This had such an alluring concept but I really couldn’t connect with the writing style or the style of the book, which felt more like short stories together than a cohesive novel.

I hate that I couldn't finish this book. I really just didn't enjoy the way it was written, which is disappointing because I really thought I would love this book.

A deeply (almost surprisingly) contemplative novel, this is fantasy horror takes the reader the the Wild West in a deeply compelling journey.

This novel is broken into various different stories all connected by the protagonist, Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier. Ovid is on a journey across the continent, seeking out and being followed by a wide variety of creatures and characters.

The writing does a phenomenal job of bringing you to central America of the late 19th Century. There were moments where I had to catch myself reading the book in an internal stereotypical cowboy voice. The world feels dangerous, familiar, and entirely unforgiving.
Ovid as a character is likeable enough, if maybe a little two-dimensional. He was so steady and predictable throughout the whole story that it sometimes didn't feel like there was much of an arc for him to follow. It would have been nice to see some growth or decline of his person as the tolls of the events took root.
Which connects me to my main criticism of the book, which is that each chapter felt like it's own self-contained story. There was some threads linking them, but Ovid and his lack of personal development wasn't enough to make it feel like a 'story'. You could have had a new protagonist in each chapter and achieved the same effect.
That being said, the description of the book references Lovecraft, and the partially connected stories did feel very Lovecraftian. In that sense, it may have been entirely intentional and the comparison is appropriate.

It's a well written, creative, interesting set of stories that's worth your time.

With a distinct and consistent narrative voice, an admirable main character, and evocative language, Durbin has crafted an engaging story that I'll be thinking about long after writing this review.

My main criticism would be that the decision to write the story as loosely connected tales as opposed to a traditional linear story did leave me feeling disjointed. However, the strengths of the novel still won me over. I recommend readers give this a try.

This was a good western Horror. The writing was good, storyline a bit predictable, but good. I would definitely recommend.

Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier, was westward bound. An explosion during the Civil War Battle at Antietam Creek had been life changing. “Visions” were telling him to head to the West. He no longer understood “the why of things.” His head “had been full of ghosts and echoes…didn’t entirely trust himself to see what was actually there.”

Journeying, he encountered a snake oil salesman, who for a coin, might connect a willing participant with comfort from beyond the grave. Next, Ovid shared the tale of his stint as a cattle driver in Texas. A standout character from the drive was Cookie, second-in-command. Cookie “cooked the chuck” and did the doctoring. Suddenly, “a prolonged roar…boulders crashed to the earth…a landslide…I was seeing the War again among the canister shot and cannonballs.”

Off to Missouri. An old war buddy needed Ovid’s assistance. “Both sides in the War had claimed the state and sewn it onto their flags.” Two young children, not of this world, were trapped here. They were lovingly tended to by a childless couple. Could exploration of nearby caverns uncover a portal for the children to return home?

Further travels led Ovid to a deep snake pit containing a “shine” from its depths. Working in tandem with another friend, Ovid would be lowered by rope to investigate. Was there wealth to be gotten? Not if the outlaw gangs had any say about it!

“The Country Under Heaven” is a read of interconnected tall tales. Some images are breathtaking, some heart wrenching, as Ovid Vesper attempts to quell his wartime memories. He sees shadowy figures, hears eerie chanting and feels breathing on his shoulder. This road trip is like no other; a supernatural Western journey undertaken by a former soldier who is trying to overcome his struggles and move forward after the Civil War.

Thank you Kezia Velista @ Melville House Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Evoking the majesty and grandeur of the Old West, Durbin spins a stirring yarn about the aftershocks of battle and the struggle to overcome what haunts us.

Durbin’s A Green and Ancient Light was one of the first books I reviewed for The Speculative Shelf in 2016, and it has stayed with me to this day. It’s a thrill to return to one of his worlds. At the time, I wrote: “He creates a setting filled with such beautiful imagery that opening the book felt like being transported to the nameless countryside each and every time.” The same holds true here, as the American West comes to life, down to the last flower petal and blade of grass.

While I found Ovid Vesper’s journey and visions intriguing, the loosely connected chapters often felt disjointed and could have benefitted from fewer characters and a more streamlined plot.

Sadly, I could not develop any interest in the title. I was really hoping to get caught up in this and just never sparked anything.