About ‘Jim Walker and the Redemption Hymn’ by Rev. Dare Cloud:
Genre: Spaghetti Western; Horror; Supernatural; Anti-hero
The history books would read that Jim Walker was brutally executed after the Battle of Goliad, but a few promises in the right ear blurred the contrast between blood and ink. Now an aging bounty hunter on the verge of retirement, his services are requested in the Northern Arizona Territory to solve the terrifying mystery of the Verde River Massacre. With guns from a local Deputy, courage from a saloon proprietor, and a deathbed confession from an all-too-familiar Medicine Woman, Jim sets off on what could be his final adventure. Will he lay the ghosts of his past to rest once and for all, or is he simply whistling his Redemption Hymn?
I have also reviewed these other titles by Rev. Dare Cloud (C. Derick Miller):
Starving Zoe
Reading Jim Walker’s story has been a long time coming, an experience I have been eager for though it unfortunately was cast to the wayside in light of life’s many important annoyances. After reading his popular novel ‘Starving Zoe,’ I knew I had likely come upon a favorite author. I am delighted to report that ‘Jim Walker and the Redemption Hymn,’ which serves as a sort of sequel to ‘Starving Zoe,’ upholds the same gritty, unforgiving story-telling I loved.
A brief period following the first book, Zoe remains on the rampage in the wild west. Called to the rescue is one Jim Walker, a mysterious man with mysterious abilities. At first, it is unclear whether the skeletons hiding in the old man’s closet quite match Robert Jack from ‘Starving Zoe,’ but gradually as his past is revealed, we see he is ever the evil or at least morally questionable devil. His bottom line is his own hide, his soul more or less held for ransom by the same witchy Navajo woman who holds the reigns of Zoe the skinwalker.
You would think the plot pretty straightforward: find the beast, kill the beast, story over. However, Rev. Cloud continuously pulls the unsuspecting reader into horror after horror, twist after turn. It’s one of those books where you think you know what’s going to happen, only for something different to smack you in the face.
I adore Rev. Cloud’s unapologetic and brutal writing style. He writes about villains and anti-heroes in their purest, truest forms, never attempting to water down their behavior or thoughts. And it is this dedication to the honesty of their characters that makes them so alluring. The unpredictability of their actions draws the reader in like a cowboy to a saloon. Savage. Undeniable. Inevitable.
Interesting to me is how despite Jim Walker’s clearly questionable morale, he holds to certain truths that could mistakenly come across as righteous, such as his opinions on the strength of a woman and giving them proper respect. Nevertheless, this is not a matter of ethics for Jim. Rather it is simply a matter of fact that he has learned over his grueling years. His accursed life of unknown duration, even to himself.
While this book does definitely hold up to the first, it is *slightly* less graphic. Not in the way of individual scenes because trust me, the violence is duly detailed, but more in the sense that there seems to be a bit less of these scenes than there were in the other. That isn’t a complaint, just an observation.
Overall, an awesome adventure filled with action, mystery, and otherworldly obstacles that I will recommend even to those who are not too keen on westerns. Because despite the genre, it remains so, so much more.
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((Review submitted to Amazon and Goodreads))
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~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden
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