How the West Was Weird: 9 Tales from the Weird, Wild West

Although one of the stories is futuristic and set in space instead of the historical Wild West, the environment is still not unlike the old west (it does deal with rustlers). Most of these stories are set in the old west and are at least marginally in the western genre. However, each has something more, whether a paranormal twist (vampires and zombies make appearances) or a supernatural element of some kind. None of them is going to be mistaken for Zane Grey.Although it has been several decades since I last read something in the Western genre and many would claim the genre is dead (despite John Locke's "Emmett Love" Western series proving there is a market among Kindle readers), I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. As you can expect with an anthology, some of the stories resonated more than others, but the strange genre blending was weird in a way I liked. If you like westerns or paranormal, taking a walk on the weird side should feed your normal craving while adding a little of that spice that some call variety.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

This is a collection of short stories that combines the supernatural with the spirit of the west in a superlative selection of strangeness. The tales within contain everything from zombies to Lovecraftian demons along with a few aliens thrown in for good measure; so you are certain to find a story that will satisfy your paranormal predilection.As with any compilation, the transition between writing styles of different authors can affect the overall enjoyment of the book. I found the majority of the stories to be well executed and entertaining, particularly the action-packed "Wyrm Over Diablo" as well as "Of All the Plagues a Lover Bears" because I am a sucker for anything related to zombies, but I did struggle to finish a few. Although some stories are better than others, overall HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD manages to successfully unite the traditional western with a bit of weird.

The stories in this book are great experiments with the story types and styles of the old pulps and horror comics of the 1920-1960s. If you love westerns, horror and the weird or are looking for a starting point, this book is a pretty good entry point.

Entertaining and worth the price. Some really good stories, a couple that were pretty weak, but most I would rate "solid but not remarkable".

Good condition,Great read.

NICE ITEM

There have been those critics who have been lamenting the supposed death of the "short story" in American literature. I would argue their alarm is a bit premature, as lately short pulp fiction (i.e. popular fiction of all genres) has not only been surviving quite well, but with books like this one, actual been getting strong. Gathered here are nine fun, extremely well written tales of the Wild West, all with a touch of the macabre. Some are better than others, but the fun of any anthology is that very potential inherent in multiple writers and their varied offering."Camazotz" by Josh Reynolds suffers a fatal flaw in that it's too short and one wonders why it was even included. It's a nifty idea of a cowboy trying to get out of Mexico with an Aztec mummy. Unfortunately no sooner does it get going then it's over. Makes me wish the editor would have pestered Reynolds to expand it to a more satisfying length."Wyrm Over Diablo" by Joel Jenkins features a colorful pair of heroes that were so much fun to see in action, I'm hoping he had plans to use them again in the future. This was a non-stop action piece pitting a Native American gunfighter against a Cthulhu type monster that was thrilling stuff."Don Cuevo's Curative" by Thomas Deja is my favorite. Deja's tale of a spooky, thoughtful exorcist who is hired by a town to save a young possessed farm boy was skillfully laid out with intriguing, sympathetic characters. Deja's style is laconic in that it doesn't rush the story, pacing it carefully to a very rewarding finale. He's a writer worth watching."The Town With No Name," by Mike McGee is a comedic entry that never takes itself seriously. An emotional scarred outlaw is recruited to be the sacrificial lamb to the Devil on behalf of a dusty town of lost souls. How he accepts his role in their grand scheme and confronts Lucifer is reminiscent of the finer O'Henry tales."Sins Of The Past," by Barry Reese features a 2oth Century masked avenger traveling back into time to put to rest a trouble spirit that is the cause behind a genuine "ghost town.""You Need To Know What's Coming," by Ian Mileham is easily the most frightening story in the collection, with a really creepy ending."Of All The Plague A Lover Bears," by Derrick Ferguson not only has the most original title, it also presents the pulpiest tale in which a mystic gunslinger is hired to clean out a town full of flesh-eating zombies. This is the kind of gem I read anthologies for.The book has two remaining stories, but quite honestly, neither belongs here. One features asteroid miners in space and the other about a small town handy man who meets the Devil on Halloween eve. They are both well written and enjoyable, but I take umbrage that when you set a theme for an anthology, stick to it. Just because the space cowboy wears a Stetson does not make it a "western". Likewise the other tale, whose setting has no distinctiveness, could easily have taken place in the woods of Maine. Which is why I cry foul. Neither of these is a real "western."That said, HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, is a grand collection that is extremely entertaining and worth your support. In fact, I'm hoping it does well enough to warrant another volume. This are too much fun to end with just one outing.

Weird is the word for this. The combination of genres is bound to bear strange fruit, but these stories are also muddled as to tone, style, and mechanical aptitude. I can't pull out one above the others; they are all almost-not-quite good enough. At least they're not tongue-in-cheek. There are quite enough spoofs out there. There's a degree of sincerity and dark moodiness here that appeals, but is too-often broken by inappropriate attempts at humor, or twists that don't really work. Whether or not you enjoy this will depend on your tolerance for demi-pro writing, and how hard up you are for the subgenre. There's a fair quantity of words here for the price.

Weird Western, a sub-genre within the phylum fantasy, dealing with horror, science-fiction, fantasy, supernatural, and everything else, juxtaposed onto and enmeshed with the landscape of the once wild American West, had caught me in its vicelike grip ever since I encountered the special Avatar of Jonah Hex created by Lansdale. However, unlike Lansdale, who can spin a yarn out of practically anything, and then can infuse it with a humour that’s side-splitting and pathos that’s stunning, most of the practitioners of that sub-genre featured in this collection had decided to play it safe, restricting themselves to horror, and very rarely to science-fiction.The menu thrown to you by the barkeep mentions:1. “Camazotz” by Joshua Reynolds: A grim, relentless, suspenseful horror story, which would keep you on your toes till the end, and then end abruptly! Can we expect a sequel? Or, (gulp!) can we truly expect a novel arising out of this tapestry that was hinted at?2. “Wyrm over Diablo” by Joel Jenkins: A “Lone Crow” story that fittingly combines a lot of elements, shuffles & cuts them at a furious pace, and then allows us relish the ending.3. “Space Miners” by Ian Taylor: This story was special, and stands tall by virtue of being the only sci-fi story that entirely dispenses with the American West, replacing it with wilderness along the final frontier, and filling it up with an adventure, with some black humour as well.4. “Don Cuevo’s Curative” by Thomas Deja: The BEST story of this collection, with a depth that’s surprising, and deft handling of horror, humour and pathos, which is indeed a rarity.5. “The Town with No Name” by Mike McGee: What a waste! The author had created a beautiful setting where the reader can pleasurably expect to be fascinated by all the nasty things can happen to nastier persons, in the tradition of the late great Robert Bloch, but then the whole thing was reduced to an idiotic nothing.6. “Sins of The Past” by Barry Reese: A brilliant ghost story that seeks to exorcise some of the worst ghosts of the racist past & present through action and atmosphere, this one should be savoured.7. “You Need To Know What’s Coming” by Ian Mileham: Another SOLID story, which unfolds at a furious pace, mixing atmosphere, characterisation, horror, action, and possibilities of more horror together brilliantly.8. “Of All the Plagues a Lover Bears” by Derrick Ferguson: SUPERLATIVE! That’s all that I can say about this one. And yes, I would be definitely searching for more stories dealing with our protagonist, i.e. Sebastian Red.9. “Out South of Borachon Creek” by Bill Kte’pi: Utter crap, and should be avoided like poison, if you wish to retain the otherwise pleasant taste & aroma of this book.Overall, out of the nine stories in this book, at least four are really-really good, while 3 are definitely readable with some re-read value. One is rubbish, and one deserves a beating. But if you treat them as the town-idiot and the town-redneck respectively, even then this is one place where you would be able to find a bit to eat, some music to fill the watering hole, and a warm bed, definitely.Welcome to this town of the weird west, then.

Having read some Derrick Ferguson and wanting to read some Thomas Deja I purchased this collection. I thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact this is the short story collection I have enjoyed the most. Some are stronger than others as is always the case but a romping good read. Some I wanted to read more of and others I want to see on the screen! Highly recommended and I will be reading volumes 2, 3 and campfire tales!