Sadie Hartmann's Reviews > A Red Winter in the West

A RED WINTER IN THE WEST by C. S. Humble
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: The Black Wells Series (Book 1: All These Subtle Deceits, Book 2: All the Prospect Around Us and That Light Sublime Trilogy (Book 1: The Massacre at Yellow Hill)

Affiliate Link: https://www.cemeterydance.com/redwint...

Release Date: July 18th, 2023

General Genre: Supernatural, Cosmic/Cult, Horror, Western, Epic Adventure

Sub-Genre/Themes: Good vs. Evil/Light vs. Dark, Vampires & Werewolves, Cult/Worship, Friendship/Fellowship, Chosen Family, Love Conquers All, Humanity, Bravery

Writing Style: Character-driven, fast-paced, Ensemble Cast, Richly detailed/descriptive

What You Need to Know: You need to know that there is so much more out there in the universe of books than what is traditionally published by agented authors. And it’s overwhelming to navigate the volume of new books that get released every month. The temptation would be to stay inside the lines of heavily marketed books by familiar names. But the terrible risk in doing that is missing some extremely talented writers putting everything they have into books that you might fall in love with.

If you enjoy investing in characters with your whole heart and that feeling of being whisked away into the setting of the book you’re reading, and if you love it when the stakes are impossibly high because evil is so great but there are fellowships of good people banding together to save each other and mankind, these are for you.



My Reading Experience:
To have the fullest reading experience, it’s important to read Book 1, The Massacre at Yellow Hill. Book 1 introduces readers to primary characters you will invest in wholeheartedly. I’d even go as far as to say this could be marketed as an epic coming-of-age Western/Horror simply because one of the main protagonists grows up right on the page. And you know how I feel about my coming-of-age horror. It’s safe to say, Carson Ptolemy lives in my reader’s heart.

So yes, book 1 is an important set-up for the story and optimum emotional investment. Similar to the way the Lord of the Rings trilogy is lined up, book 1 brings to light an insidious darkness growing in power. Readers will witness the beginning stages of this evil threat and how the characters we will come to know and love, will eventually band together. The fellowship, if you will. And if you’re at all familiar with LOTR, you know that book 2 is the harrowing journey toward facing unadulterated evil. A Red Winter in the West does not hold back. Prepare to lose your heart along the way.
But also, just allow it.
The chapters have important headings so that you know where you are in the story as it follows different groups of characters as they are handling their individual conflicts that will ultimately converge.
There are multiple enemies and several heroes with strong leaders in both camps.
The best part is the storytelling–it moves along at the perfect pace. There aren’t any lags or filler, or unnecessary details, everything feels intentional and significant; a well-plotted tale. Every gut punch is like a heat-seeking missile…Humble never misses the mark.
Another attractive aspect of this trilogy is the conversations and the way people gather around a meal, or smoke their pipes, or some other intimate activity of community to have deep, meaningful conversations. The dialogue always feels so demonstrative of the individual characters, revealing their heart and motivations. They all sound different too. Humble knows how to give his characters a unique voice.
When new characters are introduced, they are memorable to the reader–not burdensome. Some books have a growing cast list of faceless, voiceless people who add nothing to the forward movement of the story, but in these books, everyone serves a purpose.
I could go on, but really, it will get too spoilery.
The best part of reading these books is the emotional return on your investment and all the reading discoveries that await you.

Final Recommendation: That Light Sublime Trilogy is like if Ray Bradbury, Joe Lansdale, and Stephen King combined their styles to write The Lord of the Rings. Horror with heart and soul.
"Humble writes with rare passion in the tradition of Robert E. Howard and a young Stephen King." - Laird Barron, author of The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All


Comps: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King–Epic Adventure/Weird Western/Loveable Characters, This trilogy is like a Western ‘Salem’s Lot + The Lord of the Rings (but with Vampires and werewolves instead of Orcs and An evil, cosmic deity worshipping cult instead of a Necromancer & his followers) there are even some elements of The Chronicles of Narnia, with evil ushering in eternal winter and the destruction of mankind so that ghouls and monsters can rule.