February 26, 2013

SAVAGE NOIR: Not Your Grandpa's Pulp Western

(FULL DISCLOSURE: An electronic copy was provided for purposes of review. My opinions are my own). 

Westerns can often be a bit of a hard sell in our current pop cultural climate - after all, unless it involves the words Firefly or Serenity, most entries in the genre are, at best, either postmodern or knowingly retro.

Thank God for Pro Se Press' Savage Noir, a trio of tales by Greg Norgaard featuring Frank Savage - no, no relation to Doc, but a man with a definite mission.

Straddling the lines between two different genres, Savage Noir contains three stories that are easy reads, but you'll want to sit with them, taking in every moment of atmosphere. The prose is sparse but lively, the action hard hitting.... this has to be one of the more enjoyable reads in the "New Pulp" movement. It's the kind of work that, in our franchise-driven culture, we need more of - works that have considerable appeal for popular potential, but that don't seem like a retread of the "hippest" franchises available.

In short, Savage Noir is the kind of book everyone should check out, if only to learn that "New Pulp" isn't just limited to nostalgia - but that pulp is a living, breathing genre.

If you like your westerns a little wilder than most, you'll dig Savage Noir. I guarantee it.

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