Rezension zu "West of Hell: Weird Western Horror Stories (Dark Tide Mysteries and Thrillers, Band 2)" von James A. Moore
misspiderSince its first announcement, I have eagerly awaited the arrival of the second Dark Tide installment, presenting three concoctions of western horror, which is one of my favorite sub-genres.
The first story, 'Dead Men', had a mysterious aura about it and while I found the appearing ghost dancers and especially the skinwalker very fascinating, I couldn't shake the feeling I was missing out on some background story. Only afterwards did I realize that there is a whole series of books featuring the story's main character, and I wonder if I could have enjoyed the story more if I had read those before.
The second story, 'The Trickster of Paradise' by R.B. Wood, was my favorite story in this book. In addition to the strong coming-of-age vibe it gave off, it had such a fantastic twisted ending. Loved it!
The third story, 'Last sunset of a dying age' by Michael Burke, took some time to get into and get familiar with the odd but likeable characters. But then it became a real page-turner with lots of action.
One thing I appreciate about the Dark Tide series is that it is not an anthology of numerous short stories, which always feels somewhat hectic and exhausting to me if not read bit by bit. But with the novella format you can really get into each of the stories and its characters. Now I am really looking forward to part three 'October's End', which is perfectly timed for the season.