What do you think?
Rate this book
Coyote
The Debut novel from the Untamed State.
Montezuma. The Untamed State. True now more than ever, since the Thunderbird Highway closed and civilization fled. Now Montezuma is a ghost state, a haven for the lawless where only the most savage thrive.
Mai is on the run from the law herself, driving down the abandoned highway through the desert, to the mountains where she was born. When her Bronco breaks down in the near-dead town of Maquina, she quickly makes several ruthless enemies trying to get back on the road. She also makes one friend, a laid-back bartender whose easy charm threatens to distract her from what she means to do. Mai is tough and she’s smart, but is that enough to get back on the road and survive the Untamed State?
Coyote is a hard-hitting neo-western, best enjoyed in a cheap roadside motel or in the corner booth of a dim dive bar with whiskey.
Montezuma. The Untamed State. True now more than ever, since the Thunderbird Highway closed and civilization fled. Now Montezuma is a ghost state, a haven for the lawless where only the most savage thrive.
Mai is on the run from the law herself, driving down the abandoned highway through the desert, to the mountains where she was born. When her Bronco breaks down in the near-dead town of Maquina, she quickly makes several ruthless enemies trying to get back on the road. She also makes one friend, a laid-back bartender whose easy charm threatens to distract her from what she means to do. Mai is tough and she’s smart, but is that enough to get back on the road and survive the Untamed State?
Coyote is a hard-hitting neo-western, best enjoyed in a cheap roadside motel or in the corner booth of a dim dive bar with whiskey.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2016
6 people are currently reading
642 people want to read
About the author
Bran Gustafson
1 book57 followersBran lives and writes in the United States of America, somewhat reluctantly. Coyote is his first published novel.
Sign up for Bran's newsletter and get the lowdown on news, exclusives, and deals, plus a free ebook: http://brangustafson.com/newsletter
CONNECT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brangustafso...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BranGustafson
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brangustafs...
Sign up for Bran's newsletter and get the lowdown on news, exclusives, and deals, plus a free ebook: http://brangustafson.com/newsletter
CONNECT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brangustafso...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BranGustafson
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brangustafs...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 7, 2019
Montezuma. The untamed state. This is where we meet Mai, a young woman on the run from the law and the underworld. There is a price on her head and she will be fortunate to maintain her freedom.
Her troubles continue when her car breaks down in a godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere. While she is eating in a greasy spoon café, her car disappears. Now her Bronco is the most important thing in her life, and she wants it back! Thus begins a long and difficult adventure for Mai. She meets a lot of unpleasant characters along the way, although she manages to find one ally called Slim, a laid-back bartender who Mai has to try hard not to fall for.
This story is incredibly violent at times and the language quite ripe to say the least, and in addition I didn’t really like any of the characters either, yet weirdly I still felt compelled to continue.
If you are not offended by bad language and violence, you could do far worse than read this. The author shows promise with his debut novel, and has piqued my interest just enough to check him out in the future.
Her troubles continue when her car breaks down in a godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere. While she is eating in a greasy spoon café, her car disappears. Now her Bronco is the most important thing in her life, and she wants it back! Thus begins a long and difficult adventure for Mai. She meets a lot of unpleasant characters along the way, although she manages to find one ally called Slim, a laid-back bartender who Mai has to try hard not to fall for.
This story is incredibly violent at times and the language quite ripe to say the least, and in addition I didn’t really like any of the characters either, yet weirdly I still felt compelled to continue.
If you are not offended by bad language and violence, you could do far worse than read this. The author shows promise with his debut novel, and has piqued my interest just enough to check him out in the future.
March 9, 2016
Full disclosure up front: The author and I are in a couple of groups together, so I was aware of his debut novel; and I knew he'd offered a free review e-copy to group members. I didn't request one, since I prefer to read in print format; but on the recommendation of my friend David Wittlinger, I did put my name in for the paperback giveaway (which is still ongoing!). When Bran became aware of my preference for paper, he kindly offered to gift me with a paperback copy, which I really appreciate. His openness to honest feedback is also appreciated; in fairness to authors who give me review copies, I typically promise to write no review at all rather than a bad one, but Bran made it clear from the outset that he'd appreciate even a bad review as long as it was honest and provided him with feedback. It didn't take me long to read enough that tell that my review wasn't going to be a bad one; but like any review I write, I've tried to make it an honest, "warts-and-all" one.
