Review: Red Rabbit

4 stars. Sigh. So close. I got so, so close to busting out of this reading slump, enjoying a 5-star read, AND fully experiencing a story that - for the first time - reminded me of one of my absolute favorite books of all time, Between Two Fires. It was a bit agonizing, actually, to be 3/4 of the way through only to realize I was quite bothered by a couple of things. Because this is a truly fantastic read. A must-read, I would say, for fans of horror and Westerns. It's unique and crunchy and episodic and I'm eager to unpack why it feels so similar to BTF, and also why it didn't make it up the hill all the way.

It's a bit tricky to summarize, but the story revolves around a group of misfits who join up to collect the bounty on a witch who is apparently terrorizing a county miles and miles away. There's Rose, a recent widow: sure of herself, but searching for her purpose. There's Moses and Ned, two wandering companions, and Tom, an old witch-hunter, and Rabbit, a mysterious child under the group's care. There's Benito, a young heartthrob on the run, and Joe Mullins, the ghost of Rose's husband. And there are many others encountered along the way. 

I want to make very clear: I would gladly read this again. I would gladly revisit this world, and trace the incredible details that make it so special. I highly recommend Red Rabbit for any day of the week, any season of the year. But please first heed my very passionate warning: check trigger warnings, especially those of you who are sensitive to animal welfare. After a lot of back-and-forth agonizing, I ultimately decided to dock a star as I typically would for UDDs - and I have to mention that 85% of the way in a puppy is introduced, right before the big climactic fight.

Sure, there are a few other things to nitpick. There are a lot of characters, and we don't go very deep into any of them (except literally... long story). Maybe there are a few sequences that could've been cut or edited down. And while I absolutely loved the sort of go-with-it laissez-faire worldbuilding, sometimes it's a little too scattered/random, to the point where I was maybe less invested/prone to skim. I would've overlooked all of that. It's a beautiful, meaningful piece of horror. But because this is my review and the stars reflect my personal reaction, 4 stars it is.

Further reading and watching, for your consideration: Between Two Fires (book), The North Woods (book), Constantine (film), Preacher (TV show), Dark Winds (TV show), Deadwood (TV show).

Red Rabbit on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads