Six Guns Straight from Hell

by Jennifer Campbell-Hicks, Laura Givens (Editor)

Vampires robbing banks; a Werewolf Sheriff; Newfangled electric Zombies; Alchemists enslaving vampires; Ghosts posing for portraits. The west was never this wild. Saddle up for an adventure through a collection of horror and dark fantasy tales that will keep you turning the pages, though you might keep one eye peeled for any severed heads that might be rolling your way. Featuring stories Bill D. Allen , Sherri Dean, Matthew Baugh, Bill Craig, Lyn McConchie, John Howard, David Boop, David Lee Summers, Renee James, Don Hornbostel, Kit Volker, Sam Kepfield, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Lee Clark Zumpe, Carol Hightshoe, Joel Jenkins, Henrik Ramsager, Jennifer Campbell-Hicks and James Patrick Cobb.

Genres: Weird West, Horror, Ebooks, Short Stories, Anthologies

284 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2010

Reviews

[Dan Fitzimons · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's been passing for weird westerns these days is mostly ultra dark fiction that isn't much fun to read. Well, David B. Riley & Laura Givens have put the fun back in the weird western genre. This a truly outstanding collection of horror and dark fantasy tales from the weird weird west. My personal favorite was "Long Night in Little China," about a Native American gunsfighter who's in one hell of a gunfight in San Francisco's Chinatown by Joel Jenkins.

Also worth mentioning is Laura Given's cover is awesome. Whatever happened to the days when horror books all had those black covers?

Anybody who like horror or dark fantasy should enjoy this book. Weird western fans should order now, right now.

[John Henery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories set in the old west but with a horror twist. My favorite story in the collection is Long Night in Little China. If your a fan of short stories and the old west then it's a must read.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Laura Givens shines with her short story in this fun anthology. You have to hand it to David B. Riley for his unique selections with this one.

[Michael Fierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Guns Straight from Hell: Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy from the Weird Weird West is a very good Weird Western collection.

I enjoyed all of the stories, rating the majority of them about 3½ stars of fine entertainment. A few were better than some. Here is a short breakdown of my favorites:

Chin Song Ping and the Fifty-Three Thieves - Laura Givens (3½/5). This story revolves around Laura Givens' recurring character, Chin Song Ping, who I first read about in Chin Song Ping and the Dragon Merchants printed in Tales of the Talisman volume 7, Issue 4. I've been meaning to purchase more stories set in this world and with this character as I enjoyed my first introduction quite a bit. Chin Song Ping is a Chinese drifter in the American West. After a succession of bad career moves as an acrobat, gambler, railroad worker, etc., he stumbles into -as he always seems to- a plot ripe with an evil villain. As the title suggests, he finds a cave à la Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. And soon, the treasure. But, before he secures his gold & jewels he investigates noise coming from the farther side of the cave and...well, you'll just have to read it. It's like a cross between Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and the Fu-Manchu stories by Sax Rohmer , as if starring Jackie Chan as Chin Song Ping. Pulpy fun!

On the Road to Bodie - Lyn McConchie (5/5). Lyn McConchie is another author I'm already familiar with, having read her story, I Shall Do Nothing in Tales of the Talisman, Volume 8, Issue 4 . I remember liking it but, not as much as this one. I wasn't all that engaged in this one at first, but as I kept reading the story got better and better and found myself fully immersed a few pages in. After the death of Manny McGovern, Mexican widow, Maria, and her 13 year old half white half Mexican daughter, Ines, find themselves living a hard life working day and night with nearly no gains to secure a prosperous future. Separated from each other, the mother works for a laundromat while daughter, Maria, works on a ranch. The ranch owner is ok but his foreman, John Garton, is a vile, unkempt, disgusting piece of man, who wants to marry young Maria. She wants nothing to do with him. This leads her to try and escape this life, with hope tied around her and her mother finding a lost landholding deed. And maybe a Native American Indian medallion? Where this leads is pretty interesting. I was touched by the end. And now eager to seek out more stories by this wonderful author. *And to think this story was first rejected from inclusion in an earlier published Weird Western anthology, is just baffling!

Lone Night in Little China - Joel Jenkins (5/5). I've been meaning to read something by Joel Jenkins for some time now. His name is attached to a lot of books I'm interested in reading by one of my other fave authors, Joshua Reynolds (author of The Whitechapel Demon). I guess they're best buds! He's known for pulp-style Weird Westerns, Adventures, Horror and Sci-Fi stories. Lone Night in Little China is about Native American Indian warrior, Lone Crow, and his adventure in an old town in San Francisco. It starts right off with him saving a young highborn Chinese woman, Jing-Wei Hsein, from violent, Chinese gunmen. But there is something more to her and her story than meets the eye. Soon, they are maddeningly pursued by, not only the gunmen, but something far worse. For fans of Weird Westerns this is a must read. For fans of Pulp Adventures, you will be very happy to come by this. Crow is an amazing character. Joel is a fantastic writer. I am now immediately obsessed with reading more by him, and most certainly, more stories of Lone Crow. My favorite story in this collection!

Snake Oil - Jennifer Campbell-Hicks (4½/5). This is about two brothers, the younger of which, is infatuated with dirigibles. That's airships for you less aviator-accustomed varmints. When a dirigible with huge blood-red letters emblazoned with Rattlesnake King on the side appears in his homely Western town, he, even more-so than the rest of the interested town-folk, jumps at the chance to see it up close, ignoring his chores, despite his stern fathers wishes, and makes his way to the top of a barrel to see it in all it's sky-born glory. That is, until he gets bumped off by the son of the most despicable family in town. His older brother saves him from further dread and dismay. But soon after, Clark Stanley the "Rattlesnake King", announces his cure-all elixir, the town goes crazy to get some, and when night falls, the snake shi† hits the fan, and it is up to the youngest brother to save the day. Or, rather, save everybody for the day. Or not. Almost YA-ish but with a dark slant, and alotta fun. *And a special note to say I think it is SO awesome that author Jennifer Campbell-Hicks created this story using real life amateur medicine man, Clark Stanley, as inspiration. That is my kind of story!

The Murders Over In Weirdunkal - James Patrick Cobb (4/5). Strange serial killer-like murders take place in the town of Weirdunkal and it's up to Sheriff Joe Conroy to investigate and apprehend or kill the murderer. Turns out it's not the kind of man you'd expect to be doing these murders. Or any kind of man at all, maybe. As strange as this story was, I liked it quite a bit. The most original story of the bunch, for sure. I laugh at the reviewer that made a point of not liking this one! You either gotta love it or hate it. I'm of the former.

Overall, a really good anthology with some gold nuggets to be found within.

*Recommended!

**And if you like Weird Western anthologies, I further recommend, Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West edited by John Joseph Adams & A Fistful of Horrors: Tales of Terror from the Old West edited by Kevin G. Bufton.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a shaky-armed sheriff with a six-shooter, you'll get some hits and misses with these stories. None are dead-center shots, but some are close, and none are complete misfires (well, maybe the one about the killer cactus monster).

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars

Chin Song Ping and the Fifty-Three Thieves by Laura Givens ****
Clay Allison and the Haunted Head by Bill D. Allen **
Decently and Quietly Dead by Matthew Baugh ***
Trouble Huntin’ by Bill Craig ***
On the Road to Bodie by Lyn McConchie ****
Spook by John Howard ***
Bleeding the Bank by David Boop ****
A Specter in the Light by David Lee Summers ****
As Ye Sow by Renee James ****
Night Bird by Don Hornbostel ****
Smile by Kit Volker ****
Ghost Dancers by Sam Kepfield ****
Justice by Nicole Givens Kurtz ***
the Man From Turkey Creek Canyon by Lee Clark Zumpe **
The Last Defenders by Carol Hightshoe**
Long Night in Little China by Joel Jenkins **
the Enterprising Necromancer by Henrik Ramsager ****
Snake Oil by Jennifer Campbell-Hicks ****
the Murders Over in Weirdunkal by James Patrick Cobb **
Grumpy Gaines, Texas Ranger by David B. Riley ***

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm one of the contributors to this book, but I finally had a chance to read it cover-to-cover and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories. Basically this is a collection of horror and dark fantasy stories set in the wild west. Some stories have a distinctly steampunk tone while others have a darker and grittier character. There are stories featuring vampires, zombies, Chinese monsters, and even that old trickster himself, Coyote. My only real criticism is that the book could have used a little stronger hand with the copy editing. However, the story selection was first rate and I know the editors worked with the authors to make the stories themselves shine.

[Elayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I persvered with this book of short supertnatural tales simply because I don't like to give up once I've started, plus I was hoping it would get better, alas it never did and some of the tales were downright ridiculous....A killer "cactus"?...come on!!!
I got this as a freebie on Amazon and am I glad I didn't "buy" it!

[William Fuentes · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay.