Clay Carmody is a prospector with a shady past who realizes he’s in for trouble when he is about to stake a claim with one of his friends. A curse is loose in the canyon where he has set his sights on. People are murdering each other or killing themselves, snakes have infested the privies in alarming numbers, and the canyon itself has eyes in the darkness that ward off any who dare approach it. There is a malevolent demon at work here and to survive, Carmody must rely on his wits and the help of a sexy female sheriff, a schoolteacher whose past is tied to the curse, and a mysterious medicine man.
This book came in an omnibus entitled The Weird West Double (brought to us by Wolfpack Publishing) and is couple with another weird western novel Dust of Death. This is an exciting story with a neat balance of gunslinging action, frontier adventure, and supernatural horror. Brandvold is an experienced hand when it comes to creating rugged, yet likeable western heroes such as Yakima Henry and Lou Prophet, and he handles the characterization of Carmody with a believable touch.
The supernatural elements of the story aren’t over the top. Every aspect in has a purpose and he doesn’t overexplain, which is a hard temptation to resist. We don’t know everything about the evil entity, and we don’t really need to know; Brandvold allows this to be mysterious. What also drew me in was the chemistry between Carmody and Claudine Bridger, the local sheriff, whose only reason for sticking around this part of the countryside is to solve her father’s murder. You come to root for both of them and hope they come out of this story alive.
Overall, this is a great book, not just for horror fans but also for people who love westerns of a spicier flavor than they usually encounter. I plan on tackling Dust of Death sometime in the near future as well as the sequel to Canyon of a Thousand Eyes, Night of the Ghost Cat, which is only available as an eBook at this point. I like Brandvold's work and will read more in the future.
Written by Nick Montelongo
This book came in an omnibus entitled The Weird West Double (brought to us by Wolfpack Publishing) and is couple with another weird western novel Dust of Death. This is an exciting story with a neat balance of gunslinging action, frontier adventure, and supernatural horror. Brandvold is an experienced hand when it comes to creating rugged, yet likeable western heroes such as Yakima Henry and Lou Prophet, and he handles the characterization of Carmody with a believable touch.The supernatural elements of the story aren’t over the top. Every aspect in has a purpose and he doesn’t overexplain, which is a hard temptation to resist. We don’t know everything about the evil entity, and we don’t really need to know; Brandvold allows this to be mysterious. What also drew me in was the chemistry between Carmody and Claudine Bridger, the local sheriff, whose only reason for sticking around this part of the countryside is to solve her father’s murder. You come to root for both of them and hope they come out of this story alive.
Overall, this is a great book, not just for horror fans but also for people who love westerns of a spicier flavor than they usually encounter. I plan on tackling Dust of Death sometime in the near future as well as the sequel to Canyon of a Thousand Eyes, Night of the Ghost Cat, which is only available as an eBook at this point. I like Brandvold's work and will read more in the future.
Written by Nick Montelongo
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