Burden Kansas by Alan Ryker
My rating: 5/5 cats
there comes a time in every young girl’s life when she has to make that big life decision: vampire or werewolf? this book should make that decision pretty simple.
these vampires are not cuddly or sparkly or beautiful. they suck the cattle dry and then go after the humans. teenfangirls be warned. most vampires aren’t the nurturing type.
in other pop culture news, cowboys and aliens is a good premise because it is a humorous juxtaposition, a ballsy “why not?” “imagine if” situation where technology pits itself against the “do what’s gotta be done” attitude of the cowboy. it’s like a game that stoners play, or like that show greg likes that i don’t know the name of. but there is nothing funny about vampires and cowboys, and this combination seems to work really well, and does not just read like a cormac mccarthy/vampire mash-up. you have your plainspoken cowboy who is not looking to make any friends, who sees a predator and takes action. it is a sensible solution to an unexpected problem, but his reactions are so practical – there is no running around looking for explanations or backstory, no time-wasting hesitations. something killing the cattle? let’s take care of that. a-yup.
the writing is good, pared-down cowboy writing, with its dispassionate outlook and its casual violence. the protagonist is not some sweetheart you are going to want to fall in love with and take home, but that’s exactly as it should be.
this book is nasty, brutish, and short. it is a perfect vampire western.
and i thank elizabeth for snagging it for me. not that she has ever or will ever read it, but she knew i wanted it, and she obtained it for me, and it was everything i had hoped it would be. a-yup.
