Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes

I was intrigued by this book simply because of the inclusion of zombies. Unfortunately, I found the premise and differing point of views confusing. It made it difficult to connect and really get a feel for each character because I was too busy trying to keep who was who straight. Maybe I just wasn't the target audience for this novel. I truly wanted to enjoy this. Western + zombies? Who wouldn't, but it was a big 'ol miss with this reader. ( )

Book Review & Giveaway: When I saw Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes by Rob DeBorde, I knew it would make a great Halloween giveaway. Normally we show the book cover at the left; however, I found this poster for the novel on the author’s web site and knew we had to include it instead. Doncha love it? If you’re a Wild West fan or a zombie/supernatural/paranormal fan, this one is going to be perfect. It is indeed “The old west as you’ve never seen it.” Read the rest of my review & enter to win a copy at http://popcornreads.com/?p=4868. ( )

When I first heard of this book I knew I had to get my hands on it as it not only had zombies in it, but it takes place in Portland, OR, one of my favorite cities in the US. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started it, and even now, it’s tough to categorize. It’s part western, part history, part horror and part paranormal.

The basic gist of the story is that a powerful criminal known as The Hanged Man is tracked down and brought down by Joseph Wylde and his U.S. Marshall father-in-law. The Hanged Man was very dangerous as he dealt in dark magic and possessed a supernatural revolver and a book of magic that aided him in his reign of terror. A few years later, someone gets their hands on the revolver and the book and resurrects the Hanged Man who comes back to life seeking revenge on Wylde and his family.

Despite a clunky opening, the book really grabbed me. It had elements of a good old fashioned western, and the addition of the paranormal made it fresh, though I never felt like I was able to buy into it 100%. Maybe it was because I’m not a huge fan of westerns. There is plenty of action, and the writing flows pretty well. The zombies here aren’t born of a virus, and exist through dark magic (necromancy). For some reason these types of zombies don’t freak me out as much as the virus-caused, flesh-eating types, so this dampened the feeling of terror for me a bit.

My biggest complaint was that I never felt like I really connected with any of the characters (and there are a lot of them). There were also quite a few loose threads that I felt were left hanging, though if this is a planned series, there is definitely room to explore these open points more. Still, it’s a fun read, and definitely one I would recommend to readers looking for a different sort of zombie and/or western novel. ( )

Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes by Rob DeBorde kicks off with a mystery: a sheriff is compelled to dig up graves, and he doesn't know why. Fearing for his sanity, his family collects him from Astoria and brings him to wild-west turn-of-the-century Portlandtown, or Portland, Oregon. This slightly bemused legendary lawman sets the stage for the novel, as he and his family try to unravel the mystery of his compulsion.

This is a dense story, a wild, crazy mystery, full of twists and turns and amazing encounters, all set against a detailed, authentic Portland. It's hard to categorize, but immensely entertaining: wild west with a dash of supernatural, historical drama with a splash of zombies, and horror story with a pinch of humor.

I loved it, and hope the author writes more. And more. And more. ( )

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this one. The world building is good; Portlandtown was described in detail and was an interesting (if wet) location. Character development is also good; I loved the Wyldes (Kate, Joseph, and the twins) and the "Big Bads" truly were big and bad. But . . . it seemed like the story took a while to get started, and I just couldn't get really invested in it until the last third of the book. But that last third came on like gangbusters! If DeBorde writes more about the Wyldes, I'll probably check it out - just to see what happens. ( )