Sunstone

by R.W. Krpoun

It is 1912, and Mexico is a sea of revolutionary chaos. Three Pinkerton agents ride into the hinterlands of revolution-torn Mexico on the trail of a wanted man, but what they find is far worse than war. In the depths of a conflict tearing the fabric of a nation apart the dead walk and men plot to call forth the deadly arts of a nearly-forgotten era. Caught up in the machinations of a madman a small band must risk everything in the face of implacable evil. A scarred veteran haunted by the Boxer Rebellion and the Moro Uprising, a former lawman and ex-Rough Rider, a hulking career Pinkerton, a Swiss Guard who has taken the cloth, and other strangers in a strange land find themselves caught between darkness and destruction. Sunstone is set in a time of in Mexico the old order inherited from Spain is under attack, in Europe the first hints of an impending great war can be heard, and across the world the first winds of technology are beginning to erase the old and usher in the new. “The Walking Dead meet the Wild fast, smooth, and profound.”

248 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2015

About the author

Born and raised in the icy wastelands of North Dakota, RW Krpoun joined the US Army, serving two enlistments before being honorably discharged at Fort Hood, Texas. Delighted to discover a land where snow was a novelty, he settled in Texas and took up a career in law enforcement, serving thirty years before retiring. His service included a Sheriff's Office and two Municipal police agencies, as well as two enlistments in the Texas National Guard as a Criminal Investigator.

RW lives on lakeside acreage with his lovely and amazingly tolerant wife Ann, and a band of ill-mannered animals who are all highly photogenic. His hobbies include reading, history, various forms of shooting, collecting battle-ready examples of medieval weaponry, and learning to use such weapons.

Reviews

[Mortimer Snerd]

a fantastic horror

Once again, a tightly well written yarn with exceptional drawn characters. The grit of each person is drawn to a degree that one feels the silliness of a woman’s hair, the grizzled, in-shaven beard, the smell and feel of worn leather…

The plot is a good one, implicating a cause for everything from the facts of the moment to lost civilizations to the horrors of the modern world.

All settled in the arid deserts and rocky hills of Mexico. One can feel the sun during the day, the cold at night while smelling the mesquite and sage.

Another winner.

[Scott Norris]

Another out of the park success

I've read as many books by this author as I can and never been disappointed. Here we have a grizzled veteran facing uncertain but uneven odds, doing good work in from times. RW excels at expressing the mind of men in desperate times, with simplicity of thought and clarity of words. Again, I've highlighted so many excellent turns of phrase and extended explanations that just hit the right note. Great read

[Robert Erwin]

Excellent adventure!

I’ve been slowly reading through RW’s many novels, and so far out of the thirteen I’ve read this is my favorite. I’ve enjoyed them all to a lesser or greater extent, but I have found his stand-alone novels superior to his series, with the possible exception of the Grog stories. This one is replete with tropes that I love. Elder gods, zombies, turn of the century history, bad guy makes good, even a little romance. Good stuff!

[Jay Miller]

Excellent

I virtually never leave a 5 star review. I have left that for unique masterpieces like Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". I have read a number of Mr Krpoun's novels and have enjoyed them all, but this is the first 5 star rating I have given for his work. Give him a try if you haven't yet done so.

[Curt]

Good story, lousy editing, 4.5 Stars

I have enjoyed all of this author’s works, but the typos and grammatical errors are particularly distracting in this one.