BOOK REVIEW: A SAVAGE BREED by Patrick C. Harrison III

Despicable bandits, a fiery teenage girl on the run to California, a mountain man who seeks murderous vengeance for the death of his family. What do all these characters have in common? They’re all prey for the unknown flying monsters that rule the night skies.

The premise for this sounded very appealing and I was hoping to love this 6th addition to the Splatter Western series as much as the 4th book (Christine Morgan’s The Night Silver River Run Red). Unfortunately, I was disappointed and upset with this one. Why? Well here’s a list:

- racial violence/ slurs

- unnecessary rape scenes that added nothing to the plot

- lack of development / perspective from Native American characters

- 90% of the book containing more of what’s listed above than the monsters we’re waiting to see revealed.

Yes, content like this can be found in many works of dark fiction. I know: this is a Splatter Western. Half the point is gore and the macabre. But the difference between good and bad, successful and unsuccessful versions of this genre is a commitment to responsibility and accountability--imagining a genre that can do better than being a safe space for our worst selves--that needs to be had when handling violence as entertainment. During a particularly painful year where the very real pain and suffering of BIPOC is being brought to light, I need white male authors to do better. Writing stories where the premise happened “long ago” should not give white authors the license to barrage readers with sexual assault, brutalization, and the constant use of derogatory, racial slurs. We’re still here, it still hurts.

These are details that I found hard to ignore or skim over and I cannot in good conscience recommend a book that could be triggering for certain audiences. Aside from the story having a very unexpected twist ending, A SAVAGE BREED simply dropped the ball for me. I’ll hold my breath for the next book in the series. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

(1/5⭐)

(Thank you to Night Worms and Deaths Head Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)


                                                                       xo Nina