5 Books that Show Us the Weirder Side of the Wild West

Vermillion, by Molly Tanzer
Vermillion is the story of Lou Merriweather, a chain-smoking Asian-American Taoist psychopomp tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearances of several young men from Chinatown. The case takes on new dimensions when bodies start being sent back to Chinatown, now undead, in crates of elixir belonging to a cult in Colorado called the Fountain of Youth. While there’s plenty of originality and style in evidence within this story, which takes its cues mainly from pulp novels, Tanzer shines when writing her characters; the quick-paced dialogue and emotional chemistry will keep you hooked.

Wake of Vultures, by Lila Bowen
We can’t say enough about Bowen’s awesome dark fantasy-western, and this list wouldn’t be complete without it.  The first book of a larger series, it follows Nat Lonesome (formerly Nettie) as he is forced to confront his status as a slave, both to his abusive adopted “parents” and to a destiny he doesn’t always recognize as his. Wake of Vultures occupies a unique position somewhere between gritty western, supernatural horror, and just-plain-weird fantasy. While Nat is a wonderful, complex, and fully-realized protagonist, it’s the world he inhabits that pushes this novel over the top, imaginative monsters, genuinely chilling action sequences, and all.

Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest
The first volume of a steampunk alternate history universe called “Clockwork Century,” this is the story of an alternate Seattle, where it wasn’t a massive earthquake that created the infamous Underground, but a massive steam-powered drill invented by a man named Leviticus Blue that ripped through downtown Seattle, uncovering a deposit of “blight gas” and creating an infestation of zombies (and wrecking a large portion of the city in the process). Years later, Blue’s widow Briar Wilkes ventures into the walled city to retrieve her son Zeke, who hopes to find evidence to clear his family’s name. Priest’s stated intent was to give steampunk a “magnum opus,” and Boneshaker delivers with exhaustive worldbuilding, vivid detail, and a ton of atmosphere.

The Rise of Ransom City, by Felix Gilman
A companion volume to The Half-Made World, Ransom City is the autobiography of Harry Ransom, a huckster and inventor who makes a brief appearance in that novel. This is Ransom’s autobiography, following him from his humble beginnings, to his invention of the Ransom Process (which can produce light without energy), to his attempts to found a utopian city all his own. Written entirely from Ransom’s perspective (save for the snarky asides from his editor), the book has an amazing voice, and manages to inject some humor involving Harry’s status as the ultimate unreliable narrator.

The Six-Gun Tarot, by R. S. Belcher
Welcome to Golgotha, where the sheriff is so extraordinarily lucky he’s escaped death more than once, his deputy is half-coyote, the entire place is a nexus of weirdness, and pretty much everyone has a secret. Worse still, the silver mine up on Argent Ridge is holding something captive, and that something is starting to wake up. The Six-Gun Tarot moves backward and forward, developing its characters and slowly building its world as it draws influences from tarot (obviously), Chinese mythology, Caribbean folklore, Christianity, and numerous other sources to tell the story of a showdown against dark forces in a small desert town.
What’s your favorite weird western?