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Dead West #1
Dead West: West of Pale
Six-guns, blazing hooves, and the horrors that stalk the night.
Everyone brought something from the old country. Grandfather's watch, and grandmother's china; great-grandfather's folklore, and great-great-grandmother's fairy tales. What is never discussed, however, are the undying characters of the folklore: nix and fairy, goblin and vampire, dragon and eldritch things who all came to America's shores in time with the rhyme of their tales.
After Charlie's father is murdered by something impossible, he discovers a letter that leads him across the wild west. The man who wrote the letter promised to help, if things went wrong.
And things could not go more wrong. His father's murderer is on his trail, materializing from lakes, rivers, and stray pools of water. He will not rest until Charlie has joined his father...
Dead West: West of Pale is the first book in J. Patrick Allen's Dead West series. This novel picks up right where his Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards (2016) nominated short story, "Dragonfly Shadow," left off (featured in 18thWall Productions' From the Dragon Lord's Library: Volume One).
Everyone brought something from the old country. Grandfather's watch, and grandmother's china; great-grandfather's folklore, and great-great-grandmother's fairy tales. What is never discussed, however, are the undying characters of the folklore: nix and fairy, goblin and vampire, dragon and eldritch things who all came to America's shores in time with the rhyme of their tales.
After Charlie's father is murdered by something impossible, he discovers a letter that leads him across the wild west. The man who wrote the letter promised to help, if things went wrong.
And things could not go more wrong. His father's murderer is on his trail, materializing from lakes, rivers, and stray pools of water. He will not rest until Charlie has joined his father...
Dead West: West of Pale is the first book in J. Patrick Allen's Dead West series. This novel picks up right where his Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards (2016) nominated short story, "Dragonfly Shadow," left off (featured in 18thWall Productions' From the Dragon Lord's Library: Volume One).
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 27, 2016
If you like westerns and legendary creatures, this book is for you. I highly recommend it.
May 5, 2017
This book surprised me.
When I first started it, I was expecting your usual weird west tale.
Instead, once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down, devouring most of it fairly quickly in the opening days of reading it.
Allen has crafted a really good story in this novel. The action is steady, and there is a constant stream of dread as the protagonist is stalked by the unknown creature. (and the fact that what it is isn't revealed until later in the novel just added to the mystery of the story) I like how the paranormal element was handled in this weird west tale. It's more along urban fantasy tales than more traditional weird west tales, with only a few knowing about the horrors of the world. It was a nice change.
Allen's characters are rich, be they the protagonists or the antagonists (human and not). They have wants, desires and goals unique to them and react according to their characters. This helps build some nice conflicts and relationships between the characters, and drives the story nicely. Even characters you are supposed to dislike have a certain level of sympathy to them which carries over nicely.
The only true complaint I have to the tale is just how much it jumps around from location to location. But I have to admit, it works with the story. The change of scenery helps to evolve the protagonist and helps to show his evolution as a character. Once he returns back home, he's a different person entirely, which was nice to see. So really, the jumping around of locations is not that bad of a flaw.
In the end, I really enjoyed this novel. The action was constant, the horror aspect was handled well, and the characters were all interesting. It was a refreshing breath from most of the other weird westerns I have read recently and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a good weird western to read, this would be one of the top ones I would recommend. Well worth reading!
When I first started it, I was expecting your usual weird west tale.
Instead, once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down, devouring most of it fairly quickly in the opening days of reading it.
Allen has crafted a really good story in this novel. The action is steady, and there is a constant stream of dread as the protagonist is stalked by the unknown creature. (and the fact that what it is isn't revealed until later in the novel just added to the mystery of the story) I like how the paranormal element was handled in this weird west tale. It's more along urban fantasy tales than more traditional weird west tales, with only a few knowing about the horrors of the world. It was a nice change.
Allen's characters are rich, be they the protagonists or the antagonists (human and not). They have wants, desires and goals unique to them and react according to their characters. This helps build some nice conflicts and relationships between the characters, and drives the story nicely. Even characters you are supposed to dislike have a certain level of sympathy to them which carries over nicely.
The only true complaint I have to the tale is just how much it jumps around from location to location. But I have to admit, it works with the story. The change of scenery helps to evolve the protagonist and helps to show his evolution as a character. Once he returns back home, he's a different person entirely, which was nice to see. So really, the jumping around of locations is not that bad of a flaw.
In the end, I really enjoyed this novel. The action was constant, the horror aspect was handled well, and the characters were all interesting. It was a refreshing breath from most of the other weird westerns I have read recently and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a good weird western to read, this would be one of the top ones I would recommend. Well worth reading!
