Lots Going on Here

There is so much going on in this novel that it takes a bit of effort to unpack it all. Set in 1883 on the Mexico/Texas border, the book has been described as a "visionary neo-Western", and that characterization captures some of its flavor. This isn't just a Zane Grey or Owen Wister oater, or an ambitious, more literary, horse opera. It feels much more like the basic outline of that sort of book has been laid out, but then embellished, improvised on, and extended to create something much more ambitious and interesting.

And so, you get, (in descending order of how dominant an ingredient it is) -- an historical fiction, a mystery, a western sheriff procedural, a colorful/dusty western adventure, a sweet and gentle romance, a Mexico/U.S.A. history lesson, a cultural tour, a ghosts and spirits story, and a horror/occult tale. This is set against a background that fluctuates between magical realism and gritty slice of life realism. And it all is meant to put our hero's existential angst into high relief. It helps that our hero's brooding isolation makes sense, and that the reader is sympathetic to his plight. If that's "neo-Western" I'm all for it.

The writing can be lyrical, thrilling, or evocative. To be fair, it can also be a bit clunky and repetitive, and the author sometimes has to rely on character monologuing and narrative explication to keep the story moving or to make a cultural point. I suppose that's a small price to pay when you get a romance, a multicultural tour, occult horror, mysticism, ghosts, history, gunplay, barn burning, revolution, family curses, and heroic suffering all in one book.

So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked this up, but Ruiz didn't let me down, and I liked his new style Western.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

3.5 stars, rounding up. This was a decent read — not something I will probably re-read, but it held my interest and I found the story worthwhile. It’s a very unique blend of magic, mystery, and occult horror, set at the border between Mexico and Texas in the 1880s. I found the inclusion of so many cultures to be interesting, and I loved Solitario’s ability to commune with spirits. I also enjoyed the small shifts to Tormenta’s POV, I found her personality endearing.

The ending was a surprise for me. I probably could have puzzled it out if I really wanted to, but I wasn’t really in that mystery-busting “mode” so I found the twist entertaining and I think it wrapped up the story quite well. It looks wide open enough for a sequel, which I would likely pick up out of curiosity. Rudy Ruiz writes well, and I have no complaints about the quality of the story or the writing.

I am glad that I read this on my kindle, as there were several Spanish words/sentences that were not ever explained in English, and my grasp of Spanish is very basic. I could puzzle most of them out given context and a relative fluency in French, but it still would have been nice to know what some of the characters were saying. Were these critical to the plot? No. Just a nice-to-have. I didn’t feel super connected to the characters, which I don’t think is always necessary in a mystery, but again it’s a nice-to-have.

Thank you to Rudy Ruiz, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

On the whole, this was a good book. I liked the story line and how separate lives and characters intertwined. There was some clever aspects to the plotline and little twists that I did not see coming.

However, I will say that some of the language and the way certain cultures were portrayed made me feel a little uncomfortable and I did not enjoy some of the language used. This is not to say that the story or the author was insensitive towards certain cultures, it was just my lack of knowledge that meant I was not sure if some of the language and terms used were the correct terms to use which personally let it down for me a little bit.

Overall, a good story and a well written book.