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A review by the_novel_approach
Once Upon a Time in the Weird West by Andrew Q. Gordon, Venona Keyes, Tali Spencer, Lex Chase, Astrid Amara, Jana Denardo, C.S. Poe, Nicole Kimberling, Kim Fielding, Langley Hyde, Jamie Fessenden, Shira Anthony, Tricia Kristufek, Ginn Hale
5.0
4.5 Stars ~ Weird West, indeed! I enjoyed this book so much, you guys. Once Upon a Time in the Weird West is a collection of thirteen short stories which were all based on the same prompt, “Once upon a time in the weird west…” With a couple of exceptions, the prompt was awesomely brought to life. These stories capture the west in cool, strange, and extremely imaginative ways. I did have the usual thoughts one might have going into an anthology…wondering which would be the strongest stories…if there would be any that didn’t work for me…But, I’m happy to report that, at least on some level, all the stories worked for me. In fact, I didn’t want the book to end.
Astrid Amara starts things off with a bang with her reimagining of the Grim Reaper in the fantastic Reaper’s Ride. Johnny has no idea what is going on with the handsome, mysterious Sye Fairchild, whom he sees every evening at the Pony Express outpost he is stuck at for a week. His reaction when he first considers the truth is fantastic:
‘Of course, the idea that Sye was some sort of grim reaper was absurd. The reaper was a mythical character. And if he were real, he wouldn’t be some dashing young American blond with cowboy boots and dimples when he smiled.’
I loved where Amara took the story, and Sye and Johnny’s relationship. And, there was some fabulously cool and spooky imagery. Reaper’s Ride was one of my favorites for sure.
The next group of stories had diverse and likeable characters, as well as interesting premises. Shira Anthony’s Wild, Wild Heart was pretty straightforward steampunk. Al is a clockwork tinkerer who has taken in Cyrus, a wounded outlaw. Al and Cyrus were sweet and I enjoyed the writing; but, aside from the brief inclusion/mention of ‘outlaws’, it didn’t necessarily scream Western. Lex Chase’s story, Dr. Ezekiel Crumb’s Heavenly Soul Purifying Elixir, on the other hand, did have a great Western feel. I loved the medicine show premise. Levi was pretty damn sexy. And, I liked the epilogue a lot. Then we had Corpse Powder—which gave us Dr. Isaac Adler, a Jewish doctor trying to find his way in post-Civil War Nevada, and Tsela, the Navajo first mate of the privateer airship, Aurora. Isaac and Tsela go through some intense, airborne battles together! I definitely loved the diversity of this one, as well as the romance and drama.
After the excitement of emergency heart repairs, deadly sandstorms, and fighting pirates, things slow down a bit in both Jamie Fessenden’s The Sheriff of Para Siempre and Kim Fielding’s The Tale of August Hayling. Both of these stories touched me in different ways, and had unexpected twists. I really liked Joe’s voice in Jamie Fessenden’s story. It was very authentic, and lent it that perfect, personal edge. Joe and Billy’s love jumped off the page. They just wanted to live their lives in peace. Together. But, here come the asshole Cassidy brothers. *heavy sigh* The ‘weird’ in this one actually snuck up on me. I kept wondering when it was going to get weird. And then boy, did it. The Tale of August Hayling was touching and sweet. And, I adoooored August. This one was a little tougher for me to get into, initially, for some reason—I think I just didn’t connect with George—but, I completely dug the ending.
Time Zone by Andrew Q. Gordon was sort of the odd man out for me here. In terms of storyline and characters, I liked it. It had a lot of good moments, and I liked the dynamic between Lothar and Wesley. The idea behind the story was a good one. BUT—there were no Western elements at all. This was modern day San Diego. I’m just not sure how it fit into the anthology.
Things get right back on the Western track with Ginn Hale’s Get Lucky. This was, for me, one of the best stories in the group. And, one of the weirdest! Which is absolutely a compliment.
Astrid Amara starts things off with a bang with her reimagining of the Grim Reaper in the fantastic Reaper’s Ride. Johnny has no idea what is going on with the handsome, mysterious Sye Fairchild, whom he sees every evening at the Pony Express outpost he is stuck at for a week. His reaction when he first considers the truth is fantastic:
‘Of course, the idea that Sye was some sort of grim reaper was absurd. The reaper was a mythical character. And if he were real, he wouldn’t be some dashing young American blond with cowboy boots and dimples when he smiled.’
I loved where Amara took the story, and Sye and Johnny’s relationship. And, there was some fabulously cool and spooky imagery. Reaper’s Ride was one of my favorites for sure.
The next group of stories had diverse and likeable characters, as well as interesting premises. Shira Anthony’s Wild, Wild Heart was pretty straightforward steampunk. Al is a clockwork tinkerer who has taken in Cyrus, a wounded outlaw. Al and Cyrus were sweet and I enjoyed the writing; but, aside from the brief inclusion/mention of ‘outlaws’, it didn’t necessarily scream Western. Lex Chase’s story, Dr. Ezekiel Crumb’s Heavenly Soul Purifying Elixir, on the other hand, did have a great Western feel. I loved the medicine show premise. Levi was pretty damn sexy. And, I liked the epilogue a lot. Then we had Corpse Powder—which gave us Dr. Isaac Adler, a Jewish doctor trying to find his way in post-Civil War Nevada, and Tsela, the Navajo first mate of the privateer airship, Aurora. Isaac and Tsela go through some intense, airborne battles together! I definitely loved the diversity of this one, as well as the romance and drama.
After the excitement of emergency heart repairs, deadly sandstorms, and fighting pirates, things slow down a bit in both Jamie Fessenden’s The Sheriff of Para Siempre and Kim Fielding’s The Tale of August Hayling. Both of these stories touched me in different ways, and had unexpected twists. I really liked Joe’s voice in Jamie Fessenden’s story. It was very authentic, and lent it that perfect, personal edge. Joe and Billy’s love jumped off the page. They just wanted to live their lives in peace. Together. But, here come the asshole Cassidy brothers. *heavy sigh* The ‘weird’ in this one actually snuck up on me. I kept wondering when it was going to get weird. And then boy, did it. The Tale of August Hayling was touching and sweet. And, I adoooored August. This one was a little tougher for me to get into, initially, for some reason—I think I just didn’t connect with George—but, I completely dug the ending.
Time Zone by Andrew Q. Gordon was sort of the odd man out for me here. In terms of storyline and characters, I liked it. It had a lot of good moments, and I liked the dynamic between Lothar and Wesley. The idea behind the story was a good one. BUT—there were no Western elements at all. This was modern day San Diego. I’m just not sure how it fit into the anthology.
Things get right back on the Western track with Ginn Hale’s Get Lucky. This was, for me, one of the best stories in the group. And, one of the weirdest! Which is absolutely a compliment.