The Wanderers

Unicorn Western #2

by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant

+++++

The story of Clint and Edward continues in this second installment of the Unicorn Western series...

+++

Gunslinger Clint Guilliver has been pursuing the dark rider Dharma Kold for over two years, always following but never able to close the distance enough to rescue Mai -- the woman that Kold stole from Clint as he left the town of Solace. But now, Clint's hand is forced when his own unicorn companion, Edward, makes a disturbing discovery about the torture to which Clint's almost-bride is being subjected by Kold's unicorn of a different color.

Clint and Edward must overtake Kold and put an end to his blasphemy and his quest to reach The Realm before he reaches the Edge -- a shifting, disintegrating zone of leaking magic and delirium at the very limit of the world. But before they can approach, they encounter a new, twisted foe that commands an unspeakable and ancient form of dark magic spewed from the world's very core...

From the creators of Yesterday's Gone (Platt) and Fat Vampire (Truant) comes this reinvention of both the western genre and unicorn lore. Written for children and teens -- but complex and awesome enough for adult readers -- Unicorn Western is "Harry Potter without wizards, with gunslingers, with talking unicorns and epic unicorn fights, and with more turkey pie."

Genres: Fantasy

98 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Sean loves writing books, even more than reading them. He is co-founder of Collective Inkwell and Realm & Sands imprints, writes for children under the name Guy Incognito, and has more than his share of nose.

Together with co-authors David Wright and Johnny B. Truant, Sean has written the series Yesterdays Gone, WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness, Dark Crossings, Unicorn Western, The Beam, Namaste, Robot Proletariat, Cursed, Greens, Space Shuttle, and Everyone Gets Divorced. He also co-wrote the how-to indie book, Write. Publish. Repeat.

With Collective Inkwell
Yesterday's Gone: Post Apocalyptic - LOST by way of The Stand
WhiteSpace: Paranoid thriller on fictitious Hamilton Island
ForNevermore: YA horror that reads nothing like YA Horror
Available Darkness: A new breed of vampire thriller
Dark Crossings: Short stories, killer endings

With 47North
Z 2134: The Walking Dead meets The Hunger Games
Monstrous: Beauty and the Beast meets The Punisher

With Realm & Sands
Unicorn Western: The best story to ever come from a stupid idea
The Beam: Smart sci-fi to make you wonder exactly who we are
Namaste: A revenge thriller like nothing you've ever read
Robot Proletariat: The revolution starts here
Cursed: The old werewolf legend turned upside down
Greens: Retail noir comedy
Space Shuttle: Over the top comedy with all your favorite sci-fi characters
Everyone Gets Divorced: Like "Always Sunny" and "How I Met Your Mother" had a baby on your Kindle

Sean lives in Austin, TX with his wife, daughter, and son.
Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/seanplatt
 (say hi so he can follow you back!)

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay. The unicorn and gunslingers banter is funny at times. There's a lot of travel time and talking and
Only line three to four fight scenes one of which is described as epic in the chapter title and I felt it was kind of meh and anticlimactic, but I will pick up the next one when I build up enough Amazon gift cards to drop three bucks on it.

[David Blaylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than book one of the series.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept is intriguing, but I’m not enthralled by the plot.

[Demelza Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how The Two Towers in the Lord of the Rings is mostly about travelling? And The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) in the Star Wars series just seems to be getting you from the beginning to where something really important happens, with a few skirmishes along the way?

You know how you read and/or watch them anyway, because that bit in between is actually important, for those episodes are more about the journey than the destination?

...that's this book. If you read the first one and enjoy it as much as I did, you have to read this one. It's not dull - as I imagine travel would be in a real Western, without Edward the unicorn. Though even he seems to be willing to admit he's continuing with the journey for the same reason I am:

"I will give up one day and leave the fool marshal to die alone. But for now I'll ride with him, because this man is the most amusing, most hilarious person I could imagine being with."

Admittedly, I think Edward's far funnier than Clint the marshal, but maybe the unicorn's just being modest and I'm sure he'd get bored only laughing at his own jokes.

At points, this one definitely made me laugh out loud and the "seer-cynic David, renowned...for his far-seeing hatred of mankind" sure sounded familiar.

Four stars because it didn't pack the kick of the first book, but I liked it, all the same. After all, if you didn't watch The Empire Strikes Back, would you know who Luke's father is?

[Liz Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clint the gunslinger has been travelling with Edward, the unicorn for about three years in pursuit of the lovely Mae who has been kidnapped by a really bad guy who is travelling with a really, really bad unicorn. Adventures ensue as this journey continues in the gleeful serial epic by Sean Platt (Yesterday's Gone) and Johnny B. Truant (Fat Vampire).

The world the reluctant companions travel is a mixture of the old west, the future and a magical desert. While old fashioned ideas and words are used, the soundtrack is Billy Joel (or Joelsongs) and the main sustenance is apple brew and turkey pie.

Edward is the most sarcastic unicorn you will ever come across:

"Unicorns don't believe in Providence." "Of course we do," the unicorn said. "Providence provides brew. It's the rest of your stupidity we don't believe in. Time. Space. How you think that hat looks good on you."

"You're like that bald child in the ancient funnybooks, forever kicking at an oblong that's always pulled away."

Okay, if you think the description sounds bizarre, just read the book; this adventure is so much fun, I can hardly stand it.

For fans of the off-beat, Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' series and sarcastic unicorns.

[Xavier Granville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gunfights, Revenge, Romance, Sand Dragons, Shamans and Unicorns.

There's a couple keywords to help you out when trying to decide if you want to carry on reading the Unicorn Western series. This second book is somehow even better than the first as the writers Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt slowly unravel the world of Realm and Sands, and continue to show the exploit of Marshal Clint Gulliver and his magic best/worst friend/life pal, Edward, the Unicorn.

Great stuff from Truant and Platt! Highly recommended!

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept and I love the way these guys crank out content (A 9-part series totally 250,000 words in just five months!?). If only the story lived up to the hype. Part one was a good start, but part two falls into the problem I noticed with Truant's Fat Vampire series--it's too much explaining and not enough action. Except for a quick fight that was over before it started, this book had virtually zero action until the very end. I really want to like this series, but I'm just not feeling it.

[Michael Ronn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave the first book in the series four stars, but this book deserves five stars. The story reaches a new level, and it's a bit more serious this time around, which is not a bad thing. Again, the authors use the classic western tropes to great effect here. The story this time is more action-packed, moves quickly, and is just as well-written as the first. I liked this one because the tone was decidedly different yet consistent, and there was more dialogue and action, which moved the story along faster than in the first book. I'm eager to see what happens in the next book.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting closer to the end of this series. Good story.

[Daniel Milford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liker fortsatt konseptet bedre enn gjennomføringen. Kunne med fordel vært mer tullete.