Skin Medicine
by Tim Curran
Review by James R.Cain
"Skin Medicine" is 414 pages and is another of Curran's gritty horror-westerns. It's regarded by the author as the best thing he's ever written to date, and knowing this, I quickly ordered the book. "Skin Medicine" was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in 2004 and rightly so - it's quite a piece of writing. The novel did not disappoint.
Basically without giving anything away, the story follows an ex-confederate bounty hunter, Tyler Cabe, who'se tracking a serial killer across the Utah Territory. Cabe ends up in Whisper Lake where he finds more than he bargained for. The sheriff is an ex-yankie from the Civil War, Jackson Dirker - a Captain who'd cruelly treated Cabe as a prisoner of war. Then the murderer surfaces, and a band of riders led by James Lee Cobb massacre the residents of Sunrise, a nearby mining town. But these riders aren't your normal bandits. Cursed by the taint of the Wendigo, James Lee Cobb has uncovered the Indian magic of the Skin Medicine, and leads a very unique and brutal band of killers.
"Skin Medicine" contains innumerable well-drawn characters - good and bad, all drawn with the Curran flair. What I like most about the work is that it's well researched and doesn't glamour history with a patriotic brush. Curran shows the west without prejudice - good and bad alike - leaving us wondering about the nature of our own humanity. At times I found the writing unrelenting, but at other times it soars and easily rivals the work of Lansdale with its poeticism. I don't make this claim lightly either: Lansdale is my favourite author. The storyline is solid and the book progresses to a satisfying conclusion.
I'd recommend this book if you're a horror fan or a fan of Curran's work. Don't be put off by the fact "Skin Medicine" is a western. This book will convert you to the horror-western genre. It's a nice little paperback from an emerging publishing house, well worth the cost. Give it a read.
Publisher: Hellbound Books Publishing
ISBN: 0-9742447-5-9