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Callus & Crow: The Wayward World Chronicles, Volume 1
A genre hybrid of western meets grimdark post-apocalyptic fantasy.
Can a path of blood lead to redemption?
Is redemption enough to amend a wayward world?
Morality and reality have shifted from their natural axis. Technology and ideology derive from the remnants of a world long dead and segregated by the monsters that now rule the seas.
Crow, a young ranch hand, is swept into an odyssey of redemption and revenge as he strives to hold back the ravages of fate and the urges born of a curse shared with his new mentor.
Callus, an exile struggling to find redemption whilst keeping his vampiric curse from tainting his new ward, pursues his prey across the sea.
The new world they discover reveals a tyrannical society fixated on their council’s ascension to godhood.
Can a path of blood lead to redemption?
Is redemption enough to amend a wayward world?
Morality and reality have shifted from their natural axis. Technology and ideology derive from the remnants of a world long dead and segregated by the monsters that now rule the seas.
Crow, a young ranch hand, is swept into an odyssey of redemption and revenge as he strives to hold back the ravages of fate and the urges born of a curse shared with his new mentor.
Callus, an exile struggling to find redemption whilst keeping his vampiric curse from tainting his new ward, pursues his prey across the sea.
The new world they discover reveals a tyrannical society fixated on their council’s ascension to godhood.
310 pages, Paperback
Published July 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 25, 2024
Review originally on
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Callus and Crow is a Weird Western novel, which starts the Wayward World Chronicles series, written by D.B. Rook. An unapologetic debut, which presents us a bleak and dark world (I would call this book grimdark at moments), with touches of Lovecraftian horror, where our characters will live a gripping and fast-paced adventure; all spiced with an experimental narrative style, jumping between different POVs, documents from the world and even an anonymous narrator.
A story which mostly narrates the journey that will irremediably change the life of our two characters, from the first moment the wandering tribesmen Callus arrives at the ranch where Crow Holborn lives in the company of his father; the point that marks the start of a journey of vengeance and discovery. A strong bond is forged between these two, sharing many things, and mimicking a bit the relationship Crow would have expected to have with his own parent; the curse that afflicts Callus slowly becomes part of Crow. Callus life is one tightly woven to violence and persecution, and that means this story won't be exempt from scares and difficult situations.
This brings us to the world, a post-apocalyptic one which shares many aspects with the classic Western genre; however, once we are immersed into the story, and with a style that includes notes, documents and different narrators, the fantasy and horror elements become present, in a blend that takes from here and there, creating a unique pastiche that includes Lovecraftian horror, good old spirits, and vampires. A world that feels immense and desolated at the same time, a place where any mistake can cost your life and your soul.
Its unique narrative style also brings a bit of problems with the pacing and continuity, as sometimes you might feel confused with the amount of information you are getting thrown; all the pieces make sense at the end, and the author makes an excellent job creating middle points where all converged.
Said that, Callus and Crow is a great debut, which shines by itself, and that if you are looking for Weird Western with grimdark and horror touches, is a perfect choice for you. I'm curious to see how DB Rook will continue this series, because there's so much potential in it.
Callus and Crow is a Weird Western novel, which starts the Wayward World Chronicles series, written by D.B. Rook. An unapologetic debut, which presents us a bleak and dark world (I would call this book grimdark at moments), with touches of Lovecraftian horror, where our characters will live a gripping and fast-paced adventure; all spiced with an experimental narrative style, jumping between different POVs, documents from the world and even an anonymous narrator.
A story which mostly narrates the journey that will irremediably change the life of our two characters, from the first moment the wandering tribesmen Callus arrives at the ranch where Crow Holborn lives in the company of his father; the point that marks the start of a journey of vengeance and discovery. A strong bond is forged between these two, sharing many things, and mimicking a bit the relationship Crow would have expected to have with his own parent; the curse that afflicts Callus slowly becomes part of Crow. Callus life is one tightly woven to violence and persecution, and that means this story won't be exempt from scares and difficult situations.
This brings us to the world, a post-apocalyptic one which shares many aspects with the classic Western genre; however, once we are immersed into the story, and with a style that includes notes, documents and different narrators, the fantasy and horror elements become present, in a blend that takes from here and there, creating a unique pastiche that includes Lovecraftian horror, good old spirits, and vampires. A world that feels immense and desolated at the same time, a place where any mistake can cost your life and your soul.
Its unique narrative style also brings a bit of problems with the pacing and continuity, as sometimes you might feel confused with the amount of information you are getting thrown; all the pieces make sense at the end, and the author makes an excellent job creating middle points where all converged.
Said that, Callus and Crow is a great debut, which shines by itself, and that if you are looking for Weird Western with grimdark and horror touches, is a perfect choice for you. I'm curious to see how DB Rook will continue this series, because there's so much potential in it.
November 17, 2023
There are those who would have dominance over this land. There are others still who seek retribution in it. Violence is on the horizon.
An unforgiving grim post apocalyptic world. Horrifying creatures & worse people. Gripping & action packed. Excellent stuff!
An unforgiving grim post apocalyptic world. Horrifying creatures & worse people. Gripping & action packed. Excellent stuff!
August 11, 2024
It took me a while to get invested in this book. I didn’t feel strongly about anything, positively or negatively, in the first 20%. I’ve been very DNF-eager recently because I just want to move on to books I really enjoy but something still held me back from quitting this one. I don’t often write my reviews this way but this time I wrote things down as I thought of them while reading. Just like the book seemed crazy, my thoughts didn’t feel like I could put a lot of structure into them either, so this felt like the most genuine way of reviewing.
The book has a lot of… weird things but I’m not really sure how to explain them. There’s a lot of jumping around with POVs and I couldn’t really tell how they connected to each other for a while. I like having small threads between POVs at least and was lacking that here for a good chunk of the book. I wasn’t even sure if they were on the same timelines or in the same countries or anything else like that. But I did enjoy how distinctly different the voices were for each POV. Maybe that is what kept me interested. Each character felt very unique with their history, personality, and voice.
It was about 40% in when I finally got attached to some of the characters. I had more of an understanding of where some of them were headed and saw more connections between them too. Some of them started to feel like a weird dysfunctional found family and I couldn’t help but cheer for them (sometimes; they also did some terrible things).
This is clearly fantasy. It’s also post-apocalyptic from what I can tell. The world itself reminds me a bit of the Rampart Trilogy, though this one has a very western feel to it. The darker, more unsettling feelings also reminded me a little of A. C. Cross’s writing. Small fantastical/supernatural elements keep being added, though I don’t like that there seems to be zero explanation behind some of them. In addition to that, while the journaling format worked well and was interesting in some ways (good way to allow for such unique voices), it also felt too convenient sometimes for dropping world building and telling scenes with “anonymous sources.” I did love the dry humor found in many of the headers for the diary entries though and thought the short chapter sections propelled me through the story at a good pace. It was really confusing though when there was a location change to completely different characters within some of those little sections without even a paragraph break as warning. It makes the anonymous sources feel even less authentic since it makes them feel like they’re in multiples places at once.
I was glad though to eventually see all the POVs converge in various ways and that we were able to get more background information on some of the more supernatural characters. I would have loved to have gotten a better grasp on the world and how it got to where it is now but I have a feeling we’ll get more of that in the next book. We got a tiny bit at the end but I’m curious for more.
I honestly wasn’t sure whether I’d want to continue this series past this first book until the very end but I’m a sucker for endings and this one came together enough eventually to make me want to know more. Somehow, without my notice, I became really attached to some of the characters in the last ~30% and I’m too nosy to not know more about the rest of them.
The book has a lot of… weird things but I’m not really sure how to explain them. There’s a lot of jumping around with POVs and I couldn’t really tell how they connected to each other for a while. I like having small threads between POVs at least and was lacking that here for a good chunk of the book. I wasn’t even sure if they were on the same timelines or in the same countries or anything else like that. But I did enjoy how distinctly different the voices were for each POV. Maybe that is what kept me interested. Each character felt very unique with their history, personality, and voice.
It was about 40% in when I finally got attached to some of the characters. I had more of an understanding of where some of them were headed and saw more connections between them too. Some of them started to feel like a weird dysfunctional found family and I couldn’t help but cheer for them (sometimes; they also did some terrible things).
This is clearly fantasy. It’s also post-apocalyptic from what I can tell. The world itself reminds me a bit of the Rampart Trilogy, though this one has a very western feel to it. The darker, more unsettling feelings also reminded me a little of A. C. Cross’s writing. Small fantastical/supernatural elements keep being added, though I don’t like that there seems to be zero explanation behind some of them. In addition to that, while the journaling format worked well and was interesting in some ways (good way to allow for such unique voices), it also felt too convenient sometimes for dropping world building and telling scenes with “anonymous sources.” I did love the dry humor found in many of the headers for the diary entries though and thought the short chapter sections propelled me through the story at a good pace. It was really confusing though when there was a location change to completely different characters within some of those little sections without even a paragraph break as warning. It makes the anonymous sources feel even less authentic since it makes them feel like they’re in multiples places at once.
I was glad though to eventually see all the POVs converge in various ways and that we were able to get more background information on some of the more supernatural characters. I would have loved to have gotten a better grasp on the world and how it got to where it is now but I have a feeling we’ll get more of that in the next book. We got a tiny bit at the end but I’m curious for more.
I honestly wasn’t sure whether I’d want to continue this series past this first book until the very end but I’m a sucker for endings and this one came together enough eventually to make me want to know more. Somehow, without my notice, I became really attached to some of the characters in the last ~30% and I’m too nosy to not know more about the rest of them.
March 23, 2026
This was a really fun Western adventure with tons of supernatural elements. Subtle things. Secret things that aren’t explained until later on.
The journey is wild with twists and turns and information slowly being revealed.
The changing of POVs is done well and I enjoyed the snippets from letters, unknown authors, and other means of delivering more info to the story.
The characters were unique and had very distinct voices and it was fun following them and seeing what really drove them to the decisions they made.
Great read, def recommend!
The journey is wild with twists and turns and information slowly being revealed.
The changing of POVs is done well and I enjoyed the snippets from letters, unknown authors, and other means of delivering more info to the story.
The characters were unique and had very distinct voices and it was fun following them and seeing what really drove them to the decisions they made.
Great read, def recommend!
November 4, 2024
One of the most unconventional genre blends I have ever read. From weird west to vampires, eldritch horrors lurking in the sea, druids, trolls, a self-taught wizard, and a city full of political intrigue. It has it all, and it works brilliantly to create a unique adventure where every page will take you somewhere unexpected.
That's the warning, perhaps, that any reader should get before reading this book: just enjoy the ride. Don't try to force this to be one genre or another, because it shines in the unique blend it brings. Let the story take you anywhere it wants, and you are in for one hell of a ride.
In my personal opinion, Something that works incredibly well to blend these genres is how they appear progressively through the story. The reader is gently eased into one, where some part of the story unfolds, then as the characters travel, the reader (sort of) 'meets' the other genres. This goes on until by the end of the book it seems that you are reading an entirely different book.
It begins like a weird west fantasy with vampires and quickly sets into what looks like a road adventure in a quest for revenge. Then, you get teased with some seafaring, and so on.
Even its narration is unconventional, and it was immensely enjoyable. At its core, this is an epistolary narrative formed by a collection of documents. For example, we have Callus' and Crow's (the protagonists) journals, letters from a number of characters, a researcher's notes, and some bits where it would seem a historian is writing about some of the characters.
As a result of the above, some of the sections are written in first-person past-tense as a framed narrative (mostly Callus' and Crow's journals), others are second-person (generally the letters), and others are third-person past-tense (e.g., the one I believe it's a historian). One character PoV appears only briefly although she's tagging along for quite a while--Silk; her PoV is also a journal, but she writes in second-person as if telling her story to her Mother.
Something I seriously need to praise the author is how he adopts the voice of each of the characters. They all write in very distinctive ways, are consistent throughout the story, and just by reading a loose paragraph you can just know which character it belongs to.
This also means that all narrators (or epistolary documents) are biased and oftentimes prejudiced; therefore, more often than not there are parts that will make you raise an eyebrow (e.g., 'did he just say X?'). These are not plot holes; the book just happens to follow a posse of unreliable narrators.
Because of the above, something else to note is that while most 'entries' in this epistolary narrative are chronologically ordered, some just go a bit back to retell the same events through someone else's PoV. Likewise, there are cases in which nobody narrated anything, and so there are small time jumps that are perfectly followable.
Overall, this does seem to lean more towards a darker fantasy, especially as people die a lot in the plot, and a vampire is due to cause mayhem. However, Rook is never overly descriptive, giving just enough for a reader to get an idea of what's happening.
To close out, this is an incredible unique novel, both in world-building and story layout, fast-paced, and with characters that defy conventional stereotypes. However, it is not a book for every reader, but I think that readers who read by curiosity will really enjoy this one.
That's the warning, perhaps, that any reader should get before reading this book: just enjoy the ride. Don't try to force this to be one genre or another, because it shines in the unique blend it brings. Let the story take you anywhere it wants, and you are in for one hell of a ride.
In my personal opinion, Something that works incredibly well to blend these genres is how they appear progressively through the story. The reader is gently eased into one, where some part of the story unfolds, then as the characters travel, the reader (sort of) 'meets' the other genres. This goes on until by the end of the book it seems that you are reading an entirely different book.
It begins like a weird west fantasy with vampires and quickly sets into what looks like a road adventure in a quest for revenge. Then, you get teased with some seafaring, and so on.
Even its narration is unconventional, and it was immensely enjoyable. At its core, this is an epistolary narrative formed by a collection of documents. For example, we have Callus' and Crow's (the protagonists) journals, letters from a number of characters, a researcher's notes, and some bits where it would seem a historian is writing about some of the characters.
As a result of the above, some of the sections are written in first-person past-tense as a framed narrative (mostly Callus' and Crow's journals), others are second-person (generally the letters), and others are third-person past-tense (e.g., the one I believe it's a historian). One character PoV appears only briefly although she's tagging along for quite a while--Silk; her PoV is also a journal, but she writes in second-person as if telling her story to her Mother.
Something I seriously need to praise the author is how he adopts the voice of each of the characters. They all write in very distinctive ways, are consistent throughout the story, and just by reading a loose paragraph you can just know which character it belongs to.
This also means that all narrators (or epistolary documents) are biased and oftentimes prejudiced; therefore, more often than not there are parts that will make you raise an eyebrow (e.g., 'did he just say X?'). These are not plot holes; the book just happens to follow a posse of unreliable narrators.
Because of the above, something else to note is that while most 'entries' in this epistolary narrative are chronologically ordered, some just go a bit back to retell the same events through someone else's PoV. Likewise, there are cases in which nobody narrated anything, and so there are small time jumps that are perfectly followable.
Overall, this does seem to lean more towards a darker fantasy, especially as people die a lot in the plot, and a vampire is due to cause mayhem. However, Rook is never overly descriptive, giving just enough for a reader to get an idea of what's happening.
To close out, this is an incredible unique novel, both in world-building and story layout, fast-paced, and with characters that defy conventional stereotypes. However, it is not a book for every reader, but I think that readers who read by curiosity will really enjoy this one.
October 24, 2023
Synopsis
Crow Holborn will never be the same again after leaving his father’s ranch alongside Callus, a wandering tribesman afflicted by a fearsome curse.
As Cal’s curse slowly spreads to Crow, the pair set towards bringing vengeance to a figure from Cal’s past. Along the way Callus and Crow hack, bite, and tear their way through a post-apocalyptic world.
When their journey takes them across the sea to a great and dark city, their thirst for revenge soon becomes a fight to survive the evil order within.
Review
I’m going to give you some helpful advice, friend. There’s one thing you can expect going into this story by D.B. Rook: you don’t know what the hell to expect. Let me tell you, I thought this was going to be a straightforward Weird Western based on the book’s cover and opening scene and it sure deviated away from that.
That deviation is what makes Callus & Crow one of 2023’s unmissable reads.
In an interview with Beard of Darkness Book Reviews, Rook recently talked about how he was writing a book that he’d want to read. This is an important point to keep in mind as it explains how C&C feels like a patchwork quilt of a novel, lovingly and skilfully stitched together. Albeit what’s being stitched together here are varying elements such as grimdark, weird west, Lovecraftian tentacle monsters, Rob Zombie-like splatterpunk … you know what, there are a few too many to list here.
So, in short, C&C is a wonderful chaos of a fantasy novel and a smorgasbord of the author's favourite elements of fantasy. Rook just really goes for it and it works.
Two’s Company
The central duo, Callus and Crow forge a strong bond and quick. Linked by Cal’s curse, the need to feed on blood and to be consigned to death instead of sleep, there results an interesting concept of codependency at play. It’s like a father/son relationship except for the times when it ain’t. It’s vampiric … but it also isn’t. This book feels so familiar - it reminds us of what is so damn great about fantasy - but it’s also so subtly altered that it doesn’t use familiarity as a crutch.
Instead, C&C throws a wide variety of the weird and the wonderful over its pages. Rook brings an emporium of curiosities, none more so than the likes of Silk and Laz. Silk carries a piece of cloth possessed by the spirit of her deceased mother and fights with ferocity - a seriously novel and rare character concept. Laz is a sharpshooter with a bucket theory of life that gives the novel its philosophical outlet. They both help out Cal and Crow through countless sticky situations by dispensing sage advice or quite often shooting something. And the endearing thing about C&C is sometimes you don’t need an explanation for how these characters came to be, or why a situation goes south; you just need someone or something to get brained with a hatchet. That’s cool too. There’s just something deeply satisfying about Cal and Crow Bone Tomahawking their way through the Weird West and into the book’s bleak and oppressive grimdark second act.
Further supporting characters don’t stray too far from this weird hatchet formula too - Cal’s curse leads to a certain kind of life of violence and death that follows him wherever he goes, much like the carrion crows that accompany him in the opening chapters. Special mention to the Mariahs that appear later in the book, the guards of the evil secret society Callus and Crow happen upon after crossing the sea. They gave me really strong vibes of the Spire guards from Fable 2. I love anything that brings me back to a game like that. Then there’s the antagonistic Crave and his posse too, hunting down Callus for reasons I’m not going to spoil but acting suitably menacing and frightening along the way.
