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For the Road
Lost, wounded and alone, Jesse Bartos wanders the wilderness with no memory of how he came to be there. He only knows that he is in danger, and that the suitcase in his hand is worth more than his life. At the point of death, he happens upon the abandoned railroad station of Dawn’s Holt, run by an enigmatic family who assure him—despite appearances—that the train will arrive any day. Jesse is desperate to escape, until he meets Reo, the family’s eldest son...
As the days pass, Jesse falls deeper under the spell of Dawn’s Holt, until he’s caught in a battle between past and future, memory and reckoning and fiercest of all, between his conscience and his own heart.
For the Road is a fantastical Acid Western about life, death and the power of love as a force of redemption, perfect for fans of Hadestown, Alix Harrow and Catherynne M. Valente.
As the days pass, Jesse falls deeper under the spell of Dawn’s Holt, until he’s caught in a battle between past and future, memory and reckoning and fiercest of all, between his conscience and his own heart.
For the Road is a fantastical Acid Western about life, death and the power of love as a force of redemption, perfect for fans of Hadestown, Alix Harrow and Catherynne M. Valente.
62 pages, Hardcover
Published August 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Stark Holborn
29 books138 followersStark Holborn is a novelist, games writer, film reviewer, and the author of Nunslinger, Triggernometry and Ten Low.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 13, 2025
Review originally on JamReads
For The Road is an Acid Western novella, written by Stark Holborn and published by PS Publishing. A difficult to classify piece, enigmatic during most of its length, that Holborn uses as a way to explore concepts such as journey and being stuck while playing with an unreliable first person narrative, putting at many points the interrogation on where is the line between what's real and just in the mind of our character, all enveloped in a poignant prose.
Jesse Bartos is on the run, remembers being shot; walking through the desert until he finds a desolate station with the rails covered in dust and sand: Dawn's Holt. The family that runs it, tends Jesse's wounds while he recovers; the train will come eventually, he's told. But as the days pass, Jesse starts to find the family strange, and wonders if the train will pass and he will escape; however, as he spends more time with the family, they start invading his thoughts, even Reo, the enigmatic son.
We can sense how the mystery is enclosed around the strange family running Dawn's Holt: a straightforward father called Lug, his wife Rosmerta, a daughter called Navia, and a really strange son that rarely appears until the night, Reo. Jesse can feel that there are secrets about this place that he's not being told, but also the discovery process lands into a more complex story, one that not only is fueled by rich imagery, but that delves into a powerful figure such as the lovers, making of this experience an authentic trip for the reader.
For being such a short piece, Holborn is not afraid to develop this small cosmos around Dawn's Holt, a sort of western setting that also includes anachronic details as the biker band; but as we advance, the line that marks what is real gets blurred, gifting us with a rich imagery that eventually leads to a conclusion that can be open to the reader's interpretation. The prose lands a bit on the lyrical side, suiting well with the rest of the piece.
For The Road is a brilliant novella, an experience that almost any reader should have; I strongly recommend also read the afterword and acknowledgements, as Holborn gives us more context on the song that was the inspiration for this piece. Simply excellent.
For The Road is an Acid Western novella, written by Stark Holborn and published by PS Publishing. A difficult to classify piece, enigmatic during most of its length, that Holborn uses as a way to explore concepts such as journey and being stuck while playing with an unreliable first person narrative, putting at many points the interrogation on where is the line between what's real and just in the mind of our character, all enveloped in a poignant prose.
Jesse Bartos is on the run, remembers being shot; walking through the desert until he finds a desolate station with the rails covered in dust and sand: Dawn's Holt. The family that runs it, tends Jesse's wounds while he recovers; the train will come eventually, he's told. But as the days pass, Jesse starts to find the family strange, and wonders if the train will pass and he will escape; however, as he spends more time with the family, they start invading his thoughts, even Reo, the enigmatic son.
