THE MAGPIE COFFIN BY WILE E. YOUNG

This book knocked my socks off! I have been craving a good western for quite a while so when I saw Deaths Head Press was publishing a series in a new subgenre they call Splatter Westerns, I was extremely excited. The book has everything you want in a western but it's written by an author who pens work in dark fiction. I was stunned by the protagonist in the story. Salem Covington holds true to the typical western tale but is also atypical in so many ways which made him intriguing and enticing. Here's the thing, this book is dark but it's seamless. The body count stacks up and there are some scenes that were terrifyingly twisted BUT it was all very fitting of the real American West. I also particularly liked the readability of this novel. The writing style, the pace, even the way the book us formatted made this a smooth and easy ride. If this story is any indication of what to expect from the rest of this series, I'm all in.

The hero of this story is no hero at all. He's a blood-thirsty desperado consumed by darkness and armed with a six-shooter that yearns for death. Salem Covington is a man eager for revenge and he'll have it come hell or high water. He is exactly what you'd come to expect from the protagonist of a western only he's not. Covington is trained by the Apache Indians and well versed in many of the world's dark arts. He is definitely a force to be reckoned with and wanders the American west seeking more souls for the devil himself. Pray to God you get to keep your scalp if you cross paths with this scary desperado.

The American west is an unforgiving place where a man needs grit and tenacity to survive. This is the kind of place where if you look at someone the wrong way you're apt to eat a bullet. Throw in a gunslinger that wanders the earth tallying up a massive death toll and collecting scalps, things are bound to get bloody. Wile E. Young knows how to deliver the ooey-gooey good stuff. This is a gruesome and visceral tale. I think as a fan of horror you become numb to the gorey scenes in stories but often they are excessive or extravagant whereas in The Magpie Coffin it felt... right. The viscera is decadent and fitting.

This was an incredibly easy read. Wile E. Young wrote a tale that is both fast-paced and grimdark. I thought The Magpie Coffin is the perfect example of how horrifying westerns can be. You were never waiting for something to happen, around every corner there was some terrifying danger where the antihero had to shoot his way out to survive. Aside from the author's style, Deaths Head Press did a spectacular job of formatting this book. It set the tone for the reader and made for an enjoyable reading experience. It was a pleasure to read this novel.

I rate The Magpie Coffins by Wile E. Young 5 / 5 stars. This story sets the stage for what is bound to be a wildly successful endeavour in the horror community. Wile E. Young penned a terrifyingly twisted revenge story set in a gritty American wild west where terrible men and women thrive. I recommend this novel for anyone with a hankering for supernatural horror. Now, quit your caterwauling and grab yourself a copy of volume one in this splatter western series!

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