One of my favorite outlets to write for is The LineUp. You can click here for all of the times I have written for them or about them here on the blog.
I love getting to write about books directly to the reader audience. And I really believe in the work that the LineUp does. They are professional, care about getting backlist titles into the hands of readers, and pay me as promised and on time.
This is one of 5 columns I have contracted to write for the LineUp this calendar year. You can read everything I have written for them with this link.
Below is a link to the entire article with the introduction reposted here.
These Weird Horror Western Books Are Re-Inventing the Genre
Where the horror howls.
- Photo Credit: Kym MacKinnon / Unsplash
Back in 2017, I noted the following trend on my blog for library workers:
“…Westerns are making a comeback…because the genre is shifting to fit what readers want to read about today, while still staying true to the essence of what makes something "a Western."
Up until recently, in order to be called a "Western" a book needed to be about the expansion of the West—and the men who “tamed” it. It also had to be set from after the Civil War to the turn of the 20th Century.
Okay, before I go any further, you can see right away why there is a problem with this definition—mostly white men, very strict time frame, and limited scope.
But there are other things that are appealing about Westerns that many readers love and that this genre always got 100% right. For example, the rich descriptions of the beautiful landscape and the plots which place the characters in a morality play (with) revenge and redemption…at the center. These appeals are not unique to the West but they are things about the genre that fans also adore.
This renewed interest in Westerns uses these basic appeal factors and a broad definition of "The West" as a place, but not always in those former strict time constraints. These are stories of the West that add in something else, like another genre, a darker tone…or are just plain "weird." They can now also be set anytime as long as "The West" as a place features prominently.”
This popularity has only increased in the seven years since I first wrote that post, culminating most recently with Lone Women by Victor LaValle, a Weird Western, showing up on best lists from Library Journal to Book Page and as a nominee for awards like the Bram Stoker Award and the LA Times Book Prize.
Looking back from 2017 to now, we not only see an increase in the number of titles being released, but within the classification of “Weird Western,” we have also seen a wider range of stories available to readers.
From science fiction and dark fantasy influences to atmospheric historicals to pulps, there is a Weird Western for every reader to join the wagon train and ride this popular trend into the sunset.
Click here to see the full article and annotated list of books.
No comments:
Post a Comment