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A review by motherhorror
Walk The Darkness Down by John Boden
5.0
Oh you authors of dark, disturbing things how I love when you write weird, Western crossovers.
This story is 154 pages long but it still took me 4 days to finish because this thing is narrated to the hilt. Boden's language here is rich and sticky--almost chewy--the words lifted off the page and my mind was not content to let them filter through like sand...it wanted to really meditate on the descriptions, the dialog, the phrases, and sayings.
I didn't want to miss anything by reading too fast. In fact, my copy has a personal warning from the author that reads,
"Sadie,
Walk it Slowly..."
So I did. I took my time with it. Each chapter follows any of the protagonists: Jones, Keaton, Jubal, or a combination of those three.
Or it follows our antagonist: Levi.
Never before have you read a villain like this. Truly, I had to steel myself for his chapters. Every time I saw a heading with his name, I would take a deep breath.
Levi travels through a western landscape of small, isolated towns (with familiar names like, Lansdale or Lut's Key) leaving a wake of destruction and death.
Jones is on the hunt for the man who killed his mother. He's angry and prickly but finds himself at the home of someone who's friendship is irresistible.
Keaton is a loner who stumbles upon a depressing scene and ends up with a young traveling companion named, Jubal. Strangely enough, Jubal carries with him something alive in a little, make-shift sling.
It seems like all these wanderers are destined to cross paths at some point.
(which had a very "all things serve the beam" feel to me that I immediately grabbed ahold of and cherished. We constant readers are no stranger to destiny and fate.
We also know about thinnies- a weak spot where the fabric between worlds/realities have worn thin...and I'm not saying there is a thinny in this book or any doors to alternate universes where monsters live--but I am saying that)
I am also saying that something outside our modern understanding of things is being threatened in John Boden's western-like universe and I am saying that our three(ish) protagonists might have to come up against it.
Does all of this sound super epic and wild and outlandish to you? Because it is.
A rare opportunity for readers to fall in love with unlikely heroes engaging in an epic battle against the most formidable enemies you've ever read; both human and cosmic. I promise that once you start reading Boden's work, you'll become a junkie for it; craving his unique brand of horror that no other author can deliver. It's Boden or nobody.
Lastly, my hope is that there is more from John Boden's universe.
I would LOVE to have a series here and if not a series than just a connected universe because I will not quickly forget my time in this novella and I sure hope I can revisit my new friends.
This is a must-have if you found my recommendation intriguing.
This story is 154 pages long but it still took me 4 days to finish because this thing is narrated to the hilt. Boden's language here is rich and sticky--almost chewy--the words lifted off the page and my mind was not content to let them filter through like sand...it wanted to really meditate on the descriptions, the dialog, the phrases, and sayings.
I didn't want to miss anything by reading too fast. In fact, my copy has a personal warning from the author that reads,
"Sadie,
Walk it Slowly..."
So I did. I took my time with it. Each chapter follows any of the protagonists: Jones, Keaton, Jubal, or a combination of those three.
Or it follows our antagonist: Levi.
Never before have you read a villain like this. Truly, I had to steel myself for his chapters. Every time I saw a heading with his name, I would take a deep breath.
Levi travels through a western landscape of small, isolated towns (with familiar names like, Lansdale or Lut's Key) leaving a wake of destruction and death.
Jones is on the hunt for the man who killed his mother. He's angry and prickly but finds himself at the home of someone who's friendship is irresistible.
Keaton is a loner who stumbles upon a depressing scene and ends up with a young traveling companion named, Jubal. Strangely enough, Jubal carries with him something alive in a little, make-shift sling.
It seems like all these wanderers are destined to cross paths at some point.
(which had a very "all things serve the beam" feel to me that I immediately grabbed ahold of and cherished. We constant readers are no stranger to destiny and fate.
We also know about thinnies- a weak spot where the fabric between worlds/realities have worn thin...and I'm not saying there is a thinny in this book or any doors to alternate universes where monsters live--but I am saying that)
I am also saying that something outside our modern understanding of things is being threatened in John Boden's western-like universe and I am saying that our three(ish) protagonists might have to come up against it.
Does all of this sound super epic and wild and outlandish to you? Because it is.
A rare opportunity for readers to fall in love with unlikely heroes engaging in an epic battle against the most formidable enemies you've ever read; both human and cosmic. I promise that once you start reading Boden's work, you'll become a junkie for it; craving his unique brand of horror that no other author can deliver. It's Boden or nobody.
Lastly, my hope is that there is more from John Boden's universe.
I would LOVE to have a series here and if not a series than just a connected universe because I will not quickly forget my time in this novella and I sure hope I can revisit my new friends.
This is a must-have if you found my recommendation intriguing.