**** 4 out of 5 stars
Down at the Crossroads
Review by: Mark Palm

Of all of the myths of America, none seems to resonate like that of the West. Indigenous people have been in the Americas for eons when Europeans began to arrive in the Sixteenth Century, but the colonization of North America by the United States seems to be an everlasting symbol of this Nation, for good or ill. Historians and pundits all have their reasons, but I think it might have been because technology was there to document this history in nearly real-time. In Europe and the eastern U.S. people read penny dreadfuls of living characters in the West as they led their lives, like the first Reality television shows.

The West of Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman is very different, yet every bit as fascinating. East of the Mississippi lies the U.S., Spain is in the South and West, but The Territory belongs to the Devil, who lives in a saloon in a town called Flood. Isobel grew up in that saloon, working for the man called the Boss. No one knows who or what he is, just that he is powerful, and the Territory is under his protection.

After her indentured service ends on her sixteenth birthday, Isobel who had lived and worked at the saloon until it’s rhythms were second nature, decides to keep working for the Boss. So he sends her out on the Road, under the tutelage of the Rider, Gabriel, to be the Boss’s Left Hand, his emissary to all who live and travel in the Territory.

Ms. Gilman turns the land of the west alive in a unique and unusual way; here animals talk, demons walk, magicians are to be feared, and Silver holds a special power for all. The main story of Silver on the Road is a classic coming-of-age story, as the learned Gabriel shows Isobel the ways of the Road, as she slowly grows into her own, discovering her role and the magical power that comes with it. She must learn in a hurry, as well, because something evil is abroad in the land, and it is her job to discover what it is, and what she can do to stop it. A lot of that seems like a traditional heroic quest story, and there would be nothing at all wrong with that, because it is one of the oldest and most mythical archetypes for a reason, but Ms. Gilman has a lot more up her sleeve.

In this novel the land of the Territory is more than just a backdrop, but a living, breathing character. Her understanding and description of landscape and its impact on the story reminds me of the best work of writers like Barry Lopez, but here it’s a work of fiction, which makes it more of a feat.

Isobel is also a great character, and she more than holds her own with the land. Her mentor, Gabriel is solid, and the wizard, Farron, is captivating in a small but juicy role. The pace of the novel is measured, but I thought it very appropriate. Silver on the Road is set in a world full of magic and mysteries, and coming to learn it is not a quick or easy process. As Isobel and Gabriel travel horseback across the land, the story unfolds, bit by bit, and if it may seem a bit slow at times, the breadth and wealth of detail that Ms. Gilman packs into each scene more than makes up for it. When the big scenes take place, such as when the two discover a mysteriously abandoned town, the effects hold much more power that if we were being buffeted by non-stop action. Silver on the Road is both down to earth and wonderfully strange, and takes an old setting and turns it on it’s head to wonderful effect. When the next installment comes out, I’d like to read it by a campfire. That would be perfect.

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This dark fantasy/horror work from the author of the "Vineart War" trilogy reimagines early 19th-century America as divided between the states in the east, Spain in the far West, and a region in the middle ruled by a man everyone calls the devil, whose magic keeps the peace. The pacing is slow, but the characters and setting keep the interest of fans of atmosphere strange Wild West stories.