lucasm12333's review against another edition
3.0
Decent Weird Western
Not bad but not enough action. Would probably read more by this author. Wish that there was more explanation. Done
Not bad but not enough action. Would probably read more by this author. Wish that there was more explanation. Done
roadvirus27's review
5.0
I couldn’t put this one down. Boden’s amazing prose delivers atmosphere and visceral imagery in spades. You can practically hear the ragged coughs and see the sunrises and sunsets in the west Boden has built. The story follows the unusual intersection—by fate or choice—of a child, two men with pasts they are trying to overcome, and a monster of a man trying to build a door. This is one weird western/horror hybrid where some of the strangest elements work because of the emotional impact that Boden infuses them with. I cared about these characters and the journey, both physically and emotionally, they travel. There are no one-dimensional characters here and the dialogue is filled with heart. I can’t recommend this highly enough and I will definitely be reading more of Boden’s work in the future.
pbanditp's review against another edition
5.0
In this supernatural western horror, Levi is set on creating hell on earth. Killing entire towns and not sparing a soul. “This person was carved from bad dreams. He was a quilt of scary stories and fearsome fables, stitched in scars and ratty whiskers”
There are only three looking and trying to stop the murderous madman. Jones, looking to avenge his mother’s death. Keaton, who is just trying to get through life until he meets up the the last of their group, Jubal, who is an orphaned boy that was living with his dead parents.
With towns named Lutzke, and Lansdale, and a character named Bob Ford; Boden pays tribute to other great authors who we all should be reading.
John Boden is an artist with words. His elegant true style bring you into the story and make you taste the grit in the wind and feel the grime on your neck. He makes you thirsty wishing for a dip from the silty well at the corner of the farm as you join your posse to Walk The Darkness Down.
There are only three looking and trying to stop the murderous madman. Jones, looking to avenge his mother’s death. Keaton, who is just trying to get through life until he meets up the the last of their group, Jubal, who is an orphaned boy that was living with his dead parents.
With towns named Lutzke, and Lansdale, and a character named Bob Ford; Boden pays tribute to other great authors who we all should be reading.
John Boden is an artist with words. His elegant true style bring you into the story and make you taste the grit in the wind and feel the grime on your neck. He makes you thirsty wishing for a dip from the silty well at the corner of the farm as you join your posse to Walk The Darkness Down.
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Walk The Darkness Down is a hard beast to explain. Billed as a weird western, this a book that’s quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
This is a tale of of evil at work, and the people set on a path of confrontation with said evil. But really, it’s more than that. This is a book about human characters with different strengths and flaws. I found myself reading this fairly slowly. Although I read it in a day, it felt quite different,it was taking me a while to get through the book, but when I realized why, it wasn’t a negative. You have to savor this book plain and simple. The best way to think of it for me was like food. Sometimes you eat something with a bunch of junk calories and no nutrition, so you’re hungry and you keep eating. Other times, you eat something so densely packed with nutrients you feel full the rest of the day. Walk the Darkness Down is that nutrient rich meal. It’s something hard to explain until you experience it yourself. So why did I start talking about food? Frankly, because this is a book you have to read for yourself. Novellas I find tougher to review because of the short length, it’s too easy to spoil. With this book, it’s even more difficult to discuss without spoiling anything. That being said, I will tell you there are some creepy moments in this book. Jubal carries his sisters around on a sling. Let that sit with you for a moment. Levi is an absolute mechanism of evil. Whenever you read a chapter from his point of view, you know you’re in for an unsettling few pages. As the pages turn, the book picks up steam until you’re at the ultimately satisfying conclusion.
If you’re looking for a bloody, weird book. This is it. You’ve got weird (cosmic?) horror, blood, violence, a horrific villain, friendships, and some beautiful writing. I enjoyed Walk the Darkness Down, and I suspect most of you will too.
4/5
This is a tale of of evil at work, and the people set on a path of confrontation with said evil. But really, it’s more than that. This is a book about human characters with different strengths and flaws. I found myself reading this fairly slowly. Although I read it in a day, it felt quite different,it was taking me a while to get through the book, but when I realized why, it wasn’t a negative. You have to savor this book plain and simple. The best way to think of it for me was like food. Sometimes you eat something with a bunch of junk calories and no nutrition, so you’re hungry and you keep eating. Other times, you eat something so densely packed with nutrients you feel full the rest of the day. Walk the Darkness Down is that nutrient rich meal. It’s something hard to explain until you experience it yourself. So why did I start talking about food? Frankly, because this is a book you have to read for yourself. Novellas I find tougher to review because of the short length, it’s too easy to spoil. With this book, it’s even more difficult to discuss without spoiling anything. That being said, I will tell you there are some creepy moments in this book. Jubal carries his sisters around on a sling. Let that sit with you for a moment. Levi is an absolute mechanism of evil. Whenever you read a chapter from his point of view, you know you’re in for an unsettling few pages. As the pages turn, the book picks up steam until you’re at the ultimately satisfying conclusion.
If you’re looking for a bloody, weird book. This is it. You’ve got weird (cosmic?) horror, blood, violence, a horrific villain, friendships, and some beautiful writing. I enjoyed Walk the Darkness Down, and I suspect most of you will too.
4/5
oddly's review against another edition
4.0
Walk the Darkness Down may appear to be a slim volume, but don’t let that appearance fool you. This is a big story.
I’ve never really been a fan of westerns, but the horror western, now there is something I can sink my teeth into—or perhaps it’s the other way around.
This story follows four different characters, all men who are looking for something, looking to fill that empty hole in their lives to make them complete. For Jones it’s revenge on the man who killed his mother. Keaton and Jubal are both running away from something, unable to quite face the truth and unwilling to fully leave it behind. For Levi, it’s anger resolving into purpose, the hunt for a doorway at the expense of anything in his way.
This story has grit to it, but it still flows, sand in an hourglass leading all the characters to each other. When their paths converge, you definitely won’t want to look away, but I felt that this story was more about the winding roads that bring them together. It’s about the experiences they have on their journeys, experiences that change them, unburden hardened hearts, and make them see from a different perspective.
Their experiences and willingness to let those experiences change them is their strength and the weakness of those who resist it.
Boden is a wonderfully evocative writer and this novella proves that there are much bigger stories and worlds brewing in him. I look forward to being a part of that journey.
My thanks to the author for sending the Night Worms copies of this one to read and review.
I’ve never really been a fan of westerns, but the horror western, now there is something I can sink my teeth into—or perhaps it’s the other way around.
This story follows four different characters, all men who are looking for something, looking to fill that empty hole in their lives to make them complete. For Jones it’s revenge on the man who killed his mother. Keaton and Jubal are both running away from something, unable to quite face the truth and unwilling to fully leave it behind. For Levi, it’s anger resolving into purpose, the hunt for a doorway at the expense of anything in his way.
This story has grit to it, but it still flows, sand in an hourglass leading all the characters to each other. When their paths converge, you definitely won’t want to look away, but I felt that this story was more about the winding roads that bring them together. It’s about the experiences they have on their journeys, experiences that change them, unburden hardened hearts, and make them see from a different perspective.
Their experiences and willingness to let those experiences change them is their strength and the weakness of those who resist it.
Boden is a wonderfully evocative writer and this novella proves that there are much bigger stories and worlds brewing in him. I look forward to being a part of that journey.
My thanks to the author for sending the Night Worms copies of this one to read and review.
rock_n_reads's review against another edition
5.0
My first introduction to John Boden’s work was his collaboration with Chad Lutzke, Out Behind the Barn. I absolutely loved that story and waited way too long to dive into John’s solo work. Walk the Darkness Down is a western-themed story, but it’s not all grit. It has moments of horror and heart, and the writing is just gorgeous. There are so many quotable lines that I can’t list them all. Boden has a knack for writing a piece that makes a reader feel both unsettled and heartbroken in the best way possible. Sometimes, figurative language in a piece can be over the top, but this author is a master at using just the right amount. This is a book that needs to be savored by the reader, taking it all in so none of the richness of the prose is missed. It is a haunting, atmospheric, and lingering tale that left me with a book hangover and a desire to read everything that John Boden has written!
thomaswjoyce's review against another edition
4.0
The idea of a "Weird" Western is a new concept to me, but it appears to be gathering steam, especially in the Horror small presses. Marrying the gritty, dusty setting of the Wild West story (complete with a hero/antihero and strong characters) with a strange and almost inexplicable series of events seems like a recipe for success. But I suppose in the hands of a lesser author it may not work so well. Thankfully, John Boden seems to be a natural storyteller, as he guides us through this weird, wonderful, horrific landscape.
It begins with a young boy named Levi, and the creation of a monster. Levi certainly isn't the cause of the horror; he is merely a pawn in a (cosmically) larger game. The scenes throughout the book involving the monster are some of the creepiest and goriest in the book and they aren't vague; there is evil here, the worst that you could probably imagine.
But there are also heroes, of a sort. Jones seems to be the most typically heroic of the three, seemingly pure of heart. Then there is Keaton, a drifter and an outlaw, more of a grey area, but no less likeable. Third is Jubal, a simple young man who carries his twin sisters in a sling around his neck. His origin and that of his sisters adds another very strange string to the bow of the story, and is best left to the reader's discovery.
Something otherworldly and more familiar to fans of Lovecraft and cosmic horror appears to be directing the action. Levi wanders from town to town, spreading death and chaos everywhere he goes. Jones, Keaton and Jubal are drawn together and set on a collision course with Levi, hopefully to put an end to the horror.
Boden's writing seems suited to this setting and these characters. Outside of the main players, there are wonderful interactions with the likes of Ford and Kellianne. And the conversations between Jones and Keaton are especially entertaining. He does that magical thing that all great storytellers do, whereby he tells a great story, but also hints at a greater story just beneath or behind, or within the words on the page. The story of what happened to Keaton before this story began, or the history of Ford and Kellianne's relationship, or the true nature of Jubal's sisters, or the terrible truth about what lies beyond the cosmic door, and whether or not they crossed the threshold.
I hope there is more to come from this world that John Boden has created. I'm here for future installments and I know I'm not alone.
It begins with a young boy named Levi, and the creation of a monster. Levi certainly isn't the cause of the horror; he is merely a pawn in a (cosmically) larger game. The scenes throughout the book involving the monster are some of the creepiest and goriest in the book and they aren't vague; there is evil here, the worst that you could probably imagine.
But there are also heroes, of a sort. Jones seems to be the most typically heroic of the three, seemingly pure of heart. Then there is Keaton, a drifter and an outlaw, more of a grey area, but no less likeable. Third is Jubal, a simple young man who carries his twin sisters in a sling around his neck. His origin and that of his sisters adds another very strange string to the bow of the story, and is best left to the reader's discovery.
Something otherworldly and more familiar to fans of Lovecraft and cosmic horror appears to be directing the action. Levi wanders from town to town, spreading death and chaos everywhere he goes. Jones, Keaton and Jubal are drawn together and set on a collision course with Levi, hopefully to put an end to the horror.
Boden's writing seems suited to this setting and these characters. Outside of the main players, there are wonderful interactions with the likes of Ford and Kellianne. And the conversations between Jones and Keaton are especially entertaining. He does that magical thing that all great storytellers do, whereby he tells a great story, but also hints at a greater story just beneath or behind, or within the words on the page. The story of what happened to Keaton before this story began, or the history of Ford and Kellianne's relationship, or the true nature of Jubal's sisters, or the terrible truth about what lies beyond the cosmic door, and whether or not they crossed the threshold.
I hope there is more to come from this world that John Boden has created. I'm here for future installments and I know I'm not alone.
lanternsjourney's review against another edition
5.0
Walk the Darkness Down is marketed as a dark and weird western. This fact, and the advice from a few fellow readers to take it slow, were the only things I knew about the book going in. Before this year I would never have considered myself a fan of westerns in any format, but a few books and movies have started to change my mind. I can now add this book to the list of Westerns to read and watch if you dont think you like Westerns. It will change your mind.
This story is short. It tops out around 150 pages and the chapters only average about 2 pages. Reading this book in one or two sittings, however, would feel wrong. The writing is lush and the characters are very real. John Boden is the master of his world, showing you the lonely misfit cast of the barren frontier and piecing their stories together expertly without telling you too much.
If I had to describe the tone of this book, I would say it felt like if Guillermo Del Toro were to write a Western... but with a touch of cosmic horror... Anyway, the bottom line is that this book is special and unique and I urge you to give it a try.
This story is short. It tops out around 150 pages and the chapters only average about 2 pages. Reading this book in one or two sittings, however, would feel wrong. The writing is lush and the characters are very real. John Boden is the master of his world, showing you the lonely misfit cast of the barren frontier and piecing their stories together expertly without telling you too much.
If I had to describe the tone of this book, I would say it felt like if Guillermo Del Toro were to write a Western... but with a touch of cosmic horror... Anyway, the bottom line is that this book is special and unique and I urge you to give it a try.
silenthillgirl's review
5.0
This book is beautifully written. It is dark and brutal yet poetic. I actually cared about the characters, especially Jubal.
Levi is a vile man. John Boden managed to create a character that does horrible, fucked up things and yet he is someone you can sympathize with at the same time because of what he's been through. I highly recommend Walk the Darkness Down!
Levi is a vile man. John Boden managed to create a character that does horrible, fucked up things and yet he is someone you can sympathize with at the same time because of what he's been through. I highly recommend Walk the Darkness Down!