Rhyme and Reason
One of my favourite aspects of C&C was the dual narrative that often gives each of the titular pair’s own take on any given scene. Rook somehow manages to avoid repetitive writing while at times describing the same passage of events. It smacks of an author who trusts his protagonists to tell this story authentically but also his ability to make ‘em dance while doing so. I really liked seeing how Callus would burst onto a scene and interpret a situation in a completely different way to Crow and vice versa, which frequently delivers some outlandish consequences. Excerpts from journals, missives and the occasional side character inject plenty of intrigue to give context to the next twist C&C is about to take.
It’s the dual narrative approach that makes the last few moments of the story a particularly gut-wrenching read though. Daryl, if you’re reading this, I’m still devastated and I’m still mad at you.
A Wayward World
Callus & Crow definitely goes down as the most unique book I’ve read this year. I loved it. If you’re a fan of dual protagonists and want to know what would happen if you create a Weird West Grimdark mashup then you’ll get along nicely with this book.
If you want to hear more from D.B. Rook then allow me to direct you to his website: Home - DB Rook (dbrookbooks.com)
Crow Holborn will never be the same again after leaving his father’s ranch alongside Callus, a wandering tribesman afflicted by a fearsome curse.
As Cal’s curse slowly spreads to Crow, the pair set towards bringing vengeance to a figure from Cal’s past. Along the way Callus and Crow hack, bite, and tear their way through a post-apocalyptic world.
When their journey takes them across the sea to a great and dark city, their thirst for revenge soon becomes a fight to survive the evil order within.
Review
I’m going to give you some helpful advice, friend. There’s one thing you can expect going into this story by D.B. Rook: you don’t know what the hell to expect. Let me tell you, I thought this was going to be a straightforward Weird Western based on the book’s cover and opening scene and it sure deviated away from that.
That deviation is what makes Callus & Crow one of 2023’s unmissable reads.
In an interview with Beard of Darkness Book Reviews, Rook recently talked about how he was writing a book that he’d want to read. This is an important point to keep in mind as it explains how C&C feels like a patchwork quilt of a novel, lovingly and skilfully stitched together. Albeit what’s being stitched together here are varying elements such as grimdark, weird west, Lovecraftian tentacle monsters, Rob Zombie-like splatterpunk … you know what, there are a few too many to list here.
So, in short, C&C is a wonderful chaos of a fantasy novel and a smorgasbord of the author's favourite elements of fantasy. Rook just really goes for it and it works.
Two’s Company
The central duo, Callus and Crow forge a strong bond and quick. Linked by Cal’s curse, the need to feed on blood and to be consigned to death instead of sleep, there results an interesting concept of codependency at play. It’s like a father/son relationship except for the times when it ain’t. It’s vampiric … but it also isn’t. This book feels so familiar - it reminds us of what is so damn great about fantasy - but it’s also so subtly altered that it doesn’t use familiarity as a crutch.
Instead, C&C throws a wide variety of the weird and the wonderful over its pages. Rook brings an emporium of curiosities, none more so than the likes of Silk and Laz. Silk carries a piece of cloth possessed by the spirit of her deceased mother and fights with ferocity - a seriously novel and rare character concept. Laz is a sharpshooter with a bucket theory of life that gives the novel its philosophical outlet. They both help out Cal and Crow through countless sticky situations by dispensing sage advice or quite often shooting something. And the endearing thing about C&C is sometimes you don’t need an explanation for how these characters came to be, or why a situation goes south; you just need someone or something to get brained with a hatchet. That’s cool too. There’s just something deeply satisfying about Cal and Crow Bone Tomahawking their way through the Weird West and into the book’s bleak and oppressive grimdark second act.
Further supporting characters don’t stray too far from this weird hatchet formula too - Cal’s curse leads to a certain kind of life of violence and death that follows him wherever he goes, much like the carrion crows that accompany him in the opening chapters. Special mention to the Mariahs that appear later in the book, the guards of the evil secret society Callus and Crow happen upon after crossing the sea. They gave me really strong vibes of the Spire guards from Fable 2. I love anything that brings me back to a game like that. Then there’s the antagonistic Crave and his posse too, hunting down Callus for reasons I’m not going to spoil but acting suitably menacing and frightening along the way.
Rhyme and Reason
One of my favourite aspects of C&C was the dual narrative that often gives each of the titular pair’s own take on any given scene. Rook somehow manages to avoid repetitive writing while at times describing the same passage of events. It smacks of an author who trusts his protagonists to tell this story authentically but also his ability to make ‘em dance while doing so. I really liked seeing how Callus would burst onto a scene and interpret a situation in a completely different way to Crow and vice versa, which frequently delivers some outlandish consequences. Excerpts from journals, missives and the occasional side character inject plenty of intrigue to give context to the next twist C&C is about to take.
It’s the dual narrative approach that makes the last few moments of the story a particularly gut-wrenching read though. Daryl, if you’re reading this, I’m still devastated and I’m still mad at you.
A Wayward World
Callus & Crow definitely goes down as the most unique book I’ve read this year. I loved it. If you’re a fan of dual protagonists and want to know what would happen if you create a Weird West Grimdark mashup then you’ll get along nicely with this book.
If you want to hear more from D.B. Rook then allow me to direct you to his website: Home - DB Rook (dbrookbooks.com)
May 7, 2024
D.B Rook’s debut novel is arguably one of the most overlooked indie releases of the past two years. It’s a tale of two souls brought together by chance, bonded by the gift of a curse, told via a series of short journal entries. The effect is a book that imprints in a very visual way, reminiscent of the darker graphic novels I enjoyed toward the end of the 90’s. It’s a journey; compelling yet ambiguous, simple in its action yet deep in its theming...
Full Review at SFF Insiders.
Full Review at SFF Insiders.
October 10, 2024
“It’s no surprise that there’s something very unsettling about burying your only friend in the ground while he continues to talk to you nonchalantly.”
Released in 2022, Callus & Crow is DB Rook’s debut novel and it was one of the entrants in this year’s SPFBOX competition which caught my eye. Callus & Crow makes most genre mash ups look like they’re playing it safe. Here we have Weird West meets vampires, with a pinch of Vikings, a generous splash of druids and lumbering trolls, a huge dollop of steampunk, a satirical swipe at the double-standards of religion and a side-dish of rebellion against soulless industrial revolution. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot – we also have unfathomable magic and mysterious eldritch horror lurking in the oceans straight out of the pages of HP Lovecraft. All of this adds a heady dose of spice to the literary pot and leaves the reader going, “What the hell did I just read?”
The story starts with the character of Callus (Cal) walking out of the heat of the desert in a world not dissimilar to the 1800s Wild West, where he meets young Ben Hoby and his father on their ranch. Events move quickly from that point. It soon becomes clear that Cal is a vampire and he has a special interest in Ben. I had a bit of an issue with what happens next, which isn’t really a spoiler as this all takes place within the first 10 pages. Ben is taken away from the ranch by Cal and, despite a brief protest, he quickly makes the decision to leave his old life and travel with his new companion, whilst at the same time suspecting Cal has killed his Pa. I felt this whole transition from the starting position of the characters to moving really quickly into the main story just needed more time, although some of this is explained later on.
If you’re left unsure at this point in the book my advice is to keep reading – because from then on the story grabs you by the throat and won’t let go for another 300 pages.
Ben adopts the name Crow (hence the title), soon forming a worryingly co-dependent relationship with Cal where the older man is part father figure, part cool older brother. Together they set out to explore a strange post-apocalyptic world, where suspicion and danger waits for them in every town. This is a grim, violent world but Rook’s writing is laced with dark gallows humour which helps lighten the tone and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
Cal is seeking vengeance for the murder of his friend, Rev. Wilfred J Berkeley, which he blames on the Rev. Osset. However, Cal is in turn stalked by the frightening character of Crave and his posse, leaving the reader wondering exactly what Crave’s interest in Cal might be. Callus and Crow have various violent and somewhat random adventures in the first part of the novel, which never ceased to entertain.
My favourite characters were Silk, who when we first meet her is accompanied by ‘Mother’, the soul of Silk's actual mother, trapped in a sentient shawl she wears (yes, you read that correctly – it’s a superbly creepy idea, which Rook executes wonderfully). Captain Lazarus Badstock, an ageing sharpshooter, was also really well-written. I loved how Rook handled the fact Badstock is suffering from something akin to dementia but that didn’t stop him being a rounded, interesting and fully fleshed out character with his own goals and objectives.
People who know me know I’m a sucker when it comes to exploring the nature and meaning of religion. Rook handles this deftly in this novel as he describes the role religion plays in this fragmented world, some using its influence for good, such as Rev. Berkley or the Sisters of Shearn in Sanctuary, compared with the more self-serving and ambitious Father Osset and his followers. We also have the contrast with the older, primal beliefs of the druids providing a completely different perspective.