Coyote (the relevance of the title becomes clear eventually, but it has a symbolic significance as well, IMO) is set in the fictional Western U.S. state of Montezuma, "the Untamed State." The Goodreads description repeats the cover copy, which the author probably wrote; I wouldn't presume to improve on it, but I'll offer my own paraphrase for readers who click on this review without first reading the book description. Montezuma is a state in economic and moral free-fall since the depletion of its oil deposits and the resulting decamping of the industry, and the closing of its one interstate highway due to maintenance and safety issues. Much of it is inhospitable mountain and desert terrain, unable to sustain a large population without outside resources, so population (especially decent, wholesome population) is declining and social pathology is on the rise. Crime and violence flourish, but not much else does. To this not very inviting place comes Mai, our 20-something protagonist, with no resources but a Bronco (the four-wheeled type) and a .38. She was born here; but what motivates her to return isn't immediately revealed. Her Bronco breaks down in a declining town, where she soon finds that its bleak, shabby exterior masks a festering, rancid mass of lucrative vice and corruption, over which two murderous redneck clans vie for control.
Author Gustafson has elsewhere cited "spaghetti Westerns" as a major literary influence on this novel (an opener for a projected series), and the noir tradition (more so in its extremely grungy modern state, rather than the more restrained classic models) is clearly another serious one. But the kind of central role Clint Eastwood so often played in Westerns of this stripe is Mai's here, and the switch to the distaff side creates a subtly different dynamic of its own. One reviewer has said he's not sure if Mai is a good or a bad person, nor sure if even she knows. Personally, I wouldn't go that far. Of course, from a Christian perspective (this series isn't cast in Christian terms by the author, but Christian readers like myself necessarily view it with our own lens) all humans are fallen, with a sinful nature that gives us all flaws, self interest and a dark side to our psyches; but we all also have a not-wholly-effaced image of God in us, and a conscience. Some significant choices Mai makes and significant things she does clearly show me that she is basically a good person at her core, who listens to her conscience. And while I've used the word "noir," the author's own vision clearly isn't morally anarchic; in its own way, we could even call this a morality tale.
That said, readers have to be prepared for a journey through a world of moral and physical grunge that can almost be nauseating in places. Mai herself is no plaster saint. Raised without roots by a now-dead, peripatetic con man father (the Bronco was basically their home), she had virtually no positive rearing, by example or precept. Hard-living and sometimes hard-drinking, in desperate circumstances, she's not above stealing what she needs; her speaking style can be profane or obscene, and she's too emotionally-constipated and wary of others to form a relationship with any other person, but not averse to one-night sexual stands --more, I think, as a lonely way of reaching out for even illusory human connection than as a deliberate attempt to exploit others. (At this point in his life, that seems to me to describe bar owner/tender Slim's sexual psychology, too.) She's also got a savage temper that can be dangerous, though not to the inoffensive. Slim has some qualities, good and bad, similar to hers; and flawed as they are, this pair actually represents, in the town of Maquina, the closest thing it has to forces of goodness and light. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the forces of real darkness and evil, embodied in the worst sadistic dregs of the Skagg and Carter clans. In between these poles, we have a continuum of characters varying in their shades of gray, who may provide textbook examples of the unwillingness of most people to actively oppose evil if it involves any risk or inconvenience, and of the remarkable ability of humans to convince ourselves that our behavior is justified (even when we know it's totally wrong).
On the plus side, all of these characters are drawn with wonderful precision and distinctness. The pace of the story is fast and non-stop, and it's deliberately designed to be a quick read, with short chapters (some only a page long) that entice you into turning pages. (And you won't need much enticement; the need to know what's going to happen next here is compulsive!) Mai's self contained and stand-offish, hard to get to know, much less like (though that doesn't mean you won't, by the time you close the book!), but she's easy to side with and care about, and she's a more dynamic character inside than she initially seems to be. In a novel where action is an important component, the author handles action scenes well. (Some are a bit graphic; there are a couple of mental images that aren't best read by the squeamish.) As an action heroine, Mai's got guts and resolve (she may not be the biggest dog in the fight, but she's got more fight in her than some), but she's not a trained pro with her gun, and she can make mistakes with it (one of them a lulu). In her situation, that makes her believable, where a super firearms expert wouldn't be. And the ending is so perfect it raised the rating at least a quarter star. (There's no cliffhanger as such, either.)
The major negative is the bad language. Mai and Slim probably aren't any worse mouthed than the average secular people who've grown up in a very rough milieu and never, or very seldom, heard clean speech modeled; but from there, we descend pretty much into Avernus, and a number of these characters can't say a sentence without obscenity, blasphemous profanity, and/or revolting vulgarism, very often peppering the sentence with a lot of it. Gustafson isn't trying to encourage use of this kind of language, and we get that these cretins literally don't have the vocabulary to communicate in any other way; but even allowing for an author's right to make the judgment call to directly quote this sort of language, I thought the sheer volume of it was overdone. In the end, it cost the book a star, and the sexual content was disgusting enough in places to cost it another half star, though I had no problem rounding up. (There's actually no very explicit sex here, but some characters essentially live for exploitative sex, and talk about it in terms that curdle the stomach --one pimp's command for oral sex to one of his prostitutes had me wanting to yell at her to hit him across the mouth, get out and never come back.) In fairness, though, this clearly isn't intended to titillate or make this behavior attractive, but to make it repulsive (and it succeeds).
A final thought: obviously, in creating this setting, which is practically post-apocalyptic though not actually so, the author is trying to establish a modern American milieu where he can let his characters operate in an essentially lawless environment. Beyond that, though, I think there is some real social commentary here --an implication that it might not take much in the way of economic and moral collapse for the whole U.S. to go the way of Montezuma; and there are real life tendencies pushing in that direction. (And if that happens, decent people won't have 49 other states to move to; they'll have to keep a moral compass, and make their stand where they are.)
Coyote (the relevance of the title becomes clear eventually, but it has a symbolic significance as well, IMO) is set in the fictional Western U.S. state of Montezuma, "the Untamed State." The Goodreads description repeats the cover copy, which the author probably wrote; I wouldn't presume to improve on it, but I'll offer my own paraphrase for readers who click on this review without first reading the book description. Montezuma is a state in economic and moral free-fall since the depletion of its oil deposits and the resulting decamping of the industry, and the closing of its one interstate highway due to maintenance and safety issues. Much of it is inhospitable mountain and desert terrain, unable to sustain a large population without outside resources, so population (especially decent, wholesome population) is declining and social pathology is on the rise. Crime and violence flourish, but not much else does. To this not very inviting place comes Mai, our 20-something protagonist, with no resources but a Bronco (the four-wheeled type) and a .38. She was born here; but what motivates her to return isn't immediately revealed. Her Bronco breaks down in a declining town, where she soon finds that its bleak, shabby exterior masks a festering, rancid mass of lucrative vice and corruption, over which two murderous redneck clans vie for control.
Author Gustafson has elsewhere cited "spaghetti Westerns" as a major literary influence on this novel (an opener for a projected series), and the noir tradition (more so in its extremely grungy modern state, rather than the more restrained classic models) is clearly another serious one. But the kind of central role Clint Eastwood so often played in Westerns of this stripe is Mai's here, and the switch to the distaff side creates a subtly different dynamic of its own. One reviewer has said he's not sure if Mai is a good or a bad person, nor sure if even she knows. Personally, I wouldn't go that far. Of course, from a Christian perspective (this series isn't cast in Christian terms by the author, but Christian readers like myself necessarily view it with our own lens) all humans are fallen, with a sinful nature that gives us all flaws, self interest and a dark side to our psyches; but we all also have a not-wholly-effaced image of God in us, and a conscience. Some significant choices Mai makes and significant things she does clearly show me that she is basically a good person at her core, who listens to her conscience. And while I've used the word "noir," the author's own vision clearly isn't morally anarchic; in its own way, we could even call this a morality tale.
That said, readers have to be prepared for a journey through a world of moral and physical grunge that can almost be nauseating in places. Mai herself is no plaster saint. Raised without roots by a now-dead, peripatetic con man father (the Bronco was basically their home), she had virtually no positive rearing, by example or precept. Hard-living and sometimes hard-drinking, in desperate circumstances, she's not above stealing what she needs; her speaking style can be profane or obscene, and she's too emotionally-constipated and wary of others to form a relationship with any other person, but not averse to one-night sexual stands --more, I think, as a lonely way of reaching out for even illusory human connection than as a deliberate attempt to exploit others. (At this point in his life, that seems to me to describe bar owner/tender Slim's sexual psychology, too.) She's also got a savage temper that can be dangerous, though not to the inoffensive. Slim has some qualities, good and bad, similar to hers; and flawed as they are, this pair actually represents, in the town of Maquina, the closest thing it has to forces of goodness and light. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the forces of real darkness and evil, embodied in the worst sadistic dregs of the Skagg and Carter clans. In between these poles, we have a continuum of characters varying in their shades of gray, who may provide textbook examples of the unwillingness of most people to actively oppose evil if it involves any risk or inconvenience, and of the remarkable ability of humans to convince ourselves that our behavior is justified (even when we know it's totally wrong).
