Lawless Lands: Tales from the Weird Frontier

The Devil's West #3.25 (Boots of Clay )

by Emily Lavin Leverett (Editor), Misty Massey (Editor), Margaret S. McGraw (Editor and Contributor)

Get your Wynonna Earp on with these weird western short stories featuring gunfights, time travel, giant lizards, faeries, magic, horror, comedy, and space jellyfish!

A wild ride through the weird western world with New York Times Bestsellers Seanan McGuire, Faith Hunter, and 18 other amazing writers of western stories!

Featuring twenty original western short stories from new worlds and the familiar worlds of Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock novels, Laura Anne Gilman's The Devil's West series, and John G. Hartness' Bubba the Monster Hunter series, Lawless Lands is a weird western anthology with something for everyone.

The western is the quintessential American literary genre, and now we're turning it on its head. From sentient tumbleweeds to time-traveling schoolmarms, desert demons to werejaguars, space-faring herd drivers to gunslinger justice, there's something for everyone.

Featuring many of the best writers in speculative fiction today, saddle up for the thrills – we're going to take you on a wild ride through a West that never was.

Lawless Lands includes 20 mind-bending weird western stories including:
Desert Gods by Aubrey Campbell
Railroad by Matthew J. Hockey
Pixie Season by Seanan McGuire
The Men with No Faces by Alexandra Christian
Lost Words by David B. Coe
Boots of Clay by Laura Anne Gilman
Trickster's Choice by Jo Gerrard
Wolves Howling in the Night by Faith Hunter
To Hear a Howling Herd by Gunnar De Winter
Calliope Stark:Bone Tree Bounty Hunter by Edmund R. Schubert
Cards and Steel Hearts by Pamela Jeffs
Bloodsilver by A.E. Decker
Volunteered by B.S. Donovan
The Stranger in the Glass by Dave Beynon
Belly Speaker by Nicole Givens Kurtz
Walk the Dinosaur by John G. Hartness
The Time Traveling Schoolmarms of Marlborough County by Barb Hendee
Rainmaker by Margaret S. McGraw
Out of Luck by Jeffrey Hall
Rollin' Death by Jake Bible

Featuring twenty original western short stories from new worlds and the familiar worlds of Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock novels, Laura Anne Gilman's The Devil's West series, and John G. Hartness' Bubba the Monster Hunter series, Lawless Lands is a weird western anthology with something for everyone.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Westerns, Anthologies, Weird West, Short Stories, Historical Fiction

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2017

Reviews

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Някак, поради естеството на книгите, които чета, съм свикнал паранормалния уестърн да е свързан с литературата на ужаса. Заради това нямах особено големи очаквания към тази антология, издържана почти изцяло в параметрите на градското фентъзи. Обаче подборката направо ме отвя. Мисля, без два разказа, всичко ми хареса много.

Desert Gods от Обри Кембъл - Сборника започва ударно с безумна история за вещици и пясъчни демони. В един бар в западнало градче на предната граница пристъпват три жени, които могат да се борят с пясъчните демони. Всяка има собствени сили и методи, а битката ще е тежка и победата пирова.

Railroad от Матю Д. Хоки - Този е фантастика, развиваща се в дивия запад. Хубав е, доста атмосферно изградена история, която е оставена за въображението да доразвие. Един странник поминава добре в градчето, докато не се появяват двама пинкевртоновци да го издирват. ТОй наема две местни хлапета да ги следят и успява да изгради здрава връзка с едното от тях. Скоро разбираме, че и той, и търсещите го идват от много, много далечно място.

Pixie Season от Шанън Магуайър - Това ми напомни историите на де Линт със красиво изградената си пустинна митология. Във фермата в която работи Дъсти се появяват две новости - Силия, която някак успява да се справи с кактосите много по-добре от всички останали и нашествие на пиксита. Дъсти скоро разбира, че някой привиква пикситата и може би е Силия. Скоро двете ще си разкрият тайни една на друга и ще разберем, че нито едната не е съвсем човек.

The Men with no Faces от Александра Кристиан - Този вкусно се спусна към хоръра много бързо. Една двойка млади влюбени, естествено с забранена любов заради почти кланова вражда, са изчезнали. Потерята, която се вдига да ги издири скоро ще разбере, че са изчезнали на мнгого лошо място. Място къдевто нещо не от тази земя отвлича хора, за да... няма да ви кажа.

Lost Words от Дейвид Б. Кой - Митологична алегория с доста прилична препратка към гръцките митове. Има един магазин насред нищото. Място, където ще получиш каквото искаш срещу думи, песен, стих, разказ. Цената е, че забравяш всичко, което дадеш на магазинера. Какво е музий? Прочетете и ще разберете.