Despite its relatively short length, Callus & Crow is briming with ideas and has a huge amount of world to cram into its pages. As a consequence, the shift between the first and second halves of the novel is almost like reading two completely different books. We move from the Weird West setting of the opening into the mysterious industrialised land of Cthonica, which lies beyond the monster-filled ocean and is only accessible with the use of heavily armoured ships. During this journey alliances and motivations shift and change, taking things in an unexpected direction which completely re-energises the story and makes you re-evaluate everything you’ve read up until that point.
It's worth mentioning here the unusual style of this book. The writing is excellent but very episodic, so it feels like you're reading a scattered set of discovered notes, letters, diaries and newspaper clippings you’ve stumbled across. There’s an element here where as the reader you have to do your homework and put everything together for yourself. The short scenes and chapters make this book very easy to pick up and put down. However, sometimes you get snippets where Rook is hinting at a wider world we never encounter in the main story – a bit like finding a jigsaw piece which doesn’t belong to the set you’re trying to assemble. On other occasions we get to explore the same event from the different perspectives of Cal and Crow, which is always really interesting and allows the reader to dive deeper into those aspects of the story. It’s a really unusual storytelling style but it was also refreshingly different and I liked the fact this took me outside my comfort zone.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, which defies easy classification. I think that’s fine and the unique approach is to be applauded. With Callus & Crow as his calling card, DB Rook has established himself as one of the most interesting and distinctive fantasy writers to emerge in the last couple of years. His style won’t appeal to everyone, but I’m firmly of the view if you don’t stand out from the crowd you’re not pushing the boundaries. DB Rook pushes all the boundaries and that’s a really good thing. Go check this one out.
Released in 2022, Callus & Crow is DB Rook’s debut novel and it was one of the entrants in this year’s SPFBOX competition which caught my eye. Callus & Crow makes most genre mash ups look like they’re playing it safe. Here we have Weird West meets vampires, with a pinch of Vikings, a generous splash of druids and lumbering trolls, a huge dollop of steampunk, a satirical swipe at the double-standards of religion and a side-dish of rebellion against soulless industrial revolution. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot – we also have unfathomable magic and mysterious eldritch horror lurking in the oceans straight out of the pages of HP Lovecraft. All of this adds a heady dose of spice to the literary pot and leaves the reader going, “What the hell did I just read?”
The story starts with the character of Callus (Cal) walking out of the heat of the desert in a world not dissimilar to the 1800s Wild West, where he meets young Ben Hoby and his father on their ranch. Events move quickly from that point. It soon becomes clear that Cal is a vampire and he has a special interest in Ben. I had a bit of an issue with what happens next, which isn’t really a spoiler as this all takes place within the first 10 pages. Ben is taken away from the ranch by Cal and, despite a brief protest, he quickly makes the decision to leave his old life and travel with his new companion, whilst at the same time suspecting Cal has killed his Pa. I felt this whole transition from the starting position of the characters to moving really quickly into the main story just needed more time, although some of this is explained later on.
If you’re left unsure at this point in the book my advice is to keep reading – because from then on the story grabs you by the throat and won’t let go for another 300 pages.
Ben adopts the name Crow (hence the title), soon forming a worryingly co-dependent relationship with Cal where the older man is part father figure, part cool older brother. Together they set out to explore a strange post-apocalyptic world, where suspicion and danger waits for them in every town. This is a grim, violent world but Rook’s writing is laced with dark gallows humour which helps lighten the tone and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
Cal is seeking vengeance for the murder of his friend, Rev. Wilfred J Berkeley, which he blames on the Rev. Osset. However, Cal is in turn stalked by the frightening character of Crave and his posse, leaving the reader wondering exactly what Crave’s interest in Cal might be. Callus and Crow have various violent and somewhat random adventures in the first part of the novel, which never ceased to entertain.
My favourite characters were Silk, who when we first meet her is accompanied by ‘Mother’, the soul of Silk's actual mother, trapped in a sentient shawl she wears (yes, you read that correctly – it’s a superbly creepy idea, which Rook executes wonderfully). Captain Lazarus Badstock, an ageing sharpshooter, was also really well-written. I loved how Rook handled the fact Badstock is suffering from something akin to dementia but that didn’t stop him being a rounded, interesting and fully fleshed out character with his own goals and objectives.
People who know me know I’m a sucker when it comes to exploring the nature and meaning of religion. Rook handles this deftly in this novel as he describes the role religion plays in this fragmented world, some using its influence for good, such as Rev. Berkley or the Sisters of Shearn in Sanctuary, compared with the more self-serving and ambitious Father Osset and his followers. We also have the contrast with the older, primal beliefs of the druids providing a completely different perspective.
Despite its relatively short length, Callus & Crow is briming with ideas and has a huge amount of world to cram into its pages. As a consequence, the shift between the first and second halves of the novel is almost like reading two completely different books. We move from the Weird West setting of the opening into the mysterious industrialised land of Cthonica, which lies beyond the monster-filled ocean and is only accessible with the use of heavily armoured ships. During this journey alliances and motivations shift and change, taking things in an unexpected direction which completely re-energises the story and makes you re-evaluate everything you’ve read up until that point.
It's worth mentioning here the unusual style of this book. The writing is excellent but very episodic, so it feels like you're reading a scattered set of discovered notes, letters, diaries and newspaper clippings you’ve stumbled across. There’s an element here where as the reader you have to do your homework and put everything together for yourself. The short scenes and chapters make this book very easy to pick up and put down. However, sometimes you get snippets where Rook is hinting at a wider world we never encounter in the main story – a bit like finding a jigsaw piece which doesn’t belong to the set you’re trying to assemble. On other occasions we get to explore the same event from the different perspectives of Cal and Crow, which is always really interesting and allows the reader to dive deeper into those aspects of the story. It’s a really unusual storytelling style but it was also refreshingly different and I liked the fact this took me outside my comfort zone.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, which defies easy classification. I think that’s fine and the unique approach is to be applauded. With Callus & Crow as his calling card, DB Rook has established himself as one of the most interesting and distinctive fantasy writers to emerge in the last couple of years. His style won’t appeal to everyone, but I’m firmly of the view if you don’t stand out from the crowd you’re not pushing the boundaries. DB Rook pushes all the boundaries and that’s a really good thing. Go check this one out.
February 25, 2023
Damn, that was absolutely gripping from start to finish, D.B Rook debut book Callus and Crow. The first book in The Wayward World Chronicles is rich with a mix of dark genres of grimdark, vampirism, western, dystopian world written beautifully and woven together to create a new world for us fantasy lovers to get lost in. His worldbuilding, plot, and setting is brilliant, with beautifully written characters that you will love and hate. A tale of redemption and revenge, Callus is on a road to hell, but to get there and before, he will make new friends and gain new enemies, a mission to kill all who murdered his old friend. This will take him to a new world where religion, politics, a tyrannical Council who crush and subdue all those beneath them with their technology and ideology and try to and gain, god-like status. A fantastic story with lots of twists and turns that will keep you enthralled throughout the book. Can't wait for book two. I very highly recommend it.....😁🪓💥🖤
September 17, 2026
I’ve come to realise I prefer fantasy novels that are truly innovative. I’ve read my share of stories with dragons, wizards and conventional magic; I’ve moved on. I prefer stories which bring something unusual – be it a change of setting and style, a new approach to magic, protagonists and antagonists who don’t fit any mould. My most recent reviews on my YouTube channel illustrate my point:
• Phil Williams - The Worst Survive
• Trudie Skies - The Chosen One Con
• Mike Shel - West of the World
• HL Tinley - The Hallows
Well, I’ve got another one for you – Callus and Crow by DB Rook.
The author’s definition proves my point – “a genre hybrid of weird west meets Grimdark fantasy”.
My writing tutor used to say there was one rule that should never be broken – having too many points of view telling the story. Well, if you’re going to break a rule then smash it to pieces! That’s what DB Rook does. He does it with a cast of individuals who relate their experiences – then includes even more epistolary sources, such as letters, reports, extracts from books and the like.
In the early stages it feels overwhelming but it works because it adds to the mystery. Questions are posed, veiled references given, those references I mentioned appear disconnected, it coaxes you into wanting to know more. There’s even a wonderful character, Laz, who speaks in riddles, could be completely insane and yet has visions of the future are so muddled, they add to the generic bewilderment. You need to pay attention; to look for clues and make connections and I loved that need for intelligent thinking from the reader. Information isn’t just presented – it’s teased, it’s dropped in at unlikely moments and via sources you might otherwise overlook. It left me marvelling at the plotting of this story.
During our discussions on the Four Beardsmen of the Bookpocalypse recently, we talked about writing with a cinematic eye for detail. You can see it here and it’s another quality I enjoyed. It’s in the landscapes – of which there are several and they are all original in their invention. Yes, there’s a strong western vibe to the world at the start but this changes as the story grows bleaker. It’s in the characterisation too. In shared looks, little mannerisms and gestures that define characters, in the clothes, in the descriptions of what I can only describe as weirdness; I’d love to describe Silk to you but that would give away too much!
