Cowboy zombies on stilts! Yes, you read that right.

Don't worry, there won't be any more spoilers in this review, I just had to get that out there.

Hell's Bounty, with that kick-ass cover, was a lot of fun to read. A weird western, it has all the elements one wants to see: cowboys, unearthly tentacles, Satan and Old Ones. Yep, Old Ones. Mr. Lansdale and his brother mash up everything here, but somehow it works. Mostly.

I liked the action packed last half better than the first; it took a little while for this story to find its groove, but once it did, it was GONE! Something was missing here, though, and I think it was the quality of the humor. While this book did feature some of that famous Lansdale wit, I didn't find it quite as sharp or as biting in this book as I have in most of his others.

If a weird western is what you're craving, with a dash of Lovecraft and a dollop of zombies, this is the book for you. Recommended for fans of Lansdale and his westerns!

You can pre-order your copy here:http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Bounty-Joe-R-Lansdale/dp/1596067454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455647251&sr=8-1&keywords=hell's bounty

*Thanks to Net Galley and Subterranean Press for the opportunity to review this ARC!* ( )

Satan/Snappy sends a man named Smith to the town of Falling Rock to kill a demon named Zelzarda/Quill, and cowboy ghouls. Assisting in this task are Doc, the legless Undertaker, and one-eyed Payday. Throw in Belle Star, Bloody Bill Anderson, Jesse James, Quantrail, and Wild Bill Hickok, and you’ve got yourself a party! Lots of wild west shooting, whipping, and dynamiting in this! May have gotten a bit long in the tooth toward the end, but all-in-all, rip roarin' good fun! ( )

After a very unfortunate accident, a bounty hunter finds himself in a weird saloon, which operates as kind of the last outpost on his way to hell. However, when Satan offers him a last job on Earth, Smith can't deny - after all, the awaiting alternative would be very painful for him.

Therefore, Smith is sent back one more time in order to stop a bad guy named Quill. Already a bad-ass while human, Quill now is a demon-possessed monster ruling over town with his army of ghouls and the intention of releasing some ancient gods named the Old Ones into our world. Together with a group of survivors and a posse sent right up from hell, Smith takes on his last bounty hunt...

There were a lot of very weird but also witty scenes and characters in this book, and I loved Snappy aka Satan working as a bartender in his hellish saloon. The author expertly managed to create some powerful images in my head, and I could easily visualize each character as well as the typical western setting. The combination of western and horror worked very well together. The story contained a large portion of good old-fashioned shooting and fighting.

Towards the end, a number of new yet eerily familiar characters were brought into the story as support for Smith. But while they were an interesting bunch it seemed their only purpose was to die in one or another fancy way during the final battle, which thus was unnecessarily prolonged.

Overall a very unique and entertaining novel.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review) ( )