Supernatural meets the Wild West in this action packed debut novel. If you are unfamiliar with the weird west genre as a whole, I would say this is definitely a good entry point.

Our MC Melinda West is as badass as it gets and not in the messed up way when they just take a woman and turn her into a macho alfa dude without the male genitalia. She feels, she cares, but she also kicks ass. Whenever it’s not her ass that gets kicked that is. 😅

I also love that this book has a healthy and trusting relationship between her and Lance, something that I always like to read about. Lance is the perfect gentleman who Melinda can always rely on and vice versa.

Because of the length of the novel, or lack thereof, the supporting cast gets less screen time, but they are all pretty cool and diverse, which is a big pro.

The writing is fast paced and action packed, though sometimes I wished we got to see more of this exciting, although quite messed up world. I felt like we rushed through the story too fast, from one bad situation to another with barely a break or any time to smell the proverbial flowers.

Nonetheless, this is a very strong debut and if you want to read some fast paced fantasy western with a strong, well written female MC, definitely give it a try!

A weird west genre novel? Never heard of it till now.
Sign me right up.
I wasn't disappointed with this new concoction of a book: genre bending is so popular these days, so why not a sci-fi western?
Loved the strong female lead, and the story was overall great fun. Weird creatures and weird abilities - a definite winner for me.
I will have to look out for more of these books.

REVIEW
I am a newcomer to Weird West books. I’ve always been interested in the genre, and I am so glad my introduction was through Melinda West.

The setting is a fictionalized Weird West, one which draws inspiration from but I do not believe is analogous to our world. It draws more strongly from the fantasy side of things than sci-fi (no aliens and UFOs here). People wear cowboy hats and dusters, drink at saloons, ride horses, and get attacked by giant flying scorpions. The world seems alive and breathing in a way that I really enjoy; Melinda and Lance are the main characters, but the people whose lives they pass through get names and beliefs and lives that will believably continue after Melinda and Lance pass through them.

I love female protagonists who are reliable, sturdy, and tough as all hell. Melina is all that and more. She can hold her own in a fight, she’s capable, and self-assured. She knows how good she is at her work, understands her capabilities, but—despite being less charismatic and easygoing as her partner, Lance—still an endlessly loyal, kind person. Speaking of, Lance is exactly the kind of male lead I like: a total sweetheart whose personality and skills perfectly compliment their partner’s.

As their journey continues, they gain traveling companions: Gene, a kind man with supernatural gifts, and Angelo and Topaz, a bounty-hunting duo out for revenge. Overall, Melinda West, Monster Gunslinger’s characters were definitely a strong point of the novel. The descriptions were so genuinely fun and cool that I immediately started looking for fanart after I finished. (Sadly, there is none—a real shame because I’d kill for art of one of the antagonists, Eloise, who wears an “enormous hat” and a “beaded, fringed jacket”. Fashion icon.)

The plot is fine. It’s exactly what the summary says it is: Melinda and Lance shootin’ monsters, chasin’ an outlaw, and savin’ the world. It’s definitely the setting, worldbuilding, and characters that carry the novel, though.

Melinda West, Monster Gunslinger has a diverse cast of characters. Issues like bigotry, misogyny, and racism are acknowledged and handled without overstepping. Gay characters are treated with respect, and—from what I know about the topic—so are characters of color. There’s no cringe-worthy Magical Native/Noble Savage tropes or appropriation of Native American folklore (not that I caught, anyway; I’m no expert though). The only moment that was off-putting to me was when a minor trans character appearing in one chapter was described as “might’ve been a woman once” based on the “timbre of his voice and curve of his cheeks.” As a non-binary person, I do like seeing trans characters casually included in books (and I really loved the non-binary character who did appear later in the story). However, I know that most trans people do not use or like language such as “used to be a woman” or “used to be a man.” While I appreciate the inclusion of a trans male minor character whose identity is otherwise fully respected, this wording definitely raised my brows.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Melinda West, Monster Gunslinger is a fun read set in an interesting, engaging world, one I would love to explore more. I believe it is intended to be the first in a series; if so, I await the next one with bated breath. I’ve got my fingers crossed for more of the Edge Riders, Topaz, and Bina, as well as more Eloise.

If you’re new to Weird Western or an aged veteran, there’s a lot to enjoy here, especially if you’re interested in a diverse character roster and fantastical, colorful setting. I’d definitely suggest picking up a copy.

Thank you to Brigids Gate Press for providing a digital review copy via Netgalley in exchange for this review.

If you’re interested in Melinda West, you can find more information and links to purchase here. https://scifiwri.com/publications/melinda-west-monster-gunslinger/

Riveting from Page 1, MELINDA WEST MONSTER GUNSLINGER is a kick-butt Empowered female MC Lovecraftian Weird Western Horror Fantasy. Yes, that's quite a plethora. I can also add nonstop tension, fright, jealousy, greed, anger, xenophobia, adventure, exploration, tremendous danger, fatalities, everybody working at cross purposes, soul-snatching, soul recovery, love, mentorship, scholarship. MELINDA WEST MONSTER GUNSLINGER is jam-packed, full to the brim, breathtaking excitement and danger, set in a Wild West of Fantasy [though with overtones resonating with History as we know it], in which "the Edge" is the all-too-permeable barrier between Cosmic Horrors, Demons, and more, and the human [sort of] world. Melinda and her life partner Lance, who is half-indigenous and raised without a mother, live to battle the entities encroaching from beyond the Edge. Schooled by scholar mage Abel and Melinda's Aunt Beatrice, they're highly effective, their services in demand. But even this pair can't stop every Cosmic incursion--can they?

This book was good, but not great, it was like a cross between the TV show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and H P Lovecraft.

I got this from Netgalley which was listed as Horror | Sci Fi & Fantasy, but for me I’d classify it as just Sci Fi & Fantasy, I think you could even put it into young Adult, I found it a bit too soft for a horror story, but maybe that is because I’ve became desensitised by the splatter western books by Death Head's Press, which I loved.
The writing was good, easy to read with a good mix of western and Fantasy, I would have liked to see the gunslinger do a bit more gun slinging, but overall it was good it has a similar feel to ‘The Never Ending Story’ or ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*

This book had a really interesting concept, but it fell a little flat for me. I liked the writing and its style, as it was mostly the plot I couldn’t get into. I think people who really love science fiction westerns would love this book. It just wasn’t for me.

I'm a sucker for weird west, and monster hunters are also a favorite of mine, so this was right in my wheelhouse. I *LOVED* it! Excellent pulpy horror at it's best. It's a lot of fun and was a very quick read for me because I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

Massive thanks to Brigids Gate Press LLC for this arc which was published Feb 2,2023.

Dudes. DUDES! When I tell you this book is the perfect read for those who like westerns, monster horror and The Witcher I mean it! It was awesome! The story follows Melinda and her partner Lance who travel to different towns offering their services as Monster Hunters. I fortunately they release a demon and now have to track down their mistake before it u leashes literal hell on earth. I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

Melinda West hunts monsters. She's a brilliant shot but nothing prepared her for the adventure that started with giant, flying scorpions and ended with the soul-sucking entity.

The book moves at a brisk pace and is simply competent. It plays with pulp, western, and horror tropes and provides competent fun. I felt the characters lacked nuance and the story didn't surprise me much. Still, I had a reasonably good time reading it.

Nothing groundbreaking here, but if you're looking for a solid pulpy western horror with a strong sharpshooter heroine, you'll have a good time with Melinda West.

K.C. Grifant's debut novel takes a page out of old pulp adventure novels: adventure and action take precedent, and what matters is that you have fun with the story along the way. Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger has plenty of action and fun to go around, brimming with enthusiastic ideas for excitement and future stories.

Melinda West, the western-inspired heroine of the novel, fits in well with other pulp heroes and heroines like her--a woman of action, not long and extended philosophizing, and Grifant puts all of the emphasis in this novel on action and adventure. West has a job to do, and she's going to do it or die trying. That spirit of momentum carries through the whole novel, a whirlwind of new set-pieces, minor characters, and major stakes every couple of chapters. Hats off to Grifant: this is pulp heroics through and through.

Nevertheless, as much as I thoroughly enjoyed this book (no, seriously, this book is good fun), as a debut novel is does have its flaws. Like most pulp adventure novels, the story can be pretty light on characterization or character motivation. We barely have time, for example, to get to know Melinda and Lance before they're thrust into adventure, and the stakes of that adventure continue to escalate repeatedly through the whole book without any detailed explanation of why. New characters are introduced every couple of chapters, but we don't really stay with them long enough to get a great read on them, either. But that's not entirely the point of the exercise; does it really matter that we don't know much about the bad guys or their motivations as the story trudges forward? In pulp adventure, too much exposition can be tedious, can suck the momentum away, and these are characters of action, not of extended scenes of dialogue and background. That's not to say that Grifant doesn't know when to take a moment to show us her characters interacting with one another; we learn by doing in pulp adventure, not by being told.

And to a certain extent, the story doesn't really suffer from the elements it might lack. The point of a character like Gene or Topaz isn't to delve into extensive backstory that would take focus away from the adventure; they're there to complicate the circumstances of the story, to act as complement to Melinda's skills or as obstacles to her goals. Their implied backstories are enough, and as long as the action is moving forward, the story is working. The same goes for the story's villains. Although we eventually do get some explanation for the big bad's actions in the story, much of the book is spent exploring a fairly black-and-white relationships between Melinda and the book's villains: the bad guys do bad things, and the good guys oppose them. Mileage may vary on how these elements are received, but I can't find fault in the style this book wants to emulate. This book is pulp, and these story elements are features of what pulp is and does.

Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger is a perfectly bingeable read, the kind of story best devoured on a Saturday morning, chapter-by-chapter, episode-by-episode. It's the perfect vehicle for a series, with characters worthy of their own spin-offs and adventures, an implied lore and world worth exploring and learning more about, a treat to look forward to with every new installment. There's so much to enjoy about a book like Melinda West, and I hope not to see the sun set on this character for a long time.

I had a hard time getting into the book. That probably has more to do with me than the author. It was a fine story that provided what you would expect from a book promising a "monster gunslinger." I felt the moments that were supposed to be twists or revelations didn't hit as well as they probably should have. Also, the entire storyline involving the Malgun was very anticlimactic. There were constant mentions of the gun and mentions of its awesome power. They were constantly checking to ensure that they did not lose the gun and stated that they needed to save the one shot for when they needed it. When they finally use it, nothing dramatic really happens.

5/5 stars! WEIRD PERFECTION! This was a crazy ride and I loved every minute of it. This book is "Red Dead Redemption" meets "Van Helsing." I don't think I've come across a more unique premise in a long time. I want to play this book as a video game. I absolutely adored Melinda and Lance and watching them take on the monsters of the Earth was incredible. Will be keeping an eye out for the next book by this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This book has everything one could ask for in a horror book and it's absolutely riveting.

It's a western with literal monsters and this is the perfect setting for it. I love that old west vibe and you can almost taste the dirt and smell the horses as our titular character and her partner hunt these monstrosities for cash.

But it's not just the creepy giant bugs that'll get your heart racing. Because we'll meet other characters along the way that will be every bit as dangerous as the creatures. And they are all so well written that you never know what's going to happen with them or even TO them.

The pacing in this novel is excellent. It doesn't just escalate but starts with an action packed sequence and keeps the terror going throughout. I am looking forward to more if this turns into a series and I highly recommend giving this one a go!

This is a fast-paced and action-filled story, but I sometimes found it hard to picture everything that was happening, the setting or the creatures. Some things could have used more descriptions. The characters were okay, but I also didn't find myself really rooting for them or getting attached. The writing style is easy to digest which, combined with the action, makes this a very quick and enjoyable read. For me personally, things just could have been more fleshed out.

The concept is original however and if you want a weird fantasy version of the Wild West with a lot of action this might be for you.

I haven’t read this author before, and the blurb intrigued me even if I don’t exactly like books that take place in a world similar to the old West. I dived in, and I almost immediately knew this book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I quite enjoyed this world full of monsters and the two monster slayers even if I found Mellie (Melinda) a little bit too prickly at times. This book almost sometimes made me think a little horror, too, as well as an urban fantasy. Whatever genre you want to call it, it is full of interesting action, great writing, and some icky good fun. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

This book is a fun, fast-paced, monster-filled joy ride. It's outside of my usual reading preferences, but I couldn't put it down. Author K.C. Grifant creates a great world full of wonderful characters and a strong female protagonist. If you're a fan of weird west stories, you will definitely enjoy this book.