Review: Highly Recommended
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2013
Tom Brodie lost an arm and his wife during the Civil War. The arm he left on a battlefield. Who the heck knows where his wife went, but she ran off with another man before Brodie returned home. Brodie retreats from the world--and himself--into a lackluster existence as a barkeep, disaffectedly watching life continue around him, determined not to care. When a dying man staggers into the saloon with a cryptic plea for help from Brodie's faithless wife, the former military officer can't explain, even to himself, why he drops everything and sets out to investigate.Described as a "hard-boiled western novella," this short, fast-paced read, told by a master storyteller, will haunt readers long after they reach the end. Reasoner pulls no authorly tricks; he simply disappears and lets the characters do the heavy lifting. There's no "pretty" language here--in fact, the style is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard's best bare-bones storytelling--and perhaps that's part of the story's charm. Harsh, often brutal, always unflinching, the poetry of Savage Blood is in the way uncomplicated words serve the characters and their tale.That does not mean the characters lack complexity. Each player is extraordinarily drawn: a complete being with his or her own frailties, strengths, and idiosyncrasies. The interaction between them is fascinating and wholly entertaining. Life hasn't been fair to Brodie, yet he never slips into self-pity. Though he's lost everything that ever mattered to him, somewhere along the twisting path to the story's conclusion, he finds the two things he needs most: a new sense of self and redemption.A highly recommended read.(Originally posted on WesternFictioneers.blogspot.com.)