Arianne 'Tex' Thompson

I received this book via NetGalley.

Wow, what a strong book to finish off the trilogy! Thompson has established a series that is both weird western and epic fantasy--a world that is familiar and yet wholly original with its distinct fae and dying gods. Elim and Sil made a hazardous visit to Island Town in book 1. When hapless and endearing Elim commits murder and Sil is hanged, things get worse and worse: Elim is dragged through the desert to face justice with his victim's people, and Sil isn't quite so dead as he seems. The cast is diverse and fantastic, from mer-folk to crow-folk to gods almost faded from the earthly realm. If you love created languages, you'll delight in Thompson's use of language and perceived language from character to character.

As I started to read, I felt a tad lost because it's been a while since I read the last book and there are a lot of complex character to keep track of. But once I got into it, it truly hooked me--even more so than the previous books. I had a strong sense of how everything was culminating at long last, and wow, were there some surprises... leading up to an absolutely perfect final line.… (mais)

The first book of the series, One Night in Sixes, was good. It was a dark western with a hard fantasy twist, set in a unique world. This second book is even better. Even though it's been months since I read One Night, I found this very easy to get into... which says something, since the first book overwhelmed me at times with its broad cast.

The situation is dire all around, as Elim's night in Sixes has caused many ripples through the community and surrounding desert. He's callously hauled through the desert by his captors, a parallel to Indians, as they seek to hold him accountable for the death of one of their own. Elim's one comfort is the presence of one of his horses. Thompson knows her horses, and that realism and Elim's connection to equines adds an extra spark. Everything possible goes wrong on their journey. There's a constant sense of tension and dread.

The book jumps around to other characters as they endure their own personal hells in a style worthy of George R.R. Martin. Many of them converge at the end in a surprising way--a kind of "Oh, crap!" ending that makes me even more excited to read book three.… (mais)

This dark and intense fantasy western follows two men across a border and into a heap of trouble. The most sympathetic of the men is Elim Appaloosa, a thoughtful man with the mottled markings of a "half." As such, he's a lesser man in society, regarded as a source of disease and disgust and likely a slave as well. His partner is Sil Halfwick, a young overly-white northman who's on his first journey to sell horses and wants to prove himself—and damn Elim and anyone else who stands in his way.

This is one of those books where you have a bad feeling about everything that will befall the characters and it almost hurts to read onward. I loved Elim. He's a fantastic character—good-hearted, a bit slow-witted, with a special fondness for horses--caught in horrid circumstances. Sil is the sort you love to hate, but even he doesn't deserve the things he endures, though he's certainly at fault. Crossing the border to Sixes brings them into a whole mishmash of societal warfare. The viewpoints increase as the story continues, and the motivations of the residents vary wildly. I read it as an ebook ARC and at times I wishes I had a guide to help me keep the characters straight; it turned out there was a guide, but it was at the back, so I think the paper version would have helped to alleviate some confusion on my part.

Thompson ends the book on a note that definitely reminds you that this is a series. With Elim's fate still very much on the line, I can't help but be eager to read onward.… (mais)