We can sense how the mystery is enclosed around the strange family running Dawn's Holt: a straightforward father called Lug, his wife Rosmerta, a daughter called Navia, and a really strange son that rarely appears until the night, Reo. Jesse can feel that there are secrets about this place that he's not being told, but also the discovery process lands into a more complex story, one that not only is fueled by rich imagery, but that delves into a powerful figure such as the lovers, making of this experience an authentic trip for the reader.
For being such a short piece, Holborn is not afraid to develop this small cosmos around Dawn's Holt, a sort of western setting that also includes anachronic details as the biker band; but as we advance, the line that marks what is real gets blurred, gifting us with a rich imagery that eventually leads to a conclusion that can be open to the reader's interpretation. The prose lands a bit on the lyrical side, suiting well with the rest of the piece.
For The Road is a brilliant novella, an experience that almost any reader should have; I strongly recommend also read the afterword and acknowledgements, as Holborn gives us more context on the song that was the inspiration for this piece. Simply excellent.
August 10, 2025
One minute, I was sitting down to start For The Road, and before I knew it, I was turning the final page. What an amazing story! It had me so gripped, I literally couldn’t look away!
Stark Holborn proves yet again why she’s the reigning queen of the weird west. She’s delivered a fast-paced fever-dream of an acid western, bristling with tension and brimming with intrigue. It’s a wild ride that grabs tight hold of you and never lets go.
The story centres around Jesse, a wounded man who wakes up in Dawn’s Holt — to describe it as a mysterious town is seriously underselling it — with no past and no future. He’s waiting for a train to come and deliver him from the family who’ve taken him in. But the world seems to stop in this rundown, unforgiving hellhole, and he starts to wonder if the train is ever going to arrive. Can Jesse escape Dawn’s Holt? Can anyone?
This book may be short in length, but don’t mistake it for being narrow in scope. The author’s Triggernometry Series proves that she can pack a punch with a condensed word count. But this does more than hit hard — it haunts you. The atmosphere and pace creep across your skin like the dry heat of a desert and leave you gasping for air (in a good way!).
There are flourishes of genius from scene to scene as the plot progresses, but considered as a whole, it’s insane how brilliantly this works as an allegory for so very many things. I don’t want to spoil the depths it mines, but rest assured that you’ll be left with plenty to think and talk about long before you turn the final page.
If you’re hungry for a contemplative western that’s gorgeous to read, heavy on themes, character-centric, and delivers a mesmerisingly weird experience, this is the road you want to take. Stark Holborn’s trademark style soars in what can only be described as an absolute banger.
I’ll only give you one word of warning, and it’s this — make sure you’ve got enough time to read it in one sitting, because once you pick it up, you may find it difficult to stop.
Strange, soulful, and stylish, For The Road speculates on the meaning of identity, love, death, and sacrifice. And it does so with confidence, charisma, and effortless cool. I dare you not to be hooked from page one. Sensational.
Stark Holborn proves yet again why she’s the reigning queen of the weird west. She’s delivered a fast-paced fever-dream of an acid western, bristling with tension and brimming with intrigue. It’s a wild ride that grabs tight hold of you and never lets go.
The story centres around Jesse, a wounded man who wakes up in Dawn’s Holt — to describe it as a mysterious town is seriously underselling it — with no past and no future. He’s waiting for a train to come and deliver him from the family who’ve taken him in. But the world seems to stop in this rundown, unforgiving hellhole, and he starts to wonder if the train is ever going to arrive. Can Jesse escape Dawn’s Holt? Can anyone?
This book may be short in length, but don’t mistake it for being narrow in scope. The author’s Triggernometry Series proves that she can pack a punch with a condensed word count. But this does more than hit hard — it haunts you. The atmosphere and pace creep across your skin like the dry heat of a desert and leave you gasping for air (in a good way!).
There are flourishes of genius from scene to scene as the plot progresses, but considered as a whole, it’s insane how brilliantly this works as an allegory for so very many things. I don’t want to spoil the depths it mines, but rest assured that you’ll be left with plenty to think and talk about long before you turn the final page.
If you’re hungry for a contemplative western that’s gorgeous to read, heavy on themes, character-centric, and delivers a mesmerisingly weird experience, this is the road you want to take. Stark Holborn’s trademark style soars in what can only be described as an absolute banger.
