Milius Clint is an evil man who is on the revenge trail. He wants to destroy Chris Durrin's life for the way that Chris had left Milius Clint disfigured and left him as the man he had become.
Clint and his gang sweep onto the 7HL ranch and destroy everything in their path including Chris's adoptive father. But that is not enough for Clint as he takes Chris's Comanche girlfriend's life before turning his attention to the other girl in Chris's life - a saloon dove named Matilija.
As all hell breaks loose in the saloon it becomes clear that bullets cannot harm Milius Clint or his gang.
For Milius Clint, long believed to be dead, has returned as a vampire.
Milius Clint is not your usual vampire. While his gang feeds on blood Clint feeds on fear that, in turn, feeds the hunger of the evil inside him.
Howard Hopkins, better known as Black Horse Western writer Lance Howard, maintains the western theme in this book. Just that the outlaws are not just bad guys but evil vampires as well.
In a sub-plot, there is a tale about cattle rustling and a friend who's past is linked to Chris Durrin's past.
This was an excellent read and the heroes really good as they have no idea how to deal with vampires. This, to my mind, is what sets 'The Dark Riders' apart from most vampire stories where the influence of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' sets the scenes.
And I liked Judith Huey's cover art which was just right for this book.
Yeah, I could read this book again.
WILD BUNCH WEDNESDAY reminder.
Part 13 of the Short Story With No Name can be found on Broken Trails (http://brokentrails.blogspot.com) along with all the details for the other parts.
Sounds pretty cool, Ray. Never read a vampire western, but sounds like it's time I did. I certainly enjoyed Howard's 'Guns of the Past', which I read and reviewed a couple weeks back.
ReplyDeleteThis is spectacular! You gotta admit, there aren't enough Vampire Westerns :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up.