Dead Man’s Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West is an anthology of Old West fiction from Titan Press. 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 frontier town.
Here are twenty-three original tales—stories of the Old West infused with elements of the fantastic—produced specifically for this volume by many of today’s finest writers. Incorporating elements of horror, science fiction, and fantasy into traditional western settings, the 22 authors deliver supernatural spins on a classic genre. Though not a new literary construct, the weird western has recently gained momentum due to the megapopularity of fantasy and the reemergence of steampunk lit. As varied and wide as the open range, several of these eerie tales feature characters and locales steeped in both history and legend. In Christie Yant’s titular Dead Man’s Hand, Wild Bill Hickok is resurrected; Johnny Appleseed makes an appearance in Orson Scott Card’s Alvin and the Apple Tree; and Monument Valley provides the backdrop for Fred Van Lente’s Neversleeps. While the landscape and the personalities may be familiar, each of these original stories is steeped in an appropriately eerie atmosphere, informing an alternative version of the American frontier.
Dead Man’s Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West contributors include:
Tobias S. Buckell * David Farland * Alan Dean Foster * Jeffrey Ford * Laura Anne Gilman * Rajan Khanna * Mike Resnick * Beth Revis * Fred Van Lente * Walter Jon Williams * Ben H. Winters * Christie Yant * Charles Yu *