Another innovation is telling a story where voices are so important. Accents, slang and colloquialisms abound. To return to my writing tutor, I was told only to adopt such specific and niche voices if you were determined and skilful. The danger, I was reminded, was in the voice becoming inconsistent. No such danger here. The majority of the characters speak with that western voice you hear in cowboy films but with none of the stereotypical phrases. It’s all original, relevant, characterful – and consistent.
I find it galling. Yes, it’s that good!
I haven’t talked about the plot. I hope I’ve shown why. This is a story that, like its characters, will take you on a long and winding journey towards a thrilling climax. A journey where threats rear their heads every step of the way and leave you reeling – until the next danger appears. The pace is relentless. Plus, so frequently, each danger defies normality.
Callus and Crow is a dark and violent, grimdark buddy movie of a story. A tale where male friendship is displayed in ways that are new and exciting. In breaking the rules of convention, it treats the reader to a story which leaves you guessing but which also tugs at heart strings – with its ending especially.
Heart strings in a grimdark story? See what I mean about innovation?
If you like your fantasy to be unconventional – get Callus and Crow by DB Rook.
• Phil Williams - The Worst Survive
• Trudie Skies - The Chosen One Con
• Mike Shel - West of the World
• HL Tinley - The Hallows
Well, I’ve got another one for you – Callus and Crow by DB Rook.
The author’s definition proves my point – “a genre hybrid of weird west meets Grimdark fantasy”.
My writing tutor used to say there was one rule that should never be broken – having too many points of view telling the story. Well, if you’re going to break a rule then smash it to pieces! That’s what DB Rook does. He does it with a cast of individuals who relate their experiences – then includes even more epistolary sources, such as letters, reports, extracts from books and the like.
In the early stages it feels overwhelming but it works because it adds to the mystery. Questions are posed, veiled references given, those references I mentioned appear disconnected, it coaxes you into wanting to know more. There’s even a wonderful character, Laz, who speaks in riddles, could be completely insane and yet has visions of the future are so muddled, they add to the generic bewilderment. You need to pay attention; to look for clues and make connections and I loved that need for intelligent thinking from the reader. Information isn’t just presented – it’s teased, it’s dropped in at unlikely moments and via sources you might otherwise overlook. It left me marvelling at the plotting of this story.
During our discussions on the Four Beardsmen of the Bookpocalypse recently, we talked about writing with a cinematic eye for detail. You can see it here and it’s another quality I enjoyed. It’s in the landscapes – of which there are several and they are all original in their invention. Yes, there’s a strong western vibe to the world at the start but this changes as the story grows bleaker. It’s in the characterisation too. In shared looks, little mannerisms and gestures that define characters, in the clothes, in the descriptions of what I can only describe as weirdness; I’d love to describe Silk to you but that would give away too much!
Another innovation is telling a story where voices are so important. Accents, slang and colloquialisms abound. To return to my writing tutor, I was told only to adopt such specific and niche voices if you were determined and skilful. The danger, I was reminded, was in the voice becoming inconsistent. No such danger here. The majority of the characters speak with that western voice you hear in cowboy films but with none of the stereotypical phrases. It’s all original, relevant, characterful – and consistent.
I find it galling. Yes, it’s that good!
I haven’t talked about the plot. I hope I’ve shown why. This is a story that, like its characters, will take you on a long and winding journey towards a thrilling climax. A journey where threats rear their heads every step of the way and leave you reeling – until the next danger appears. The pace is relentless. Plus, so frequently, each danger defies normality.
Callus and Crow is a dark and violent, grimdark buddy movie of a story. A tale where male friendship is displayed in ways that are new and exciting. In breaking the rules of convention, it treats the reader to a story which leaves you guessing but which also tugs at heart strings – with its ending especially.
Heart strings in a grimdark story? See what I mean about innovation?
If you like your fantasy to be unconventional – get Callus and Crow by DB Rook.
August 9, 2024
Callus & Crow by D.B. Rook was our group buddy read selection for the month of August. I didn't know too much going into this other than it looked a bit like a fantasy western style story. Before we get into specifics I will say none of our group were ready for this one. This was a very different type of story. I described it often as entertaining chaos and I stand by that. I did enjoy the second half of the story more than the first and I'll point out some of the things that worked for me and others that didn't.
The pacing is probably my biggest struggle with Callus & Crow. The writing style of this one is probably going to be very polarizing with readers. The speed of the read was on the quicker side. However, the multiple points of view in each chapter and the additional odd anonymous view telling the story just didn't work well for me. This was the beginning of the chaos for me. Other than that, I only noticed a handful of editing issues (typos). It seemed like fairly well polished book.
The world building was actually one of my favorite aspects. D.B.'s creative imagination is off the charts with this world. We had some readers drop off fairly early so they didn't get to experience the wide range of this world. The scope of geography is on a grand scale. There is some unique magic and religion combinations along with some more traditional monster myths injected. I think one of the reasons this world connected so much with me is it reminded me a lot of a tabletop game called Malifaux. That game combines factions such as western and horrors among others. This is a very diverse world.
The character development was also fairly good. As long as you can stick around and piece together the fragmented story telling. There is a good timeline with some good character arcs and there are a lot of characters to keep up with. Both storylines for Callus and Crow themselves was entertaining. Others such as Laz, Crave, Dolomon and Silk were also really good by the end. I still had some questions of things that were touched on with some characters in first book. I'm not sure if we will learn more as the series continues or not. I hope so though.
In the end, I'm glad that I stuck with this one. I really felt the back half was put together better. I don't know if this is an actual reality or I was just starting to get into the story and used to the author's style of storytelling. The story starts out all over the place. I'll say if you're interested in any of the aspects of the characters or the world in the first half, stick with it. Things get really exciting, tense and dark in the back half for the finale.
I'd recommend this to readers who like a wild mix of fantasy that includes a bit of western theme, interesting creatures or monsters, religion and political intrigue and some really good found family and relationship ties. Let's not forget the combinations of both revenge and redemption to be found in Callus & Crow.
The pacing is probably my biggest struggle with Callus & Crow. The writing style of this one is probably going to be very polarizing with readers. The speed of the read was on the quicker side. However, the multiple points of view in each chapter and the additional odd anonymous view telling the story just didn't work well for me. This was the beginning of the chaos for me. Other than that, I only noticed a handful of editing issues (typos). It seemed like fairly well polished book.
The world building was actually one of my favorite aspects. D.B.'s creative imagination is off the charts with this world. We had some readers drop off fairly early so they didn't get to experience the wide range of this world. The scope of geography is on a grand scale. There is some unique magic and religion combinations along with some more traditional monster myths injected. I think one of the reasons this world connected so much with me is it reminded me a lot of a tabletop game called Malifaux. That game combines factions such as western and horrors among others. This is a very diverse world.
The character development was also fairly good. As long as you can stick around and piece together the fragmented story telling. There is a good timeline with some good character arcs and there are a lot of characters to keep up with. Both storylines for Callus and Crow themselves was entertaining. Others such as Laz, Crave, Dolomon and Silk were also really good by the end. I still had some questions of things that were touched on with some characters in first book. I'm not sure if we will learn more as the series continues or not. I hope so though.
In the end, I'm glad that I stuck with this one. I really felt the back half was put together better. I don't know if this is an actual reality or I was just starting to get into the story and used to the author's style of storytelling. The story starts out all over the place. I'll say if you're interested in any of the aspects of the characters or the world in the first half, stick with it. Things get really exciting, tense and dark in the back half for the finale.
I'd recommend this to readers who like a wild mix of fantasy that includes a bit of western theme, interesting creatures or monsters, religion and political intrigue and some really good found family and relationship ties. Let's not forget the combinations of both revenge and redemption to be found in Callus & Crow.
June 20, 2023
I feel like I started reading and it just took off immediately, so definitely hold on. I do like a multiple POV but I feel like this may have been a bit much (?). Overall it is a nice first book and I am interested to see what happens in the next! (3.5!)
I do want to thank the author for sending me this ebook and note that all opinions/thoughts above are my own!
I do want to thank the author for sending me this ebook and note that all opinions/thoughts above are my own!
September 18, 2023
Callus & Crow is the first book in The Wayward World Chronicles. It's a grimdark fantasy with an interesting wild and weird Western twist. The narrative is told from the POVs of multiple characters and through excerpts of letters, journals and the like. It hits the ground running from the start with a dark but humorous atmosphere. My favorite aspect.
The characters are wonderfully hodgepodge in nature. Callus (Cal) is on a mission and on that blood-thirsty trek he brings Crow (reluctant at first) on his quest for revenge... or dare I say retribution. These two were by far my favorite as Crow learns the vampiric way of Cal. This duo gains friends and foes as they cross dark depths and run into some interesting creatures, towns and groups. I think I loved crows even more now too.
For me the hardest thing for my brain to work with (thank you ADHD) was the continual back and forth between the main characters and the collection of literature piecing together the historical story in a sense. I think this would've gone smoother for me as a reader if those portions were less or potentially excluded.
Overall, this novel kept me on my toes with it's twists and turns. I recommend checking the listed warnings below. True rating 3.5/5. I'll be looking firward to the next installment.
🩸 Content/Trigger Warnings 🩸
Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader):
🩸Routine death and rebirth
🩸Drinking of human blood
🩸Death and mourning
🩸Being buried alive
🩸Gore
🩸Incarceration/mistreatment
🩸Mild drug use
🩸Mild occasional swearing/cursing
🩸Religious piety and discrimination
Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):
🩸Cannibalism
🩸Slavery
🩸Dementia
The characters are wonderfully hodgepodge in nature. Callus (Cal) is on a mission and on that blood-thirsty trek he brings Crow (reluctant at first) on his quest for revenge... or dare I say retribution. These two were by far my favorite as Crow learns the vampiric way of Cal. This duo gains friends and foes as they cross dark depths and run into some interesting creatures, towns and groups. I think I loved crows even more now too.
For me the hardest thing for my brain to work with (thank you ADHD) was the continual back and forth between the main characters and the collection of literature piecing together the historical story in a sense. I think this would've gone smoother for me as a reader if those portions were less or potentially excluded.
Overall, this novel kept me on my toes with it's twists and turns. I recommend checking the listed warnings below. True rating 3.5/5. I'll be looking firward to the next installment.
🩸 Content/Trigger Warnings 🩸
Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader):
🩸Routine death and rebirth
🩸Drinking of human blood
🩸Death and mourning
🩸Being buried alive
🩸Gore
🩸Incarceration/mistreatment
🩸Mild drug use
🩸Mild occasional swearing/cursing
🩸Religious piety and discrimination
Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):
🩸Cannibalism
🩸Slavery
🩸Dementia
Read
August 6, 2024DNF'd. Just not for me, I was expecting something completely different which threw me off.
June 20, 2025
This book is weird: structurally, plot-wise, and in world building. It can feel a bit disjointed and meandering at times, but what drew me in were the characters. Distinct narrative voices, interesting personalities and relationships.
I'll definitely read more from D.B. Rook.
I'll definitely read more from D.B. Rook.
December 20, 2022
My rating : 3.5 of 5 stars
An interesting start to a series that shows a lot of potential. There's a lot going on in the story, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, especially with the multiple points of view and narrative sources, but on the whole it shows promise. I think with time, D.B. Rook is going to be an author to watch out for, and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for book two of the series.
An interesting start to a series that shows a lot of potential. There's a lot going on in the story, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, especially with the multiple points of view and narrative sources, but on the whole it shows promise. I think with time, D.B. Rook is going to be an author to watch out for, and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for book two of the series.
October 30, 2026
Callus & Crow by D.B. Rook is a western, a grimdark fantasy and a post-apocalyptic adventure all rolled into one, and it never lets you get comfortable.
Callus carries a curse that was laid on him and him alone. The book never calls him a vampire, but it's the closest word I have for him. He sleeps through the day, wakes up hungry, and has to feed on blood. Rook takes the old idea and gives it a few nice twists. No sparkle, no brooding romance, and no mindless monster either. Callus has to kill to live, and he is trying with everything he has to be better than the man he used to be. The hunger isn't glamorous. It claws through him every single night, and he talks about it with a dry humour that had me smirking and wincing at the same time:
Imagine needing blood so badly that the hunger takes over and you kill without even being aware of it. How would you stay sane? I spent a lot of his chapters holding my breath, hoping he would come back to himself before he fed on someone who didn't deserve it. The bad guys? Help yourself, Callus.
Crow is the young ranch hand who gets swept up in all of this. He has already lost his mum to illness when he wakes up on Callus's wagon, rolling away from home in the dark. He panics, he shouts for his Pa, and all he gets is "I'm sorry… boy, your Pa's not comin'. It's me and you now." No goodbye, no explanation, just a stranger asking for his trust. And somehow Crow gives it. It's only later, when he sees Callus feed, that he starts to piece together what might have happened to his dad. He sticks with Callus anyway, because Callus could easily have killed him too and didn't. Even someone who takes life as it comes doesn't come out of that without scars. He's naive and good at heart, and he still has a hope the world hasn't managed to knock out of him. Callus brings the weariness and the hard-won lessons. Crow brings an open mind and soaks it all in. The old and the young rub off on each other, and the bond between them grows in small, quiet steps. Callus gives Crow one last free day before a difficult talk, and then simply decides: "From now on, we'll die together."
This is a brutal land, full of monsters, slavers and worse, and nobody walks through it fresh as a daisy. Callus has murdered plenty. Crave is hunting him across the sea for reasons of his own. Everyone has their own goals, their own agency and their own wounds. The afterword mentions that Rook has spent the last ten years working in the charity sector, and you can feel it. Every character is damaged by the world and by what life has thrown at them, but nobody is reduced to that damage. They still get to be human. They still get to be real, make their own choices and matter beyond their problems. I met the author at BristolCon, and he has the patience of a saint. That patience runs all through his writing. He takes people as they are and lets them be more than their worst day.
Laz shows that best. He has spells he calls "foggy", when he forgets everything, knows nobody and turns into almost a different person. One moment he's sharp and full of rough wisdom, the next he's gone somewhere else entirely. He sums it up himself:
Then you learn that he once turned his rifle on his own comrades to stop them hurting a woman, and the fog starts to look less strange. The book doesn't try to fix him. You keep him tagging along and take him as he comes.
Silk joins the group the way people in this book tend to: they meet in a cell, and suddenly the fellowship has grown by one. She's a seriously capable fighter, bone dry in her answers, and driven by a goal that conveniently lines up perfectly with Callus's own. She never travels alone, either. Her mother was murdered, and Silk carries her with her as a kind of living scarf:
Nobody in this book is spotless, and the people you're quick to write off as villains can turn out to be decent. Or not. Take the druids. You meet them as they eat their own fallen, so you think you know exactly what they are. A few pages later they're sitting in silent meditation for two whole days, humbly waiting for an angry troll to accept them on his land. Rook covers the whole range of people, and nobody gets to be perfectly innocent.
The world works the same way. It doesn't leap out at you, it simply sits there being strange. A character just happens to have mandibles. A ship crashes through monster-ruled seas like a metal beast, spikes dripping with blood, lightning crawling between its cylinders. It reminded me of the day I got up from my seat on a train, headed for the door, and walked straight past two parrots sitting there. I was a step beyond them before my head caught up with my eyes and I spun round thinking "Wait, what?" Rook's world is full of those moments. But it never tips into "anything can happen, so why care". It just keeps you alert.
And it's funny. Properly funny, in a dusty, gallows kind of way. Laz describes himself as "cavortin' from bar to barley", Callus gets woken up when the shit's "seriously burst the bag", and one character sighs that people promise it'll be alright in the morning, yet it still isn't, and he's died a thousand times. The darkness is real, but the humour runs right through it. For me, it's not a question of which works better. It's like asking whether a cake needs the butter or the eggs. You need both.
That alertness comes at a price, though. Important details sometimes hide in half a sentence, and more than once I flipped back, sure I'd missed something. I hadn't. It really was just a passing remark. If you pay attention that's no problem, but this isn't a book for the end of a long day at work. My bigger gripe is that characters sometimes change direction too fast. In moments where anyone else would panic or run, they just shrug and go "ok then". Crow is the master of this. A cursed stranger carts him off in the night? "Strangely, I did trust him." A filthy old man with a pile of guns tells him to come along? "Strangely, I followed." Even the characters don't seem to know why. A few scenes also felt a little patchy, like one wink I still can't decode. A handful of extra pages to let us see the why, and a slightly smoother pace, would have helped a lot. Not to tame the book, because it lives off its chaos, but enough to make the gear changes easier to follow.
Callus & Crow is a wild ride through a world that keeps surprising you, packed with broken people who are allowed to be so much more than broken. It's dark, it's funny, and it's full of heart. Bring your full attention, and it will pay you back.
Callus carries a curse that was laid on him and him alone. The book never calls him a vampire, but it's the closest word I have for him. He sleeps through the day, wakes up hungry, and has to feed on blood. Rook takes the old idea and gives it a few nice twists. No sparkle, no brooding romance, and no mindless monster either. Callus has to kill to live, and he is trying with everything he has to be better than the man he used to be. The hunger isn't glamorous. It claws through him every single night, and he talks about it with a dry humour that had me smirking and wincing at the same time:
Now, usually if I get woken up in the daytime, which don't happen that often, it's because the shit's seriously burst the bag! Sleep ain't like it used to be; nice fluffy dreams, then you wake up eight hours later grinning at the day to come. No, since the curse, sleep's a necessary twelve hours o' black stillness where my body does all kinds of painful and grotesque stuff, eventually releasin' me into the night with a hunger that groans and rips its way through my stomach and into my veins. After over a hundred years of this nightly torment, I've become as used to the yearning as anybody could and can usually handle the urges until I'm in a fit and sensible position to deal with it.
Imagine needing blood so badly that the hunger takes over and you kill without even being aware of it. How would you stay sane? I spent a lot of his chapters holding my breath, hoping he would come back to himself before he fed on someone who didn't deserve it. The bad guys? Help yourself, Callus.
