Published: 2013
I remember, as a teenager, watching the ‘Spaghetti Westerns’
of Sergio Leone. Films like A Fistful of
Dollars and The Good, The Bad And The
Ugly. Excellent movies, many of them, but, hence the nickname, they weren’t
shot in the American West at all, but in Italy and Spain. There were times when
it was difficult to suspend disbelief that we were seeing an American
landscape. Whether it was the whitewashed, anciently Mediterranean-looking
buildings or the occasional olive tree, the scenery didn’t quite cut it, didn’t
feel ‘right’. So, if the occasional incongruous structure can mar the Old West
setting, what happens if you introduce magic, mythology and monsters?
This is
exactly what former reporter and private investigator (could there be a cooler
background for a novelist?) R.S. Belcher attempts in his recent debut novel, The Six Gun Tarot. Wild West adventure
and apocalyptic fantasy are two very well worn and well established genres, and
on the surface at least, make uneasy bedfellows. Any attempt to create a hybrid
of the two risks diluting either or both. But The Six Gun Tarot manages it, and the end result is an original,
well-paced, fun story that – refreshingly – doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The
story opens with a familiar Western trope: Jim Negrey, a young man running away from his
past, is heading for the Nevada town of Golgotha – if he can survive the
inhospitable expanse of the 40-Mile desert. In his pocket he carries the only
object that holds any real value to him: his dead father’s old, mysterious
glass eye. Once in town, he is fortunate enough to befriend Sheriff Highfather
and his deputy, Mutt – both of whom have a few secrets of their own. But
Golgotha is no ordinary frontier town. Everyone seems to have their secrets and
there are weird goings-on aplenty. Why is Sheriff Highfather so strangely
impervious to bullet wounds? What’s the source of the strange poison that
killed a local businessman? What’s the true identity of the shadowy saloon
owner, Malachi Bick, and why is he so desperate to prevent the re-opening of
the abandoned silver mine outside town?
Jim’s
coming-of-age story is only one of the perspectives followed in the novel,
which frequently jumps to other characters’ points of view. This is handled
well, and keeps the pace up as the tension boils away nicely and the story
builds towards its apocalyptic, action-packed finale. The shift in perspective
is just as well, as I doubt Jim’s character is strong enough to carry the
entire novel. Other characters are as likeable as they are flawed, and it’s one
of those books where you find yourself looking forward to the next section
involving your favourite character. It’s the characters, as much as the
enjoyably irreverent mixing-in of many flavours of myth and theology, which are
the strong point of this novel.
The
monsters, when they eventually make an appearance, are a bit of a let-down
though; essentially generic zombie-type things (although never referred to as
such) heralding the impending doom of all existence. There are some other
slightly predictable elements too: Malachi Bick’s true identity is easily
guessed, for example. Or there’s Maude, the woman initiated as a child into a
sisterhood which teaches her expert fighting skills – who’d have thought she’d
have to put them to use?
It’s
possible to make other criticisms too; the writing is a little clunky on
occasion, perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who is more used to writing non-fiction.
For example, a scene in which Jim tearfully spills out the details of his past
crime – the murder of a man who was abusing his mother – is both cringe-worthy
and unnecessary. We already know Jim is basically a decent guy with a murky
past; leaving the exact nature of the reason that he’s on the run more
ambiguous would have been more satisfying.
These
minor nit-picks do not detract from what is, overall a thoroughly enjoyable
adventure story. The story forges ahead so confidently that you barely notice. With
so much fantasy writing decidedly po-faced, Belcher’s decision to not take this
outlandish story too seriously is very welcome. And if you thought the merging
of that most gritty and down-to-earth genre of the Western with myth and magic
wouldn’t work, think again. In fact, with its philosophy grounded in absolute
goods and evils, frontier spirit and survival, in many ways the Old West is the
ideal environment to have some fun with these themes. This is what The Six Gun Tarot does best. Apparently,
a sequel is already in the works and I know I, for one, will be keeping a look
out for it.
P.S. I originally reviewed this book for Many A True Nerd - this website is a must-see for any sci-fi, movie or gaming fan.
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