নিজের নারকীয় ক্ষুধানলের তুচ্ছ জ্বালানীতে পরিণত করতে মরিয়া হয়ে উঠেছে এই নাম না জানা আততায়ী।
একজন রক্ত-মাংসের মানুষের পক্ষে কতটুকু প্রতিরোধ গড়ে তোলা সম্ভব; যখন সে মুখোমুখি হয় মিথ এবং কিংবদন্তি থেকে উঠে আসা শতাব্দী প্রাচীন কোনো দানবীয় পিশাচের!!! ওয়েস্টন কি পারবে বেঁচে থাকার কোনো উপায় খুঁজে বের করতে...?
নাকি পরিণত হবে সেই ক্ষুধিত আত্মার জীবন্ত খাদ্যে...?
অথবা বদলে যাবে চিরতরে... নিজেই পরিণত হবে নতুন কোনো কিংবদন্তিতে!!!

Genres: Horror, Westerns

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to believe The Starving is Dobbin's first novel. Impressive.

I will most definitely be reading book two, The Risen. After the harrowing battle with "pure" evil he faced in this first book, it will be most interesting to find out what path Bill Weston takes next.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dobbin has a clear, evocative and atmospheric style. He populates his novel with fully rounded characters. The story is involving and surprising. The pacing is perfect. This is a cinematic, unique tale that drips with its author's passion for his craft. I especially apreciated how he seamlessly wove backstory into the main narrative. This was a very impressive first novel and I will be on the lookout for whatever he releases next.

[Serenity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

The best Wendigo book I've read yet! Great characters, action, and gore. I hated to see the book end. Definite recommend!

[Steve Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dobbin's debut full length is a chilling trek through a wintery wild west Colorado. It combines the pulp swagger and splatter of Robert E. Howard with the otherworldly chills of Stephen King in a suspenseful, tight read that moves like lightning.

Memorable characters mix with a unique twist on a malevolent force to create a sharp trip through a dark and uniquely twisted version of the west. This is an amazing first effort.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible debut novel that I cannot stop thinking about! Brash and unrelenting from the first to the final page, you will not want to put this book down. Sharp dialogue; fascinating, deeply developed characters and scenes so crisp and definitive that you feel as though you, the reader, are right there with our cast of misfits, in that deep dark woods. "The Starving" drags you under and holds on tight with its razor sharp claws - it leaves you hungry for more.

Jon Dobbin has his own distinctive style of writing, one that I believe, and hope, that we will see more of in the future. I don't think any review could do this book justice. Pick it up for yourself; it won't be long before you see what I mean.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really like westerns. Sure, I love the movies Unforgiven and Young Guns, and maybe a handful more, but that's about it. Likewise, horror isn't my bag. Except for zombie movies, for some reason. Not those "fast zombies," which aren't really zombies at all - do not get me started - but yeah. Not my cup of tea.

So, you might ask, why the heck would you read a book that combines those two things?

Well, I won't lie; the sheer attractiveness of the beautiful cover art drew me in at first. Then I read the description and realized, hey, this might be interesting.

I'm so glad that I did, because if there's one thing author Jon Dobbin does well (and there are many), it's combining things and making the whole more than the sum of its parts.

The Starving gives us the story of three disparate (soon to be desperate) men - Bill Weston, Dutch, and Jim Phillips - who have joined up to collect bounties on wanted men. It starts out with them capturing one such man, Faraway Sue. Together they make their way to Colorado to collect on Sue's bounty, only they get interrupted on the way to investigate a series of gruesome murders in the small town of Barclay. What follows is a macabre tale of monstrous proportions, as the men try to discover who, or what, is massacring the population, and try to stop it before they too fall victim to the mysterious menace.

Dobbin masterfully reveals the background of each character, unraveling each one for the reader's consumption as each character's life begins unraveling in the story. We see what they're made of as the tale's antagonist attempts to unmake them, in a visceral recount of both psychological and physical horrors.

