The Guns of Santa Sangre

Six-guns vs. werewolves in the Old West!They’re hired guns. The best at what they do. They’ve left bodies in their wake across the West. But this job is different. It’ll take all their skill and courage. And very special bullets. Because their targets this time won’t be shooting back. They’ll fight back with ripping claws, tearing fangs and animal cunning. They’re werewolves. A pack of bloodthirsty wolfmen has taken over a small Mexican village, and the gunmen are the villagers’ last hope. The light of the full moon will reveal the deadliest showdown the West has ever seen—three men with six-shooters facing off against snarling, inhuman monsters.

From Publishers Weekly

Hollywood veteran Red has a respectable track record in horror and suspense films (Near Dark, The Hitcher), but this novel is a horrific misfire. When werewolves take over a dusty Mexican town, the virginal Pilar disguises herself as a man and flees to recruit outlaws who can slay the monsters. Led by the battered Tucker, whose sympathetic portrayal is undercut by his dismissal of Pilar as the simple Mexican and the peasant, the trio of gunmen must resist the twin temptations of the town's stash of silver and the werewolf leader's offer of immortality. Tucker stops his companions from raping Pilar; naturally she sees him as the hero she's been saving herself for. The story reads like a screenplay summary, with the narrative beats dropping at painfully predictable intervals. Fans of late-night horror flicks may relish the concept of cowboys versus werewolves, but the fight scenes are too murky to be enjoyable, and the rest feels rote. (Nov.)

About the Author

Eric Red is a Los Angeles based motion picture screenwriter, director and author. His original scripts include The Hitcher for Tri Star, Near Dark for DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group, Blue Steel for MGM and the western The Last Outlaw for HBO. He directed and wrote the crime film Cohen and Tate for Hemdale, Body Parts for Paramount, Undertow for Showtime, Bad Moon for Warner Bros. and the ghost story 100 Feet for Grand Illusions Entertainment. He created and wrote the Sci-Fi/Horror comic series and graphic novel Containment for IDW Publishing. Eric's recent published horror and suspense short stories include “Colorblind” in Cemetery Dance magazine, “The Buzzard” in Weird Tales magazine, “Little Nasties” in Shroud magazine, “In the Mix” in the Dark Delicacies III: Haunted anthology and “Past Due” in Mulholland Books' Popcorn Fiction. His first novel, a dark coming-of-age tale about teenagers called Don't Stand So Close, was published in July 2012. His second novel, a werewolf western called The Guns Of Santa Sangre, will be published in November 2012 by Samhain Publishing.

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