I’ll only give you one word of warning, and it’s this — make sure you’ve got enough time to read it in one sitting, because once you pick it up, you may find it difficult to stop.
Strange, soulful, and stylish, For The Road speculates on the meaning of identity, love, death, and sacrifice. And it does so with confidence, charisma, and effortless cool. I dare you not to be hooked from page one. Sensational.
January 4, 2026
I'm grateful to the author for giving me access to an advance e-copy of For the Road to consider for review.
In the tradition of the gritty Western, Jesse Bartos is running - from what, from whom, to where are unclear, possibly as much to him as to the reader. Jumping from a train, clutching the precious suitcase he daren't open, he ends up stranded at a dusty railroad halt miles from nowhere. A place where the train never comes, the tracks silt over with dust. Where everything is faded, broken or despairing.
There is I think a powerful melancholy to places like Dawn's Holt, places where people only come to be somewhere else. Get stuck there and you may lose yourself, like the body buried at the crossroads whose ghost doesn't know which way to turn. All the imagery here is of death, of letting go, of being carried away - from the dust which sweeps into every corner, to the scraggy hens laying their sulphurous, inedible eggs to the motorcycle gang that periodically threatens to sweep Jesse away. (Would that be to lose himself further? Or a redemption, a way out? Clues are scant.)
Is Jesse going to die? Does he want to? Can he save himself, either by riding away with the biker gang, finally catching the train - or staying put, making a life with Reo, the son of the family living at the station house, who captivates Jesse.
Holborn's writing here blends the Western and the mythological, the strange tales and origin stories of the little family echoing heroic legends of birth and creation from the elements. How come they are here, in the desolate station? Why are they engaged in a losing fight against the ruling powers and principalities, one with which Jesse's fate - and perhaps his own history - are entangled?
A powerful story of sense and feeling, For the Road systematically anatomises a life and portrays a young man who has, though misfortune, come to a turning point, a junction (or, as I said, a crossroads) where things may go different ways. Dawn's Holt (not "halt" - a "holt" is a refuge...) provides Jesse with a little respite, but not much, a time in which choices can be made. This short book shows which ones he selects, and why. It's powerful, concentrated and enthralling, a book to be inhaled as much as read, and then to be considered and turned over after.
Recommended.
In the tradition of the gritty Western, Jesse Bartos is running - from what, from whom, to where are unclear, possibly as much to him as to the reader. Jumping from a train, clutching the precious suitcase he daren't open, he ends up stranded at a dusty railroad halt miles from nowhere. A place where the train never comes, the tracks silt over with dust. Where everything is faded, broken or despairing.
There is I think a powerful melancholy to places like Dawn's Holt, places where people only come to be somewhere else. Get stuck there and you may lose yourself, like the body buried at the crossroads whose ghost doesn't know which way to turn. All the imagery here is of death, of letting go, of being carried away - from the dust which sweeps into every corner, to the scraggy hens laying their sulphurous, inedible eggs to the motorcycle gang that periodically threatens to sweep Jesse away. (Would that be to lose himself further? Or a redemption, a way out? Clues are scant.)
Is Jesse going to die? Does he want to? Can he save himself, either by riding away with the biker gang, finally catching the train - or staying put, making a life with Reo, the son of the family living at the station house, who captivates Jesse.
Holborn's writing here blends the Western and the mythological, the strange tales and origin stories of the little family echoing heroic legends of birth and creation from the elements. How come they are here, in the desolate station? Why are they engaged in a losing fight against the ruling powers and principalities, one with which Jesse's fate - and perhaps his own history - are entangled?
A powerful story of sense and feeling, For the Road systematically anatomises a life and portrays a young man who has, though misfortune, come to a turning point, a junction (or, as I said, a crossroads) where things may go different ways. Dawn's Holt (not "halt" - a "holt" is a refuge...) provides Jesse with a little respite, but not much, a time in which choices can be made. This short book shows which ones he selects, and why. It's powerful, concentrated and enthralling, a book to be inhaled as much as read, and then to be considered and turned over after.
