Deadwood

The Return of Crockett and Crane

By: Kyle Robert Shultz

Narrated by: Kieran Flitton

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

It’s not the people in this town you have to watch out for.

It’s the buildings.

Monster hunter and part-time centaur Todd Crane didn’t ask to be sheriff of Deadwood. For one thing, he’s never had an easy time staying on the right side of the law. For another, he’s too busy trying to find a dangerous sorcerer who nearly destroyed the United States of Neverica.

But some men - and centaurs - have greatness thrust upon them. Not only is Todd the reluctant defender of the peace in Deadwood, he’s the only one who can thwart the schemes of a powerful magical entity manipulating the town from the shadows.

And when Todd’s past comes back to haunt him, the stakes get a lot more personal for him and his friends.

Heroes will fall. Secrets will be revealed. Everything is about to change.

©2019 Kyle Robert Shultz (P)2020 Kyle Robert Shultz

A Nail Biting Sequel.

A great entry in an amazing series. I read this book in, more or less, two sittings which is a very rare occurrence for me. But I tell you, once I hit the middle of the book I couldn't put the book down. Todd is a brilliant character. He makes his choices based on what he thinks is best, but even he can see that they are often bad choices. He takes responsibility for his friends while not forcing himself into a role of authority, but giving them all a voice. I love seeing how he makes his choices based on the pressures around him and how that effects everyone. He finds this perfect balance between being so human and still balancing on the edge of escapism making him both fun and relatable.
The rest of the characters were just as fun and nuanced. I loved seeing Julio having to be pulled right out of his blase humor and having to face some serious things. Meg is faced with a situation she's never had to face before and it's both a bit humorous and very very sad. And Amy is both mama-bear and ever-exasperated girl-friendish woman. I absolutely loved digging into her backstory and just how it all unfolded in the story.
The absolute best part of this book, however, is just how brilliantly creepy it is. While it's perfectly balanced with great humor, as always (I laughed out loud more than once) the bases for this story is chilling. You get a good dose of it right off the bat with the prologue, and it just keeps building. Getting to see our characters go up against the villains in the story is a thrill and you never once feel like anyone is fully safe.
And the end of this book, guys! I can't wait for the next one to come out.

This is not your father's Deadwood.

Deadwood is in the Worse lands. It may seem like Haven to weary travelers unfortunate enough to get caught in the vast wastes of sun and sand, but it isn't. Deadwood is alive. A whole town that keeps it's citizens captive for its own sick pleasure.

Deadwood is the second book in the weird Western series of Crockett and Crane. It picks up about a year after the first book, Horseman, I recommend reading them in order.

There are so many Revelations in this book, not just for Crockett and Crane, but for Kyle Robert Shultz's entire interconnected Afterverse, so I will skip the spoilers and just say that, I need more books now.

Narrator Kieran Flitton returns and repeats his stunning performance as Todd Crane. (He's actually every character, but since Todd in first person narrator, he gets the bulk of the voice work.) Kieran Flitton is just super, there are times that I would swear these are different people. I definitely want hear more from this narrator.

if you love Westerns, magic, mythology, and humor, then this is the book you have been looking for.

Good book! Great voice!

3.5 stars rounded up to four.

Voice is very close to how I imagine them!

To be honest this is probably my least favorite out of all of Kyle Robert Shultz’s books. However, it is still worth the read! I’ll start with the things I liked about it first.

The way he puts the whole thing together is just so cool! I wouldn’t have ever thought about that! I like the way that Jack manipulates them all. You know he’s plotting something, except you expect him to betray a little while later on. And the fact that there is another dragon is cool! (Malcolm is still my favorite though)

Now come the things I didn’t like so much. (There might be spoilers. And by might be I mean there will be spoilers)

I didn’t like the fact that Todd got magic. It just seems a little off. I liked the fact that his potions were nothing compared to magic, and yet he still made it work in the end. And I’m just confused. If Jack stabbed Malcolm with the knife, why did he still allow him to come over and let him teach Cordelia? And why did Jack send her there if Malcolm could have just convinced her to betray him, or use the magic the wrong way? I don’t want to make it seem bad, and these are just my opinions, but this is still very well worth the read! I see that others find it really good!

I didn’t like the romance in it either. I mean, maybe two people from the whole group would become a couple, but not all of them.

Now, all that being said there is still much to enjoy in the book! And these again are just my personal opinions, maybe you’ll like it better!

Funny, surprisingly heart tugging.

I enjoyed this second book in the Crockett and Crane series. It probably could be read/listened to out of sequence .It had been about a year since I read book one, and I didn't need a lot of catchup and the story stands alone pretty well though it does continue some conflicts left over from book one.

First off, this book is very funny. I'm starting with that as a positive, but it's also one of the few problems I have with the book. More so in this series than in the companion Beaumont and Beasley, the humor is a little over the top. In the first book, my one negative was that sometimes the jokes stretch on past when they are funny. This one does the same thing in places, but it's more "scenes that should be serious are written with a jokey tone." Not ALL of said serious scenes. There are two he doesn't do this with that definitely hit the hammer down and pull back from the style I'd overall call intentionally over the top/slapstick. Those work really well.
The narration is also bridging on over the top. Some accents are exaggerated bridging on cartoony. I think this is very much a choice, and if you're looking for a Hank the Cowdog experience, you're going to find it here. Some of the seriousness of the plot, though, does clash a little with this delivery. When the scenes are in full on screwball cowboy comedy, it's perfect. When we're dealing with life or death and truly tragic circumstances, sometimes the accents are mildly distracting.

Overall, it was a very fun read I'd recommend, and definitely had an emotional punch that I wasn't necessarily expecting. Good lore/world building additions to the overall mythology from the combine series too.

I received a free copy of this audiobook. This did not influence my review.