Reach for the Sky
Jason M. Waltz, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
ebook preorder $4.00
ebook available November 30, 2020

There’s been a resurgence of interest in weird westerns in recent years. I think cross-genre pollination is a good thing, and I’m in favor of this interest.  That’s why I quickly said yes to reviewing an ARC of Reach for the Sky, a new anthology from Rogue Blades Entertainment.

I’ve heard it said that short fiction is the lifeblood of the genre. I’ve also heard it said that small presses are as well. If we consider Reach for the Sky, then the evidence is pretty clear that both of those statements are true. This anthology is a fun mash-up of westerns, fantasy, science fiction, and a dash of horror. We’ve got zombies. We’ve got aliens. We’ve got cosmic horror. We’ve got interstellar lawmen. What’s not to love?

I’m having a hard time picking out my favorites, so I’ll mention some of the ones that stood out. The book opens strong with “Riders on the Storm” by Simon Young and Jasmine Brown. A female bounty hunter who is tougher than any man sets out to avenge a murdered sheriff and encounters a lot more than she bargained for.  The stories continue strong. Kristen Brand’s “The Stranger Who Came to Dusty Hollow”, while told from the point of view of a soiled dove, concerns an interstellar lawman hunting a gang of kidnappers from another world.

In “Ahiga and the Machine” by Robert J. Santa, a young Native American brave has a close encounter in a remote canyon. A pair of lawmen from Mars put together an unusual posse to stop a group of alien shapeshifters from taking over a town. A different type of team-up between a human and an alien takes place in D. K. Latta’s “The Long Arm of the Law”. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be this one.

“High Steaks” (C. L. Phillips) shows us that alien rustlers aren’t interested in cattle but something else. Michael J. Stiehl shows us that there’s a touch of cosmic horror lurking in “Chaney’s Gulch”, so take care if you go in there. There’s very different type of fool’s gold to be found in a “Box of Bones” by Logan Whitney.

The anthology ends on as strong a note as it started with the tongue in cheek “Tracking Blackheart Bart” by Stan Dryer. There’s some sly humor in this one that made me smile.

There are other stories, all of them as accomplished, and different from the others, as the ones I’ve listed.

Although Rogue Blades isn’t a large publisher, this strongbox of weird western tales contains gold every bit as valuable as what you might find from a large publisher. Here’s proof that the field is alive and well. Check ‘em out, pardner.