On the plus side, all of these characters are drawn with wonderful precision and distinctness. The pace of the story is fast and non-stop, and it's deliberately designed to be a quick read, with short chapters (some only a page long) that entice you into turning pages. (And you won't need much enticement; the need to know what's going to happen next here is compulsive!) Mai's self contained and stand-offish, hard to get to know, much less like (though that doesn't mean you won't, by the time you close the book!), but she's easy to side with and care about, and she's a more dynamic character inside than she initially seems to be. In a novel where action is an important component, the author handles action scenes well. (Some are a bit graphic; there are a couple of mental images that aren't best read by the squeamish.) As an action heroine, Mai's got guts and resolve (she may not be the biggest dog in the fight, but she's got more fight in her than some), but she's not a trained pro with her gun, and she can make mistakes with it (one of them a lulu). In her situation, that makes her believable, where a super firearms expert wouldn't be. And the ending is so perfect it raised the rating at least a quarter star. (There's no cliffhanger as such, either.)
The major negative is the bad language. Mai and Slim probably aren't any worse mouthed than the average secular people who've grown up in a very rough milieu and never, or very seldom, heard clean speech modeled; but from there, we descend pretty much into Avernus, and a number of these characters can't say a sentence without obscenity, blasphemous profanity, and/or revolting vulgarism, very often peppering the sentence with a lot of it. Gustafson isn't trying to encourage use of this kind of language, and we get that these cretins literally don't have the vocabulary to communicate in any other way; but even allowing for an author's right to make the judgment call to directly quote this sort of language, I thought the sheer volume of it was overdone. In the end, it cost the book a star, and the sexual content was disgusting enough in places to cost it another half star, though I had no problem rounding up. (There's actually no very explicit sex here, but some characters essentially live for exploitative sex, and talk about it in terms that curdle the stomach --one pimp's command for oral sex to one of his prostitutes had me wanting to yell at her to hit him across the mouth, get out and never come back.) In fairness, though, this clearly isn't intended to titillate or make this behavior attractive, but to make it repulsive (and it succeeds).
A final thought: obviously, in creating this setting, which is practically post-apocalyptic though not actually so, the author is trying to establish a modern American milieu where he can let his characters operate in an essentially lawless environment. Beyond that, though, I think there is some real social commentary here --an implication that it might not take much in the way of economic and moral collapse for the whole U.S. to go the way of Montezuma; and there are real life tendencies pushing in that direction. (And if that happens, decent people won't have 49 other states to move to; they'll have to keep a moral compass, and make their stand where they are.)
June 11, 2016
An extra fun neo-western where grit and sand mean blood and trouble. The novel begins with a a dog being put out of its misery by the main gal. Said gal leads a nomadic life and is driven by a past shadowy. As she makes her way in a new town her world collides with new characters that each have their own agendas, and are ready to exploit her position or take her side to the end.
Coyote is pure entertainment - the sort of simplicity it’s really difficult to pull off. You have to be deft with character to make a book like this mark itself out, and inject some heart and class. The setting helps. The town feels like it has soaked up the surrounding terrain and inhabited the dislocation and wildness of a place that answers only to itself.
There are some ace quirky touches and investments in adding personality to the characters which really pays off. The wisecracking is never overdone and the action scenes energetically described. The interconnected motivations of the townsfolk and the new arrival converge in a satisfying way as the novel plays out.
I can see that the author has worked from character up and built the world to service their story. A quick, vibrantly violent, stylishly delivered read.
Coyote is pure entertainment - the sort of simplicity it’s really difficult to pull off. You have to be deft with character to make a book like this mark itself out, and inject some heart and class. The setting helps. The town feels like it has soaked up the surrounding terrain and inhabited the dislocation and wildness of a place that answers only to itself.
There are some ace quirky touches and investments in adding personality to the characters which really pays off. The wisecracking is never overdone and the action scenes energetically described. The interconnected motivations of the townsfolk and the new arrival converge in a satisfying way as the novel plays out.
I can see that the author has worked from character up and built the world to service their story. A quick, vibrantly violent, stylishly delivered read.
March 21, 2016
A sort of modern day western, at times it felt like a Quentin Tarantino story I think because every character is hardened to their life/surroundings. The many short chapters make the story move quickly, the action scenes are sudden, violent and over very quickly, probably how it would be in real life. The setting for the story would be ideal for a "Hills have eyes" movie, everything seems to have been corrupted one way or another. A nice cast of characters, Leroy was brilliant a sort of a wannabe-anti-hero.
I've enjoyed reading this and looking forward to the story continuing in the next book.
I've enjoyed reading this and looking forward to the story continuing in the next book.
September 12, 2016
Mai, a young woman with a mysterious past, is travelling along the Thunderbird Highway, a semi-abandoned highway traversing the semi-abandoned US State of Montezuma. Since people stopped using the Thunderbird, Montezuma has nothing to offer anyone, and whole towns have disappeared into the heat and dust.
But, along with the tumbleweeds, the lawless gather in small pockets across the state, answering only to who has the most cash and the least conscience. Mai is burdened by both a lack of the former and perhaps too much of the latter.
Mai’s car breaks down in Maquina, a town abandoned by all hope and most of its population. Remaining are a few small business owners and at least one drunk. It is quickly apparent that the small business owners do not worry themselves unduly about the law, dealing in drugs, prostitutes, and cash from unknown sources. A young woman with a broken-down car seems an easy victim, but after Mai draws first blood, she finds most of the town wanting her dead.
A gritty, grimy modern interpretation of the classic Western, “Coyote” explores what makes a person good and what makes them bad. The language is terse and unapologetic, the storyline tight and fast-moving, while the characters are developed and deep enough that the Old West is not always as clear as it seemed in the old movies.
But, along with the tumbleweeds, the lawless gather in small pockets across the state, answering only to who has the most cash and the least conscience. Mai is burdened by both a lack of the former and perhaps too much of the latter.
Mai’s car breaks down in Maquina, a town abandoned by all hope and most of its population. Remaining are a few small business owners and at least one drunk. It is quickly apparent that the small business owners do not worry themselves unduly about the law, dealing in drugs, prostitutes, and cash from unknown sources. A young woman with a broken-down car seems an easy victim, but after Mai draws first blood, she finds most of the town wanting her dead.
A gritty, grimy modern interpretation of the classic Western, “Coyote” explores what makes a person good and what makes them bad. The language is terse and unapologetic, the storyline tight and fast-moving, while the characters are developed and deep enough that the Old West is not always as clear as it seemed in the old movies.
October 10, 2016
Dashiell Hammett for the digital generation.
I'm a sucker for hardboiled and noir tales, and I envy those who can write them with authenticity. It's more than just aesthetics and tropes; the dialogue needs to be pitch perfect in order to carry the story otherwise it falls flat pretty quickly because the bar has been raised high by the old masters. Specifically hardboiled/ noir dialogue has to be of its time and place, and it was reassuring to learn that Gustafson has managed to get this down to a fine art.
Like all good hardboiled yarns every character in Coyote carries a dark shadow; they're all scheming and finding a crooked way through their obscure existences any which way the can. Their world is no more than dive bars and cockroach infested motels, bent cops, brothels and small time hoodlums who make life harder than what it needs to be. There's not much hope for the untamed state and it's all shown here in glorious HD.
It was also refreshing to have a female protagonist who wasn't a pushover, but wasn't some ice queen either. Mai was hardened to her cruel surroundings yet vulnerable all at the same time. I cared for her and wanted her to surmount all the bullshit thrown her way in the short time I was with her. And the ending was great. I won't spoil it here, but the last quarter is where the Cormac McCarthy influence shines through.
Before reading Coyote I'd actually forgotten how much I enjoy this type of novel and why. I'm glad to find an indie author who's exploring it and keeping true to the genre albeit in an updated western setting. It's the sort of place I need to visit in my head once every year so you can consider me a constant reader.
I look forward to Neon Canyon.
I'm a sucker for hardboiled and noir tales, and I envy those who can write them with authenticity. It's more than just aesthetics and tropes; the dialogue needs to be pitch perfect in order to carry the story otherwise it falls flat pretty quickly because the bar has been raised high by the old masters. Specifically hardboiled/ noir dialogue has to be of its time and place, and it was reassuring to learn that Gustafson has managed to get this down to a fine art.
