Dust of the Damned

Brandvold (Bullets over Bedlam) imagines an alternate America where Abraham Lincoln brought powerful werewolves and vampires from Europe in order to win the Civil War. Now, with the Union saved, these unholy creatures have begun to run rampant on the frontier. The lead shape-changer, Charlie Hondo, has been sprung from prison and is allied with a dragon-riding witch in his attempt to take over the west’s open spaces. Only bounty hunter Uriah Zane and deputy marshal Angel Coffin dare try to stop him. The battles between Zane and Coffin’s forces and the creatures are suitably bloody, even if the overall outcome for any given battle is obvious. The American West is more of a backdrop than a setting, and while the affected dialogue might pass for witty banter in a spaghetti Western, it falls flat on the page. (Jan.)