Dead Man's Hand

By John Joseph Adams,

Book cover of Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West

Book description

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD! From a kill-or-be-killed gunfight with a vampire to an encounter in a steampunk bordello, the weird western is a dark, gritty tale where the protagonist might be playing poker with a sorcerous deck of cards, or facing an alien on the streets of a dusty…


Shepherd is reader supported. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our website. (learn more)

Why read it?

1 author picked Dead Man's Hand as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This anthology is a bit less consistent in quality or interest, but some of the stories surpass all expectations. My favorite is "The Golden Age" by Walter Jon Williams, a superb and substantial tale of superheroes and supervillains set in the Californian Goldfields. The characters are regular folk who have taken on these larger-than-life personas as well as causes for which to fight. Their costumes, technology, and methods are true to the time, and seem completely ramshackle to us today; it’s safe to say there are no actual superpowers involved! This is a brilliant story and takes a few significant…

From Julie's list on set in the weird Wild West.

Want books like Dead Man's Hand?

Our community of 7,000+ authors has personally recommended 10 books like Dead Man's Hand.

Browse books like Dead Man's Hand

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in American frontier, steampunk, and Star Wars?

7,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about American frontier, steampunk, and Star Wars.

American Frontier Explore 64 books about American frontier
Steampunk Explore 56 books about steampunk
Star Wars Explore 87 books about Star Wars