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"People always start out with courage, and they'll call it other things too: bravery, fortitude, stalwartness. They start out that way, they think: why not?"
Two decades following the beginning of The Tuskatawa War, and two years after a second more brutal conflict that was born as a result of that war, Rancid Mahoney is now a gun/ muscle/ anything-for-hire, as long as the money is good enough. Having taken a personal vow of mental and emotional silence against the horrors of his past, Mahoney has successfully simplified his life and takes pride in only one thing: knowing a good deal when he hears one. Until parentless eleven-year-old Billy Hargraven asks of him the simplest of tasks: to be his protector as he traverses the wasteland in search of a doctor who can help his dog. The money is good, and so Mahoney accepts and the three venture out into a burned world filled with the bleakest of uncertainty.
Along the way, they encounter Til Drange, an old companion/sometimes enemy of Mahoney, who warns them of increasing bloodshed in the area that may or may not have a connection to the wars of years ago. The encounter will lead Mahoney into perhaps the bloodiest battle of his life, pitting him against cannibals, malicious creatures, and cultists, but worst of all: his own conscience in regards to Billy's safety, and future.
MERCY is BOOK III in The Two Revolvers Saga.
This edition also contains a new foreword by the author.
Two decades following the beginning of The Tuskatawa War, and two years after a second more brutal conflict that was born as a result of that war, Rancid Mahoney is now a gun/ muscle/ anything-for-hire, as long as the money is good enough. Having taken a personal vow of mental and emotional silence against the horrors of his past, Mahoney has successfully simplified his life and takes pride in only one thing: knowing a good deal when he hears one. Until parentless eleven-year-old Billy Hargraven asks of him the simplest of tasks: to be his protector as he traverses the wasteland in search of a doctor who can help his dog. The money is good, and so Mahoney accepts and the three venture out into a burned world filled with the bleakest of uncertainty.
Along the way, they encounter Til Drange, an old companion/sometimes enemy of Mahoney, who warns them of increasing bloodshed in the area that may or may not have a connection to the wars of years ago. The encounter will lead Mahoney into perhaps the bloodiest battle of his life, pitting him against cannibals, malicious creatures, and cultists, but worst of all: his own conscience in regards to Billy's safety, and future.
MERCY is BOOK III in The Two Revolvers Saga.
This edition also contains a new foreword by the author.
Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 29, 2019
Perverted genius! Matthes is on my Must Buy list of authors. It's a small list, but it's a meaningful one.
September 18, 2019
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.
February 22, 2020
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.
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.
July 31, 2020
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.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews