Burial

by Robbie Dorman

Ain't nothing fair about killing an innocent when they got their whole life ahead of 'em. Fair is taking Billy out to the Wastes and burying him deep enough that he gets sent straight to Hell. Emma Burns thought she'd left her outlaw past behind her. She had moved to The City, to civilization, to find peace with her husband and raise their young son as the world rebuilds in the wake of a terrible, forgotten war that left humanity in chaos. But she can't escape her bloody history. An old partner, Billy, finds her, commits an unspeakable crime, and then flees into the night. Now, Emma thirsts for vengeance, but his death is not enough. Her heart craves a darker revenge. She must bury Billy's body in the radioactive hellscape that is The Wastes, ensuring he gets sent to the deepest, darkest Hell. It won't be easy. She has wolves on her tail. Ghosts from her past and present who want to stop Emma and her ruthless quest. Nothing will stop Emma from delivering justice to Billy. Whatever the cost.

212 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2022

About the author

Robbie Dorman believes in horror. Words of Christ in Red is his seventeenth and newest novel. When he's not writing, he's making cocktails, walking his dog, or playing video games. He lives in Florida with his partner Kim, their three cats, and the best dog in the world.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Robbie Dorman can write his ass off like so few can. And this was clearly a labor of love. The depth he took the lore and our lead, Emma, was absolutely remarkable. I'm also putting across all this fanfare as someone who is not much interested in westerns. But this got me into it. Emma is an absolute, bonified bad ass. Cold to the core, a straight shooter, and as emotionally deep as the Grand Canyon. She was the highlight, as were her interactions with Billy. At first, I thought she was speaking to her horse, before I realized Billy was alongside her for the entirety of her journey. But the side characters brought in were all unique and pertinent, the pacing and flow, although slow at times, were near perfect, and everything worked together in total harmony. I, especially, liked how this pivoted after the initial portion of the story from almost exclusively a western to something more horror, which not only refreshed the plot, but kept you guessing on the finale. The conclusion was something I didn't totally expect, but it made complete sense, acting as a proper send off for everything that had been set up. Again, I can't say enough good things about Robbie Dorman. Any horror fan who has not read his books yet needs to make it a priority ASAP.

[Dale Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4. I know there's nothing in that score but a couple of things annoyed me about the writing (mainly the BANG word (when Emma shoots) and 1,2,3,4, etc etc, when she reloads), but also, and this is probably down to me expecting a different type of story, but it was quite a straightforward tale, no twists or turns (which is fine), I felt there was going to be one right at the end, and I had a cool one in my head, but Robbie obviously thought different.

I did really enjoy the story, as it follows Emma on her journey of vengeance. The characters were good, Emma was a good, strong main character, environments were cool (even though the descriptions weren't overly detailed, felt quite bland and generalised in some cases). Very little horror in it at all (i don't know if it's billed as that or not), more just a Western story. The writing is easy to get right into and flow well. Chapters relatively short, with some longer ones.

Will certainly look to pick up other books by Robbie in the future.

[Mac Spears · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tragic, gritty tale with cool world building, a post apocalyptic western. This was a page turner. I dug the use of counting for the gunplay. The narrative voice was succinct, but I believe that was purposeful in portraying a no nonsense but aging badass protagonist.

Read like a video game (not an insult!) : It had a main quest, with side missions to accomplish said mission.
Easy read, only knock was that it was all a little familiar. This was comforting, but never quite surprising.