Boots of Clay от Лаура Ан Гилман - Тази явно е част от по-голяма вселена, но е доволно самостоятелна. Една еврейска колония живее в мир с местното индианско население, докато общ враг не накара заселниците да вкарат малко древна магия, която е в разрез с морала на местните.

Tricster's Choice от Джо Жерард - Един пътуващ панаир с атракция, която ще разбуни християнските душички. Няма проблем, само да кажат как точно става номера. А ако не е номер?

Wolves Howling in the Night от Фейт Хънтър - Това е част от авторова вселена, чиито книги не са по моя вкус. Въпревки това историята е прилична. Пътуваща двойка - бяла журналистка и мъж чероки, всеки от тях със странни способности, обикалят запада и продават историите, които намират по пътя. Този път ще се сблъскат с грозна неправда и няма да могат да подминат, но хей, ще се получи чудесна история.

To Hear a Howling Herd от Гънар де Уинтър - Космическа история със западен привкус. Пътуващо из космоса индианско племе лови космически лъчи заради енергията им. Едно хлапе с прогресивни идеи за лъчите ще открие, че са разумна форма на живот.

Calliope Stark: Bone Tree Bounty Hunter от Едмънд Р. Шуберт - Малко напомпана ми дойде самата Калиопа като отношение и коравост. Иначе пък историята е яка, от части и заради тези неща. Калиопа се замесва с банда обесници, чийто лидер или поне лидер на птъв поглед, има способности като нейните. Не е добре да я ядосват, обаче.

Cards andSteel Hearts от Памел Джефс - ТОва ако не е вдъхновено от Амбърите на Зелазни, аз ще си сменя пола. Отново смеска от уестърн и фантастика, където странни машини-сърца съживяват магични чудовища затворени в карти. Музика.

Blоoodsilver от А.Е. Декер - Тази история е доста шантава със собствена митология, която звучи доста симпатично. Или защото има нещо подобно на зомбита, няколко вида, ми се услади толкова. Райдър и умрелия и спътник ще се натъкнат на огромно количество Танцьори. Ще им трябва помощ за да оцелеят - така написано не казва нищо, но ходещи мъртъвци, костни танцьори, духове на... абе добра е много.

Volubnteered от Б.С. Донаван - Класически сюжет с ескорт на затворник, умело пренесен във футуристична сртеда.

The Stranger in the Glass от Дейв Бейнън - ТОва беше много добре отиграна история ала Екзорсистът, но много по по мой вкус. Пътуващи стъклодухачи имат едно по-особено умение. Могат да затварят същества обладаващи хората в определени бутилки. Естествено, това си има цена, особено висока за стъкларя.

Belly Speaker от Никол Гивънс Курц - ТАзи си беше чист хорър и то от добрият. Няма да я разказвам, че цялата е вважна и единна, някак все ще издам нещо. Все пак - една млада робиня може да се освободи с помощтта на плашеща кукла. Каква е цената на свободата? И свобода ли е или замяна на едно робство с друго.

Walk the Dinosaur от Йон Г. Хартнес - Тази ми беше някак обикновена просто, не че има нещо лошо в лова на динозаври, но си е само това.

The Time Traveling Schoolmarms of Marlborough County от Барб Хенди - Тази беше чудничка. В едно затътнтено градче пристига нова учителка, защото старата се е споминала. Младата дама е от богато семейство и няма идея в какво се забърква с пионерите на запада. А има и странно наследство от предшественичката си - медальон който... :)

Rainmaker от Маргарет С. Мацграл - много изпипано парче тъмно фентази. Професията рейнмейкър е най-проклетата на земята. Всеки те желае в града си при суша, но дъждът просто не спира докато си на едно място, а и цената за извикването му е огромна.

Out of Luck от Джефри Хол - Луда престрелка между момиче със способности и банда главорези. Тук по-интересен беше света в който се състои. Говорещи, мигриращи руски тръни, кентаври, богове-кобили... луда работа.

Rollin' Death от Джейк Байбъл - Сюжетът може да беше като за евтин уестърн, което по моите критерии не е минус, но постапокалиптичен свят с деградирали до вампиризъм антагонисти и 30 метров боен робот - кой не ги харесва тези неща?