Crow is the young ranch hand who gets swept up in all of this. He has already lost his mum to illness when he wakes up on Callus's wagon, rolling away from home in the dark. He panics, he shouts for his Pa, and all he gets is "I'm sorry… boy, your Pa's not comin'. It's me and you now." No goodbye, no explanation, just a stranger asking for his trust. And somehow Crow gives it. It's only later, when he sees Callus feed, that he starts to piece together what might have happened to his dad. He sticks with Callus anyway, because Callus could easily have killed him too and didn't. Even someone who takes life as it comes doesn't come out of that without scars. He's naive and good at heart, and he still has a hope the world hasn't managed to knock out of him. Callus brings the weariness and the hard-won lessons. Crow brings an open mind and soaks it all in. The old and the young rub off on each other, and the bond between them grows in small, quiet steps. Callus gives Crow one last free day before a difficult talk, and then simply decides: "From now on, we'll die together."
This is a brutal land, full of monsters, slavers and worse, and nobody walks through it fresh as a daisy. Callus has murdered plenty. Crave is hunting him across the sea for reasons of his own. Everyone has their own goals, their own agency and their own wounds. The afterword mentions that Rook has spent the last ten years working in the charity sector, and you can feel it. Every character is damaged by the world and by what life has thrown at them, but nobody is reduced to that damage. They still get to be human. They still get to be real, make their own choices and matter beyond their problems. I met the author at BristolCon, and he has the patience of a saint. That patience runs all through his writing. He takes people as they are and lets them be more than their worst day.
Laz shows that best. He has spells he calls "foggy", when he forgets everything, knows nobody and turns into almost a different person. One moment he's sharp and full of rough wisdom, the next he's gone somewhere else entirely. He sums it up himself:
A God damned pilgrimage o' woe from start to finish! Soon as I get into the meat of it, I get foggy. Now I'm one smart fella when I ain't all foggy but on account of my age, and all the killin' I done, I have these times when things get too rough for my little ol' brain. I been caught wonderin' and cavortin' from bar to barley.
Then you learn that he once turned his rifle on his own comrades to stop them hurting a woman, and the fog starts to look less strange. The book doesn't try to fix him. You keep him tagging along and take him as he comes.
Silk joins the group the way people in this book tend to: they meet in a cell, and suddenly the fellowship has grown by one. She's a seriously capable fighter, bone dry in her answers, and driven by a goal that conveniently lines up perfectly with Callus's own. She never travels alone, either. Her mother was murdered, and Silk carries her with her as a kind of living scarf:
I moved in as I saw Silk reach out and from her sleeve a red cloth shot out like it was alive. It wrapped itself around his leading arm and then up past his neck. The thing never left Silk's hand, but pulled tight around him. He lost his balance for a split second; I saw it in his eyes. I leapt at him and grabbed his head between my hands. He was damn near looking backwards after I twisted his head around, snapping his neck. I threw his dead body at the wall and it crunched again. Then I watched as the red cloth quickly slid back up Silk's sleeve; I saw it move under her clothes and wrap around her body, just like a child would run to its Mother after a fight. One corner just poked out at her neck as it stopped moving.
"That's my Mother."
Nobody in this book is spotless, and the people you're quick to write off as villains can turn out to be decent. Or not. Take the druids. You meet them as they eat their own fallen, so you think you know exactly what they are. A few pages later they're sitting in silent meditation for two whole days, humbly waiting for an angry troll to accept them on his land. Rook covers the whole range of people, and nobody gets to be perfectly innocent.
The world works the same way. It doesn't leap out at you, it simply sits there being strange. A character just happens to have mandibles. A ship crashes through monster-ruled seas like a metal beast, spikes dripping with blood, lightning crawling between its cylinders. It reminded me of the day I got up from my seat on a train, headed for the door, and walked straight past two parrots sitting there. I was a step beyond them before my head caught up with my eyes and I spun round thinking "Wait, what?" Rook's world is full of those moments. But it never tips into "anything can happen, so why care". It just keeps you alert.
And it's funny. Properly funny, in a dusty, gallows kind of way. Laz describes himself as "cavortin' from bar to barley", Callus gets woken up when the shit's "seriously burst the bag", and one character sighs that people promise it'll be alright in the morning, yet it still isn't, and he's died a thousand times. The darkness is real, but the humour runs right through it. For me, it's not a question of which works better. It's like asking whether a cake needs the butter or the eggs. You need both.
That alertness comes at a price, though. Important details sometimes hide in half a sentence, and more than once I flipped back, sure I'd missed something. I hadn't. It really was just a passing remark. If you pay attention that's no problem, but this isn't a book for the end of a long day at work. My bigger gripe is that characters sometimes change direction too fast. In moments where anyone else would panic or run, they just shrug and go "ok then". Crow is the master of this. A cursed stranger carts him off in the night? "Strangely, I did trust him." A filthy old man with a pile of guns tells him to come along? "Strangely, I followed." Even the characters don't seem to know why. A few scenes also felt a little patchy, like one wink I still can't decode. A handful of extra pages to let us see the why, and a slightly smoother pace, would have helped a lot. Not to tame the book, because it lives off its chaos, but enough to make the gear changes easier to follow.
Callus & Crow is a wild ride through a world that keeps surprising you, packed with broken people who are allowed to be so much more than broken. It's dark, it's funny, and it's full of heart. Bring your full attention, and it will pay you back.
July 5, 2025
Crow's world as he knows it ends, and he follows Callus. There is nothing left there for him anyway.
So there they go, a farmhand and an exiled vampire, and Callus becomes a mentor for the young Crow.
There is a beautiful complexity to our main duo. They seem to just accept each other and look out for each other from the bat.
I, too, went on this journey, getting to know them as we ventured west. And oh boy, is THAT west wild!
I understand more of Callus as we go. He has been through many ordeals since he was cursed. I got to 'see' Crow becoming a whole new person, scary as it was. And at a point, I think my heart just melted, and it was not the 33 degrees outside.💙
🔹️
"Then you gonna need some blood, Callus."
🔹️
I met other hilarious yet awesome characters along the way, some animals and a trouble canon.😂
The rebellion has begun at the very edge of the world.
You ready, little Crow?😉
This was a very good time for a gentle reader who is not that keen on Western movies.😉
So there they go, a farmhand and an exiled vampire, and Callus becomes a mentor for the young Crow.
There is a beautiful complexity to our main duo. They seem to just accept each other and look out for each other from the bat.
I, too, went on this journey, getting to know them as we ventured west. And oh boy, is THAT west wild!
I understand more of Callus as we go. He has been through many ordeals since he was cursed. I got to 'see' Crow becoming a whole new person, scary as it was. And at a point, I think my heart just melted, and it was not the 33 degrees outside.💙
🔹️
"Then you gonna need some blood, Callus."
🔹️
I met other hilarious yet awesome characters along the way, some animals and a trouble canon.😂
The rebellion has begun at the very edge of the world.
You ready, little Crow?😉
This was a very good time for a gentle reader who is not that keen on Western movies.😉
May 15, 2025
In a world where morality twists like shadows in the dusk, Callus & Crow: The Wayward World Chronicles, Volume 1 by D.B. Rook plunges readers into a brutal, post-apocalyptic fantasy where redemption is a scarce and costly prize. This grimdark epic fuses the grit of a western with the eerie ambiance of a cursed world ruled by monsters and fractured ideologies.
Crow, a young ranch hand, is thrust into a relentless journey marked by blood and vengeance when his fate intertwines with Callus—an exiled mentor burdened by a vampiric curse. Together, they traverse treacherous seas, navigating a shattered world where tyrannical powers seek to elevate themselves to godhood.
The tale masterfully balances raw violence and philosophical depth, questioning whether redemption can truly heal a wayward world or if bloodshed is the only path left.
Crow, a young ranch hand, is thrust into a relentless journey marked by blood and vengeance when his fate intertwines with Callus—an exiled mentor burdened by a vampiric curse. Together, they traverse treacherous seas, navigating a shattered world where tyrannical powers seek to elevate themselves to godhood.
The tale masterfully balances raw violence and philosophical depth, questioning whether redemption can truly heal a wayward world or if bloodshed is the only path left.
June 15, 2024
I have read some fantasy, but never anything quite like this. Rook’s story feels wholly unique and never fails to surprise in the many twists and sharp turns it hauls you through.
What starts as a Supernatural western revenger expands into a bizarre dark fantasy adventure. Rook has created an Incredibly imaginative and richly detailed world populated by compelling characters who you root for throughout, even when their actions might seem a little murky. On that note, my only gripe was when other narrators took me away from the title characters, but that’s more of a testament to how likeable and interesting those two are and perhaps indicative of my own inexperience with the fantasy genre.
Overall, this is tons of bloody fun!
Take the trip. You won’t regret it!
What starts as a Supernatural western revenger expands into a bizarre dark fantasy adventure. Rook has created an Incredibly imaginative and richly detailed world populated by compelling characters who you root for throughout, even when their actions might seem a little murky. On that note, my only gripe was when other narrators took me away from the title characters, but that’s more of a testament to how likeable and interesting those two are and perhaps indicative of my own inexperience with the fantasy genre.
