SNAFU: Dead or Alive

SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror #12

by Geoff Brown (Editor), Amanda J. Spedding (Editor), James A. Moore

The West has always been the wild borderlands of civilization. The new frontier, where laws often fall far by the wayside. Where the unknown ranges through the desert, and myth is shown as reality in the dense wooded areas and the plains. Enter, the gunslinger, the soldier, the bounty hunter, all out to make their name or their fortune while marching to the beat of their own drum. Follow the stories of the hunter and the hunted, action all the way, as 18 writers unleash their own twisted versions of what can happen when humans enter the realm of legends and monsters, armed with whatever weapons they bring to the battle. Welcome to Dead or Alive. Welcome to Western Hell.
STORIES James A. Moore & Charles R. Rutledge Alan Baxter Josh Reynolds Pamela Jeffs Richard Beauchamp David Benton & W.D. Gagliani Justin Coates John Coming Edward M. Erdelac John Paul Fitch Sharon Gray KC Grifant Robert Lassen Nathan E. Meyer John W. Salvage Benjamin Spada

382 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Geoff Brown aka G.N. Braun is an Australian writer and twice Australian Shadows Award finalist-editor raised in Melbourne’s gritty Western Suburbs.
He is a trained nurse, and holds a Cert. IV in Professional Writing and Editing, as well as a Dip. Arts (Professional Writing and Editing).
At graduation, Brown was awarded ‘Vocational Student of the Year’ and ‘2012 Student of the Year’ by his college.
He writes fiction across various genres, and is the author of many published short stories. He has had numerous articles published in newspapers, both regional and metropolitan. He is the past president of the Australian Horror Writers Association (2011-2013), as well as the past director of the Australian Shadows Awards. He was an editor and columnist for UK site This is Horror, and the guest editor for Midnight Echo #9.
His memoir, Hammered, was released in early 2012 by Legumeman Books and has been extensively reviewed. It has been expanded on for rerelease in 2019.
He is the co-founder/director of Cohesion Press and Asylum Ghost Tours.

Reviews

[Dion Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for horror western stories, especially with a bit of supernatural or sci-fi in the mix, and this anthology has a great mix of stories.

Some of my favourite stories were;
Hidebehind by Josh Reynolds – a creepy and gory creature feature,
The Shadow Under Sad Hill by Robert Lassen – which has a twist on the town fighting off evil, and
Snake Men on a Train by James A Moore & Charles R Rutledge – which is a supernatural horror / action story.

The only downside was that the zombie bear on the cover wasn’t in any of the stories, but on the whole I found all of the stories, entertaining and very well-written, and I already have more of the SNAFU books on my ‘to read’ pile.

So, if like me, you loved the splatter western book series from Deaths Head Press, or you just love a good modern horror western, then you will love these stories.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it is probably bad form to review a book to which I contributed, but I was extremely satisfied with all of the other stories in this anthology. While there were some that I liked better than others, on the whole I found all of them entertaining and well-written. That is not something I can say of all anthologies.

I will be looking into past SNAFU titles to scratch my short story itch.

[Veronica M. Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fun Collection of Horror

This is the first of the SNAFU series that I have finished, and I am not disappointed. I really appreciated how many stories surround myths, stories, and legends of the old west and the inclusion of the supernatural in most of the stories was awesome!

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have to kill them deader than dead

Sometimes death is not enough to keep them dead and sometimes not even that. A fun series of of stories with some well known characters to join in.

[Anna Rimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning

I love this series great stories and this was one of the best of the series.I love westerns, add in horror and magic,what more could you ask for

[Barbara L Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories.

I have read all of the snafu books and enjoyed all of them. But this
one by far was the best one. You want be disappointed.

[Amelia.S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead or Alive is a gritty, adrenaline-fueled collection that merges the unforgiving spirit of the Western frontier with the unrelenting dread of military horror. Under the editorial direction of Geoff Brown and Amanda J. Spedding, this twelfth installment in the SNAFU series brings together an impressive roster of authors whose tales blur the line between heroism and horror, myth and madness.

Each story delivers its own brand of chaos gunfighters facing nightmarish creatures, soldiers haunted by what can’t be killed, and bounty hunters who learn that some debts are paid in blood and bone. The anthology thrives on tension, vivid atmosphere, and a shared sense of fatalism that makes every page pulse with dread.

This is not just another horror collection it’s a brutal meditation on survival, courage, and the price of facing what lurks beyond civilization’s edge. For readers who crave stories that fuse action, terror, and the mythic, SNAFU: Dead or Alive is an unmissable ride into Western Hell.

[The Geeky Viking · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for weird westerns and so when this was announced it automatically went straight on my TBR pile. Having finally gotten around to it I have to say it's a massive disappointment. The stand-out story is Josh Reynolds 'Hidebehind'. That's one is crying out to be adapted for the next season of Love, Death, and Robots. Beyond that one, there's one or two more that are worth reading but the remainder are simply page fillers.