Like all good hardboiled yarns every character in Coyote carries a dark shadow; they're all scheming and finding a crooked way through their obscure existences any which way the can. Their world is no more than dive bars and cockroach infested motels, bent cops, brothels and small time hoodlums who make life harder than what it needs to be. There's not much hope for the untamed state and it's all shown here in glorious HD.
It was also refreshing to have a female protagonist who wasn't a pushover, but wasn't some ice queen either. Mai was hardened to her cruel surroundings yet vulnerable all at the same time. I cared for her and wanted her to surmount all the bullshit thrown her way in the short time I was with her. And the ending was great. I won't spoil it here, but the last quarter is where the Cormac McCarthy influence shines through.
Before reading Coyote I'd actually forgotten how much I enjoy this type of novel and why. I'm glad to find an indie author who's exploring it and keeping true to the genre albeit in an updated western setting. It's the sort of place I need to visit in my head once every year so you can consider me a constant reader.
I look forward to Neon Canyon.
March 3, 2016
I enjoyed this short action-packed novel.
Reminded me at times of Frank Castle and Clifton Adams western novels.
Other times I was reminded of Gil Brewer, Harry Whittington, and Dan J. Marlowe.
This wild and hairy 1970's B-movie of a tale takes place in the modern day wild west.
Lead character is a self-reliant, gun packing girl on the run.
Low on fuel for her Bronco she pulls into a gas station on the outskirts of what at first appears to be a ghost town.
Violence and mayhem ensue.
Recommended for fans of vintage paperback originals.
I received this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
My thanks to the author for the free download.
April 6, 2016
Thanks for reading.
Reviews kick ass.
I hope you like Coyote, but even if you don’t, I’m interested in what you have to say. So if you've got a minute, please leave an honest review.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. It could be as simple as “This book blows!” or "This book knocked my socks off!" or “This book has too many cusses!” (totally legitimate complaint) or “I liked this book because the chapters are short and I have the attention span of a millenial’s baby.” Or you can write an entire novel about my novel. Your choice.
I’m an indie author, which means every review, even a negative one, is important to helping the right people find my books. I think negative reviews are important because they help keep the wrong people
from reading my books, and reenforce to the right people why they would want to read them.
So no matter what your feelings are about Coyote, thanks for reviewing on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever you got it.
If you’re feeling charitable and ambitious, you could also leave reviews at other places this book is sold, which can be found here: http://brangustafson.com/coyote
Reviews kick ass.
I hope you like Coyote, but even if you don’t, I’m interested in what you have to say. So if you've got a minute, please leave an honest review.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. It could be as simple as “This book blows!” or "This book knocked my socks off!" or “This book has too many cusses!” (totally legitimate complaint) or “I liked this book because the chapters are short and I have the attention span of a millenial’s baby.” Or you can write an entire novel about my novel. Your choice.
I’m an indie author, which means every review, even a negative one, is important to helping the right people find my books. I think negative reviews are important because they help keep the wrong people
from reading my books, and reenforce to the right people why they would want to read them.
So no matter what your feelings are about Coyote, thanks for reviewing on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever you got it.
If you’re feeling charitable and ambitious, you could also leave reviews at other places this book is sold, which can be found here: http://brangustafson.com/coyote
March 3, 2016
Coyote is a sort of modern-day western. The typical elements are here: remote, dusty town with a small cast of dubious characters, guns, prostitutes, money and a mysterious stranger. In the case of Coyote the stranger is a young female named Mai, running from (or to?) something in a Bronco she seems far too attached to. Stopping reluctantly in a nearly deserted town she finds herself in an ever deepening pool of trouble.
The town and even the state are fictitious, inviting a slightly other-worldly image of the story's stage. I pictured this as something between a Quentin Tarrentino film and a spaghetti western. Mai is a bit of a mystery, cold and dangerous but not without emotion. Villains, or potential villains, abound. The story twists and turns and surprises. Questions arise and answers are given at a pace that is satisfying. The reader is never really sure if Mai is a hero or a villain; in fact we get the idea that Mai herself is not even sure. No matter; we root for her anyway.
Coyote is written in a style I wouldn't typically enjoy but I found myself eager to pick up the book at every opportunity to see what happened next. Criticisms are few: another edit would address a number of typos and grammatical errors and on my Kindle there are a few formatting issues. None are numerous or especially irritating; it is one of those cases where the book is almost perfect and the few foibles that exist just stand out because of the fact. This is an excellent first effort and Gustafson really gives us a good piece. Well done.
ETA: Review of free promotional ebook version. I do not know the author.
The town and even the state are fictitious, inviting a slightly other-worldly image of the story's stage. I pictured this as something between a Quentin Tarrentino film and a spaghetti western. Mai is a bit of a mystery, cold and dangerous but not without emotion. Villains, or potential villains, abound. The story twists and turns and surprises. Questions arise and answers are given at a pace that is satisfying. The reader is never really sure if Mai is a hero or a villain; in fact we get the idea that Mai herself is not even sure. No matter; we root for her anyway.
Coyote is written in a style I wouldn't typically enjoy but I found myself eager to pick up the book at every opportunity to see what happened next. Criticisms are few: another edit would address a number of typos and grammatical errors and on my Kindle there are a few formatting issues. None are numerous or especially irritating; it is one of those cases where the book is almost perfect and the few foibles that exist just stand out because of the fact. This is an excellent first effort and Gustafson really gives us a good piece. Well done.
ETA: Review of free promotional ebook version. I do not know the author.
March 23, 2016
A woman with a shady past, her deeply sentimental attachment to her Bronco and a 'hick' town - Coyote definitely was an intense and incredibly thrilling read. The visual the author describes whisks you to a place that can only be described as a corrupt-no money-struggling wasteland that you would find in books and movies about a post-apocalyptic world. A dust ridden atmosphere with shambled towns rising from the cracked dry earth being ran by shady criminals that are without true governing law. It gives a feeling of 'only the strongest will survive' by any means. Which brings us to the main character, Mai. Mai is a woman who rides on a thin line of morals (for lack of a better word) and doing what it takes to keep herself alive. She's mostly a hard-pressed spitfire, and who was uncertain, unpredictable and a tough little bad-ass. This makes her a hero with a villainous side. Yet, she wasn't without a softer, more compassionate side either.
The overall book's story line, plot, style, action-packed, violent-sex driven characters reminded me of a Quentin Tarantino flick. It's filled with twists and turns of betrayals and alliances. I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was; a highly entertaining modern-western-crime-thriller. A must read! A 'mans-man' type of read! Although the genera wasn't applicable to my truer taste in books, I still found myself rushing through the pages to find out what happened next! It says 4 stars, but I give it a 4.8 out a 5!
The overall book's story line, plot, style, action-packed, violent-sex driven characters reminded me of a Quentin Tarantino flick. It's filled with twists and turns of betrayals and alliances. I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was; a highly entertaining modern-western-crime-thriller. A must read! A 'mans-man' type of read! Although the genera wasn't applicable to my truer taste in books, I still found myself rushing through the pages to find out what happened next! It says 4 stars, but I give it a 4.8 out a 5!
March 20, 2016
If you're looking for a fast edge-of-your-seat read, Coyote by Bran Gustafson fits the bill. If you're interested in the story line and you like detail, be sure to read Mr. Lind's review. He does a great job describing a few major story points. Bran describes his debut novel as a neo-western. I had to look that term up as I'd never come across anything like this before. To me, neo meant that the action takes place in the present. Western, of course, could either mean the action takes place during the time of gun-toting cowboys and outlaws or the action takes place in a state the other side of the Rockies.
In this case, the action takes place probably in the present (or perhaps in the near future- this reader is unable to decide) and in a state out west, a fictitious state, Montezuma. (a good choice of names as the term should make you think of Montezuma's revenge and this book is full of all kinds of revenge). I choose not to divulge the story so as not to ruin it for anyone interested. The action is overall fast-paced but slow in the very beginning because Bran is busy painting a rather noir word picture, something all good writers must do to write a successful well thought out story.
I found Bran's choice of writing style to be rather unique, at least for me. The writer has chosen to insert 69 chapters in about 200 pages (maybe 50,000 words). This is unusual because most writers prefer a chapter length of 10 to 20 pages. But by including very short chapters, Bran is almost assured that the reader will continue turning pages to read the book until the end, after all, everyone wants to know what will happen in the next chapter. Another unusual aspect of Bran's writing style was where he placed the reader while the story unfolded. But perhaps I missed the mark here. Many writers try hard to make the reader feel that he or she is actually part of the story or the fly on the wall. As the reader in this case, I felt as though I was observing the action from afar. If this is what Bran tried to achieve, he has succeeded. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I eagerly await Bran's next installment.
In this case, the action takes place probably in the present (or perhaps in the near future- this reader is unable to decide) and in a state out west, a fictitious state, Montezuma. (a good choice of names as the term should make you think of Montezuma's revenge and this book is full of all kinds of revenge). I choose not to divulge the story so as not to ruin it for anyone interested. The action is overall fast-paced but slow in the very beginning because Bran is busy painting a rather noir word picture, something all good writers must do to write a successful well thought out story.
I found Bran's choice of writing style to be rather unique, at least for me. The writer has chosen to insert 69 chapters in about 200 pages (maybe 50,000 words). This is unusual because most writers prefer a chapter length of 10 to 20 pages. But by including very short chapters, Bran is almost assured that the reader will continue turning pages to read the book until the end, after all, everyone wants to know what will happen in the next chapter. Another unusual aspect of Bran's writing style was where he placed the reader while the story unfolded. But perhaps I missed the mark here. Many writers try hard to make the reader feel that he or she is actually part of the story or the fly on the wall. As the reader in this case, I felt as though I was observing the action from afar. If this is what Bran tried to achieve, he has succeeded. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I eagerly await Bran's next installment.
March 4, 2016
I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with this book. I did not really know anything about the story when I started to read it. The author does a superb job at portraying this character in the gritty and brutal landscape, where we have the main female lead getting pulled down by her circumstances in a fit for survival. All of these characters were portrayed to me in a very believable fashion where their past catches up with them all in a varied of ways. The story was well done with a few satisfying twists and turns that just made the story more gritty and enjoyable. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
I did get this book from the author for this review.
I did get this book from the author for this review.
April 27, 2016
This book was described on Amazon as “a hard-hitting neo noir and modern western, best enjoyed in the corner booth of a dim dive bar with whiskey.” I have to admit, I’m not a fan of whiskey (I’m all about tequila, thank you very much) and I’m not sure what a “neo noir” novel is. I figured this would be one of those literary, high-concept affairs that usually goes right over my head (I’m not much for symbolism...just spit it out and tell me what’s going on, for God’s sake). But I was pleasantly surprised by Coyote. Full review on the blog http://www.knockinbooks.com/reviews/c...
April 9, 2016
I really enjoyed this western style drama. It was an epic adventure like watching a mini series on TV where you have no idea what's going to happen next. Short, sharp chapters will keep you awake all night just for one more chapter, like we all do.
I recommend this for anyone who likes get to the point action, with an opening for a sequel.
Thanks to the author for a free copy in advance for an honest review.
I recommend this for anyone who likes get to the point action, with an opening for a sequel.
Thanks to the author for a free copy in advance for an honest review.
July 4, 2017
I won that book with Goodreads giveaway and I enjoyed reading it!I also loved having a signed copy!!!
April 25, 2017
If this novel wasn't the write up from a Fiasco game, it should have been. It's got all the disastrous hallmarks of a messy Coen Brothers film--a desperate run down setting, characters with great ambition and poor impulse control, a lot of people who need things, and abrupt gory violence.
The characters are emotionally broken or stunted in classic Sam Shepard style, every character touched by moral taint in some fashion. There are no angels here.
It's a quick read, made quicker by the short chapters jerking you onto the next page, and there's always something going on in Maquina. You have two political factions in town, and then the faction that just wants to be let alone to go to Hell in its own gods damned fashion until it realizes that's not an option any longer, and lastly that one stick of dynamite that rolls into town in a Ford Bronco and upsets the delicate balance. I really wanted to see a film of this, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
These aren't nice people. There's a lot of un-woke behavior in the story. But I don't think it's glorified.
The characters are emotionally broken or stunted in classic Sam Shepard style, every character touched by moral taint in some fashion. There are no angels here.
It's a quick read, made quicker by the short chapters jerking you onto the next page, and there's always something going on in Maquina. You have two political factions in town, and then the faction that just wants to be let alone to go to Hell in its own gods damned fashion until it realizes that's not an option any longer, and lastly that one stick of dynamite that rolls into town in a Ford Bronco and upsets the delicate balance. I really wanted to see a film of this, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
These aren't nice people. There's a lot of un-woke behavior in the story. But I don't think it's glorified.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews