Roland Yeomans' novel is the latest I've read from my eTBR file (the virtual stack), and a good followup on the Sam McCord stories. It's about The Industry, aka the movie industry, in the early days of Hollywood. The Badlands are dry, barren, windblown rugged, and formerly the home of the Navajo and Lakota tribes.
A movie on location in the Badlands will see it's usual expectations shelved when an evil that lurks unseen is called. . . the air is charged with apprehension, all the actors are spooked. Something isn't quite right, but the guy in charge, Durand / McCord, can't determine what. A body is found, attacked by something inhuman. Signs of an old enemy increase the stakes. The search begins. . .
What is hiding in the Badlands, in the places the tribes don't go, the places where strange shapes are seen and things disappear? Will McCord find it before IT finds them? Meilori makes a grand entrance with Tesla, and with a few henchmen, they prepare for the fight with the Darkness, an entity worse than the Soyoko.
A quote from McCord that is priceless: "When you are young in West Texas, everyone seems to want to stick you with a knife, from Apache to cowhand." (That would be the early 1800s if McCord was born in 1799.)
An excellent cast for the movie in the book: Tom Mix, Marlene Dietrich, David Niven, Errol Flynn, and others, is balanced by the cast from the world of Sam McCord: Meilori, Elu, Tesla, Wolfe and the Sheriff. Delighted to see his love, Meilori beside him and Elu's surprise appearance, McCord is ready to do what must be done - ever the Texas Ranger. The confrontation with the danger must be met by Sam alone. . . against the entity hiding in the cave. An entity with unknown capabilities.
This story looks at several issues in an industry that has grown from silent movies to fantastic effects in film. I couldn't help comparing it to the Fitzgerald story, The Last Tycoon. Why? Both take place on movie set locations, both involve a director keeping a secret from most of the cast and crew. While one is concerned with weird happenings and murders at the location, the Fitzgerald book is concerned with unions and their effect on the creativity of directors and the industry. Both stories are nostalgic for a time in films that seemed golden. Both directors act as father figures for others. I enjoyed both novels.
Check out the other books Roland has written at his site, Writing in the Crosshairs, and see what a fantastic selection is available. For reviews of some of Roland's other novels, check the Book Review tabs at the top of my blog. I've reviewed them on Amazon as well.
***
Are you familiar with Roland's novels? Have you read Her Bones are in the Badlands? or Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon? If you have read Roland's novels, do you have a favorite story? Who is your fave character?
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here, and thanks for stopping by! I'll respond.
***
Writing in the Crosshairs - Roland's Blog
http://rolandyeomans.blogspot.ca/
***