Will the group of men be able to overcome their various pasts to overcome the killer stalking them in the present, or is there no future for any of them? Can the sum of their experiences combine to defeat one unholy terror? You'll have to read this haunting tale to find out. And be warned, racing through and finishing this book at 1am in the morning is ill-advised, unless you don't want to sleep afterward. I may or may not be speaking from personal experience.

Regardless of your interest in either of these genres, rest assured that the author has crafted something unique and entertaining for everyone out of them both. If you're hungry for a great read this summer, then look no further than The Starving. It'll whet your appetite and satiate it, all in one sitting.

[Ellen Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Full disclosure, I had a hand in helping see this book to print.*

This was the book I was most excited to see released this year. Dobbin’s writing routinely makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. He knows how to draw a reader into his tales, and The Starving is no exception. Dobbin is a master of the Weird West, his settings and characters popping to life in chilling fashion as they ride into a town plagued by a gruesome menace.

[Paul Carberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic western horror. The town of Barclay, and the surrounding woods make the perfect setting for this intense tale. The writing is vivid, well paced and extremely descriptive. Dobbin has the imagination of a gifted story teller and the skills of a seasoned writer. You don't want to miss Jon Dobbin's debut novel.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book. The cover was absolutely outstanding and immediately demanded my attention, but beyond that all I was really aware of was that two men would be lost in the woods fighting a monster. And while this is true, and at least partially accurate, it is far from the entire story or cast of characters.

Jon Dobbin's has an interesting style of writing that I found really engrossing. It's simplistic and straightforward, but it's never boring. It never fails to fully capture and explain the surroundings and the characters, never goes lightly on the action and bloodiness of these encounters. I found it a quick and easy read, but a greatly satisfying one as well. It's almost blunt, that's the best way I can think of to describe it. And I found it even more effective because of that.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the much larger cast of characters (victims) than I was expecting. It kept things interesting and each person was unique and enjoyable in their own right. Plus, at least one of the deaths was completely unexpected and genuinely caught me off guard and managed to get some emotion out of me which I was most definitely not expecting when starting this novel.

There are a few grammatical errors and spelling errors that were a bit annoying in their consistency. More aggravating and confusing though was the bungling of character's names? The doctor in this book gets no less than 4 name changes and some of the main characters seem to trade names over the first half of the book before settling on one. I'm not sure what's up with that, but it was far more prevalent than I've ever experienced before and it was distracting to say the least. And that's the main reason this book didn't get a 5 star rating from me.

That wasn't the only detraction, but it was the most noticeable. The only other complaints I really had were the ending. After the 3/4 mark, or more accurately the unexpected and emotional character death, the book seemed to kind of stall. It had reached an ending of sorts and then it kept going, and the "second" ending was a bit anticlimactic for my tastes. There were a number of different ways Dobbin's could have gone about that ending, tons of ways to keep the suspense, action, gore, and body count rolling as effectively as he had for the proceeding 180+ pages, but that wasn't the case here. The final 50 or so pages failed to grasp me quite as feverishly as the earlier portions of the novel and I found that surprising and a bit disheartening.

There was also a lot of confusion over what this monster was. Or, more so, how it spreads and creates more. There was never any clarity to that, and while I understand the ambiguity serves its purpose here and feeds into the notion of legends and mythical folklore, I'd have liked a little more cohesion. If for no other reason than to know what to expect for the last man standing down the line.

All in all this book was sooo much better than I was expecting. I went into this kind of thinking it would be a character study about two men in the woods and a creature attacking them. This book is so much more than that. It is an action packed creature feature that is destined, or rightfully should be anyway, for a film adaptation. The creature is awesome looking and it is savage beyond measure. There are a handful of really well developed and written attack scenes that don't shy away from the brutal violence these men and monster inflict against each other. I was also, pleasantly and morbidly, surprised with the larger-than-expected body count. I went into this expecting 1 or 2 deaths, maybe 3 tops, and I walked away from the book with a solid 5+ kills and that makes my gore craving heart sing with glee.

I was captivated fully, even through the periodic lulls in the story, and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a solid, quick, brutal little creature feature. The snow blown and ice swept woodscape is beautifully rendered and I couldn't help but picture it in a cinematic way, and that helped fuel the rest of the narrative. This unfolds like a classic, old school monster movie with only a little more heart and introspection. It the editing had been cleaned up a little bit and some of the awesome mayhem and bloodshed had worked it's way into the latter 1/4 of the book this could very well have been an all-timer for me. As it stands, I loved it and can see myself revisiting it down the road, and all the while recommending it to anyone with a similar love and appreciation of creatures from legend tearing the flesh from the unsuspecting and disbelieving.

[Jon Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savage terror stomps through the frozen forests of Colorado in this fiendishly written Weird Western tale.

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lumberjacks shunned that part of the forest...

No spoilers. 3 stars. Well pardners, this is the tale of an Indian legend, the Mhuwe... a tall skinny, strong and stinky human-like creature with elk horns...

... who likes human flesh so much that it just can't seem to get enough so it eats someone then moves right along to the next victim without so much as a burp...

The small western town of Barclay wants to find whatever is responsible for taking its citizens one by one, eating them, then leaving a pile of gnawed bones behind so...

They form a posse of 3 bounty hunters, the town's deputy, and an Indian prisoner of the bounty hunters to go into the forest and catch the killer...

...even the lumberjacks shunned that part of the forest...

The Indian, Faraway Sue, knows that they are looking for a legendary creature known as the Mhuwe (the Maneater)...

According to Indian lore, the Mhuwe ravenously eats a man but is never full. It craves human flesh and its curse is its hunger...

Once the posse makes camp in the forest, the Mhuwe lures the men into the woods one at a time separating that man from the sleepers...

This is the second novel I've read this year about a murderous elk creature from Indian legend so I'm wondering if it's a real legend. This story was the better of the two because it was more cogent but there were still a few problems.

I removed 1 star because the story was very repetitive and never seemed to arrive at its destination. I removed another star for lack of character development.

If you liked this story try WALK THE DARKNESS DOWN by John Boden.

[Jason Kilgore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found The Starving to be surprising and original. First off, it's a horror/western genre mash-up, which in itself is pretty unique. Louis L'amour meets Bram Stoker (though this isn't a vampire story, it shares the investigative and pursuit quality of it). And it is a different take on an authentic North American monster from Native American mythology, though I won't spoil the nature of it here.

Three bounty hunters capture an Indian and travel to Colorado to collect their bounty. But their goal changes when they volunteer to help the local sheriff of a small town and his deputy hunt down a creature that is slaughtering and eating the citizens. Soon they, and their Indian captive, are caught up in a life-and-death struggle against a supernatural, ravenous beast that seems undefeatable, in the wilds of the wintery Colorado forests.

I consider myself a seasoned reader, but even I was surprised by the ending -- then surprised again. This is a tale that rides high in the saddle and will leave you hungry for more.

[Andrew Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preamble

I picked up a copy of The Starving at the Market From Another Dimension here in my hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Engen Books, local publisher, had a table filled with delights from its presses. I had had my eye on this book for a while, admittedly partly owing to the phenomenal cover design created by Jud Haynes, a local graphic designer with, let’s say, a bit of a pedigree.

It was a week before Halloween, I was in the mood for some scary stuff, in comes The Starving. I didn’t really know much about the book before starting, which was perfect for the unfolding mystery within.

