Mount Venom

by Patrick Attaway

A post-apocalyptic short story about the small community known as Mount Venom. Heavily inspired by Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars, a wandering man discovers two warring families who collectively fear a monstrous entity which terrorizes their dwindling population.

36 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2019

About the author

Patrick Attaway is an author, poet, musician, and podcast host from Atlanta, Georgia.

Reviews

[Helen Whistberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric and effective post-apocalyptic short story that echoes the theme of one of my favorite movies of all time, Yojimbo. Mysterious warrior arrives in town and two warring factions attempt to recruit him to their side to tip the balance in a longstanding stalemate. This is an interesting take on the idea with the author definitely setting a compelling scene and creating memorable characters. It felt like I was reading a chapter in the middle of a longer saga which was both good and not so good. Good, because it was a very exciting and entertaining chapter; not so good, in that I wanted to know more about the backstory of the warrior character as frequent allusions are made to previous events with minimal explanation. I would love to see this story developed into a longer work that expanded more on the obviously fascinating history of the warrior character, and also on what happens to him next when this chapter ends. It's a compliment to the author that I was left wanting more while still enjoying this tale on its own merits.

[Matthew Pritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mount Venom, by Patrick Attaway was an interesting change-of-pace read for me. I don't read many short stories, so this isn't my format of expertise.

Mount Venom is a tale of a mysterious stranger who rides into the middle of a family squabble, something akin to the famous Hatfields and McCoys.

The story is dense and full of religious imagery that hints at a broader story. The main character, Birch, has more backstory, but it's vaguely told and in snippets. I'm not sure I understood entirely what he was supposed to be, but there's a fair chance it was all spelled out and I just wasn't clever enough to piece everything together.

I enjoyed the story, and read it in about a half hour. The ending to the main story was satisfying, but I think some of the references to Birch's history gave the story a bit of an incomplete feeling. I was intrigued with the religious elements and would've like to have had more information; if there's another book set in this world with the main character, I think I'd be interested enough to check that out too.

[Ben Mattice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen King Meets Cormac McCarthy

Love The Dark Tower series? How about The Road? If you like gritty, post apocalyptic fiction with a bite of post-modernesmism, you'll like Mount Venom.