Mercy

The Two Revolvers Saga #3

by Dave Matthes

Beginning in Matthes' “An Anvil of Night, A Hammer for Dawn: Poetry and Stories” with the short story The After-People, this novella expands on the same post-apocalyptic lore with a story told from the perspective of Rancid Mahoney, an aged muscle-for-hire who takes a job escorting a young boy and his dog across the all-but-empty wasteland, where they face the harshness of the earth, scores of brutal cannibals, and once-beautiful creatures of the world turned blood-thirsty and demonic. MERCY is a western set in the far future, during a post-apocalyptic era populated by the last remnants of humanity; people whose only thing left to do is to wait their turn to die.

ebook

Published January 20, 2019

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perverted genius! Matthes is on my Must Buy list of authors. It's a small list, but it's a meaningful one.

[Eric Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know where to begin with Dave. He’s a modest man who seeks no praise in his wide variety of works, but there’s so much to be said about this tiny, powerhouse novella. First thing’s first, it’s an amazing piece of literature. Beautifully written, well edited, it’s the type of book you’d find on any store’s shelf, whether mega conglomerate chain or Mom n’ Pop, and thank the starry eyed heavens that you took a leap of faith in choosing a book you didn’t know much about. Because that’s the precise feeling it gives off from the onset of the first word, right up and through to nail-biting and triumphant final act. Mercy is a dead set Western that not only revitalizes a long forgotten genre, but breathes mystical new life into it. Rancid, Billy, La Drange, the whole damn cast of characters is so memorable you’d think you just read Steinbeck’s Cannery Row for the first time. It’s action packed, lacks the harrowing cliches that most modern day Westerns fall victim to, and flows gently to Dave’s ambiguous, full-of-life style writing that I’ve come to cherish and adore. Since beginning the novel, I’ve begged him to write more stories like this because it meshes with his author personality so well, and I’ll tell him endlessly until desert sand pours from my high noon mouth that Mercy is a gem waiting to be discovered by the masses. I can’t possible describe in more words how brilliant and necessary this novella is, so you’ll just have to horseback your way on over to Amazon and find out for yourself. 6 out of 5 stars, because giving it a perfect and flawless score just isn’t darn good enough.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Matthes is not to be trusted. He will break your heart and laugh.
Mercy is a fantastic novella, a futuristic western, with all the essential elements-- a kid, a cowboy, an old man, a dog, a lovely lady, and plenty of outlaws. Sounds familiar, but it's not your grandad's western.
Matthes' unique take on the world makes this story unlike any other. Full of action, the plot moves quickly, keeping the reader engaged and invested. I was glad to hear that there are more stories in the works, because I'm not ready to let go of Rancid Mahoney just yet.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this one 3.5 stars. Gritty dystopian horror novella where the hero is hired to help a boy and his dog leave the somewhat safety of town and travel into the wasteland. This was my first Dave Matthes novel and I love his dry wit on Instagram. I will be reading his other works.