Pathkiller as the Holy Ghost

by Nathan Poole

Winner of the 2014 Quarterly West Novella Contest

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Pathkiller as the Holy Ghost" is an extension of one of the short stories from Poole's collection "Fathers Brothers Keepers." Its additional content, for the most part, leaves behind the strictly rural southern setting that rooted his collection of short stories. (Personally, I very much missed the rural south…) The brilliance of Poole as a writer and storyteller is still apparent here, but I'm not sure there's enough dramatic cohesion for a longer work. Each individual piece is just fine (there are a lot of 1-3 page short chapters/sections), but I'm not sure they add up to form a compelling whole. That said, I was again mesmerized by Poole's writing, and I finished this in a single sitting. I look forward to anything else Poole publishes.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An orphan's grandfather tells him that when he is older a Cherokee ancestor will "fall on you and give you his spirit". This does not happen, nor does much of anything else. This was the Winner of the 2014 Quarterly West Novella Contest. I loved last year's winner, but this one lacked interesting characters or plot.