Overall, this is tons of bloody fun!
Take the trip. You won’t regret it!
November 24, 2023
I always wondered in life when I would hit maturity and love westerns. Well this book has made me start this journey!!
The world building is amazing, you truly feel like you are roaming around the Wayward World. The story and the characters deserve more than 5 stars. This book makes you feel tons of emotions. There are times I was cheering and there were times I felt defeated reading this book. The ending will leave you wanting more!!! I can not see where this story goes.
I highly recommend everyone read this! You will not want to miss this series.
The world building is amazing, you truly feel like you are roaming around the Wayward World. The story and the characters deserve more than 5 stars. This book makes you feel tons of emotions. There are times I was cheering and there were times I felt defeated reading this book. The ending will leave you wanting more!!! I can not see where this story goes.
I highly recommend everyone read this! You will not want to miss this series.
February 25, 2024
I enjoyed this book. It has a gritty, western feel (tumbleweeds, we need more tumbleweeds), and the fantasy elements are strong. Perhaps it’s grimdark western fantasy?
There are characters we follow pretty much from the beginning (see title) and others we add in later.
The premise is wide sweeping and the character development solid. I enjoy the internal character thoughts and how the author shares writings and thoughts from a variety of perspectives. Very solid world building.
There are characters we follow pretty much from the beginning (see title) and others we add in later.
The premise is wide sweeping and the character development solid. I enjoy the internal character thoughts and how the author shares writings and thoughts from a variety of perspectives. Very solid world building.
July 10, 2023
Great debut from DB Rook! I'm not used to reading books with constantly changing POV, but I got used to the format quickly and found it very enjoyable as it lent itself well to the story and world building that the author did.
March 9, 2023
Great new twist on dystopian future (past) with some very loveable (?) characters. Cant wait to find out a) how we got here and b) where we go next.
And what IS in that sea?!
And what IS in that sea?!
April 19, 2024
I loved this book, travel on an epic adventure & really feel for the characters as they navigate their challenges, both internal & external.
Can't wait for the next book
Can't wait for the next book
December 9, 2023
I really love a book that immediately sets me into intrigue and mystery, with a burning need to get to the bottom of it. This one sure does... And what stood out to me from the onset, is how exceptionally well written it is, the prose, the use of language, the vivid colours of this author's imagination is really delightful. It's a tale of far more complexity than initially meets the eye, dragging you under until you suddenly discover you've been submerged and as you come up for air, you realise you've reached the end of the book....
There are basically a few POV's or takes in this story, the Callus/Crow telling, a historical account of sorts, of Ivy, who pens letters to her absent father, and a few other seemingly random notations. But they're not, they're far from random. It's as though the author has laid out single strands of rope, one next to the other and slowly drawing them together to form a stout, sturdy rope of immense strength, which describes this book, a perfectly strong, robust and richly textured tale. There's lots of ducking, diving, evading, as much as there is uncovering the layers of intrigue. All fine and well I hear you say, but what's it about, you ponder. Well, a vampire and a boy walked into a bar...ok, not really.... but there really IS a vampire and there really IS a boy and this their story, one of dedicated and loyalty, one of vengeance and redemption, one of church and holiness, one of distant lands and slavery.
It all begins with the boy, Ben, who minds the ranch with his father, harbouring a repressed anger within him, anger at the loss of his mother, anger at the abrasiveness of his father, anger at being thought of a a youth. Never could he have imagined how much his life was about to change at the appearance of a bedraggled man and a murder of crows. The man in question is Callus, was himself wronged both by his tribe and by the Reverend Osset. He was experimented on, cursed with a dreadful fate, all for daring to love the Chief's daughter, oh and he was a half blood....The author did a superb job of keeping me on the fence, I wasn't sure what to make of Cal but the more I read, the more my heart cried out for all he'd been put through. The glorious part of this tale is the magnificent bond Cal and Crow establish, I loved the affection and the need they had for each other. With all these really phenomenal characters, the die was cast for me to collect them like prize trophies and admire. Their complexities are so well illustrated, the underlying truths so shattering.
As the pace picks up, more characters attatch themselves, the likes of Silk and Laz and Crave, almost as if the body of this story has giant tentacles, collecting vital participants, who band together with one common goal, to eliminate Osset, a man tainted with many wrongs. Easier said than done, Osset has gone to "the New Country" and our misfits end up in very dire circumstances but together, then apart, then together....one capture after another, one escape after another. Each time, a different piece of a much larger puzzle is exposed, and the stakes even higher. And golly gee, when the revelations start pounding at me, I almost got whiplash! My jaw opening and closing all on it's own accord... a far more neferious plot was unravelling, I was just at agog as Cal and Crow. I really enjoyed the friendships that formed, the camaraderie that followed, the loyalty that ensued and the unexpected. Laz was probably the most unexpected.... really cool! And then there's Silk, my goodness, HER I didn't expect, at all!!!!
It's not often a book can hook me quite as much as this one did, it's not often that I'm completely flummoxed at the events, it's not often that I'm left reeling from what played out but heaven help me, I'm reeling like a drunk! An incredible read? You betcha!
There are basically a few POV's or takes in this story, the Callus/Crow telling, a historical account of sorts, of Ivy, who pens letters to her absent father, and a few other seemingly random notations. But they're not, they're far from random. It's as though the author has laid out single strands of rope, one next to the other and slowly drawing them together to form a stout, sturdy rope of immense strength, which describes this book, a perfectly strong, robust and richly textured tale. There's lots of ducking, diving, evading, as much as there is uncovering the layers of intrigue. All fine and well I hear you say, but what's it about, you ponder. Well, a vampire and a boy walked into a bar...ok, not really.... but there really IS a vampire and there really IS a boy and this their story, one of dedicated and loyalty, one of vengeance and redemption, one of church and holiness, one of distant lands and slavery.
It all begins with the boy, Ben, who minds the ranch with his father, harbouring a repressed anger within him, anger at the loss of his mother, anger at the abrasiveness of his father, anger at being thought of a a youth. Never could he have imagined how much his life was about to change at the appearance of a bedraggled man and a murder of crows. The man in question is Callus, was himself wronged both by his tribe and by the Reverend Osset. He was experimented on, cursed with a dreadful fate, all for daring to love the Chief's daughter, oh and he was a half blood....The author did a superb job of keeping me on the fence, I wasn't sure what to make of Cal but the more I read, the more my heart cried out for all he'd been put through. The glorious part of this tale is the magnificent bond Cal and Crow establish, I loved the affection and the need they had for each other. With all these really phenomenal characters, the die was cast for me to collect them like prize trophies and admire. Their complexities are so well illustrated, the underlying truths so shattering.
As the pace picks up, more characters attatch themselves, the likes of Silk and Laz and Crave, almost as if the body of this story has giant tentacles, collecting vital participants, who band together with one common goal, to eliminate Osset, a man tainted with many wrongs. Easier said than done, Osset has gone to "the New Country" and our misfits end up in very dire circumstances but together, then apart, then together....one capture after another, one escape after another. Each time, a different piece of a much larger puzzle is exposed, and the stakes even higher. And golly gee, when the revelations start pounding at me, I almost got whiplash! My jaw opening and closing all on it's own accord... a far more neferious plot was unravelling, I was just at agog as Cal and Crow. I really enjoyed the friendships that formed, the camaraderie that followed, the loyalty that ensued and the unexpected. Laz was probably the most unexpected.... really cool! And then there's Silk, my goodness, HER I didn't expect, at all!!!!
It's not often a book can hook me quite as much as this one did, it's not often that I'm completely flummoxed at the events, it's not often that I'm left reeling from what played out but heaven help me, I'm reeling like a drunk! An incredible read? You betcha!
August 15, 2024
DB Rook is a teller of stories. To many a book must be perfect, its prose shined to perfection and every nuanced phrase buffed until there is no life left in it. To others, the story is all important and needs to grab hold of you and hook you in. This is what DB Rook has done with Callus & Crow—wrapping you in its tentacled pages while whispering in your ear. And those words drip with malice and love, redemption and pain as they take you on a journey constructed like no other. The vision of a post-apocalyptic world, riven with hate and misunderstanding and split by a sea beset with Lovecraftian monsters, is laid before you step by step. You learn as Crow learns, experience as the cursed Callus seeks redemption, and are drawn into a world where humans are the true monsters. Its genre belies description—a horror? A post-apocalyptic western fantasy? Or a steampunk homage to Lovecraft? All of these and more. Is it perfect? You will need to answer that, but it has an undeniable dark vitality that earns it my highest recommendation.
May 28, 2024
A cracking tale of cowboy vampires that scoops you up and takes you on a wild ride across an amazing landscape. This dark world and the characters within are expertly brought to life as they hurtle from one adventure to the next, all with a subtle underbelly you are never quite certain of.
It had me hooked after just a few pages and I must have rattled through it in less than a week. A great read you won't regret or forget.
It had me hooked after just a few pages and I must have rattled through it in less than a week. A great read you won't regret or forget.
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