A review by zraitor
The Ravine by M. Wayne Miller, William Meikle

4.0

A fast and easy read that follows three groups, a Calvary Officer and his men who get stuck in another realm after strange weather, a rancher and his family who find a strange body of water with even stranger fish in it, and a saloon worker who has to deal with with the trouble that comes to his town. They all come together eventually, but that takes quite a while.

The characters are barely more than stereotypes, and the focus is on the action and the battle between good and evil that rages on here. Despite being about Heaven and Hell, there is a thread of cosmic horror in the background. And, of course, plenty of gross body horror right in your face.

Later on, it gets a bit repetitive with the characters saying some variation of 'I will serve,' and the singing/playing music to push back the evil was ridiculous to imagine in my mind. This all leads to a rushed ending but honestly, there was no realistic way for this ragtag group to defeat the evil at the end, so it just kind of... happens.

Something about horror and westerns always mixes so well, and I thought this was enjoyable. An unsatisfying ending, perhaps, but it was a fun ride getting there.