Blending a bit----and sometimes a lot--- of the
supernatural with the western, author Heath Lowrance created Hawthorne
Tales Of A Weirder West. This is a west long before it became civilized
when things moved in the night. Native
peoples knew what areas to stay away from and did so while the white man failed
to see the signs. A west of old where one man with a cross cut into the top of
his head made it his mission to destroy evil in its many forms.
After an introduction by author James Reasoner, the
book is primarily broken into four parts before being concluded with a short
story. Each part contains a story
further split into two parts or chapters. As Reasoner tellingly notes in the
introduction “Sharp things lurk ahead.”
He neglected to mention they will often be foul and
disgusting or that Hawthorne really needed a big time flame thrower instead of
a Smith & Wesson Schofield .45. There are very bad things out there and
Hawthorne is almost always the only one dealing with some seriously evil
things.
It begins with “That Damned Coyote Hill.” Hawthorne
had been warned in the last town not to go to the next town called Coyote Hill.
That there were things there with demons, black magic, and maybe way more than that.
Even though he saw something in the surrounding desert that should have scared
off anyone, Hawthorne kept going right into town. Before long a fight, a kidnapping, and out of
this world justice and more play out in this complicated two part tale.
“The Long Black Train” features a large man who just
boarded the Denver & Rio Grande train in Denver. He also carries a large
rat on his shoulder that is unseen by anyone else. While the rat may or may not
exist, the man has serious plans for everyone on board the train, including
Hawthorne when he intervenes in this two part tale.
Hawthorne finds what is left of the Lakota camp in
the Black Hills one fall afternoon. It initially appears to him that it was the
work of the Army. After he examines a couple of the bodies he realizes
something else is at work in “The Spider Tribe.” He will need the help of the
two remaining survivors if he and they are to survive in this very creepy two
part tale.
The final part is titled “Bad Sanctuary” and
involves a two part story set in the ruins of Fort Mason. Plague drove the Army
out of the fort the year before and never came back. The local Indian
population, the Utes, don’t come within ten miles of the place. A few outlaws and others make the abandoned
fort home because they don’t have the smarts the Indians had. Hawthorne knows
there is something evil at the fort. Whether it has anything to do with the man
he is tracking is another thing.
The stories end with the short tale “The Unholy; Or,
How the Gowan Gang Died” that tells the quick story of what happened and why. Compared
to the rest of the stories in the book the violence depicted is tame by comparison
as is the supernatural angle. The story flows quickly and wraps up the book
nicely.
Combing the western with plenty of flat out strange Hawthorne
Tales Of A Weirder West” is heavy into the weird. Those who are very
much into horror will find plenty to like about this read. Those of us who
aren’t will appreciate more the science fiction and fantasy elements at work
here. The tales are good ones and will burn their images though your brain.
That is when you are not laughing from time to time at the dark humor dryly present
in each tale.
Hawthorne
Tales Of A Weirder West
Heath
Lowrance
Beat
To A Pulp Press
October
2013
ASIN:
B00FZ0Z9GK
E-Book
(also available in paperback form)
148
Pages
$1.99
Material supplied by the publisher a long time ago
for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
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