Recommended.
September 21, 2025
I was so intrigued by the inspirations, and comparison to the likes of Hadestown, that I was so excited to read this - and it didn't disappoint! Eerie, strange, beautiful, haunting, heartfelt, and atmospheric, just loved everything about the story and setting. Read it in one lovely sitting, short but really packs a punch. Another brilliant read from the author!
August 17, 2025
A short, sharp read with great characters and a central issue for the protagonist. It seems straight-forward at first but everything is just a bit off-kilter.
August 7, 2025
Very beautiful strange and lyrical weird west tale of a young man finding himself at a strange station in the desert forever awaiting a train
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
January 2, 2026
Part Western, part trippy meditation on life and death (I think?!) with a dash of queer romance. I was all in from the start. This is the kind of layered, nuanced read that will lend itself to multiple re-reads. It made me think, it made me feel, and it made me want to talk about it. What more could you ask for?
This is going to stick with me: “ You once told me: everybody has a hole, size of a silver dollar, in their heart. Some earn theirs a bit at a time, sorry by sorrow. For some it’s peg and awl, all at once. But everyone has one. It’s the part of a human that can’t be mended. The price we pay for walking this world. The cost of life. Of love.”
This is going to stick with me: “ You once told me: everybody has a hole, size of a silver dollar, in their heart. Some earn theirs a bit at a time, sorry by sorrow. For some it’s peg and awl, all at once. But everyone has one. It’s the part of a human that can’t be mended. The price we pay for walking this world. The cost of life. Of love.”
August 18, 2025
This story was strange and ghost like in echoes of an abandoned outback or Amercian Western setting. Unsettling but beautiful in its way. The repetition as Jesse tries each day to find a way out reminds me of stories of being lost in Faerie as Tam Lin was. A tale of the weird West.
Although this feel of this story takes a bit of getting used to, I found it so worth it. I hadn't read this story earlier as I could tell it would take clear time to sit with. It's a short read but a memorable one.
Thanks to Stark for the advance review copy.
Although this feel of this story takes a bit of getting used to, I found it so worth it. I hadn't read this story earlier as I could tell it would take clear time to sit with. It's a short read but a memorable one.
Thanks to Stark for the advance review copy.
September 11, 2025
For the Road packs that same punchy prose from Stark's Factus Sequence which I adored. It's a fantasy-romance-surreal-acid-western inspired by Bob Dylan's One more Cup of Coffee and Gaulish mythology! If that sounds like a lot of genres and inspirations, Stark perfectly blends them into a lyrical whole which explores so much of what it is to be human with a man stuck in a Western town, home to mysterious family and a biker gang, where the train never comes...
August 4, 2025
Stark Holborn’s For the Road is a searing trip of the soul, traversing the twin lines of emptiness and belonging. A creosote-sharp and beautifully molten look at one’s place in the universe.
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Thank you to the publisher and to Stark for the advance review copy.
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Thank you to the publisher and to Stark for the advance review copy.
August 17, 2025
I'd give this a 3.5/5 if GR allowed half stars! This is a dusty western with believable characters, but something feels...off. A quick read, too :)
August 26, 2025
Mysterious, gorgeously written… this was my introduction to Stark Holborn and it won’t be my last.
September 28, 2025
Breve, surrealista y extraño, un cuento largo "diferente" con toda el alma del oeste sobre un joven que se encuentra en una singular estación en el desierto esperando eternamente por un tren.
September 2, 2025
This is an engaging surreal little Novella with a touch of Susanna Clark's Piranesi in its forgetful protagonist who finds himself in the strange environment of a small crumbling railway station and its family of four custodians.
It's a glorious read, its 69 pages filled with Holborn's typically quicksilver prose and captivating imagery. A fuller review is available on the Fantasy Hive here.
It's a glorious read, its 69 pages filled with Holborn's typically quicksilver prose and captivating imagery. A fuller review is available on the Fantasy Hive here.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews