We are back from vacation with a gritty review of legendary horror author, Kristopher Rufty’s, splatter western novel. The Devoured and The Dead is a splatter western novel released in the Death’s Head Press Splatter Western series, and boy does this one carve out it’s own piece of legacy in the genre.
Before we begin the review, I would like to say to readers beware. While I will try to not spoil the entire novel, some of the things I will be referencing will be considered spoilers. I may not go into names or tell you who did what, but by describing certain things I enjoyed in this novel I will no doubtely spoil some things. This is your final warning. If you want to read this book without any sort of spoilers, click off this page and come back after you read the whole book. Otherwise, enjoy this slicing and dicing of The Devoured and The Dead.
So right off the bat, I want to say that I enjoyed the setting for this. Instead of this splatter western being set in the deserts out west or a shanty town, it’s set in the cold isolated realms of a blizzard. In the most basic wording, the whole plot is centered around this group of travelers breaking down in the freezing cold and starving to death. This was a unique approach, and while I do admit that it made me nervous going into it because I felt like it would be long and drawn out because of such a small scope of a setting, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
This novel is a roller coaster, and not one of those kiddie park ones either. It’s full of jabs and turns and gore. I mean some of Rufty’s descriptions for when said group of characters are eating the dead carcass of a few gruesome things are beyond perfect. I can say that this book moves at a steady pace, full of explosive terror and grime at each turn.
Another thing I felt Rufty did very well in this novel is building suspense. While the gore is great, the suspense he is able to build is even better. It also fits the theme of being out in this frozen place where the characters are trapped. The setting and flow of the story builds this gritty suspense that makes you feel hopeless. Like there were multiple times reading this book that I literally said, ‘oh fuck, there is no way that this is going to pan out good at all.’
There was one scene in particular that really got me. The main character, Billy, returns to the camp after knowing what the adults of the camp did. He is wary of them, but his mother comes out and insists that he comes with her. She wants to bring him into one of the wagons because she isn’t feeling well. The suspense in this scene is outrageous. Reading this my eyes were glued to the page and I felt like I was right there seeing this play out. Seeing how this character was helpless and getting dragged into an absolute death sentence, it was fantastic.
I also enjoyed the ending to this book. Overall this book is full of twists that I thought were hard to predict. This was one of those novels that really packed a punch and kept me on my toes the whole way through. In the three books I’ve read from Rufty, the other two being Pillowface and A Dark Autumn, I found that he has a tendency to do this very well. Overall, I’d say this novel was amazing and definitely has the Mutilated Mohawk seal of approval.
While this review is going up today I am pleased to announce that this upcoming Friday, 9/30/22, my interview with Kristopher Rufty will drop. It’s packed full of insight on how he feels about the genre and even a few tips for fellow horror authors and creators out there. Stay scary you Muti-freaks, and I’ll see you guys next time!
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