Dead In The West (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Stephen Bissette (Illustrator), Stephen R. Bissette (Author) "He had come down out of the high country: a long, lean preacher man covered in dust, riding a buckskin mare with an abscessed back,..." (more)
Key Phrases: stage trail, shooting lesson, Mud Creek, Joe Bob Rhine, East Texas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A zombie western by Joe R. Lansdale. Dead In The West is the story of Mud Creek, Texas, a town overshadowed by a terrible evil. An Indian medicine man, unjustly lynched by the people of Mud Creek, has put a curse on the town. As the sun sets, he will have his revenge. For when darkness falls, the dead will walk in Mud Creek and they will be hungry for human flesh. The only one that can save the town is Reverend Jebediah Mercer, a gun toting preacher man who came to Mud Creek to escape his pa st. He has lost his faith in the Lord and his only solace is the whisky bottle. Will he renew his faith in himself and God to defeat this evil or will the town be destroyed? This edition of Dead In The West is the first hardcover edition of this classic n ovel. It is available here for the first time in the author's preferred text and features a new foreword by Neal Barrett, Jr and introduction by Joe Lansdale. Interior illustrations are by Stephen R. Bissette and cover illustration is by Dave Dorman. This special edition is bound in cloth, slipcased and limited to 300 copies signed by Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen R. Bissette and Neal Barrett, Jr..

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Frozen with fear, Matt had backed into the cell and pulled the door shut. The Indian tied the strand with the ears on it around his neck, walked over, and put his face against the bars. Matt let go with both barrels of the shotgun. The Indian's head jerked back a foot, then returned to stare through the bars. The shotgun pellets hit him just beneath the nose and down his chest. The little balls of lead dripped out of his flesh and rang on the floor. The Indian's laugh wasn't quite as loud as the slurping and sucking and chewing that was going on behind him. The Indian took hold of the bars; and slowly, with a smile on his face, he began to bend the bars apart. He put his head through the space he had made and grinned at Matt. Matt dropped the shotgun, pulled his revolver, and put the gun to his own head. He cocked back the hammer. Closed his eyes. And hesitated. But just for a moment, then he pulled the trigger. Matt's hand was snatched away; and the bullet slammed harmlessly into the back wall of the cell; and Matt, his eyes wide open, saw that the Indian was in the cell, holding the revolver's barrel, smiling at him. The Indian snatched the revolver away. It clattered across the floor. The Indian opened his mouth. His teeth winked silver-white in the dim light made by the moon's beams struggling against the clouds and the rain, and the flickering lamp light. The Indian's jaws opened wider, and wider. There was a snapping sound as they came unhinged like a snake's. A loud hissing sound came up from the Indian's throat, and the head snapped forward, engulfing Matt from chin to nose. Matt screamed, and inside the great mouth it made the faintest of echoes as it rushed down the Indian's throat. There was a nauseating crunch as gouts of blood sprayed from either side of Matt's face. The Indian, who had been leaning slightly forward; straightened his head; and as he did, he lifited Matt--kicking--off the floor. The Indian shook his head like a dog worrying a bone, and Matt flopped like a wet rag. A last shake of the Indian's head, and Matt's face came off, and Matt splattered to the floor and slid until his head hit the far wall. He was lying face up, and there was no face. His forehead had collapsed, and his ears seemed perched on the edge of a pre carious cliff, like inept climbers about to tumble in. A ragged hunk of flesh poked out from beneath the Indian's big, sharp teeth; and then with a quick gulping motion, it disappeared into the maw that was the man-thing's mouth. An instant later the Indi an spat out a stream of Matt's teeth, like a sick man disgorging too mant after dinner mints. The Indian turned his bloody face towards his followers and smiled to see that Caleb was standing up, guts dripping from his belly, the wound showing backbone in its wet depths as well as a gnawed rib. Lifting his head to the ceiling, the Indian let forth a demonic howl that sent bloody spittle clear to the ceiling.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 155 pages
• Publisher: Cross Roads Press (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892300001
• ISBN-13: 978-1892300003
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,389,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Western Zombie tale, November 11, 2006

By	Colin P. Lindsey (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dead in the West (Hardcover)

I read World War Z recently and found it to be so enjoyable it put me in the mood for more apocalyptic zombie fiction. I had also recently read Joe Lansdale's "The Bottoms" and found it to be a moving, highly literate coming of age story. So I thought, "why not combine the two experiences and read a Lansdale zombie story?" So I ordered this book from Amazon based upon the other reviews and read it last night.

Hmmmm. This wasn't a literate novel like The Bottoms. In fact, it isn't even a novel. At 147 pages, with sparse text on each page, I am not even sure it stretches to novella. There is also little character development; the figures in the book are just stereotyped character sketches. There's the hard-drinking gun-toting preacher who doubts in God, the redneck town bully, the native indian curse, the elderly, good-willed town doctor, his beautiful daughter, the bullied teenager in need of a father figure, and the sheriff tormented by his failing to uphold justice through a lapse in character. The story is a pulp dime-store book and the cover art depicts it well. Now despite what may seem like a list of shortcomings, as long as you aware of what you are buying, I can see how this would be a pretty enjoyable read especially for the younger set. It has the feel and lfavor of a book directed at pre-teens or teenagers. Yes, the characters and story are simple, but if you are hankering for a fast-paced, quick read about zombies battling it out with dead-eyed gunslingers on a mission from God, then this one will hit the spot. The book doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is, an enjoyable pulp combining the zombie and Western genres for a fun little novella. It's kind of pricy for what you get, but if you can pick it up used and like these genres, you'll enjoy this romp.

I prefer denser stories with more development. If you do as well, then let me heartily recommend World War Z if you want a zombie book, or if you want literature let me recommend The Bottoms, a book hauntingly reminiscent of an updated To Kill a Mockingbird. If you like pulps though, I thought this was a reasonably decent one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best, September 12, 2004

By	Matthew King (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dead in the West (Paperback)

For some strange reason Joe Lansdale often carried the tag of horror writer for many years which is peculiar since out of the 20 or so books of his, only "The Drive-In" and "Dead in the West" are horror novels. Many of his novels are either westerns, hard-boiled mysteries or strange combinations of both. Dead in the West is another unique crossover as only Lansdale can do, a short novel that seamlessly combines the western and horror genres to mold a "zombie western". Let it be said that Dead in the West is one of the best and most unique contributions ever to the horror genre.

Reverend Jeb Mercer is a man of god who has lost much of his faith due to the many unfortunate circumstances that have shaped his life. Every once in a while Jeb still communicates with the lord and this time He has sent Jeb to the East Texas town of Mud Creek on a mission, a mission about what Jeb is uncertain but he boards his mule, packs his guns and heads over to the sleepy desert town. Jeb will soon find out that the town has been cursed by an Indian shaman and that is why everyone in Mud Creek is turning into slow shuffling zombies. Can the Reverend, a man of god who has lost his faith, save the town from the dark pits of hell that await?

The ideas are great and truly original but it is Lansdale's writing that make this novel so exceptional. He has a way with words and with humour that just jump at you and make you stare at the page in disbelief. The dialogue is some of the funniest ever and all the words seem to flow seamlessly on the pages. This is one of those novels that is very hard to put down unfinished. On the surface, the plot seems like one of a pulpy dime novel but it has such a tight structure and sense of atmosphere that it becomes so much more. This book has more treasures in 120 pages than most books of 400 pages could ever think of having.

Most of the novel would be classified as a western until that is the invasion of zombies in the last 30 pages or so that turn it into a bloody, gory and extremely graphic zombie gut-muncher. This is one of those gems that should never go out of print and should obtain classic status but because of how unconventional it is will forever remain an obscure cult anomaly. If you are a fan of Joe or horror in general what are you waiting for? Hunt this book down, then settle into your favourite chair with a bowl of chili on the side and let Joe take you on for the ride of your life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ZOMBIES IN SPURS, April 25, 2004

By	Michael Butts (Martinsburg, WV USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dead in the West (Paperback)

From the opening scene in the old stagecoach to the apocalyptic ending in a church, DEAD IN THE WEST delivers more thrills and spills it in its short length than many 300+ tomes. Joe Lansdale, known for his black humor, whips it out in plenty in this tale of a Reverend who wanders into Mud Creek and finds himself involved in the curse of an Indian wrongly accused of killing a young girl, and lynched. His mulatto woman was also brutally raped and murdered. The curse is purely simple: zombies beget more zombies, and Lansdale spares nothing in his brutally graphic and frightening tale. Joining Rev. Jeb in the spotlight is a delightful young boy named David; the bewitching Abby and her rascally doctor father; and of course the many zombies populating the scene.
The book is relentless and no character is guaranteed safety by the time the book ends; it has a rather "twisty" ending as well; did he ever do a sequel? It would be great!!!
A very good horror story.