Review: One of the best written books in the genre!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2014
Even now, after finishing PK Vandercast’s ‘Twistical Tales’, I still couldn’t quite move on from how it threw me on an incredibly entertaining ride. I have read Vandercast’s other book, ‘Jonas Cane: Bloodlust’, and by the strength of that book read this one—and oh boy, was I more delighted.There is something so “seductive” about how the author crafts his tales—he “shows”, not “tells,” and quite deftly so. Add to that is the fact that he seems to specialize in the Old West—his erudition and knowledge about the era, coupled with his literary powers, produce these exceedingly “crazy” yet staggeringly believable tales set in the Wild West. In ‘Twistical Tales,’ the ante is further upped with Vandercast tweaking the fabric of time and space to come up with a tale that will entertain and move you. Set in modern Arizona, the story seamlessly glides to the past, then shifts in the right moments to flesh out a world of supernatural beings. At its heart, the book is about a troubled teen, Ian Cain, who despises his life, his divorced parents, basically just about everything else. Ian nurtures a love for everything that has something to do with the Wild West (just like me), so when his mother suggests to take part in the Ghost Town Tour in Bisbee, Ian is only too glad to go with some of his friends and girlfriend. But a freak weather event leads Ian and his friends separate from the rest of the group, and eventually they find themselves in the company of a mysterious, hair-raising character: Palmer Jackson, right in the very hotel that is reputed to be haunted.From this point on, you won’t be able to put the book down.Ian Cain is coming from an intense emotional place, which lends the important gravitas and depth to ‘Twistical Tales’ and makes it much more than just a ghost story. What’s more, it’s the Old West, for Pete’s sake—anything that is set in it has to be awesome. And now, I realize with this second book, anything that Vandercast writes that is set in the Old West is guaranteed to be un-put-downable—I see the author’s name on a book next time, I will buy it in a heartbeat.Get a copy of this. Seriously. Entertaining and quite a pleasure to read even at the get-go, ‘Twistical Tales’ is a guilty pleasure, for fans and non-fans of the genre. Fully deserving of all the five stars this gets.