As someone who isn't big on westerns, I thought this was a very well executed horror-western-fantasy smörgåsbord . The writing was good, the characters were interesting and had compelling arcs and different dynamics with each other, and overall I really loved the atmosphere that was created. I enjoyed the feeling of dread I would get each time the group arrived to a new location because Grecian never failed to surprise and disgust me with where he was planning on going. Surprisingly, I found the ending to be touching and sweet and felt it was a great way to wrap up such a grim, dark novel.

I do wish this book was a little shorter and it did start to get formulaic/repetitive towards the end. I also felt like the overarching plot about Sadie Grace was a little anticlimactic and hastily resolved, but I didn't mind it too much; I understand what the author was going for and I know there has to be some inciting incident to get our gang together and on the road and the story is certainly more about the journey than the destination.

I think this is a wonderful addition to the horror genre this year and would recommend it to anyone who loves atmospheric horror. Definitely read the trigger warnings, but I wouldn't overlook this one!

While Red Rabbit nails its atmospheric nature of the harsh brutality in the Wild West, some aspects are left to be desired. Right out of the gate, we are introduced to a plethora of characters at lightning speed which leaves little time to get to know them on a deeper level than just their actions and decisions. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you’ll know I’m a character-driven kind of gal so this bit of criticism should be a plus for those who prefer plot-focused stories. We learn of Sadie Grace, a supposed witch who has brought death to not only people but crops within Burden County, Kansas. A bounty has been placed on her head which catches the attention of many, most notably Tom Goggins, a witch-master. Accompanying Tom is an injured child by the name of Rabbit whom he claims is a boy, but most recognize as a girl. They gain the assistance of two cowboys, Moses and Ned, to help care for Rabbit’s injuries and aid in their quest. From here, we jump to meet Rose Nettles, a widow who joins this ragtag group because she thinks, why not?

Their journey to put an end to the alleged witch causing trouble up north is filled with many troubling and disturbing perils. If there’s one thing Grecian knocks out of the park, it’s the grotesque adversaries our posse encounters at a frequently high rate. The nucleus of horror within this novel hinges on gross, upsetting imagery and villains lurking around every corner. Given that this novel features characteristics of the Western genre, there are some bleak, dark moments, particularly with cruelty to animals. While I know this is true to the brutality of the times as a means for survival, this was still a tough aspect to read through.

Stylistically, the plot follows the same feelings of a slow, hot day on the Western Front; the pacing of this book is consistent with the feeling of constantly meandering through the dangers that lie in wait. We aren’t given much of a “why” as to the formation of this group until the end of the novel, which even then felt slightly anticlimactic. Many characters are injured or die, yet there is little space even acknowledge their loss among the group.

This novel raised so many interesting facets and details with each character, but the time spent exploring these intricacies was nearly nonexistent. I was particularly interested in both the characters of Sadie Grace and Rose, but minimal details were given as to their personalities and motives. Again, while this is accurate to the time, I wasn’t a fan of the oppressed women narrative in which they are punished for living alone or are forced into marriage given society’s expectations.

Red Rabbit reads a lot like an action movie in the aspect of seeing what you’re getting. Attention and focus are spent building the setting which is truly immersive in its own right. Grecian masterfully builds a harrowing western front filled with dangers only to fill the space with forgettable characters. Despite the disconnect I experienced with the characters, this is still a fun, original concept in which the genres of Western, horror, and fantasy are mashed together. Together they form an interesting world in which the righteous muster the courage to conquer the wicked who wait around every turn.

I really loved this novel. It was such a delight and a very unique tale. It’s carefully crafted and well written. Definitely a favorite of this year. The characters are all great and fleshed out and the plot moves along. This story is dark, somber and melancholic at times. Definitely check it out

Red Rabbit is a lot of fun. It’s fast paced, engaging, and has enough action that you forget it falls under the horror umbrella until something awful sucker-punches you.
This absolutely deliberate and makes the horror more impactful than a lot of books that leave a trail of blood from one cover to the next.

Grecian pulls a lot of threads out and weaves them into a complete narrative but more impressive than that is he actually ties them all back up in the end. I really enjoyed this one and suspect I’ll be going back for a reread to see just how seamlessly this narrative is crafted.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @tornightfire for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Red Rabbit is a western-inflected horror tale that follows a posse of (formerly) complete strangers as they head toward Riddle, Kansas in search of a witch with a bounty on her head. Along the way, they stumble into increasingly chilling scenarios as they run into a multitude of characters, some of whom are hoping to claim the bounty for themselves and some who have… other things in mind.

I really enjoyed Red Rabbit! I’ve never read a Western horror story before and it was super cool to try out a new genre. The story felt very action-packed and episodic, and the setting was so well articulated!

I did find myself struggling to keep track of the wide cast of characters, which seemed to grow almost with every chapter. I wish that I’d had a bit more space to become fully invested in the lives of the more central characters and perhaps grow more emotionally attached to them. I was left with a few questions by the end of the book and I think that a deeper explanation of some of the characters might have led to some answers.

However, there were some very touching moments throughout and I may or may not have teared up a bit at the ending.

Overall, I’m so glad that I got to try something new!

As a huge fan of western horror, the premise of this book grabbed me immediately. It took a bit for me to be completely grabbed by the story and the characters, since there were so many names I could not keep them straight at first, but the chapters were short enough and the action immediate enough that once I did become invested, it became impossible to put the book down. Grecian's story was reminiscent of Victor Lavalle's "Lone Women," but had a breakneck brutality all its own, and a fascinating cast of characters with their own intricate horrible backstories.
I don't often call books "compulsively readable," but I would for this!

This was the perfect blend of horror, comedy and western for me and I bloody loved every minute of it! The way in which the paranormal was intertwined with the mundane on pretty much every page was genius and utterly compelling. The mystery of the characters and their motivations was fascinating and I loved the way that they interacted with each other and the wider world. The writing was straightforward and propulsive and the tone was pitch perfect throughout. Overall, this was an absolute delight from start to finish and I will definitely be picking up more books by this author in the future.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It's said that this book is impossible to put down; well, what an understatement! Alex Grecian's 'Red Rabbit' hits all the sweet spots when it comes to the blending of western fiction with folk horror and adventure. The result is an incredible read: if Neil Gaiman and Joe Landsdale wrote a supernatural western novel, something like this would be it.

A witch gets a bounty on her head and people from all the wild west come to claim it. Among these, there stands out a so-called "witch-master," joining whom are a couple of civil war veterans, a widowed former schoolteacher, and a mysterious mute little girl, Rabbit. In their journey, they face all kinds of supernatural dangers, from monsters and demons to ghosts and cursed forests.

The diversity of characters, the original way they are introduced, in brief the imagination that went into this book, they're all unparalleled. The characters are meant to grow on you, and by the first third of the book it's impossible not to care about their fate. The wild west described in this novel is full of magic, death, and menace, where a good deed stands out from all the bad things around it. Still, the tone of the novel is anything but pessimistic or cynical: the supernatural is taken for granted, without much fuss, and so are the ugly turns of life. This is not grim realism per se (this is not a so-called "splatter western" novel); even the presence of true evil feels like it's there to deepen and enhance the positive messages of the story: the hopefulness, the need for justice, love, and friendship. There's a (perhaps not so subtle) emphasis on the simple facts of life and the magical aspects of plain nature, and how certain unnatural choices may upset them. This belongs to the book's straightforward portrayal of the fight between good and evil, setting up a compelling and very well written story, with superb character building; it's all meant, however (in my opinion) to provide comfort to the reader rather than upset their sensibility. This might explain why, although the novel involves cannibalism, murder, torture, animal and (implicit) child abuse, horror elements such as these belong to the features necessary to drive the story forward, and are not employed for their own sake.

Overall, this was a superb and thought-provoking read, that left me eagerly anticipating the author's next work. And if I'm rightly informed, it's this book's sequel!

Red Rabbit is a horror Western and follows a group of unlikely friends as they race to confront the notorious Witch of Burden County, Sadie Grace, in hopes of collecting a bounty. Witchmaster Tom, new widow Rose, best friends Ned and Moses, fugitive Benito, and mysterious little Rabbit must face human and demonic opponents along the treacherous journey. The cast of characters is extensive but the depth of character development of the protagonists and main antagonists is strong. This is an exciting story with surprising reveals.

Red Rabbit is a unique horror western that I enjoyed quite a bit. It was very unique in its storytelling and the combination of the horrors of the western world with the supernatural horrors was very well done. It definitely moved at a slower pace and yet there was always something going on. I loved how graphic this was too, it definitely added to the story. I also liked that there were many creatures from the supernatural world and that the characters encountered many of them instead of just focusing on the witch.

