Saturday 23 February 2013

Weird West Reading List

This is a fairly new subcategory of fantasy and so doesn't have a large number of books yet, but I figured for those of you looking for more, a list might be useful.  This list is made up from books in stock at the bookstore where I work, plus any I heard about from internet sources.  If you know others that should be on this list, please mention them in the comment section and I'll add them in.

This particular list is a mix of horror and SF/fantasy books.  I tried to keep it to books with cowboy like figures or with a western feel to the story, so no civil war or depression era stuff.


 The Six-Gun Tarot – R. S. Belcher
Territory – Emma Bull
Bloodlands – Christine Cody
The Dead of Winter – Lee Collins
Portlandtown – Rob DeBorde
A Book of Tongues – Gemma Files
West Ward Weird – Martin Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes, Ed.
The Gunslinger – Stephen King
Buntline Special – Mike Resnick
Alloy of Law – Brandon Sanderson
American Vampire - Scott Snyder + (graphic novel)
Blood Riders – Michael P. Spradlin
Six-Gun Snow White – Cahterynne M. Valente
Cowboys and Aliens – Joan Vinge

From the comments:
Red Country - Joe Abercrombie
The Half-Made World - Felix Gilman
The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl - Tim Pratt

6 comments:

odo said...

I haven't read it, so I don't know for sure, but it sounds like The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt should be on the list.

Jessica Strider said...

You're right. I've added it to the list. Thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

Do you have any recommendations from that list?
Also, does Red Country (Abercrombie) count?

gmack said...

Red Country really should count... It's everything a Western should be... except it doesn't take place in the American West, and there are no handguns.

I would heartily recommend King's The Gunslinger to any who haven't read it (although it also doesn't take place in the American West). It's a classic. Alloy of Law is also well worth the read.

For those that want to get into the really weird, Gemma File's "A Book of Tongues" mixes the Wild West with Dark Magic, Mayan Gods and raw sexuality. Not for the faint of heart.

RedEyedGhost said...

The Half-Made World and The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman definitely belong here.

Jessica Strider said...

Those definitely fit the list. Thanks. :) And thanks gmack for adding some recommendations. I've only read The Gunslinger and Allow of Law from this list. I preferred The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King to The Gunslinger (as I'm not much of a western fan). I really enjoyed Allow of Law, though.