A superior piece of historical horror fiction.
It’s 1888, and the residents of the small community of Far Enough are under siege by a massive blizzard. Exposure and the elements are relentless and uncaring as more and more of the townsfolk succumb to the bitter cold that just won’t seem to stop. But there’s something out there in the blizzard, something big and mean and intelligent.
And it has teeth.
I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll leave you with that brief description so you can dive into all that this book has to offer. It’s a western, but that’s merely the setting. It’s a survival-against-the-elements story, which had this been the whole of the tale, would have been plenty harrowing. But it’s also a terrific creature feature, effectively using only glimpses and the weather itself to keep the thing(s) in a murky outline. The creatures, in fact, are hardly on the page when compared to the rest of this sprawling story, and this worked to make their few appearances–and their vicious carnage–all the more terrifying.
The suspense here is well-done, expertly woven into the tale organically, utilizing ignorance of the unknown and the personal lives of all the many and varied characters to ratchet up the tension throughout. There was never a moment where I felt I could relax, even in the quieter scenes, because the threats of both beast and nature were constantly hanging over me, and I knew that at any moment something bad could happen–and often it did.
This was the first thing I’ve read from Christine Morgan. From what I had gathered about her writing from others in the business and her fans, I understood her to be a writer of extreme horror (one of her books is titled, SPERMJACKERS FROM HELL, for crying out loud), and while that may be the case of much of her other work, it is not the case here. There is gore, to be sure, but nothing on a level I would consider extreme. That isn’t to say it isn’t capable of making you squirm, however. The descriptions of what the blizzard was doing to the people, the effects on their bodies, was horrifying. Tears that crystalize into ice on the face, sometimes freezing the eyes shut, the colors of the skin as it succumbs to the cold–and much more–had me writhing uncomfortably (in the best possible way) in my seat. Then the vicious attacks from the monsters with their huge fangs and claws were equally intense. Yet, ALL of this plays out in a very palatable manner to a wide range of readers.
Christine’s prose was the most impressive part of the whole book. Again, this was my first experience with her work, and I’m convinced she is nothing short of a masterful storyteller. The words flowed together like an easy current, the jargon of the times coming off as naturally as if she were describing a modern cell phone. The dialogue was equally on point and powerful, and it’s striking how well she utilizes that dialogue to help build the tension of the story as some of the characters fall into a sort of cabin fever madness as they’re holed up in frozen shacks with nightmares crawling through the snow outside.
I actually felt COLD as I read, bundled up comfortably in my coat. That’s how effective her writing is.
This one is an absolute winner and has made an instant fan out of me. If you like horror, historical fiction, survival nightmares, this is the book for you. It’s accessible even to sensitive readers, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you’re not in for a harrowing read…you are. Settle into the cold old west and take a fantastic ride through the frozen plains.
Just steer clear of the Wanageeska.
Find it in print, digital, and audio here.
Chris Miller 