A Rope of Thorns — Gemma Files

The second book in the "top-notch horror-fantasy saga," following A Book of Tongues, is "a spectacular blend of Aztec religion and Western gunslinging (Publishers Weekly).

 


Welcome to Hex City. Population: magicians. Thanks to hexslinger "Reverend" Asher Rook, sorcerers now have a sanctuary where they can live and work in peace. But a storm is coming -- a tempest known as Chess Pargeter.


 


Infuriated by his former lover Rook's betrayal and sacrificed in the name of the Mayan goddess who is Rook's current consort, Chess leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. Caught up in Chess's crusade is Pinkerton-agent-turned-outlaw Ed Morrow and a young woman spiritualist. But there are more than Chess's own demons to be reckoned with, including a resurrected lawman with a bone to pick -- and a final judgment to deliver . . .


 


"Paints a stark, vivid, and gory picture of the 'wild west' in the years following the Civil War . . . Files's latest is not for the squeamish but should delight fans of gothic Western fantasy and Central American myths." -- Library Journal

 


"Files' prose remains a delight to read, the cadence of her sentences captures the wild west setting perfectly, and the images she paints are a fascinating mix of frontier practicality and magic bred surrealism." -- The Turned Brain

 

Praise for A Book of Tongues

 


"Boundary-busting horrorâ€"fantasy . . . This promising debut fully delivers both sizzling passions and dark chills." -- Publishers Weekly

 


"Ridiculously vivid . . . A magic-riddled, horror-strewn West with hexes running around wrecking reality and a spectrum of queer characters." -- Tor.com


 


"Truly one-of-a-kind: violent, carnal and creepy." -- Fangoria