[Marta Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this anthology was a wild bucking ride that encompassed the traditional western with a decidedly more unique urban twist. I confess I've not read many western style stories but just loved this as I felt totally transported into a world that previously I'd only seen on the silver screen. Yes it had a sense of the old lawless west with tumble weed, saloons and cowboys but there are even more contemporary style stories here as well as a couple that took a more futuristic bent. So all in all a book that transported me away from reality and into a very different landscape.
There are twenty short stories here which are all apparently original so I'm sure fans of these authors will be overjoyed to read this. I confess I'd only previously read books by two of these authors but I've been very impressed by the breadth of diversity here. Yes there's the expected bounty hunters and gun slingers but I think it's the way these authors have taken a traditional idea and given it a huge boost and I loved that females didn't always have to be subservient although there are certainly stories that fit with the quintessential portrayal of men being men! A world of magic, greed and even love so definitely something for everyone. If I'm brutal there was one story that really didn't make sense but I think nineteen out of twenty that truly entertained deserves a five!
I have voluntarily read this and my thoughts and feelings are honest and I believe fair.

[Joe Jungers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable mix of myth, sci-fi, & the Wild West.
I enjoyed it enough that I'm going to be searching for additional stories from several of the authors involved.

[J. Kyle McNeal · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who seldom reads anthologies (and short stories), Lawless Lands was a departure from my normal fare. Yet I enjoyed the bite-sized stories I could slot into to spare moments.

Initially, I planned to do a rating for each story. However, as I reached the end of the anthology, I felt like doing so would detract from the overall message of the review. Lawless Lands contains a diversity of viewpoints, voices, and writing styles. There were stories I'd wished were expanded into novels, so I could spend more time in the world. There were stories where the bite-sized consumption matched my appetite for the work. And there were stories I'm glad ended quickly. Thus, my high star rating doesn't reflect loving every story, but my appreciation that the anthology did what it set out to do--entertain by delivering a mix of stories certain to appeal to an array of readers with differing tastes.

Personally, I'm looking forward to reading the novels of several of the contributing authors after this exposure to their work.

[Melani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the western genre, and the genre subdivision weird western, so this book has been on my radar for a while, and I was super excited to read it. Overall, I quite liked it and found it to be a pretty good collection. Not all stories fell into my personal preference, but they were mostly fairly enjoyable. I wasn’t as fond of the stories with a science fiction bent, as I thought that the western affiliation of those stories was a stretch, but that’s personal preference.

Desert Gods by Aubrey Campbell – 4 stars – a weird experimental one, but it worked well. It’s probably the best futuristic western out of the collection.

Railroad by Matthew J. Hockey – 3 stars – Average story, and if I’m really honest I’m more interested in the background to the story. I suspect there’s a novel lurking in the edges of this story, and this read like a long novel brief more then it did a short story.

Pixie Season by Seanan McGuire – 4 stars – McGuire is one of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this collection and she didn’t disappoint. I thought she was going to set her story in her InCryptid universe, but this is a brand new world I believe, and one I wouldn’t mind spending more time in. There are were-coyotes and cactus dryads.

The Men with No Faces by Alexandra Christian – 4 stars/4.5 stars – Super creepy cowboys and aliens.

Lost Words by David B. Coe – 3 stars – Barter for what you need with a song.

Boots of Clay by Laura Anne Gilman – 4 stars – this one is set in her Devil’s West novels and I loved it. A Jewish community and a Native American tribe face a common enemy in a west where magic happens.

Trickster's Choice by Jo Gerrard – 4 stars – I have a soft spot for jackalopes, and this one features a were-jackalope.

Wolves Howling in the Night by Faith Hunter – 2 stars – this one fell into the noble savage trap. AND mixed up Native American legends. The Cherokee don’t have skinwalker legends. Even more annoying, it was so clearly trying hard to be progressive, saying things like ‘people of color’ - which is modern terminology and felt extremely anachronistic.

To Hear a Howling a Howling Herd by Gunnar De Winter – 3 stars – humans on the edge of space hunting space rays. Except the rays are maybe more sentient then they think. Honestly, this one is a good story, but had the weakest ‘western’ connection.

Calliope Stark: Bone Tree Bounty Hunter by Edmund R. Schubert – 4 stars – I loved this one so much. I would read a hundred stories about Calliope.

Cards and Steel Hearts by Pamela Jeffs – 3 stars – This one is definitely inspired by the Books of Amber by Zelazny, but I thought it was a clever riff on that.

Bloodsilver by A. E. Decker – I skipped this one. I tried a couple times but I couldn’t get through it.

Volunteered by B. S. Donovan – 3 stars – Miners and lawmen.

The Stranger in the Glass by Dave Beynon – 3 stars – An exorcism and travelling salesmen.

Belly Speaker by Nicole Givens Kurtz – 4/5 stars – Creepy, super creepy. A freed slave finds her own freedom.

Walk the Dinosaur by John G. Hartness – 1 star – This one made me angry. I was willing to push through it until one of the main characters thought it would be funny to misname the chupacabra using Taco Bell menu items. Nope. This was a rare mis-step in an otherwise decent collection.

The Time Traveling Schoolmarms of Marlborough County by Barb Hendee – 4 stars – Is there more in this world? I would read all about these Marlborough County Schoolmarms.

Rainmaker by Margaret S. McGraw – 3 stars – The sacrifice required to make it rain. This was fine, but I thought it got a little angsty. The characters took more grief upon themselves then the situation they were put into actually required. This wasn’t a character flaw, rather a flaw of the author who couldn’t see the quite obvious solution. But it had an interesting concept, and I liked it otherwise.

Out of Luck by Jeffrey Hall – 3 stars - Shoot out in a western fairyland. There were some nice concepts here, however I found the centaur replacement for Native Americans distasteful.

Rollin' Death by Jake Bible –1 star – subterrainan cave dwellers attack a caravan and a man must avenge them, because of course he does. I rolled my eyes a lot during this one.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories are entertaining, and thought provoking. They are all based in the old west, and that's about all that is common about them. Each tale has its own twist and is quickly read. I found myself finishing one tale and instead of putting it away, I read the next one, or two or three. Some of the authors are new to me, others I have read in the past. I will be checking out most of these authors other works. A great book to take to beach.

[Dara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection for short stories. With the wide variety provided, there's something for everyone.

[Joyce Reynolds-Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection. Well worth the read.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars for all the stories I liked, not the ones that didn't work for me. There were only a couple of those.

Standout stories for me where:
Boots of Clay by Laura Anne Gilman
Pixie Season by Seanan McGuire
Lost Words by David B. Coe

I regret reading this on my Kindle. I couldn't flip between stories easily, and I'm pretty sure that affected my enjoyment. Paper from now on for anthologies.

Lots to love here. Highly recommended.

[Erin Penn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty tales of the weird frontier gathered into this anthology. Gods, time travel, steampunk, fantasy, were-creatures all packed in between the pages of Lawless Lands.

Desert Gods by Aubrey Campbell
Railroad by Matthew J. Hockey
Pixie Season by Seanan McGuire
The Men with No Faces by Alexandra Christian
Lost Words by David B. Coe
Boots of Clay by Laura Anne Gilman
Trickster’s Choice by Jo Gerrard
Wolves Howling in the Night by Faith Hunter
To Hear a Howling Herd by Gunnar De Winter
Calliope Stark: Bone Tree Bounty Hunter by Edmund R. Schubert
Cards and Steel Hearts by Pamela Jeffs
Bloodsilver by A. E. Decker
Volunteered by B. S. Donovan
The Stranger in the Glass by Dave Beynon
Belly Speaker by Nicole Givens Kurtz
Walk the Dinosaur by John G. Hartness
The Time Traveling Schoolmarms of Marlborough County by Barb Hendee
Rainmaker by Margaret S. McGraw
Out of Luck by Jeffrey Hall
Rollin’ Death by Jake Bible

[Christopher D. Ochs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable - a grand mix of sci-fi, gothic horror, speculative fiction. An engaging collection of what the Wild West coulda-shoulda-mighta been like in the darker weirder corners of the Pecos. It was re-a-a-a-lly tough to chose my favorites. Listed in order of occurrence in the book: Pixie Season by McGuire, Cards and Steel Hearts by Jeffs, Bloodsilver by Decker, Rainmaker by McGraw.

[Vida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Stories in an Unexpected Setting

Brilliant compendium of short stories, This is the perfect antidote to the winter doldrums. So riveted I was positively antisocial. Thank heavens they are short stories, so the book has natural breakpoints, or we would still be snowed in and eating cold food. Quite a number of new-to-me authors that I’ll be looking for in the future.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of unique stories that I enjoyed immensely.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was fun overall, though I found the stories to be pretty hit and miss. Some of my favorites were Pixie Season by Seanan McGuire, The Men With No Faces by Alexandra Christian, Boots of Clay by Laura Anne Gilman, The Stranger in the Glass by Dave Beynon, and and The Time Traveling Schoolmarms of Marlborough County by Barb Hendee.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird Frontier

Some of these stories were excellent. All were very good! I like short stories and think there should be more of them. All in all an interesting collection.

[Melissa Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves Howling in the NIght (Jane Yellowrock #0.4)
Ayatas Firewind

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed several of the stories, and would love to read more in those settings.