Skull Full of Spurs

Rating:
Summary: A great collection of Tall Weird Westerns!
Review: BLOOD DANCE is the fourth volume of Subterranean Press' Lost Lansdale Series. In the introduction Joe Lansdale, his ownself, outlines the details of how this novel came to see the light of day 17 years after it first sold. This is a great piece of non fiction that helps the reader understand where the author was in his stage of writing and also gives a little insight into the novel itself.

BLOOD DANCE is a western with no supernatural aspects. It's a tall tale from Jim Melgrhue's perspective of the events of the time. Jim and his buddy, Bob Bucklaw are down on their luck, tired of mining and come across one of Carson's party who offers them a job, sight and details undisclosed. Jim & Bob take him up on it, only to find out the job is robbing a train loaded with gold. Only problem is, the info Carson had is bad and there isn't any gold. Carson wants to leave no witnesses, Jim and Bob disagree and a shootout ensues, leaving Jim with a whole lot to right.

Left for dead, Jim is befriended by a legendary Indian killer. They then run into some problems and Jim falls across the shadows of Dead Thing, Wild Bill Hickok, Honest Roy and the Battle of Little Big Horn. Very descriptive scenarios by Lansdale are portrayed , the dialogue is crisp and the motivations for all the characters are realistic. None of us were at these events and don't know the real story, but BLOOD DANCE rings true and is entertaining as hell.

The book also contains some eighteen interior illustrations by Mark A. Nelson. They all tell a story themselves and truly illuminate the printed word. An all around great package...great story, great book design and, most importantly of all, a novel that deserved to be read is available. Here's to the next lost volume!

Rating:
Summary: A helluva fun read
Review: I just finished Skull Full of Spurs and I thought it was great. My favorite was the story by Edward Lee. It's a real departure for him. The Brian Hodge story is also quite good. I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Razored Saddles. I'd like to see more of these weird western type stories hit the shelves.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Weird Western Tales had nothing on this book.
Review: Inspired by Joe R. Lansdale and DC comics such as Weird Western Tales and Jonah Hex, Dark Highway's Skull Full of Spurs left a big ole smile on this cowpoke's face. Jack Ketchum's story Luck, about a man who continues to get himself killed over and over and the unfortunate fates of his killers was one of the books highlights. Another was Richard Laymon's story The Hangman, a great and surprisingly funny story about a vengeful ghost. The stories about the midget sheriff, a magic bullett which hangs in midair in the middle of main street and Cthulhu mythos in the old west are all also great. Pick this book up.

Rating:
Summary: Twisted, Twisted, Twisted
Review: Skull Full Of Spurs lives up to its name: It is truly a roundup of weird Western tales that will shock you, scare you and entertain you to the uttermost degree. I had a blast reading this book and anyone who's a fan of horror fiction will, too.

The book contains 12 stories, all of them good, none of them bad. But of course, some stand out against the others. Jack Ketchum's "Luck" is a great little campfire tale, Rick Hautala's "The Screaming Head" is about a horrifying folklore legend that comes to life and Yvonne Navarro's "Divine Justice" plays with the idea of heaven and hell in a Western setting.

But there are three great masterpieces of the bizarre in this book. Richard Laymon's "The Hangman" is a classic ghost story mixed with the elements of the Western tale and ends up being a great, satisfying read. Lawrence Walsh's "The Devil's Crapper" is a funny and twisted story that will make you laugh with every word and every sentence. And Adam-Troy Castro's "The Magic Bullet Theory" (the longest story in the book) is an epic tale that is brilliantly written and highly satisfying.

And if that's not enough for you, there are also stories by Edward Lee, M. Christian, Nancy A. Collins and a very twisted, very disturbing story by Robert Devereaux. Skull Full Of Spurs has it all; horror, action, fantasy, humour... It has something to please every reader of the genre. This is one collection you'll want to come back to time and time again. So saddle up part'ner and get ready to be entertained!

Rating:
Summary: "A round up worth reading"
Review: So, you want to read this here anthology, but you're worried only a few of the stories will rock, while the rest blow. Well, never fear my friend, SKULL FULL OF SPURS has the makings to go down in history.

This book has 13 of the best Weird Western tales ever collected in one place. You got a tale about a cowboy with a virus that won't let him be killed. There's one about a magic bullet traveling down Main Street at a couple inches a year. And who wouldn't love a story about a midget sheriff? Oh, and for you nymphos out there, the sexiest, most erotic, Old West showdown ever written on paper is printed in these pages, too.

To top it all off, each story is followed by the author's bibliography. The search for the rest of your favorite author's work is right at your fingertips. Now that's a nice touch.

Yep, SKULL FULL OF SPURS has it all. Buy it. And pray Dark Highway Press puts out a SPURS part II.

Rating:
Summary: A great collection of Tall Weird Westerns!
Review: This is subtitled as "A Roundup of Weird Westerns" and "Down-N-Dirty Tall Tales". I agree with both descriptions and lean toward the latter as better served as what is contained within. 13 tales as tall as the nearest skyscraper from some of the more notorious weave-spinners around. As with most anthologies there are some that are great, some good and a few not so good.

Let's focus on the great, shall we? Brian Hodge has the unenviable task of having the leadoff story, "Pages Stuck by a Bowie Knife to a Cheyenne Gallows". A tale of a cowboy unable to be killed. The genius of the story is Hodge's explanation of how this predictament came to be and how the man handles it. A very disturbing moment is Hodge's description of the condition. The retribution he must pay for his past deeds make him a living allegory.

Richard Laymon's "The Hangman" spins a yarn of a revengeful hanged ghost. Laymon has one of the hunted meet a father and son out camping and telling them what/who is trailing him. A armful of gooseflesh follows, especially with the eerie ending.

"The Magic Bullet Theory" by Adam-Troy Castro is a very original and vivid tale of a bullet that was shot by a stranger in town, moves about an inch a year down the center of Main Street and how one or two people look death in the face by staring the bullet down.

Nancy A. Collins turns in a solid take on Day of the Dead in "Calaverada". Yvonne Navarro's contribution, "Divine Justice" asks the question, what if you and a friend came across something that resembled a whole hell of a lot like an Angel? The answer is intriguing.

Robert Devereaux' "Showdown at Stinking Springs" is the last piece of this Weird Western puzzle and it is an over the top meditation on what happens when one nymphomaniacal woman and one well endowed man meet in the center of town for a shootout, so to speak. Hilarious stuff!

What may be the best thing about this collection is at the end of every story is the author's most up to date bibliography, a very handy tool to hunt down fiction and non-fiction by your favorite writers. An all around good anthology and hopefully more with this theme will be released in the not too distant future.