When the Wylde family invites their father the marshal to
live with them, they have no idea that they will be targeted by necromancers
& undead outlaws. Fortunately, it
seems that the Wyldes have a few secrets of their own…
Portlandtown is a
fast paced supernatural western. DeBorde
does a great job playing with the mixture of horror and western tropes. We have evil outlaws, cursed guns, books of
black magic, Native American magic, and some zombies for the kids. The action picks up quickly, & builds
towards a climatic confrontation that was hard to put down.
If anything, the sheer number of characters and the pace of
the action may work to this novel’s detriment.
While all the characters are distinct, & have their own voices, I
would have liked to see more development, particularly of our
protagonists. Everyone seems to have
some secrets, and only a few are revealed.
Somewhat problematic is the characterization of two minor
characters, Andre & Naira. They seem
at times to be filling the trope of the Magical Negro & the Magical Native
American. However, since this is clearly
the first book of a series, with many unanswered questions, I’m willing to wait
& see how DeBorde develops these characters in following volumes.
Overall, I found Portlandtown
to be an incredibly entertaining read. I’m
looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
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