A note about my reviews: I consider myself an appreciator, not a critic. I know first-hand what goes into the creation of art – the blood, the sweat, the tears, the risk. I also know that art appreciation is subjective and lernt good what mama tell’t me – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I’m not a school marm grading a spelling test – I’m a reader who enjoys reading. If a book is entertaining, well-written, and I get absorbed into it, five out of five. I have gone as low as three stars – anything less than that and I will not review a book (chances are I DNFed anyway). Regardless, I wouldn’t even put a star rating system on my reviews but for the reality of storefronts like Amazon.

Take from that what you will.

Review – 5/5

When I was in my twenties, I came across a flick called Ravenous. It’s a post-Civil War era horror film set in the wilds of Northern California. Before I started to watch, like The Starving¸ I didn’t know what I was in for. You think it’s going one way and then about half-way through the movie the direction shifts. And when the credits roll, there is a grin on your face.

To be honest, that is exactly what The Starving is like. It also helps that, like Ravenous, the story is about what my ignorant mind knows as the legend of the Wendigo, but in this particular telling it is the Mhuwe, which is not exactly the same thing but I would say adjacent (and I do apologize for this ignorant comparison, as the Mhuwe is a Lenape legend and the Wendigo is an Anishinabe myth).

Set in the wilds of Colorado, near the turn of the 20th century, the protagonist of the book, Bill Weston, is a bounty hunter transporting a prisoner named Faraway Sue. Sue is an “East Coast Delaware Indian” charged with the murder of two men. Weston, along with his partners, Dutch and Phillips, pick Faraway Sue up in Yosemite, try to collect on the bounty in Northern California, and are told that they must then head on with their bounty to the small town of Barclay in Colorado.

I suppose it’s appropriate that there’s a character named Dutch, because if I had to compare the first half of the book to anything, it would be the classic Arnie film, Predator (besides, it ain’t a Western if there ain’t no Germanic immigrant feller named Dutch). Basically, the men roll into town, go to speak with the Sheriff, and then get embroiled in a bit of local drama – something attacks the populace at night. And doing real bad things to the corpses – all aboard the Viscera Express! Sue manages an escape during the madness. A posse forms up (complete with the token virulent racist who keeps looking for reasons to murder Sue), and they ride on out to the forest for days to be set upon by what they first assume to be an “Injun war party.”

Then shit gets bananas as they gradually figure out that the war party is actually an enormous monster with claws and fangs and a deep hunger for that monsterific delicacy, man flesh. Sue relates to his captors the story of the Mhuwe. Caused, of course, by the corrupting influence of cannibalism (or by some other crime against one’s humanity), the Mhuwe becomes an antlered anthropomorphic monster with super strength, infected with a hunger that never ends. The men first try to hunt the thing and kill it, but when it proves too much for them, survival and a return to Barclay is on the menu.

Along with man flesh, of course.

I’m not going to spoil anything further, but suffice it to say that things kind of change at this point. True, it’s still about survival, but there are elements of werewolvery or zombusiness, depending on how you want to look at it, thrown into the mix. There is also a redemptive element, some moments reminiscent of Pet Sematary.

Dobbin’s style is sparse yet emotive, and it seemed to me that the prose becomes richer along the way. Where the style in beginning would probably have Hemingway smiling up at us from his minimalist coffin, as things get realer, you can almost hear Lovecraft wailing in delight from his family plot in Providence. Not to say the prose ever becomes anything resembling purple, but it’s an interesting effect – though it may have been more imagined on my part than any true stylistic shift.

Still, imagined or not, whatever colour seems to flow into the story as it goes on is without any doubt in my mind as red as the claret that flows from a jagged wound in the bright moonlight of a Colorado winter. The book ends appropriately, I think, especially for a reader like me, who is all to happy to see a horror novel where utter dissolution is not where we leave our protagonist(s).

This is without even going into the mythological aspect of the story. Like any good myth, there is a deeper subtext at work: questions about what it means to be a good person, the psychological cost of war, the counter-intuitive value of sacrificing one's rational faculties to the irrational demands of love.

A very highly recommended Western mythological horror story. Given that this was Dobbin’s debut, I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us next.

