The Converted (original 2011; edition 2011)

A man with a dark past escapes to a new land hoping for a new life and atonement for past sins. Welcome to one of the great Western tropes. Many careers have been made on this basic plot, and I'm thinking C. R. Hindmarsh, author of The Converted, might be one of them as well.

Hindmarsh adds some new twists to the tale; it's not precisely a Western, in that it appears to be set in a fantasy world. But it's a fantasy world with trains, guns, a mostly 1880s tech level, wilderness, Indians (Skia), and a powerful elite. There's even the local mayor who stands up to the rampaging savages, soldiers who don't really know what's going on where they are, and a stand off at a public hanging.

So, all in all, everything everyone loves about Westerns are in this book. If it takes place in New Alania instead of Wyoming, well, who really cares?

The twist, instead of a dark past of Civil War crimes (or heroics) our Dark Hero was a failed geneticist, whose experiments killed a slew of children.

It's a good twist. Everything other than the genetics looks pretty well set for the 1880s, but the rich and powerful have figured out how to vert (convert) genes and are walking around with different colors, different skin types (scales for example). It's not so much that the powerful have more money, they're practically a different species by the time this story gets going.

But of course, there's a dark secret involving the verts and the rich and powerful. And it's the job of the hero to get to the bottom of it and seek redemption along the way.

The cast of characters is wide enough to cover almost all of the basic Western roles. There was no whore with a heart of gold, but I think that was the only one who was missing. They are competently drawn, interesting, and worth following.

This is a tidy and solid western. (Even if it looks a little different.) If the drifter, one step ahead of the law, rides into town, finds things aren't the way they should be, grows a spine and a conscience, and then, with the aid of a few new friends, goes in and saves the day, overthrowing the corrupting influence is your idea of a good time, go read The Converted, you will enjoy it. ( )

Review of Member giveaway eBook.
This was an unusual book. It combines science fiction, steampunk and western elements.
Anton a doctor on the run from his past arrives at a small town that is almost immediately attacked by ‘devils’. A young girl is injured and starts to show mutations. From there a journey to the Capital to seek help leads to various adventures. All while being chased by a character called Wulf who wants to take him back for trial.
This was an entertaining, light read. If you ignore the incongruity of genetic manipulation occurring in a society that uses horse power and go with the flow it should fill a quiet afternoon. ( )

Excellent Steampunk novel about redemption. Torlander, Dr. Anton Springgman is trying to run from his past only to be confronted by the same type of circumstances as when he left. Upon arrival in his new town they are attacked by devils. After a child is injured, Anton realizes what is creating the devils and decides to go with the father and a few others to the city of Harth to find help. Being followed by a terrifying Bounty Hunter name Wulf, Anton and his group head for the city and never seem to have an easy time. Great Novel and an excellent way to spend an afternoon in the sun. ( )

I am a big fan of the Firefly television series, and this seemed to have similar elements so that drew me to it. But this didn't have quite as much of the science fiction aspects as I was expecting. The science fiction aspects- the genetic research, mutations, etc.... are important to the climax of the story, but it reads more like a western novel. The setting and characters are ones that could come from any western movie or novel. The novel has a good pace, and the author teases out the history of what brings Dr. Springmann to New Alania in the first half of the novel, so just learn a little bit of it at a time. The author does use the F-bomb several times through out the novel. A few times, if it suits the genre, I can take that, but there was one scene where it was used about as many times as it was in the whole rest of the book, and that just seemed excessive. ( )

When I saw the cover I thought Western and I was pretty close to being right. It does take place long before cars and modern technology. There were trains and light bulbs so I would put this around the mid 1800's. No date is actually stated but a Wikipedia search helped me narrow down the dates. Here's the kicker, it's a little science fiction-y without the aliens and a little fantasy-ish without vampires.

I liked it. I felt drawn in and hooked from the beginning. At first it was simply trying to figure out the timeline and how the class system works. It was quick to figure out and then I was just hooked on the story! It was a beautiful parallel to our world in that it could simply be another dimension of us.