Pelts

by Phil Scott Mayes

In a dark and distant corner of the American frontier, nature has gone terribly wrong. Plant growth is out of control. Wildlife is mutating. The food chain is in complete disarray. But none of that will stop cagey explorer Magnus Lief in his quest for the most valuable pelts on Earth. Pelts he cannot live without. Pelts that nature itself seems determined to deny.

Between Magnus and his treasure stands a wilderness of horrors.

Desperate, Magnus turns to the foulest of Civil War captain "Lefty" and his company of rogue soldiers. The barbaric mercenaries are Magnus' only hope of delivering the priceless cargo through a forest teeming with nightmarish beasts. That is, if the soldiers don’t kill him first.

Captive among the bloodthirsty posse is a young man they call Stickman. Abused, half-starved, and effectively blind, Stickman's plight stirs the depths of Magnus' character. It awakens the man he once was, a man who admired beauty and defended innocence, long lost to the hatefulness of mankind.

A friendship results, one doomed by a world of cruel ultimatums.

Genres: Horror

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2024

Reviews

[Caleb CW · Rating 5 out of 5]

2.5 stars, my ass. Let's fix that.

So, I'm biased as shit for this author.I'm not afraid to admit it. He's my pal, my homie, my brother, whatever moniker you wish to use, he's it. But that doesn't necessarily mean it reflects how I feel about his writing. I had the privilege of reading this story since the beginning iterations that the author had written. I read it when it was written shorter for SNAFU and got long-listed. I read it when it was in its beautiful in-between stage. And I got to read the long version, this one, when it crawled out of the authors brain like Lefty crawled out of his mama's hole.

This is a great western-horror, from a very underappreciated writer. Wanna know how great it is? Darynda Jones, author of the Sunshine and the Charley series, loved it. Called it one of her favorites. It's like if you mixed burboun, gun powder, deadwood, and annihilation all together, this is the lethal mix you'd get. It is full of gore, violence, and language. It's got creatures galore and heart up the wazoo. I highly recommend looking this book up for what should have been chosen for SNAFU. It is a fun indie horror that I think will leave you searching that dirt trail for more.

There it is and there you have it.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Some old west guys, who somehow know about extraterrestrials, find a lot of trouble in a weird place that grows monsters.

No verisimilitude.

[Buzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

where the fuck did the extraterrestrials come from? like i know some of the characters were very briefly talking about it, but there was just not enough buildup to make that twist worth it. the end just took me out of the story. if there was buildup, i completely missed it because i found parts of this book difficult to pay attention to, even skipping the end of one of the chapters entirely.

[Allison Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did NOT see that coming! An adventurous and mystical tale of an uncanny world.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good creature feature and this delivered. Fun, a bit gory, strange creatures, and a very interesting plot. Impressive to fit it all in a book that took maybe an hour and a half to finish.

My only complaint is the lack of character development for Stickman. I was really hoping by the end he'd finally get to use his true name. He was a constant part of the story but I didn't feel like we got to truly know him.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

intriguing

Sci-fi meets old west. Magnus is looking for pelts but needs gun fighters to reach were they are but things aren’t what you think they are. Good story that I won from Goodreads

[Samuel White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

A good quick read that held several unexpected twists. Worth the time it takes to read this story! ! !