I've always wanted more stories on the Pony Express, and I was instantly drawn in by the summary.

Jesse, looking for her father, and Ben, escaping his to freedom, work together on the Nightland Route of the Pony Express. Only, the job they're running has bigger implications than they could have imagined.

I wasn't expecting quite so much of the fabulism aspect, but I was absolutely here for it. The weaving together of the historical aspects of the Pony Express with the magical world was so engaging.

And I absolutely loved the relationship that grew between Jesse and Ben. They both were such strongly developed characters with secrets and histories, and watching as the two became friends and trusted each other was amazing. And Jesse's exploration of their gender identity was so interesting. I loved how the pronouns changed depending on how Jesse felt until they were completely comfortable with who they were.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Erewhon Books for this arc.

I want to thank NetGalley for giving me a digital copy of “The Nightland Express” to review.

This book was a very interesting read for me. I’m not typically one for fantasy or historical fiction, so I shocked myself by giving this one a whirl, but the writing is so magnificent it just pulls you in.

The plot of this book is a little difficult to follow and I had a hard time picking up on the different magical beings and what was happening plot-wise, but the story flowed so poetically I let a lot of those frustrations slide. You don’t find out until halfway through the book that the magical creatures are faeries and while I understand the reasoning for being secretive, I think the reader would benefit from knowing earlier on in the book.

The trans representation in this book made my heart swell. I’m not trans myself, so I can’t truly speak to how well the representation was done, but I can say that as a member of the community I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book did a great job showcasing how privilege works and the pitfalls of thinking that because you’re a minority you can’t harm another minority.

The history aspects of this book were very well-written, heartfelt, and intentional. I appreciate the little pockets of knowledge I was getting throughout the story and I think this would pair well as a fictional book to read at the end of studying about the pony express and this time period.

I think every horse girl who has read about the pony express has had a dream or two about riding on a horse, which probably looks like Spirit, across hundreds of miles to deliver mail. Thanks to Jessamine and Lee we can at least come along for the ride.

The Nightland Express is an antebellum young adult weird west novel by author J.M. Lee, published by one of my favorite publishers Erewhon Books. The novel takes place in 1860 America, where two teens try to obtain a special job for the Pony Express to travel the unusual and unheard of Nightland route to California with a special package, one which is unusual and not one that normal Pony Express Riders would take. But the two teens - Jesse and Ben - are each holding secrets that they are deathly afraid of getting out: Ben, for being a mixed race boy who passes for White and is on the run as a runaway slave from his pure White Brother, and Jesse, for being born female but feeling more comfortable in boy's clothes, even if calling Jesse a "boy" doesn't quite work either. And then there's the strange supernatural spirit creatures that the two of them start to see as they journey across the country with a strange young girl.

The result is a fascinating and generally well done story as the two teen struggle with their secrets, their identities, and the realities of a United States that is built upon not just the works of slavery, but colonial oppression of indigenous peoples and spirits. There's a grand overarching plot here as Ben and Jesse find themselves caught up in a battle for the future of the Spirit World, but really the strength of this novel is finding the two teens struggling with who they are and what they want to be - and how they deal with the revelations about the other. The book deals with these themes and oppressions pretty well, never equating the different hardships of the two and rejecting the times where a character tries to do so, and as a result is a stronger more interesting and powerful/useful story as a result of it. It's not a long book, but The Nightland Express packs a bunch into it, and it's worth your time.

More specifics after the jump:

Mild Trigger Warning: A minor scene of sexual assault in flashback, slavery and abuse in flashback.




--------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------
Missouri, 1860. An advertisement on posters reads: "Pony Express - Special Assignment! Two riders - two young skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen...willing to risk death daily - wanted for a ride from St. Joseph Missouri to Sacramento California."

For Ben, the advertisement is a way for him to get money while still running as far away as he can get. For while Ben can pass for white, he's actually the son of a slave and a plantation owner, who freed Ben on his deathbed....of course Ben's brother Randall doesn't accept that and is after him as a runaway slave. If Ben can get the job and the money without anyone realizing who he is, he might be able to get away.

For Jesse, born as the girl "Jessamine", the advertisement promises a number of things: money, to support Jesse and her sister Alice, pregnant thanks to some male lout; and a chance to track down their father, who abandoned them out in California. But it also gives Jesse the chance to dress as he's more comfortable, in boy's clothes, without the pressure of having to be the girl that Jesse isn't. As long as no one realizes, Jesse will be safe, surely.

So when they get the assignment, neither Jesse nor Ben thinks much of the other - they're more concerned about keeping their own secrets. But when the special assignment puts them in contact with mysterious and deadly spirit beings, as well as a girl with some magical connection to them, they find that only by sticking together despite their secrets and differences will give them a chance to find a happy ending....
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The Nightland Express is a novel that features what seems like a pretty typical YA setup: you have a pair of protagonists who each have their own secrets and desires, which they both are afraid to share with the other - considering that the other is a stranger to them. The story alternates between their perspectives every chapter, allowing each of their mentalities to take a bit of center stage, and the characters' backstories and development really guide this plot. That's all something that should be familiar to YA readers.

What's less familiar is how Lee uses this standard setup, with its two protagonists' wants, desires, and struggles. Ben for example, is a mixed-race son of a plantation owner, who can pass for White and was technically manumitted by his father's will upon his father's death...but who knows that his fully White brother will refuse to allow him freedom and that American Southern society on the eve of the Civil War is not going to believe Ben's papers of freedom over his brother's claim to his body. Ben is gay, although he doesn't understand what that means or even what the word "gay" might mean in this context (he remembers desiring a boy back on the plantation but never has the chance to act upon any such desires in this book's present) and has more than enough troubles just from his race. For Ben, the job on the Nightland Express is a chance to escape as far away as possible, with the money and distance being the key. And yet, despite all of the above being a reason for Ben to be cynical and jaded, he also still is good hearted and caring about people and the world, even as shitty as it's been to him.

For Jesse, well Jesse is supposedly a "girl", but he has never felt comfortable dressed in girl clothes as opposed to that of a boy's.* In our world, Jesse would easily be categorizable as non-binary and trans, but those words don't exist for Jesse, who merely wishes they could be themselves rather than the girl everyone thinks of her. And so Jesse looks to this trip not just as a way to bring back the father who abandoned them, but also as a way to escape a society where everyone thinks they now who he is and refuses to let Jesse be who Jesse feels most comfortable being.

*Jesse's perspective starts with she/her pronouns, but at times shifts to he/him pronouns. For this review, I will be using all pronouns interchangably*.

Most interestingly is how Lee uses these two character backgrounds and themes, as the secrets of both inevitably come to light. The story features themes of discrimination and oppression on multiple angles, but notably, the story does not try to equivocate different kinds of oppression and rejects it when characters like Jesse try to do so - the oppression Jesse faces is horrible, but it can in theory be lived through, while the oppression Ben faces is the threat of outright slavery and execution and is not of the same kind...Jesse can escape the oppression temporarily by changing his clothes, while Ben can't escape who he is. The two characters also come into contact with indigneous peoples (who have faced their own oppression and genocides) and the question of ownership of land and property and whether that all makes sense, and of course a plotline that involves spirits of the American continent struggling to survive in a new world without faith in them, and being forced to either adapt...or make horrible choices as dictated to them by outsiders from another continent - itself essentially a metaphor for the effects of colonization. This book touches on a lot of interesting themes, and it works really well at examining them without providing answers (and easily avoids any white savior tropes), even as it ends on a hopeful note.

I had a better exploration of the themes and such here in this review once, but I actually failed to save my original review. But The Nightland Express is really good and interesting in its themes and characters and is hopeful without being unrealistically optimistic and is well worth your time, so I highly recommend it.

Sorry for the late review, i forgot my password.

This was very interesting premise. I liked the descriptions but sometimes there's a lot, that's why i find it kind of slow. I liked the characters and the beginning but it gets confusing towards the end.

Promising premise and overall an enjoyable read. Stronger first half of the book, the second half was slow in parts and I am left with some unanswered questions. Worth a read!

The Nightland Express ARC Review

Story: C
Prose: B+
Characters: C+
World: B-
Theme(s): C
Enjoyment: C+

The Nightland Express is a Historical Young Adult story about a white-passing black teen and a trans teen taking a strange delivery assignment with The Pony Express.

The Good:
- Nice prose. Lee's prose is clean, polished, and readable, and he writes some very nice scenic descriptions.
- Solid opening. Not only are the individual introductory scenes for each character good (both Ben and Jesse need to cut their hair to hide their identities) but the first section of the book is solid.
- Some cool scenes. There are definitely some very cool scenes with some very cool visual ideas behind them.
- Interesting concepts. Some of the ideas (especially the thing with the knife) are pretty interesting.

The Bad:
- Overly wordy. Although they're nice, the scenic descriptions take up too much page space. At some point they tip from "setting the scene/atmosphere" into "adds nothing new, takes up space." As the book goes on, there are also too many internal monologues focusing on the obvious.
- No intrigue. Although there are mysterious elements, they're janky, abrupt, and disconnected.
- Weak and indistinct personal goals and consequences. Jesse wants to bring his father back home before his sister gives birth. But… why? What happens if he doesn't? There isn't a dire if/then/else. Ben wants to avoid his brother and find a place where he belongs. We know why Ben wants to avoid his white brother, but when his brother is removed from the equation, what then? What is the consequence to the story if Ben doesn't find what he's looking for, emotionally/spiritually?
- Endgame consequences too grand and indistinct. The consequences switch from personal to earth shattering, but they're too big and too vague. The consequences to the spirit world suck, but what do they mean personally to the characters and readers?
- Tries to incorporate too much. Lee tries to balance meaningful narratives for both a trans character and a black character in the late 1800s while ALSO touching on land ownership vs stewardship philosophy AND Native spirituality without overstepping any boundaries. The end result is something murky and lacking a backbone.
- Half-hearted themes. There's something to be said for a changing world and keeping failing old ways and methods alive vs trying new untested methods that might feel weird but also might work. But the presence of these themes is again, weak.


YMMV:
- Possible messiness. Jesse, the trans character, regularly messes up, whereas Ben, the cis character, is nearly toothless in his moral choices.
- Animal death. A horse dies a very awful death. It fits the plot and it's not sadistic, but it is very sad.

‘The Nightland Express’ by J.M. Lee had such an interesting premise, and was a unique, fast-paced story. It was a little slow and choppy throughout, so that made it a bit difficult to get through for me, but don’t let that deter you if this sounds like a book you’d like! I’d definitely recommend giving it a chance.

Set in the time of the Pony Express, Ben and Jesse are both applicants for a special job posted for the Express; they are also both seeking a deeper understanding of their selves and their places in the world. Once they are hired for the special job with the Nightland Express, they spend much of the journey attempting to keep their separate truths away from each other, to no avail.

This novel started a bit slow for me, but once I got a few chapters in, it really took off. It begins as a somewhat pedestrian race to see which applicants will be chosen for the special job, but once the journey begins, odd things begin to happen, departing more and more from the history of the time and into the mythology of the fae. By the end of the novel, the story has gained an air of the metaphysical in its explanation of separation of the normal and fae worlds. There is also a fair amount of introspection by Ben and Jesse that does a wonderful job of enhancing their characters. Appropriate for middle school readers to adults.

Thank you, Erewhon Books and NetGalley, for giving me access to the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a book about two teenagers who walk the lines between worlds (race, gender) that, in their search for freedom and family, end up crossing the country and the frontier of a new, magical world, more intertwined with theirs than they could've ever imagined.

Their adventures will lead them to expand their horizons regarding their own identities and perspectives in a western setting that quickly gives place to the brewing of a Fae war in the brink of explosion, combining the folklore of both the Native people of North America and of the colonists from Europe, while also allowing the exploration of systemic injustice through both the realistic and the fantastical elements of this story.

Even though I personally didn't love the execution of the last part of this book, and found a couple of action scenes and descriptions to be a bit confusing, I ultimately think it's an entertaining story that choses to go the best way it knows how to when it comes to its themes—with care, aware that acknowledging them is way more realistic and respectful of its readers than pretending like they would never affect a story like this (or like any other, for that matter).

I would recommend it to teenagers who are 15/16 and up, since some parts of this book might be a bit too dark for younger audiences.

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2.5/5, rounded down

i really did want to like this book, but it just didn't come together for me in a satisfying way. like other reviewers, i was okay until about halfway through, and by the last third or so i was struggling. the end was confusing to me, and i finished the book with a lot more questions than i would like. it's a shame because i did find the characters interesting at first and some of the concepts really interesting, but i rounded down because it just totally fell apart for me

This book is absolutely brilliant and I wish more people were talking about it! I loved the journey that Ben and Jesse go on and the character growth that they both experience.

I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, it fell through. I think the biggest reason why was false advertising.

I was expecting pony express historical fiction. And for the first half of the book, that's exactly what it was. Then we veered off the tracks into Native American fae and folklore, which is super cool, but the book wasn't set up for that at all.

The end was confusing, and everything fell flat. Pretty disappointing.

The Nightland Express by J. M. Lee is an interesting take on the riders of the Pony Express. With twists and turns and different worlds to navigate, Jesse and Ben's journey makes for a good story.

I’m fully on board for any Western story with magical elements​​—the wildness and expansiveness of the American West in the 19th Century mixed with the supernatural or fantastical opens up exciting possibilities for storytelling. The combination also not only allows for the creation of a vivid world, but also allows the author (and the reader) to explore themes of change (violent and otherwise), systemic injustices, and personal self-discovery, all of which are often spiced up with a touch of adventure.

The Nightland Express by J.M. Lee checks all of these boxes, and is a must-read for anyone who loves the blend of these two genres.

Lee’s story takes place in a version of 1860 America and follows Jesse and Ben, two youths who desperately want to join the Pony Express for their own private reasons. To that end, they find themselves competing to be one of the “young, wiry fellows not over eighteen” who know how to ride a horse and are willing to risk death daily.

[rest at https://www.tor.com/2022/12/12/book-review-the-nightland-express-by-j-m-lee/]

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

The cover is absolutely stunning, it's the first thing that caught my eye about this book.
The story is basically Pony Express crossed with magic.
This book has: dual POV, magic, LGBTQ characters.
The first half of the book is leaning towards more of a historical fiction.
The base idea of the book is really interesting, but unfortunately there was something missing in the story for me. I couldn't really connect with the characters and sometimes found my mind wondering to other places while I was reading.
The magical elements were interesting and I really wanted to know more about this world.

Overall, I think it was a good story, it's definitely worth to check it out if you like fantasy books with magic and adventure.

The Nightland Express is an interesting novel that I didn't quite connect with.

Jesse (or Jessamine) cut her hair, hopped on her horse, and applied for a position with the Pony Express. Her sister is pregnant, and she really wants her father there for the birth. Their father left years ago to pursue economic opportunities out West, and never came back. Jesse wants something different from life than her sister. She doesn't feel comfortable in her skin as a female. She is excited to try to become a Pony Express rider, and, in her travels, to be able to find her father and bring him home.

Ben also desperately needs this position with the Pony Express. Ben is mixed race, and has his freedom papers. But his half brother and son of his former enslaver wants to capture him and bring him back home to serve him, and is willing to chase him across the country to make it so.

Jesse and Ben win the prized assignment, but find out that it is a unique assignment, not the normal Pony Express. They are to go to a special station and pick up a different type of package. Ben is given a special horse to ride, and Jesse is given nose drops to give his horse so it can make it all the way across the country. When they pick up the "package," they discover it is a little girl who is very demanding. Meanwhile, they also encounter spectral creatures who fighting a battle a world attached to theirs, and become involved in the struggle themselves.

Good things about this book:
the discussion of transgenderism, as Jesse explains very well why he doesn't feel like a like a girl, and Ben accepts him the way he is
the discussion of how white men came to America and saw themselves as masters of the natural world, rather than living with the world and treating Mother Nature with respect (not to mention treating native peoples with respect)

Not-so-good things:
the story is choppy and drags at times
the metaphors are heavy-handed at times
the fantasy seems jarring rather than a natural part of the story

I wouldn't tell someone not to read this book, but nor would I recommend it. It is interesting, but just not my favorite.

Ben and Jessamine (Jesse) have good reasons for wanting to join the Pony Express and head west. While they will both get the job, it is not the experience they expect. Instead of riding a normal Pony Express route, they are assigned to the Nightland Express, and tasked with transporting a rather unorthodox parcel. Stationmaster Darcy Declan was particularly interested in Ben and Jesse, as he preferred riders who were double goods. Ben and Jesse fit the bill. Ben Foley is a mixed-race former slave (his father freed him upon his death), but his skin is light enough that he can pass as white. This is particularly beneficial, as it is 1860, Missouri and Kentucky are not the friendliest places to be if one is a slave or former slave, and Ben's half-brother, Randall, the new master, is not pleased at Ben being granted his freedom, and plans to capture him and destroy his freedom papers. Jesse is biologically female but is disguised as a boy/young man to get the Pony Express position, and a male identity is what Jesse finds most comfortable/appropriate, although fully embracing that identity has not yet been possible. Ben is hoping to make a new life in California, while Jesse needs to get to Carson City to drag home his father, who abandoned the family years ago, as Jesse's sister is heavily pregnant and unwed, and the only family in the area is an aunt. If their own problems were not trouble enough, Ben and Jesse will soon discover that their assignment involves denizens of the spirit world, and that there are threats to both the "real" world and the "spirit" world.

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Cowboys and Specters
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: Snow
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Western Fantasy
4.2/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Brilliant descriptions of creatures
~ LGBTQ+ representation & living
~ Wild adventure across the USA
~ Olden times & cowboys, but with magical beings, for spice

Jesse & James (🤣 - Ben) are running from a world out to do them wrong, both masquerading as what they are not and lying through their teeth to become part of the esteemed Pony Express - with a twist.

They want the life that California promises - what they don’t need are magical beings who are waging a war of their own against each other, the lies of humans & the contamination of the spirit world. Jesse & Ben have a part to play, but whether for good or ill remains to be seen.

🌵🦖🧐💭

Sigh… semi-useless and oblivious children taking on more than they can bear or understand. A good premise for learning/entering adulthood - with two kids who could hardly save anything & anyone BUT they DO try.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ 🤔 The meshing of magical realism & 1800s cowboys was tricky
~ Ekkk, the father is horrible
~ Questionable future for the MCs (😞 - how will they manage?!)
~ Irrational, impulsive, illogical, cry-ey-cry stereotype- (w/ a *twist*?🙄)
~ There is a topic the author touches on but I don’t believe assess fairly 🤔

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

Two teens join the Pony Express, both trying to escape situations and themselves. They are tasked with picking up a special package and transporting it across the country. While this seems inconceivable, as they'll have no change of horses, they discover nothing is as it seems when they signed up to be riders: mysterious, malevolent beings dog their path as they travel huge distances thanks to portals.

Jessamine masquerading as a boy Jesse, and Ben Foley, passing as White, begin their journey wary of each other, but gradually open up, discovering things about each other and their country that come between them, and are actually at the heart of their mission, which affects both their world, and that of the magical beings they encounter along the way.

I was completely enjoying this book till about 2/3 in, and then I soured on it. The weird, repeated encounters Ben and Jesse had had with the strange beings and their doom-flavoured words finally get explained. Also, the hints throughout of Ben’s travelling to an alternate reality when things get bad is also explained. The problem is, neither felt satisfying or earned, including the connection that Ben and Jesse purportedly had together.

Jesse’s sensitivity to Ben’s reality, as well as her seeing the injustice endemic to non-whites in America, were too quickly achieved by the author, considering Jesse had had too little experience with lives unlike her own. I also wasn’t able to accept the resolution to the overall threat to the fae.

I really wanted to love this, but did not.
My feelings about first 2/3: 4 stars
My feelings about last 1/3: 2 stars

Overall: 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Erewhon Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.