Alright so welcome to my first book review. There won’t be as much tomfoolery because I’m actually talking about another persons work, so expect this to be more serious than my usual blog post. The book I’m reviewing today was written by an author I know and is called Goblins and Gunslingers: First Blood, and it was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a while.
Now, I found the author Ivan K. Conway in one of those Facebook book promotion groups I was a part of. I had seen several posts about his books before, and thought the cover looked pretty cool, but didn’t give much thought into reading it at first. However, after seeing another post where he was looking to send out advanced reader copies for review I decided to take a chance and read the book.
Within a couple of hours, I had a pdf copy of the manuscript in my inbox and I cracked it open to see what this was all about. I was curious about his writing style, sorry, and characters since it seemed like we have very similar work. Both Goblins and Gunslingers and my series Paranormal Frontier mix elements of western with fantasy to create a unique story.
What sets the two of them apart is that Goblins and Gunslingers takes place in a fantasy world based off of the Wild West, so it’s more like Western intruding on fantasy. On the flip side, Paranormal Frontier takes place in the Wild West and is intruded on by elements of both fantasy and horror. They are similar, but also very different.
I have to say I really enjoyed the blend of the two worlds though. The author doesn’t make the two elements feel foreign at all. In a lot of ways the story reminds me of The Mandolorian, minus baby Yoda, spaceships, and laser guns of course. I always though that putting fantasy characters like elves, dwarves, goblins, orca, etc would just clash with a western setting, but after reading this book I noticed how similar they can be, especially with themes and character archetypes.
In westerns there are a lot of tough, gritty characters who walk a fine line, and often times they are out for revenge, or maybe they just work in a moral gray area. I noticed that similar themes and Archetypes can stand in fantasy as well, and they definitely blend well into a western/fantasy cross-genre story like this. While I don’t recall there being a character driven by revenge, it would fit the story very well.
Reading this story has also encouraged me as an author because it shows that you can integrate elements of fantasy into a western setting and create a really good story. I will certainly be trying that with my own writing soon enough.
Now for a very minor spoiler. Goblins and Gunslingers: Fresh Blood follows a group of bounty hunters tracking down a bounty, which creates an interesting contrast between the characters reputation, the main character Helen is considered a hero, but in reality she isn’t as morally upright or righteous as the world around her expects her to be. If anything, she walks a fine line between good and evil, and that is a character archetype that I really love. She also optimizes the phrase “Don’t ever meet your heroes.”
The first chapter of the story has a very strong opening that leaves an impression, but after that it is kind of a slow buildup. Most of it involves giving more background for the story, while slowly introducing the characters. It wasn't the strongest start. However, once the action started in the latter half I suddenly found myself engrossed in the story, and the ending left a deep impression that I won’t soon forget.
Although I'm not that avid of a reader, I am looking forward to seeing where the author goes with this series.
Goblins and Gunslingers: Fresh Blood will be available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback. I’m already planning on picking up a copy, and I hope you will love it as much as I did.
The authors has been a pleasure to connect with as well. We follow each other on Facebook and engage with each other's content at times as well. If you want to follow him on Facebook his page is called Goblins and Gunslinger Country. He’s a great guy and always shows gratitude whenever I share or comment on one of his posts, which is why I’m willing to promote him on my socials.
MJ Maddox
Visually Impaired Author