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A review by theboldbookworm
Walk the Darkness Down by John Boden
5.0
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I have never read a western before let alone a weird horror western and I honestly wasn't sure if I would enjoy one, but this book was amazing!
Walk the Darkness Down is about four main characters, Levi, Keaton, Jones, and Jubal. Levi is a changed man and really puts the horror in horrific. Keaton is looking for a place to settle down. Jubal is an orphan whose mother died giving birth to his sisters. Jones is looking for the man who killed his mother so he can get revenge. The story is told in alternating chapters and some of the characters eventually meet up. There are things along the way for each of them that are terrible and heartbreaking. I don't want to go into very much detail about the plot because it's a slim volume, but it is gory and graphic and feels like all the detail of a full-length novel is packed into this novella.
The writing is absolutely beautiful and the first sentence grabbed me and never let go. There is a sentence on page 10 that reads, "The swelter of words, the boil and scald of them, were the only gift he'd ever been given." John Boden was definitely given the gift of words. His words were gently caressing me one moment and tearing my heart out the next. I am not a visual reader in that I don't see a book in my mind while I read so when things are described so well and in such great detail, it makes for an immersive reading experience for me. The book started out with a bang and so many things happened along the way. I was a little worried at the end that there wasn't enough time to finish well, but I think the book definitely had a good and well-rounded finish. I cannot even fathom how Boden fit everything that happened with such rich detail into a mere 153 pages. You will want to spend some time with this book reading some of the lines over and over again because that's how eloquent the writing is.
I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone who likes horror.
I have never read a western before let alone a weird horror western and I honestly wasn't sure if I would enjoy one, but this book was amazing!
Walk the Darkness Down is about four main characters, Levi, Keaton, Jones, and Jubal. Levi is a changed man and really puts the horror in horrific. Keaton is looking for a place to settle down. Jubal is an orphan whose mother died giving birth to his sisters. Jones is looking for the man who killed his mother so he can get revenge. The story is told in alternating chapters and some of the characters eventually meet up. There are things along the way for each of them that are terrible and heartbreaking. I don't want to go into very much detail about the plot because it's a slim volume, but it is gory and graphic and feels like all the detail of a full-length novel is packed into this novella.
The writing is absolutely beautiful and the first sentence grabbed me and never let go. There is a sentence on page 10 that reads, "The swelter of words, the boil and scald of them, were the only gift he'd ever been given." John Boden was definitely given the gift of words. His words were gently caressing me one moment and tearing my heart out the next. I am not a visual reader in that I don't see a book in my mind while I read so when things are described so well and in such great detail, it makes for an immersive reading experience for me. The book started out with a bang and so many things happened along the way. I was a little worried at the end that there wasn't enough time to finish well, but I think the book definitely had a good and well-rounded finish. I cannot even fathom how Boden fit everything that happened with such rich detail into a mere 153 pages. You will want to spend some time with this book reading some of the lines over and over again because that's how eloquent the writing is.
I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone who likes horror.