I'm only now starting to become familiar with de Lint's southwestern stories. Oddly, I'm finding them darker than the Newford tales, though no less enjoyable. This story of robot gunslingers, aliens, and something which is never really named, leaves me with more questions than answers, and I'm hoping de Lint will expand on the theme and characters in the future.

Dan Cutler has animatronics in his blood and bone. For generations his family has worked carnival machines, and his father created The Mech Gang, a group of mechanical outlaws that staged shoot-outs with Sheriff Poole, a far more sophisticated clockwork man, whose secrets Dan's father was never able to figure out. When he died in a mysterious explosion, Dan continued his father's work, which included driving off alien attackers at regular intervals. When the why of those attacks becomes clear to all of them, Dan's life changes dramatically.

As I said, this story left me with more questions than answers. But the tight narrative doesn't allow for much speculation as you read. It's only afterward, while thinking about that last image of the Sheriff telling Dan and his wife about life in the old west, that so many questions come pouring out.

This story is full of wonder in many senses of the word. ( )