I don’t know how long this horror western trend is going to stick around, but I’m going to take full advantage while it’s here.

Jennings’ addition to Death’s Heads Press’ line of splatter westerns is actually relatively light on splatter in the beginning of the book. When a group of travelers are taken in for the night, given a place to stay, we’re treated to pages and pages of character development, not resembling much of a horror novel. This might sound like a complaint, but the interaction is entertaining and the dialogue crackles, and the time spent with these characters, particularly Miss Clyde Northway, pays off in a big way later.

When the book takes its turn into horror territory, it cuts the wheel viciously and doesn’t bother to ease the brakes at all. Jennings’ visceral descriptions and stark action scenes paint vivid pictures of gore and mayhem rooted in humanity, or I suppose lack thereof. The action does not let up for a moment until the very last page, and though the book feels complete, there could be more story to tell, and I’d show up for it.

Red Station makes full use of the old west setting without leaning into familiar and overused tropes the genre is rife with. A fresh story that uses dialogue and setting to showcase what can be done in this extremely specific sub-genre. While I’ve only read short fiction by Kenzie Jennings to this point, I’ll need to rectify that now that I’ve seen what the author can do with a longer form.