An Easy Death

The setting is the country of Texoma, the Southwest of an alternate United States fractured by the Great Depression and the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt. Magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizabeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico, Lizabeth takes a job as a guide and gunnie for a pair of Russian wizards, who have heard of her fearsome reputation but are at a desperate crossroads. The Wizards are seeking Oleg Kerkarov, a low-level magic practitioner and possible direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin, believing Oleg’s blood can save the young tsar’s life. On their journey the trio they are set upon by enemies. Clearly, a powerful force does not want them to succeed.

One of the first things that I noticed while reading An Easy Death was the unique, alternate-history, post-apocalyptic take on the wild west. The world was well-written and, in my opinion, logical as to how it came to be. Each territory was thoroughly different from the next. I found my focus throughout An Easy Death more on Lizabeth than the actual plot. Lizabeth was a strong protagonist, with flaws, motivations, and growth that made her authentically complex.