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Wyrd West Chronicles #6
The Widow's Gambit
From "The Widow's Gambit":
It was then that his eyes caught on something. It might have just been a moon-shadow, but it seemed to block the glow of the city lights just above the edge of the parapet. It was gone in an instant, and perhaps anyone else might have mistaken it as a dust-mote or a hair in the eye. But Graeme was a trained Gunslinger, and before he was conscious he was doing it, he had dismounted to climb the rampart steps. His hackles rose when Sandy, sniffing the air cautiously, suddenly lowered her ears and let out a threatening snarl. Then she was bounding up the battlements at his side.
“Sound the alarm!” Graeme called out. The watchman clanged the bell and the Outpost sprang to life. The ones on guard duty “stood to” at their posts, looking around in all directions. Clearly they had seen nothing. For a moment, Graeme wondered if he was visually hallucinating, but Sandy was still snarling.
Graeme peered through the battlement. He smelled it before he saw it. There was a dead man making its way up the hill, still in the remnants of the suit he’d been buried in. He was armed with a machine gun. “Sandy, down!” he commanded, and dodged behind the ramparts.
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The Widow Brinks, leaving a trail of death behind her, has fled to the city of Saskatoon to catch a train. The Gunslingers and their posse are hot on her trail. But she has acquired some of Graeme Walsh's blood, and now works dark magic against him. Can the posse find her before she escapes? Can they do it before she drives Graeme mad?
Welcome to the Wyrd West, a post-apocalyptic Canada where Western meets high fantasy and a dash of steampunk.
It was then that his eyes caught on something. It might have just been a moon-shadow, but it seemed to block the glow of the city lights just above the edge of the parapet. It was gone in an instant, and perhaps anyone else might have mistaken it as a dust-mote or a hair in the eye. But Graeme was a trained Gunslinger, and before he was conscious he was doing it, he had dismounted to climb the rampart steps. His hackles rose when Sandy, sniffing the air cautiously, suddenly lowered her ears and let out a threatening snarl. Then she was bounding up the battlements at his side.
“Sound the alarm!” Graeme called out. The watchman clanged the bell and the Outpost sprang to life. The ones on guard duty “stood to” at their posts, looking around in all directions. Clearly they had seen nothing. For a moment, Graeme wondered if he was visually hallucinating, but Sandy was still snarling.
Graeme peered through the battlement. He smelled it before he saw it. There was a dead man making its way up the hill, still in the remnants of the suit he’d been buried in. He was armed with a machine gun. “Sandy, down!” he commanded, and dodged behind the ramparts.
----------
The Widow Brinks, leaving a trail of death behind her, has fled to the city of Saskatoon to catch a train. The Gunslingers and their posse are hot on her trail. But she has acquired some of Graeme Walsh's blood, and now works dark magic against him. Can the posse find her before she escapes? Can they do it before she drives Graeme mad?
Welcome to the Wyrd West, a post-apocalyptic Canada where Western meets high fantasy and a dash of steampunk.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2018
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July 14, 2018
This is the sixth installment in a serial I'm writing that's geared primarily for e-platforms. Publication schedule will include one every two months, with a print collection intended for once a year with all of that year's stories included. This novella concludes a consistent story arc over the installments of the first year.
What is a serial? A serial is a series of stories published sequentially. In many cases they would end with cliffhangers that would encourage you to get the next one. I don't end things on cliffhangers, but they are designed to be read sequentially and continue more or less where the last one left off. Each is a complete story in and of itself, and each year's stories will have a consistent story arc between them.
The Wyrd West Chronicles are a genre-bender and a mixture of a lot of things, so they're not likely to be for everybody. In essence, it's what happens when a high fantasy meets a Western, set in a post-apocalyptic magical world that's a little bit steampunk (or cattlepunk, if you're familiar with that term). I guess the closest description of its genre is Weird West, where Western meets the supernatural. However, the supernatural element in Weird Westerns tends to be geared towards horror; vampires and zombies and the like. Mine is more like Tolkien meets Tombstone.
I think, however, that you could still legitimately call it a Western. The themes are based in Western themes; standing up for what you believe is right, rugged individualism, determined survivalists; that kind of thing. A dedicated Western fan will recognize a lot of tropes that they know and love (without the stereotypes, I hope; though that may not be evident right away.) This is a mythic West. Yet, all the tropes that remain exist for a reason that I think is consistent within the world I've constructed. Firefly fans might appreciate what I'm trying to do.
The setting is a post-apocalyptic Canadian West which has an American Midwestern presence. What was the Cataclysm that I speak of in the book? Why are things the way they are in this world? Don't worry, I will explain all that; just not right away. ;)
What is a serial? A serial is a series of stories published sequentially. In many cases they would end with cliffhangers that would encourage you to get the next one. I don't end things on cliffhangers, but they are designed to be read sequentially and continue more or less where the last one left off. Each is a complete story in and of itself, and each year's stories will have a consistent story arc between them.
The Wyrd West Chronicles are a genre-bender and a mixture of a lot of things, so they're not likely to be for everybody. In essence, it's what happens when a high fantasy meets a Western, set in a post-apocalyptic magical world that's a little bit steampunk (or cattlepunk, if you're familiar with that term). I guess the closest description of its genre is Weird West, where Western meets the supernatural. However, the supernatural element in Weird Westerns tends to be geared towards horror; vampires and zombies and the like. Mine is more like Tolkien meets Tombstone.
I think, however, that you could still legitimately call it a Western. The themes are based in Western themes; standing up for what you believe is right, rugged individualism, determined survivalists; that kind of thing. A dedicated Western fan will recognize a lot of tropes that they know and love (without the stereotypes, I hope; though that may not be evident right away.) This is a mythic West. Yet, all the tropes that remain exist for a reason that I think is consistent within the world I've constructed. Firefly fans might appreciate what I'm trying to do.
The setting is a post-apocalyptic Canadian West which has an American Midwestern presence. What was the Cataclysm that I speak of in the book? Why are things the way they are in this world? Don't worry, I will explain all that; just not right away. ;)
Displaying 1 of 1 review