Occult .45 by Nick Carcano - Book Tour + Review
Horror
Date Published: June 1, 2014
Preston Cobb is always looking to make a quick buck selling any kind of gun he can get his hands on, but when the denizens of the weird west get in the way, Preston's his own best customer. Now collected in one omnibus, join Preston as he faces an ancient evil in the snowy Sierra Nevadas in ABOMINABLE, finds romance and bloody mystery in Nevada mining country in SILVER MOON, and squares off with the undead south of the border in DEAD TO RITES. Finally, Cobb finds retirement more exciting than he'd like in an exclusive bonus short story: GUNRUNNER TO THE STARS.
Excerpt:
“Reminds me of my first wedding!” I said.
The lock on the chapel doors gave a long, ear-curdling screech and shattered. The doors burst open, knocking the stacked pews aside. In a haze of dust, the undead appeared, swarming through the opening, groans rising in triumph.
I turned the hand-crank and fire spewed out of the barrel of the Gatling gun. I swept it back and forth across the opening of the church doors. Skulls exploded, bodies jerked and limbs separated as hundreds of bullets shredded through the mass. The first rank of the ghouls disappeared in a pink haze and I kept firing at the vague silhouettes behind them. Bullet casings rained down on the adobe floor and I cursed and shook my leg as a smoking cartridge landed in my shoe.
My Review
Occult .45 is a collection of short horror stories, all involving the same man: Preston Cobb. Preston is a seller of firearms in the west. That may seem normal enough, but his version of the west is actually quite...strange.
In story one, Silver Moon, Preston heads into a small mining town to get the nice folks to buy some of his merchandise. What he doesn't bargain on is coming face-to-face with creatures straight out of a nightmare. He also doesn't expect to join up with one of those creatures in helping the townspeople save themselves.
In story two, Abominable, Preston meets a lovely family in the mountains who happen to be dealing with something much bigger than they imaged. Can a gunrunner and a little boy take down this ancient evil?
In story three, Dead to Rites, Preston stumbles across the border and teams up with some nuns to fight off some very hungry patrons. But the undead are the least of his worries when something much bigger and badder shows up to make things worse.
In story four, Gunrunner to the Stars, Preston decides it's time to retire, but not before going out with one last hurrah. A meteor, a gargoyle, and some of the best a gunrunner has to offer all come together to end this collection of horror stories.
Overall, I felt the book was a pretty decent read. The stories were short, fun, and easy to read. I was a tiny bit disappointed that they weren't a little longer. I felt like Abominable could have had a little more to it. However, I do believe that story is my favorite.
The titles do seem to give away what the stories will be about, but I liked knowing what I was getting myself into. And all of the stories had their own uniqueness about them.
Preston was a fun character, and I rather enjoyed reading about his adventures. He got himself tangled up in some pretty crazy messes, but it was entertaining to see how he got out of them.
If you like short stories, horror, or even westerns, pick up a copy of Occult .45 today.
I'd rate the book 3.5 stars.
My Review
Occult .45 is a collection of short horror stories, all involving the same man: Preston Cobb. Preston is a seller of firearms in the west. That may seem normal enough, but his version of the west is actually quite...strange.
In story one, Silver Moon, Preston heads into a small mining town to get the nice folks to buy some of his merchandise. What he doesn't bargain on is coming face-to-face with creatures straight out of a nightmare. He also doesn't expect to join up with one of those creatures in helping the townspeople save themselves.
In story two, Abominable, Preston meets a lovely family in the mountains who happen to be dealing with something much bigger than they imaged. Can a gunrunner and a little boy take down this ancient evil?
In story three, Dead to Rites, Preston stumbles across the border and teams up with some nuns to fight off some very hungry patrons. But the undead are the least of his worries when something much bigger and badder shows up to make things worse.
In story four, Gunrunner to the Stars, Preston decides it's time to retire, but not before going out with one last hurrah. A meteor, a gargoyle, and some of the best a gunrunner has to offer all come together to end this collection of horror stories.
Overall, I felt the book was a pretty decent read. The stories were short, fun, and easy to read. I was a tiny bit disappointed that they weren't a little longer. I felt like Abominable could have had a little more to it. However, I do believe that story is my favorite.
The titles do seem to give away what the stories will be about, but I liked knowing what I was getting myself into. And all of the stories had their own uniqueness about them.
Preston was a fun character, and I rather enjoyed reading about his adventures. He got himself tangled up in some pretty crazy messes, but it was entertaining to see how he got out of them.
If you like short stories, horror, or even westerns, pick up a copy of Occult .45 today.
I'd rate the book 3.5 stars.
Nick Carcano
Nick Carcano spent his childhood pulling cactus out of his feet and listening to coyotes howl in the California high desert. He speaks rusty Mandarin and Spanish. When he's not writing his day job involves literally saving the world, which sometimes involves shooting zombies, but usually involves a lot of e-mail. If you like dim sum, RPGs, sci-fi, or corgis, you should be his friend. He’s currently working on The Big Weird One a series of sci-fi/horror short stories set during WWII and will release his first novel, Boom: A Wild West Heist, in fall 2015.
Website: amazon.com/author/nickcarcano
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carcanobooks
Purchase Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Occult-45-Tales-Gunrunning-Weird-ebook/dp/B00KPJF4AW/ (Available on Kindle, paperback, and as an audiobook)
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