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itcamefromthepage's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Received as an ARC from Netgalley:
I feel so bad that it took me sooo long to read this book, as I loved it. This is a great horror western with a sapphic romance at its center and a deep understanding who were the TRUE villains of the old west (colonialism).
Great action, great characters, and some genuinely creepy sequence. I knew where this book was going by the second chapter, but the ride was worth going on nonetheless.
I feel so bad that it took me sooo long to read this book, as I loved it. This is a great horror western with a sapphic romance at its center and a deep understanding who were the TRUE villains of the old west (colonialism).
Great action, great characters, and some genuinely creepy sequence. I knew where this book was going by the second chapter, but the ride was worth going on nonetheless.
almalifsteina's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
libraryofalibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
raincorbyn's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
calebstephensauthor's review
4.0
I go to horror westerns for camp, good fun, and plenty of gore, all three of which this novella by Zach Rosenberg had in spades.
Hungers as Old as This Land freshens up the western trope with two tough-as-nails female leads in Esther Foxman and Siobhan O'Clery. Though the going isn't always easy for them, they back down from no one, and always have each other's back. I particularly enjoyed the Jewish culture and horror woven throughout (something I haven't seen before in a Western) -- ending with a bang in the mountains beyond Grey Bluffs.
Hungers packs plenty of action, humor, and heart. If you like horror westerns you'll dig this one.
Hungers as Old as This Land freshens up the western trope with two tough-as-nails female leads in Esther Foxman and Siobhan O'Clery. Though the going isn't always easy for them, they back down from no one, and always have each other's back. I particularly enjoyed the Jewish culture and horror woven throughout (something I haven't seen before in a Western) -- ending with a bang in the mountains beyond Grey Bluffs.
Hungers packs plenty of action, humor, and heart. If you like horror westerns you'll dig this one.
caitlina's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
nelli_lakatos's review
1.0
DNF’d at 80%
The premise of the book sounded amazing, lesbian western horror with terrifying creatures.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the story at all, even though this was just a novella I couldn’t finish it, it felt so long and boring.
I really wanted to love this but unfortunately I didn’t enjoyed it.
Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.
The premise of the book sounded amazing, lesbian western horror with terrifying creatures.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the story at all, even though this was just a novella I couldn’t finish it, it felt so long and boring.
I really wanted to love this but unfortunately I didn’t enjoyed it.
Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.
cat_adams's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I liked the premise and the fast pacing.
The rest was underwhelming. The relationship had no tension, the villain was cartoonish, and the ending was entirely predictable.
The rest was underwhelming. The relationship had no tension, the villain was cartoonish, and the ending was entirely predictable.
knightressx's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley Zachary Rosenberg and Brigid Gate Press for providing me this intriguing eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Novels/Novellas with a Western theme are not normally my cup of tea. But once I read the summary of Hungers as Old as This Land, I was definitely intrigued. How could a horror fan resist a story with fascinating characters and a sacred deal with unearthly creatures?
Esther Foxman and Siobhan O’Clery as fascinating women, with Esther being immensely relatable to me due to sharing and understanding the difficulties and complexities of two different racial/cultural/religious backgrounds.
The antagonist Cyril Redstone and his benefactor are more typical in being driven by greed, but are not over-the-top caricatures despite their villainy. I wish we had been given more time with some of the characters with smaller roles-such as Esther’s father-and more time with the settlers of Grey’s Bluffs before things went awry.
But I can understand the desire to balance the story and characters without possibly dragging things out unnecessarily. The Hungers themselves are also fascinating and ravenous beings, capable of both horrifying violence and intelligent reasoning.
Hungers as Old as This Land is an excellent story with the horrors caused by men and monsters balanced by the sweet moments of romance between Esther and Siobhan, the love between Esther and her father and the friendship between the women and the unintentional cause of the trouble within Grey’s Bluff.
The novel doesn’t shy away from the racism and anti-Semitism that Esther faces and it also doesn’t revel in either for unnecessary shock value. Esther and Siobhan’s relationship isn’t portrayed explicitly to tantalize, but rather displays a tenderness and strength that is engaging.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hungers as Old as This Land and would recommend it to others.
Novels/Novellas with a Western theme are not normally my cup of tea. But once I read the summary of Hungers as Old as This Land, I was definitely intrigued. How could a horror fan resist a story with fascinating characters and a sacred deal with unearthly creatures?
Esther Foxman and Siobhan O’Clery as fascinating women, with Esther being immensely relatable to me due to sharing and understanding the difficulties and complexities of two different racial/cultural/religious backgrounds.
The antagonist Cyril Redstone and his benefactor are more typical in being driven by greed, but are not over-the-top caricatures despite their villainy. I wish we had been given more time with some of the characters with smaller roles-such as Esther’s father-and more time with the settlers of Grey’s Bluffs before things went awry.
But I can understand the desire to balance the story and characters without possibly dragging things out unnecessarily. The Hungers themselves are also fascinating and ravenous beings, capable of both horrifying violence and intelligent reasoning.
Hungers as Old as This Land is an excellent story with the horrors caused by men and monsters balanced by the sweet moments of romance between Esther and Siobhan, the love between Esther and her father and the friendship between the women and the unintentional cause of the trouble within Grey’s Bluff.
The novel doesn’t shy away from the racism and anti-Semitism that Esther faces and it also doesn’t revel in either for unnecessary shock value. Esther and Siobhan’s relationship isn’t portrayed explicitly to tantalize, but rather displays a tenderness and strength that is engaging.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hungers as Old as This Land and would recommend it to others.
enchantressreads's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Dirty business was what America was all about. It was a lesson as old as this nation, built upon lead and gun smoke: hunger drove everything.
I’ve always said I will read anything: I have loved mysteries, romance, historical fiction, nonfiction… but I was never interested in westerns. Thanks to the horror community, and especially Hungers as Old as This Land, I think I’ve changed my mind.
Esther Foxman and Siobhan O’Clery are just two of the people in Abraham Foxman’s settlement near The Hungers. It’s a thriving settlement filled with a diverse population. Everything works this way because Abraham made a pact with the creatures of The Hungers. They watch over Grey’s Bluffs for offerings in return.
This is my first story by Zachary Rosenberg, and his writing blew me away. This is a shorter book, only 100 pages or so, but the way he wrote it made it feel much longer, in a good way. It was very theatrical, and even with sparse descriptions of the creatures, I was able to fill in the blanks myself, and that made it even scarier.
Something I really enjoyed was that there was almost a philosophical statement about monstrosity: are the creatures the monsters, or are humans? For such a short book, there was a lot to ponder over at the end.
I’m writing this review months after finishing this book, and while I don’t remember everything still, I do remember how I felt reading it. It really was a pleasure. And it was queer as hell, which I definitely appreciated. Esther and Siobhan were goals.
Thank you to NetGalley and Birgids Gate Press for the chance to read this advanced review copy.
CW: violence, blood, death, gore, racism, gun violence, war, xenophobia, homophobia, death of parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, War, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia