Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Johnny Jenkins loves most aspects of riding for the Pony Express, but the loneliness can be hard to abide. When a raid injures the station keeper at remote Jacob’s Well, Johnny is left alone to tend the incoming riders until a replacement can be found. Isolated and without even a horse to keep him company, Johnny thinks he might go mad from solitude.

That is, until he meets Sye Fairchild, a rider for a different kind of express. This one operates in the shadows, and the deliveries are of a much darker nature. Sye is dashing and kind, but he’s also under a deadline—he’s got to finish his deliveries by Friday, or he breaks a very old and very serious bargain.

And as Johnny finds a kindred soul in Sye, he realizes that soul needs saving—even if it means ruining his own.

 

Book Review

Johnny has been carrying mail west for the Pony Express for a few years now. He thought he'd seen just about everything, but finding that the station master at one of his stops has been scalped is a whole different level of “everything”. With the attackers so nearby, Johnny pushes his tired horse to the next station where he finds that the station master, Kermit, has also been attacked and severely wounded. Since all the other horses are gone, Kermit takes Johnny's horse to try to make it to civilization so he can be properly treated. Essentially, that makes Johnny temporarily in charge. Before Kermit goes, he informs Johnny that a special rider will be coming in and gives him instructions as to what to do with the messages he brings.

Johnny hates being out in the middle of nowhere alone, so any company will be welcome. Johnny waits for the other rider, whose name is Sye, but when Sye arrives, covered by a long black cape, on a huge black stallion, Johnny has second thoughts. Sye stays long enough to eat, then is off again, leaving Johnny with more questions than answers. Sye does tell Johnny that he will be back soon. Each time Sye returns to the station, he looks more exhausted and Johnny grows more concerned. Sye confides a little more of his story on each visit until he has told Johnny the entire story. After that, Johnny understands why Sye has to ride so hard and long in order to finish. Johnny watches Sye attempt to make his deadline, but it's obvious that he isn't going to make it; Johnny offers to help.

This love story is dark and intense but emotional as well. The tension that Astrid creates is remarkable. Johnny and Sye are awesome characters and as much as I had to stretch my imagination, I found myself believing them. Thanks, Astrid, for the mind-bending tale.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The anthology this short story was published in has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Short Story, 46 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	16-December-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $17.99 paperback, $17.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/once-upon-a-time-in-the-weird-west-7894-b