Vine in the Fire

I love discovering a new author, who immediately becomes one of your favorites. Such is the case with Stephen J. Semones. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Semones at a local horror convention, a few weeks ago. He is a super friendly guy, and I ended up buying quite a few of his books, on the spot, as he writes in multiple genres. I took a gamble doing this (I have been disappointed before), but I had a feeling about Semones and that feeling has paid-off ten-fold!

I was actually going to start off reading another of Semones' books titled Gloom (an action/crime drama), but that book is the start of a series (currently 5 books in, with the 6th soon to be released - I bought the first 3). Stephen King's new book comes out tomorrow, so I knew I didn't want to be in the middle of a series, so I went with Vine in the Fire - a stand alone western/horror novel.

Vine in the Fire is written in three Acts, not including the gripping Prologue. (I guarantee that once you read the prologue, you will not be stopping there!) Act 1 is a fast-paced chase sequence, Act 2 takes a 3-month time jump, and Act 3 leads up to the ultimate showdown.

Semones has superb character development skills, giving minute characteristics to each character, making them more relatable, and also giving palatable emotion when needed. I also love it when the title of a book explains itself, which this one does in a cool way.

I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Stephen J. Semones!

5/5 Skulls

Here is the book's synopsis:

After his brother is murdered, Cole Truett leaves the small California town of Temple on a quest to bring the killer to justice. He sets his sights on Jacob Wallace, leader of the notorious outlaws known as "The Wallace Gang". What he doesn't realize is that Jacob harbors an ancient curse, one which makes him not only a deadly adversary, but a terror to humanity itself. Take a ride with Cole Truett through the 'Old West' in this epic tale of evil, revenge, and treachery.