In the meantime, I’m gonna play me some Red Dead Redemption 2.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

With its tense atmosphere and lightning fast pacing, The Starving is a blood soaked, ice-cold cinematic experience. Filled to the brim with entertaining and gore laden death scenes, this horror-western is the perfect read for any creature feature, or splatter western fan. Even the most disturbed of horror readers will find something to enjoy here.

While short, this novel has a bite. It's unrelenting, from the very first page you are thrown into the madness, and won't be let go until the conclusion. Dobbin's characters are so interesting, so deeply fleshed out, that it was almost a shame to lose them. But, naturally, as with any good Wendigo story, the bodies have to drop. Thankfully, Dobbin succeeded in creating death scenes so satisfying, that parting ways with these characters felt a little more acceptable.

[J.R.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great horror story in a gritty, Western setting. I particularly enjoyed Dobbin's skill with voice, giving each of the POV characters a distinctive sound and feel that is immediately relatable - even when the characters themselves are sometimes the last people you want to be relating to. I noted a couple of editing snafus early on, but nothing that impacted the story itself drawing you in, with greater and greater horror and fascination. Well done!

[Valdemar Cavazos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rented his book to keep me occupied between library holds. In that regard it was 100% effective, it got me through my itch for a book to read but that was about it.

It’s not a bad book by any means it’s just painfully by the numbers and unimaginative. The main characters where interchangeable and the surprise was obvious. For me it brought nothing new to the table.
Aside from that it was well written and had a lot of potential.

[David Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, Jon. Keep the stories coming.

[Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

[read it in Bangla translation]
দ্যা স্টার্ভিং
অবিশ্বাস্য - অসাধারণ - দুদার্ন্ত - দুর্ধর্ষ।।

মানে এরকম একটা হরর বই আমি বহুদিন পরে পড়লাম। অনুবাদটাও দারুন ছিলো। মনেই হয়নি বইটি অনুবাদ করা হয়েছে। যাই হোক এটি লেখক এর প্রথম বই এবং প্রথম বই হিসেবে হরর ওয়েস্টার্ন ধারাতে লেখা এই বইটি আমার এই পর্যন্ত পড়া হরর বইসমূহের মধ্যে একটি মাইল ফলক হিসেবে থাকবে বলাই যায়। বইটির চারটি মূল চরিত্র। বিল ওয়েস্টন, জিম ফিলিপস, ডাচ মুয়েলার এবং রেড ইন্ডিয়ান আসামি ফারাওয়ে সু। সাথে বার্কলে শহরের শেরিফ ফর্স্টার এবং তার ডেপুটি টম বেকার। বাউন্টি হান্টার বিল ওয়েস্টন, জিম ফিলিপস, ডাচ মুয়েলার ফাঁসির আসামী সু-কে নিয়ে কলোরাডোর উদ্দেশ্যে রওনা দিয়েছিলো এই কারনে যে এই আসামীকে পুলিশের হাতে তুলে দিলে হাতে আসবে পুরস্কারস্বরুপ বেশ কিছু অর্থ। সবকিছু বরাবরই চলছিলো যখন না তারা উপস্থিত হলো বার্কলে শহরে। বার্কলে শহরের শেরিফ ফর্স্টার খুবই দুশ্চিন্তাগ্রস্ত অবস্থায় দিন কাটাচ্ছেন। তার শহরে একের পরে খুন হচ্ছে মানুষ। তবে স্বাভাবিকভাবে নয়, বর্ণনার অতীত অতি নৃশংসভাবে। মানুষগুলোকে এত জঘন্যভাবে হত্যা করতো কেউ যে সেগুলো চিহ্নিত করার প্রায় কোনকিছুই অবশিষ্ট থাকত না। শেরিফ ফর্স্টার এই রহস্যের বিন্দুমাত্র কোন সূত্র খুঁজে পাচ্ছিলেন না। ঘন জঙ্গলে ঘেরা এই শহরে হঠাৎ কিসের আবির্ভাবে প্রায় প্রতিদিন নিরীহ মানুষ নৃশংসভাবে মারা যাচ্ছে তার কোন জবাব শেরিফের কাছে নেই। বাউন্টি হান্টার বিল ওয়েস্টন তার সহচরদের নিয়ে এই রহস্য সমাধানের দায়িত্ব নিজ কাঁধে তুলে নিল। তখন কি সেই ঘুণাক্ষরেও জানতো কি ভয়াবহ এবং অবর্ণনীয় বিভীষিকাময় মহাসংকটের ভিতরে সে এবং তার সহকর্মীরা জড়িয়ে পরছে! বইটির শেষ পর্যন্ত বা বলা যায় শেষ কয়েকটি অধ্যায়ের কাহিনীগুলো শ্বাসরুদ্ধকর ছিল। যখনই মনে হতো কাহিনী হয়তো এখানেই শেষ তখন লেখক কোন না কোন চমক পাঠকের জন্য তুলে রেখেছিলেন পরবর্তী অধ্যায়ে। বলতে বাধ্য হচ্ছি অবিশ্বাস্য একটা বই। শেষ পর্যন্ত না করলে বলে বোঝানো যাবে না। এই বইটির দ্বিতীয় খন্ড অবশ্যই পড়বো এ ব্যাপারে কোন সন্দেহ নেই। তবে বিশালদেহী ডাচ মুয়েলার, স্বল্পভাষী জিম ফিলিপস এবং রেড ইন্ডিয়ান ফারাওয়ে সু এর জন্য আমার খারাপ লেগেছে এটা বলাই বাহুল্য। সবশেষে ধন্যবাদ জানিয়ে লেখক এবং অনুবাদক উভয়কেই।।

[Jennifer Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bounty hunters they were, traveling the Wild West, running from their personal demons. Bill Weston and his crew had caught up to Faraway Sue, and were well set to turn him over for his bounty reward. $500.00 is nothing to scoff at.

While attempting to do just that, Bill’s told about a small border town, close to where he needs to turn in Sue, that’s having issues with death among its residents. It’s heavily suggested he should go help out, and collect his bounty while doing so. With doubts in the small groups minds, they go anyways, and walk into the worst nightmare they’ll ever live.

A creature feature set in the quiet territory of a small western wilderness town, this was a hit! 10/10 solid writing, a great creature, and fun characters. Within 50 pages(really much less), the action stops and it carries on through basically the entire book.

As it turns out, there’s a second for this one, which I’ll be purchasing and reading asap. Highly recommend this one, especially for those who loved Stolen Tongues, but maybe wanted a bit more in the end. You will not be sorry you picked this one up.

[John Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me a bit longer to finish than I expected, which was a shame—because it turned out to be a fantastic read! For a debut novel, the story is impressively well done. Set in a small Colorado town in the Old West, the plot follows a series of mysterious murders that have the locals living in fear. Weston, a determined bounty hunter, and his three companions venture into the dark woods to uncover the source of the town’s troubles. The suspense builds beautifully, and the ending does not disappoint. Overall, it’s a solid, gripping read, and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the Westen series!

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover art drew me in, and the writing made me stay! If you’re a fan of Horror & Louis L’Amour short stories, this is a fantastic read. Horror/Paranormal Westerns is a mashup genre that keeps you on your toes.

[Stephanie Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Wendigo and Wendigo adjacent stories so obviously I enjoyed this one. There were some great gory moments. At times, I felt like the story was missing something (like maybe more tension or character development), but overall this was a fun read.

[GRIPFAN678 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great.

[Patrick Selau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing monster horror story, set in the wild west.

[Rory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite technically incompetent! I appreciate the vibe he’s going for, might have been better as a video game or some cool art on the side of a van perhaps

[Abul Hossain Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me at least it is one of the best western horrors.