Hunger on the Chisholm Trail by M. Ennenbach

** Title: Hunger on the Chisholm Trail Author: M. All I hope is, especially given the wonderful world-building hints of larger storylines out there, this will be the first of its own series. Satisfying, that is, if you’re into some hardcore hard-gore bloodbath ruthlessness. That wickedly fun anti-hero / Punisher vibe, which makes the inevitable showdowns and gunfights all the more satisfying. Here, even the ‘good’ guys aren’t all that good it’s much more a matter of bad guys and worse guys. Now, normally, in classic westerns, you’ve got the good guys and the bad guys. He also travels with a decidedly unquiet coffin, is sometimes visited by a rather large and angry bear, and has no patience for hateful small-minded white men out to brutalize the “savages.” Accompanied by a young soldier he’s persuaded to help him track down a gang he’s looking for, and an accused murderer rescued from the gallows, Salem goes on the hunt. Armed with a Gun that tends to have a mind of its own, haunted by his past, he’s got a high debt of souls to pay off. Folks say those things, but they can’t all possibly be true, can they? Or CAN they? Turns out there are stranger truths out there than just trail lore and tall tales, truths the Black Magpie knows all too well. Folks say he’s a feared killer, nigh invulnerable, maybe cursed, knows magic, speaks with the dead, can be readily recognized by a sinister brand on his face, and is on a grim mission of murder as well as revenge. Salem Covington, otherwise known as the Black Magpie, is a figure of no small reputation, and a deadly one at that. First up in their splattery western extravaganza is The Magpie Coffin, by Wile E. Savvy authors and publishers have already begun proving him right, as well-evidenced by a new line of novellas from the extreme dream team at Death’s Head Press. Young A while ago, on his podcast, Grandmaster Brian Keene predicted that the return of the “western” would be the next big thing, and the horror genre - because horror/weird and westerns go great together! - was quick to agree.

Young, Hunger on the Chisholm Trail by M.

This week, my reviews of the first three in the Splatter Western series from Death’s Head Press! The Magpie Coffin by Wile E.

Hunger on the Chisholm Trail by M. Ennenbach