The Country Under Heaven tells the surprising story of Ovid Vesper. This weird western invokes both western themes and eldritch horrors. It is well written and covered other topics as well such as the Civil War, the effect of war on soldiers and PTSD, and westward expansion. The horror aspects of the novel are neatly balanced by Ovid's thoughtful narration. This book can be recommended to fans of horror and westerns as there is something for everyone in The Country Under Heaven.

The book follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier, across the South and West doing odd jobs and encountering weird things. It reminded me a lot of a video game with a myriad of side quests.

The chapters are broken into each new "quest" and there isn't much of an over-arching storyline. While I did like some of the stories, the entirety of the story resides in the chapter which can make it feel like the story resolves itself rather quickly or in improbable ways. Sometimes I just wanted to know how characters reacted to the big event that occurred.

Some of the characters in the chapters I found interesting however I didn't connect with Ovid as much as I'd like. The Interludes in-between chapters gives some backstory, but I wanted more.

As a whole, the book feels like a collection of short stories and I think that mostly works. There are some genuinely creepy and fascinating ideas here, I just wish that one idea was broadened into an entire book rather than just being a single chapter.

The Lovecraftian western you didn't know you needed! The perfect modern update to the dangers of the wild west by taking them and turning them into these dark demons that lurk was so great!

I liked this one. It has great atmosphere and enough twists to keep readers engaged. Longer review to come soon.

The comparisons to Louis L'Amour and H.P. Lovecraft (without the racism) are fitting for Durbin's new book. I've never read a Western like this before, and I LOVED it! Ovid Vesper fought as a Union soldier and got hurt; as a result of the injury; he began receiving visions that weren't always clear at first but always meant something big was coming in his life. After the war, he wanders the country with his trusted horse companion, Jack. Through his travels, unexplainable trouble always seems to find him. Weird trouble. It was impossible to predict what he'd encounter next, and this, and Ovid's pleasant nature, led me to read his story in one sitting.

Ovid's affection for his horse, his friends, and his loved ones is pure, and, through his perspective, I had affection for them too. A "craither" follows him from town to town while draining Ovid of energy, and that storyline remains a mystery until the end of the book. I never wanted Ovid's story to end, and I wish I could go on his uncanny adventures with him again.

Note: It took me a while to understand that "craither" meant "creature." It does become apparent as you read the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Melville House Publishing for this Advance Reading Copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Country Under Heaven tells the story of Ovid Vesper as he heads west in the years following the Civil War. Ovid is being driven west by a supernatural presence that has been with him since the battle at Antietam.

For me, this book read like several short stories involving one character that were put into a larger book. There was usually a pretty significant time jump, a year or more, between each of the chapters. I definitely enjoyed some of the stories more than others.

This book is very well written but could be a bit slow in parts. I’ve apparently also been on a western kick this year, since this is the third book I have read that could fall into this genre.

If you are looking for a western with supernatural elements, or you want a hero’s journey with a western theme, give this book a look!

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin follows Ovid Vesper, a Civil War veteran haunted by what he saw—and what he now sees—in the wide, supernatural-tinged American West. Ever since surviving Antietam, Ovid can sense otherworldly forces, and his travels through the 1880s pit him against monsters, mysteries, and moral quandaries in dusty towns and dangerous frontiers. Told in chronological vignettes, the novel paints a portrait of a quiet, principled man who does good not for glory or gold, but because someone has to stand against the dark.

This epic journey is fantastic. Ovid is a humble yet wholly unique character, I adore him. This book feels like connected short stories, some horrifying and some magical. I love how we get to learn every character's horse and horse's name. The writing is wonderful, you can picture everything. But, I really wish the author would embrace quotation marks—that’s my only critique. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Ovid Vesper headed out west like a lot of other men after the Civil War to find a living, some peace, and maybe someone to love. Unlike those men, however, Ovid finds adventures and creatures that are clearly not of this world. The Country Under Heaven, by Frederic S. Durbin, follows Ovid through the 1880s and across the wide American West, battling monsters everywhere he goes.

Ovid hasn’t been the same since he was nearly killed at Antietam. He wasn’t physically wounded in the explosion, though he lost his hearing for a bit. Ever since the explosion, Ovid has been able to see things that other people can’t. One of the things he sees is a sinister creature that fills him with deep fear. This creature comes ever closer, and Ovid dreads the day it catches up with him.

In the meantime, different chapters see Ovid in a new town somewhere in the dusty west. On a cattle drive, he confronts a murderous mystery that snatches every living thing that passes through a desolate stretch of hills. In New Mexico, a crime lord does his best to wipe Ovid off the map. In yet another chapter, a supernatural tornado visits a town where Ovid hoped he might find a scrap of happiness. One adventure summons Ovid to help an old friend who wants to help two odd, green-skinned orphans find their way home.

Because these stories are recounted in chronological order, it’s easy to track Ovid’s progress over the years. He’s a man of few words, so we have to get to know Ovid through his actions. He’s the kind of moral character who appeals to me because he doesn’t follow the law just because it’s the law; he does the right thing because evil needs to be swept away and suffering relieved. He doesn’t do things for money. He won’t work for just anyone. And he’s definitely not afraid to stick his neck out to rescue people in need. It’s refreshing to see such an honest character doing good wherever he goes, no matter how weird things get.

Haunting and mesmerizing, The Country Under Heaven is a sombre and surreal story that holds your attention in a tight grip.

The cover doesn't really convey the serious tone of the novel. While the blurb does touch on it, I honestly expected the novel to be more in line with a sort of “Cowboys and Aliens” romp than the serious, contemplative novel it is. This book is dead serious, and it manages to balance the eldritch monster weirdness with the Western setting, without making either feel hokey or silly. Part of this is the prose. It’s very immersive, as the book is a blend of historical fiction details, elegiac prose, and an easy-to-follow narrative voice.

So, a first-person novel that worked very well for me, which is saying a lot, as I prefer third-person most of the time.

The other reason the bizarre blend of genres worked was how the Craithers, as he calls the monsters, sort of hover at the periphery of the stories until the end. The book is self-contained chapters, though there are parts that carry over into one another; you can’t read the book out of order. Within each one, you have Ovid dealing with/running into another eldritch creature - all of them are different - and none of them feel repetitive. The stories feel like short stories, as they follow that sort of structure, so you know each chapter is going to end with a bang.

In terms of the characters, I loved Ovid. What a silver fox. A decent, kind-hearted, resourceful dude who suffers guilt but refuses to let it consume him. He is sort of drifting through life, but it’s not that he’s lazy or even floundering; he’s a hard worker and intelligent, but he’s lost. I love a tragic lost soul character, so I just adored him. He also didn’t share any of the gross racism and sexism of the time period, and in fact calls out stuff that other characters say, but not in a way that seemed anachronistic. In fact, he serves as an example of the type person who likely tried to help stop slavery and help women obtain rights back then. I also appreciated the women characters in the novel, in how they aren't just thrown in as set dressing.

The descriptions of the Craithers, the action scenes, and the horror elements are fantastic. We get shoot-outs, creepy caves, mysterious monsters, and a “wind ship,” which is probably going ot win my favourite “boat” of the year. I thought the entire thing from beginning to end was fantastic.

Also, while the “craithers” are purported to be real, a part of me also wonders if they aren’t a metaphor or allegory for trauma and grief. It seems the Craithers picked up for Ovid around his time in the Civil War, which was a horrific time in history. And given he travels around the USA and there seem to be bizarre creatures or events occurring everywhere, and everyone was affected by the war, perhaps the eldritch horrors are residual collective PTSD. I don’t mean that literally, but perhaps that’s what the story is meant to represent, that the horrors of war - for soliders and citizens - can stalk like a monster well after the events have passed.

Overall, a rich, engrossing novel. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this as a Western epic with scifi elements, it had that element of the Weird West that I was looking for and was invested in what was going on. I was invested in what was going on and was engaged with what was happening in the time-period. I was engaged with the story of Ovid and how he worked in this time-period, I thought he was well-written and was invested in what was going on with him. The rest of the characters worked well in this universe and was glad they were so well done. Frederic S. Durbin has a strong writing style and am excited for more from him.

A wandering western thriller! I would describe this more as a paranormal/fantasy fiction than as a horror book. It has all the fabulous western vibes with the addition of wild and weird creatures. Like if Supernatural were set in the 1800's. But at no point was I frightened for the character or myself. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoyed the ride.

It is a series of short stories tied together by the main character's visions and ghouls. You can think of each section like a TV episode where it's the same show and you should watch them in order but each one is a contained story. Some of the stories I was obsessed with and others not so much.

I would recommend this for fans of spooky shows who wish that said shows were set in a time of horseback travel, gold mining, dusty street shoot outs, and roaming the wide open country.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-ARC. *3.5 STARS*

The book follows a man named Ovid Vesper, who is plagued by visions after his part in the Battle of Antietam during the Civil War. Years after, he heads westward, compelled by what it is that he is seeing in these visions.

The book is broken up into chapters that essentially recycle the same inner structure. The protagonist meets a group in need, helps them, and in so doing, has a vision that upends and interferes with those original goals. He is pursued by the shadowy "Craither," which he calls the sort of dark passenger that's been with him since Antietam.

Maybe it's because I'm unfamiliar with the Western as a genre, but the repetitive nature of the chapters became a little tedious. I found the first encounter with the Craither to be the most unsettling, and didn't find that the tension or stakes really ramped up at all throughout the rest of the book. I started feeling like there was some sort of elemental eldritch horror stuff happening with the wind chapter, and others that centered around earth and digging into it, the chapter that mentioned fire a lot. But I guess that was more coincidence than anything else.

Overall, though, it does what it is billed to do. I had a good time reading most of it, and some parts were really fun. The ending I am lukewarm on, but what can you do?

Durbin renders familiar landscapes with an otherworldly pen in this picaresque. After the Civil War, soldier Ovid roams the American West only to encounter liminal beings and strange sights as he helps those he encounters. Drawing on American tall tale folk traditions, traditional Western elements, and eerie supernatural presences, Ovid's journey traces the road between the known and unexplained.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Western + Horror + Fantasy

This novel is set in the 1880s American West and follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier. After a near-death experience leads Ovid to see visions of unnatural beings, he decides to go on a journey across the country to investigate all the different supernatural occurrences.

The story is told in chapters, each representing a new experience for the main character, functioning as a standalone tale or resembling an episode of a show. Between chapters, interludes offer a deeper glimpse into the main character's thoughts and experiences.

The book’s genre is entirely outside my comfort zone. It blends the key elements of classic westerns with fantasy and historical fiction. Add to the mix horror themes, which make things even more interesting. This unique blend of genres really worked for me and reminded me of the same atmosphere I enjoyed in Stephen King’s The Gunslinger.

The vivid setting, eerie horror elements, compelling protagonist, and the author’s intriguing writing style all together made the book a fun reading experience. I would say it is a mixture between the book “The Gunslinger” and the TV show “Supernatural.”

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

This isn't my usual book genre but I did really enjoy this. It was interesting to read a western because like I said, I've not read a lot or any at all so this was fun. I liked the characters, the atmosphere, the plot. I love RDR2 so this was right up my alley.

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin is a story that masterfully weaves western with horror. Overall the story was great even though the chapters were a bit long. The writing style, however, was hard to read at times and made the story drag when it didn't need to. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it!

My thanks to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for an advance copy of this novel that is a mix of western adventure, Old Gods and Dreamscapes, and a look at how effects those involved long after peace has been declared.

Many moons ago I went to Texas to help a friend move. This was Western Texas near the New Mexico border and was a place that was quite different than the East Coast I was familiar with. Everything went south as they say with a lot of problems, a lot of blaming and a lot of recriminations. At one point I went for a walk and within a few minutes was totally lost. This again was not like walking out the door and being in the woods, again like being in New England. The world was flat, kind of sandy maybe, at least I think. I really had no idea. Everything seemed vast, wrong, and odd. The night was making sounds, the sky didn't even seem to have the right stars. Just as I got really, well concerned, I heard what sounded like a tree fall, though there were no trees around and things seemed to snap back into place. I could see a house, hear arguing voices, familiar voices, and I returned to a house of chaos, but normal human chaos. One reads about this in the West, animal noises that are unfamiliar, creatures flying in the sky. People disappearing and never found. The West might have been won, but won but who. Into this steps a man looking for something to explain what he saw on the battlefield, visions that drive him, but to what he doesn't know. Though it makes for a good story. The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin is a weird western tale about men being evil, creatures bumping in the night, and a man on a quest for something he knows not, pursued but something he once saw in battle, and has taken a bit of him everytime they meet.

Ovid Vesper served the Union well during the Civil War, fighting the Rebels at Bull Run and other battles. It was at the Battle of Antietam that Ovid nearly met his maker, blown high into the sky and left dizzy and confused. And where he saw the craither for the first time. A craither that haunts him, sucking his life from him, and occasionally helping him, for reasons Ovid can't understand. Ovid also has visions, things that drive him to do things, sometimes brave, sometimes stupid, and sends him wandering around the West of a country coming to grips with itself. Ovid meets faith healers who promise words from the dead, and people in caves who crave the flesh of other humans. Ovid helps two children not of this world, find their way home, while earning the enmity of a dangerous gang. Ovid finds loves, loses love, makes friends, and buries a lot of enemies, seeing things that shouldn't be, and haunted by the things that he has seen and done.

One of the best written works of fiction I have read in quite awhile. An amalgam of western, horror, war stories, and even a little bit of romance. Durbin writes like a poet, describing the country side, the people, and the creatures in ways that make a reader stop, and reread passages just to hear these words in their brain again. The comparisons to both Louis L'Amour and H.P. Lovecraft but there is also a bit of Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer here, a mix of myth and legend, with human interest. Durbin can write action, but can also write about just looking at the plains and thinking about the past. And horror. Durbin can do horror, from eldritch, to the just the normal evil that humans can do to each other. I really can't praise this book enough, nor say how much I enjoyed it.

Fans of Joe Lansdale, Wellman, Jonah Hex comics, Lovecraft, even Robert E. Howard will enjoy this. This is a very well written piece of western fiction, with a prose that feels very much like poetry. With plenty of scares. Role players might like this too, seeing how to build characters, have characters deal with high strangeness, and frankly because it is a good story. This is my first adventure with Frederic S. Durbin, I can't wait to hit the road again with him.

weird western cosmic horror set of vignettes that feels integrated with all of its identities in an awesome way. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this upcoming book***
I really enjoyed this one and it reminded me a lot of a wild west themed version of The Witcher. The main character is a Civil War vet who is sensitive to supernatural elements in the world. Each chapter of the book follows him to a different town with its own set of characters with supernatural problems.

I'm a big fan of both western and sci-fi fantasy novels, so this one was right up my alley. The only gripes I had with the book were the lack of quotations when characters are speaking and the overall coherence and rules of the fantasy elements. Neither of these dampened my enjoyment and I will gladly recommend this book to anyone looking for something along these lines. Give it a read!