cover image The Shotgun Arcana

The Shotgun Arcana

R.S. Belcher. Tor, $25.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-7653-7458-5

Sheriff Jon Highfather, Malachi Bick, and the ragtag guardians of the tiny town of Golgotha (introduced in The Six-Gun Tarot) reunite to face down Raziel, the power-drunk “god of murder and divine secrets,” and his band of cannibals, murderers, and thieves. Golgotha is the wildest of the Wild West, attracting mystics, minor deities, alchemists, seers, and fanatics in a fantastical romp through science, legends, and the Bible. Its defenders are an unlikely bunch, including members of a secret society of female assassins, a group of cutthroat pirates, the mayor, and a secret federal agent. Malachi Bick may be an angel of God, but he is not widely loved, as he controls the town by giving out loans at usurious rates. When it‘s time to repel the invasion, the townspeople unite in quite surprising ways. But traces of the evil remain behind, giving readers plenty of reason to look forward to the next installment. (Oct.)