A Book of Tongues

This book falls under the category “urban fiction” or “magical realism” or “western” or…something. At least, that’s what drew me to it in the first place. It takes place in America’s old west, features magic-using criminals leading a gang and draws on some Native American lore. The magic is terrifying, it’s a mix of environmental and mind-altering hoodoo. The most powerful antagonist is rugged, homosexual, unashamed, and a conflicted terror of a person. His partner in crime is simply terrifying. Together, they drive a trilogy that’s so well threaded through the old west you can taste the grit as you… show more.

A brutal tale set after the Civil War, this setting is as much a character as the morally gray—sometimes downright black-hearted—witches, gods, and hexslingers roaming within it. I wondered how the author made a book so metal: Old Testament bible verses magicked into savage spellwork, a Mesoamerican goddess roping hanged men into her service, and, of course, a government plot to harness such hexwork for its own expansionist and colonial aims. Different beliefs rub shoulders here in a visceral and refreshing way—a slice of the melting pot America still defines itself with, even in… show more.