August 15, 2020
I'd a hankering for some pulpy weird west, and this fit the bill.
Young Charlie's family is cursed to fall prey to a water sprite, so he enlists a monster hunter to help him. Along the way, the two bond and uncover more enemies to foil than just a nix.
Charlie's a nice kid, Lutheran, son of German immigrants. Though the tale is written from his adult perspective, I thought he behaved in a pretty age-appropriate manner. Samuel, the monster hunter, is the cool, dark, tortured soul who won't believe he's the hero he really is, but I liked spending time with him. Most fun was the combination of old world legendary creatures in an American pioneer setting. Having lived in Central Europe now for almost 10 years, you get to hear the fairy tales and folk-critters that were forgotten as immigrants assimilated to American culture. Allen has thrown a few of those things into the book; he's done his research. I'll read more from this series.
I do wish—and this is a bit nitpicky—that the editors had been a little more diligent looking for typos and ironing out clunky sentences. Obviously I enjoyed the book (4 stars!), but those sorts of things really pull me out of a story while I'm reading.
Young Charlie's family is cursed to fall prey to a water sprite, so he enlists a monster hunter to help him. Along the way, the two bond and uncover more enemies to foil than just a nix.
Charlie's a nice kid, Lutheran, son of German immigrants. Though the tale is written from his adult perspective, I thought he behaved in a pretty age-appropriate manner. Samuel, the monster hunter, is the cool, dark, tortured soul who won't believe he's the hero he really is, but I liked spending time with him. Most fun was the combination of old world legendary creatures in an American pioneer setting. Having lived in Central Europe now for almost 10 years, you get to hear the fairy tales and folk-critters that were forgotten as immigrants assimilated to American culture. Allen has thrown a few of those things into the book; he's done his research. I'll read more from this series.
I do wish—and this is a bit nitpicky—that the editors had been a little more diligent looking for typos and ironing out clunky sentences. Obviously I enjoyed the book (4 stars!), but those sorts of things really pull me out of a story while I'm reading.
September 4, 2019
This weird west novella succeeds by staying focused on what it was doing, and doing it well.
The story follows Charlie Kirchner, first generation German American from the Missouri Rhineland. In the first scene of the book, Charlie's father is killed by a strange creature and dragged to the river. The only lead he has is a letter in which a man named Samuel promises to help his father, if he can.
What follows is a horror story of flight from unknown and powerful pursuers, hopeless stands against powerful forces, and broken people finding a little bit of solace and strength in each other.
It's quite similar to classic cosmic horror stories, with forces beyond mankind's grasp and understanding, and even the heroic figures are for the most part outmatched.
Charlie and Samuel are well realized and sympathetic, as are the more important secondary characters.
Definitely an enjoyable way to spend an evening.
The story follows Charlie Kirchner, first generation German American from the Missouri Rhineland. In the first scene of the book, Charlie's father is killed by a strange creature and dragged to the river. The only lead he has is a letter in which a man named Samuel promises to help his father, if he can.
What follows is a horror story of flight from unknown and powerful pursuers, hopeless stands against powerful forces, and broken people finding a little bit of solace and strength in each other.
It's quite similar to classic cosmic horror stories, with forces beyond mankind's grasp and understanding, and even the heroic figures are for the most part outmatched.
Charlie and Samuel are well realized and sympathetic, as are the more important secondary characters.
Definitely an enjoyable way to spend an evening.
March 22, 2018
The Witcher in a western
I thought this is a fantastic novel. Reminded me of Geralt the witcher in a western world, nothing wrong with that !
I thought this is a fantastic novel. Reminded me of Geralt the witcher in a western world, nothing wrong with that !
October 9, 2020
Fun supernatural western read.
June 17, 2023
Really fun horror western, with great characters, pacing, and edge of your seat action! Highly recommend!
September 22, 2016
The gentle setting, the countryside of post-Civil War Missouri and its communities of German settlers, makes a wonderful contrast with the creepy horror of the monster stalking the countryside. The story of Charlie, a young boy whose father was killed by the demon, and the world-weary monster hunter he recruits to help him hunt down the monster, and their adventures through the frontier on the path of this monster that materializes through water, is engaging, suspenseful, and enjoyable.
January 14, 2017
Characters were engaging, setting was colorful and felt well researched, and the action was on point. There were some issues with typos in the ebook version, but I didn't think that detracted from my overall enjoyment. I'm really excited for the next book to come out. This is a quick read, and has a distinct pulpy feel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews