J. R. Curtis

Tightly written Western Horror worth a read

As I read this, I thought it could easily be adapted into a short screenplay, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that it was in the end notes.

Curtis keeps to the plot of a gang of thieves, hard on their luck, given a promise of honest work by a preacher who sends them on a journey through what turns out to be cursed land.

It’s simple, a fast read with characters that are clearly delineated, with dialogue that sounds real, not stilted or on the nose. It totally reads like a book adapted from a script. I personally like crisp narrative over flowery, overwritten prose. And yet I still wanted to edit a few passages, maybe take out a lot of the "he said, she said" qualifiers that felt unnecessary.

Overall though, this piece shows a talented writer who is well worth the read.… (meer)