Red Rabbit is a horror western made up of many characters, settings, themes, and situations all woven together under the guise of a witch hunt in the wild west. It is extremely slow burn, and many threads that feel as if they couldn’t possibly connect to the main story can and do as the narrative progresses. The only real example I could liken it to is something like Game of Thrones, where there’s a lot of characters you need to keep track of all doing different things, but everything eventually comes together and collides—viscerally and violently.
This is not a novel for the squeamish. The story is bloody, and there are trigger warnings abound, but as a reader I never felt as if any of the gore present was played off for shock value. Instead you have these moments of intense violence juxtaposed against a quiet and psychopathic calm, which in many ways is far more unnerving for its pretence of peace. I also really enjoyed how the magic present flowed so naturally, making it difficult to tell what events were actually supernatural, and which ones were just unfortunate circumstances of the time.
All in all, Red Rabbit is one of those books that keeps you in a constant state of ready: You can’t read on because something bad will happen, but you can’t stop because you need to make sure everything will be okay. I can’t tell you if it will or not, that would be spoilers, but I do recommend you find out for yourself and pick this up ASAP.

It took me a little bit of time to get into this book and figure out who was who. But once it picked up, I was hooked! Red Rabbit is a Western Horror, which isn't typically a genre I read, but I'm so glad I gave it a shot! It has cowboys, witches, witch hunters, ghosts, haunted forests, and so much more! I loved following the group of strangers on their epic and perilous journey to confront a witch. I would definitely recommend this book!

Genre: Historical Folk Horror
Overall (out of 5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prose⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing(1=slow 5=fast)⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scary (1=mild 5= terrifying)⭐
Gore (1=clean 5=splatter)⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Library or Buy-worthy: buy-worthy
Similar vibe: Lone Women by Victor Lavalle, Dark Alchemy by Laura Bickle

If you've ever heard old superstitious tales from Victorian Era, the old Penny Dreadful type of tales, then this book of wild adventures is in that vein. I usually love books that feature weird, unique characters and Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian has that in spades. The author has taken a typical old west story and flawlessly intertwined various paranormal superstitions of the time. It's divided up into seven parts but reads like one continuous book. I enjoyed the humor of it all and never guessed where the story was going. There are different narrators but it never got confusing. Be aware this is set in the wild west era. There are bigoted and prejudiced attitudes toward women, witches, children, Native Americans and African Americans all represented in the story. The established negative attitudes and folk stories of the time period are used to twist the plotline in unexpected, humorous and gruesome ways. If you're sensitive to that, this book may not be for you but I enjoyed it immensely. I guess you could say what's old is new again because this story came across as fresh and interesting to me. For my splatter western/extreme horror readers this is mainstream and mild but I liked it that way. There is some gore but it fits with the storyline. It won't be for everyone though.

***Caution spoilers follow***

Here's my plotline snapshot: This motley group of strangers with nowhere else to go travel together supposedly to pick up a bounty that a "charlatan", named Tom Goggins, claims he's owed for his killing of a witch. Maybe it's the pipe but I picture the main female character Rose Nettles as actress Eva Green. The group is then rounded out with Ned, Moses and Rabbit, a mute child. All funny characters in their own right but Rose was my favorite. The boss battle at the end actually pushed this book into the buy-worthy category. I hope there are more books like this. I can easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys weird westerns.

Actual rating: 4.5★

SUMMARY
Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft. And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit.

On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure – but no sense of purpose – and a recently widowed school teacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger.

Racing along the landscape in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters--and men--more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. (adapted from https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250874689/redrabbit)

REVIEW
As someone obsessed with epic poetry, folklore, and long-ass books, I loved Red Rabbit.

The book is a brick at over 400 pages, broken into seven parts. Though that length isn't for everyone, it certainly was for me! Point of view is third person, and shifts between characters chapter-by-chapter, sometimes even jumping to characters whom we haven’t met and whose relation to the plot is unclear (at least, until it all comes together and their relation to the plot becomes *very* clear).

Grecian doesn’t waste time, but he also doesn’t rush–the pacing overall is excellent, and carries well throughout the entire length. The only minor criticism I have is that the leadup to the final confrontation feels a bit rushed, but considering how eager I was to see what happened next, I didn’t mind too much.

The characters are so textured. Whether I loved them dearly or wanted to trample them with a horse, I *always* wanted to see what they were going to do next. The whole cast–even characters I thought I would dislike, such as Joe Mullins–quickly grew close to my heart.

(Except Tom. Fuck that guy.)

Despite having already spent 400 pages with Sadie, Rose, Ned, Moses, Rabbit, and stranger folk we meet near the final leg of the road, I wish we could have spent more time with them before the story drew to a close. I want to know more about Ned and Moses’ adventures, and more about their friendship. I want to see what Rose does after that final chapter. Hell, the setting itself (as all good settings are) became its own character–even if we don’t get to see more from the Red Rabbit crew, I would love another book that explores Red Rabbit’s setting in the future. I love folk horror and supernatural weird west, and the take executed by Grecian was fantastic.

The villain was delightfully terrifying. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say this: the villain reminds me of a Hieronymus Bosch painting, if that Hieronymus Bosch painting wanted to hunt you for sport.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ll definitely be returning to Red Rabbit in the future. It’s got everything I love: an odyssey, fantastic characters, weird folk horror, cowboys, and a freaky, intimidating villain whose only goal in life is to cause murder on purpose. I’d love to give the audiobook a listen–I’ve heard good things.

If you also love horror weird West, you’ve got to read Red Rabbit. It’s one helluva bloody ride.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in Red Rabbit, it releases 19 September 2023.

If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5, rounded up for Netgalley/Goodreads

In a Wild West setting full of witches, demons and ghouls, a band of unlikely allies finds themselves headed to claim a bounty on a witch named Sadie Grace.

This was such a fun and incredible read. There were questions I had that didn’t get answered until the 80-85% mark, which was a little confusing at first but made the story better in the end. There were also a lot of characters introduced, which at times could be a little confusing but overall they linked back in a way that really worked well. I could not put this down, I started it late last night and was up until 6am reading until I fell asleep finally. I enjoyed the descriptors and language used to fit the western setting while also including the typical fantasy elements. I truly enjoyed this and highly recommend it!

A folk horror epic about a ragtag posse that must track down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts―and where death is always just around the bend.
I think this is really the best description of the story!
Red Rabbit was a super compelling read, while it is a longer book, it didn't feel like it while reading. This book was a lot of fun, unique, and a little weird.. in the best way.
We're following a group of people each of them as different as possible as they are traveling to take on the bounty for killing the witch Sadie Grace. Well really only one of them is after the bounty, the others have their reasons for going along for the ride. Along the way, we get ghosts, witches, and so many other supernatural forces. I loved all of the characters, Alex Grecian did a great job of bringing them all to life, and I was rooting for all of them to make it to the end. Even Sadie who was just trying to live her life in her small town and mostly left alone. However, that doesn't mean that when someone comes after her she won't stop them. Sometimes in a pretty brutal way. Which honestly made me love her even more
This is the first book I've read by this author but I'll definitely be checking out his backlist after how much I enjoyed Red Rabbit!

I really enjoyed this. Sophie Grace was a really compelling character to read about and it made the story thoroughly enjoyable. I enjoyed all of the characters in the story--the way they're flawed and written makes them all feel really unique. I loved all the supernatural aspects combined with the western vibe, I thought that this story worked really well. I am absolutely excited for more from this author!

This was a gem. A tale of ghosts, demons, witches, and more in western style package with a little skin walker ranch thrown in. With cannibals.

3.5 stars. A dangerous witch has a hefty bounty placed upon her head, and one old witch hunter is determined to collect it. Along the way, his posse grows to include a mute child he calls Rabbit, a widow named Rose, two cowboys looking for purpose, an outlaw, and a handful of paranormal entities. What a crew, right? Pursued by a monster with wicked intentions, the group races across the frontier, each one hoping for a different outcome upon reaching their destination.

This was a such a unique read — I loved the combination of western, horror, and fantasy! The pace was a little slow in the beginning, but it did pick up quickly and maintain steam through to the end. The cast of characters is large and I can't say that I really felt connected to any of them, but there were a few times my heartstrings were tugged. It's gory, but not TOO gory, and an overall enjoyable spooky season ride. I definitely recommend it for something different in the horror genre!

Thank you to Alex Grecian, Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio and digital copies.

"From bestselling author Alex Grecian comes a folk horror epic about a ragtag posse that must track down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts - and where death is always just around the bend.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bona fide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit.

On the road to Burden County, they're joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure - but no sense of purpose - and a recently widowed schoolteacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger.

Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get that bounty, or die trying.

Written with the devilish cadence of Stephen Graham Jones and the pulse-pounding brutality of Nick Cutter, Red Rabbit is a supernatural adventure of luck and misfortune."

I love the supernatural combined with the wild west.