R. S. Belcher

Harboring supernatural secrets and mysterious origins, the fantastical cattle town of Golgotha in mid-19th-century Nevada is thrown into a maelstrom when a primordial evil emerges from an abandoned silver mine, rendering a death-marked sheriff, his half-human deputy and other posse members the world's only protectors.

The Six-Gun Tarot

Nevada, 1869: Beyond the pitiless 40-Mile Desert lies Golgotha, a cattle town that hides more than its share of unnatural secrets. The sheriff bears the mark of the noose around his neck; some say he is a dead man whose time has not yet come. His half-human deputy is kin to coyotes. The mayor guards a hoard of mythical treasures. A banker's wife belongs to a secret order of assassins. And a shady saloon owner, whose fingers are in everyone's business, may know more about the town's true origins than he's letting on. A haven for the blessed and the damned, Golgotha has known many strange events, but nothing like the primordial darkness stirring in the abandoned silver mine overlooking the town. Bleeding midnight, an ancient evil is spilling into the world, and unless the sheriff and his posse can saddle up in time, Golgotha will have seen its last dawn...and so will all of Creation. R.S. Belcher's The Six-Gun Tarot is "an astonishing blend of first-rate steampunk fantasy and Western adventure." (Library Journal, Starred Review)

Sarah Escorsa

⚠️ Three quarters Half of this non-review is not about this book. Thou hast been warned and stuff.

So. This could have been a Slightly Very Good Book (SVGB™). Only that it wasn't because, erm, you know, it wasn't and stuff. But yes, it could have been. Oh yes, it could have. But it wasn't...Sorry, what? You want me to cut the crap crab and get on with it and stuff? Oh, fine. You puny humans really are no fun, you know that? 



You tell 'em, my Filthy Little Pony of the Armor that has Seen Much Better Days.

Anyway, in a most revoltingly understanding mood I am, so cut the crab I reluctantly shall. Oh, you know what? Actually I won’t. Because I just remembered something I’d forgotten and now that I’ve remembered it I might as well tell you about it and stuff. (Yeah yeah yeah, your life sucks, I know.) Anyway. What I just remembered is how I came to most courageously read this Almost Slightly Very Good Book (ASVG™) (view spoiler)[
  fascinating tale ahead, consider your little selves warned and stuff
 (hide spoiler)]: here I was, reading the Ever Quite Titillating Tor Newsletter (EQTTN™), when I most serendipitously came upon this article about pirate fantasies. “Yum!” said I to my little nefarious self, and proceeded to read the piece post haste (because duh and stuff). Those of you who know me best probably would have expected me to pick up Danielle L. Jensen’s delightful YA fantasy (view spoiler)[
  
 (hide spoiler)] the second I saw it on the list, but it turns out that my attention was quite uncharacteristically drawn to an adult fantasy (disgusting, I know), featuring, lo and behold and stuff, a woman pirate on the Quite Delicious Cover (QDC™):



Quite delicious indeed, ain’t it not?

This book is #3 in the Golgotha series, but Tor said it could be read as a standalone so I thought to my little self, “let’s be bold, let’s be audacious, let’s skip the first two books in the series!” Being extremely brave but only in moderation, I decided to ask my beloved MacHalo serfs colleagues to join me in this foolhardy endeavor. They most readily and gleefully agreed (threatening to unleash my murderous kids on them may have helped) but their being OCD as fish (very much unlike me) resulted in us starting this series right from the bloody shrimping beginning. And here we are and stuff. 



Ha. You should be so lucky. 

So. We picked up the present little tale despite the misleading-as-fish cover (no, this is not one of those disgusting coming of age stories *shudders*) and the less-appealing-than-a-puny-human-stew-past-its-expiration-date-blurb (why this book would remind anyone of Buffy *convulses a little* is beyond nefarious little me). It was all quite wondrous at first, admit I must: An intriguingly intriguing premise (a western without John Wayne! Color me slightly flabbergasted and stuff!), pretty damn stellar characterisation (so many characters, so much complexity, very wow) and most scrumptious, creative world building (much richness and depth, very wow again). I may have been so slightly enthused at some point that I might even perhaps have uttered a few exuberant ooooohs and aaaaaahs. Mayhap. But then it all went downhill pretty fast and my despicable enthusiasm turned into an Unmitigated Meh Fest (UMF™).



Don’t worry, it’s not just you, I have no idea what this gif is doing here, either. 

The problem with this book is that its strengths are also its weaknesses:

① Yes, Belcher does a fantastic job with his very many characters. But they are too very many. And so are their very detailed alternate POVs. Extended casts can be fun, but not when nearly every single shrimp in your book ends up being a main character. With his/her/it/whatever corresponding sub-plots. Which are not all Quite Very Fascinating (QVF™). Focusing on three or four characters instead of way too many six or so would have worked much better and would have done wonders for the conciseness of the story, methinks. 

② Yes, this is a very rich, multi-layered world. But it wasn’t necessary to lay it all out in the first book in the series. Save some scrumptiousness for later, my good man! If you behave like an Overly Ambitious Barnacle (OAB™) and squeeze it all in your first instalment, you are doomed to kill the pace of your plot dead. And unwillingly force me your poor readers into subaquatic hibernation. 

Oh, and also, it is a shameful shame indeed to utterly destroy all your darkly beautiful and beautifully dark build-up by doing the Multiple HEAs of Doom and Oblivion (MHEAoDaO™). Pretty sure this is punishable by law in some very developed places, actually.



Told ya.

➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): a wee bit sleepy this one made me feel, but come out of hibernation to read book 2 I shall. For paved with OCD-prone MacHalos who won’t let me skip straight to book 3 moderately good intentions the road to The Queen of Swords is. 

👋 To be continued and stuff.

· Book 2: The Shotgun Arcana ★★★ or ★★★★ or ★★★★★, who the fish knows?
· Book 3: The Queen of Swords ★★

Jessica Nottingham

The Six-Gun Tarot Something sinister is headed to the town of Golgotha, and every inhabitant can feel it. From the very first page, The Six Gun Tarot has an ominous aura about it. Add to this a population that contains everything from assassins to shape shifters, and you have a book with any extremely promising premise.
 
That being said, I was anxious to see where R.S. Belcher took this idea. The first half of the book was a little slow for me, but I kept in mind that it was building an extremely intricate backstory. Each character, and there are many, has something to contribute to the darkness that is steadily rolling in. The one downside to this is that all the little asides make it difficult to keep with the main story line. The POV often switches, which can be confusing.
 
I kept reading though and, as I neared the middle of The Six Gun Tarot, things really picked up. I found myself much more immersed during the second half of this story. Golgotha goes from being an odd town with interesting inhabitants, to a town trapped in the middle of a horror story. No spoilers here, but it is absolutely stunning even while being dark. I definitely felt like the slow beginning was worth it to get to this portion of the book.
 
Days later I still can't seem to classify The Six Gun Tarot. There are elements of mythology and horror, all tied up with historical events. This was a very different kind of read and, while it won't make my favorites shelf, I admire the ambition that R.S. Belcher shows. A vast story, with an equally large cast of characters, it was admittedly an intriguing read. Give this one a shot.

The Six-Gun Tarot

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