This book was very well-written. The prose flowed so easily and stoked the imagination. I’ve read a lot of books that were inspired by Frankenstein, and this is definitely the best one. It perfectly evoked both what made that book great, and what makes the Western genre great. I highly recommend it.

The Unkillable Frank Lightening by Josh Rountree is a fantastic blend of Western grit and supernatural horror. I love a good genre-bending novel, and this one delivers in spades. Equal parts Frankenstein and Lonesome Dove, it masterfully weaves elements of folklore, vengeance, and the uncanny into a gripping, atmospheric tale.

The non-linear narrative adds depth, revealing character motivations in a way that keeps you invested while maintaining a steady, suspenseful pace. The action sequences are as brutal as they are compelling, shaping the characters as much as they propel the story forward. Rountree balances horror and Western traditions seamlessly, creating a novel that feels both fresh and timeless.

This book was a joy to read, and I found myself completely immersed in its eerie, dust-choked world. If you love stories that defy easy categorization while delivering a gripping, unforgettable experience, The Unkillable Frank Lightening is a must-read.

My thanks to NetGalley, Tachyon Publications, and Josh Rountree for an ARC of the Unkillable Frank Lightning in exchange for my honest opinions.

At its heart, this is a tale of loss, resurrection, and redemption. We are carried along on this journey with Catherine Coldbridge at the helm. She is a deeply flawed character, haunted and broken. She has experienced deep love and heartbreaking loss, and her life has been flipped upside-down by the choices she has made trying to deal with it. Regardless of her mistakes, I couldn't help but have compassion for her.

Rountree holds true to Shelley's Frankenstein tale, right down to the doctor's monstrosity and the monster's humanity. Small details taken from the original are masterfully woven into this story. It's a treat.

I was happy to see a bit of Charlie Fish peek into the story. You don't have to read The Legend of Charlie Fish prior to this - they are separate stories - but I recommend it anyway because it's a wonderful book.

When reading Josh Rountree, you're put in the hands of a horror Western extraordinaire. His storytelling is gritty and bold, and you can smell the blood and dirt in his writing. He is an auto-buy author for me, and I recommend his books to everyone.

I don't much care for Westerns, but I was excited to read this book. Rountree's previous one was rather wonderful. Oddly enough, I had forgotten the plot of it completely, only that I really enjoyed it. I wish I remembered more of it, because these two books, while standalone, are connected and, moreover, set in the same world. The world of Weird Western. Which, so long as Rountree writes it, I'll be delighted to visit.

I described The Legend of Charlie Fish in my review as "Western Shape of Water." Well, this tale is a "western Frankenstein." It follows a sort-of-grieving, sort-of-widow, as she looks for the husband she had (perhaps in error) resurrected. She finds him in the circus, performing under the titular name. But of course, killing the unkillable isn't without its challenges.

While the book tended to veer ever so often into the dreamy witch fantasy territory, it was ever so much fun to read. Great language, evocative of the time. Terrific characters. I very much enjoyed it. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

In The Unkillable Frank Lightning by Josh Rountree, my newest review book from Net Galley, a doctor loses her husband and then decides to bring him back to life. He comes back as a monster and years later, she decides to finally put an end to him with the help of two killers.

The Unkillable Frank Lightning is a western and a monster tale. Its steeped in the Old West and also features complex characters, morally grey people who live and die and some that live again. Its a fantastic tale. Josh Rountree tells it in the first person mode, with the Doctor-Catherine and her voice is so well defined. She is a character we root for and worry about in equal measure.

The writing in this book is so very good. Its descriptive and poetic at times but not overly so. The dialogue was good too. And I thought the jump from past to “present” and back again worked well. I enjoyed this book so much. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t sure what would happen next and I absolutely loved the ending.

I also want to read The Legend of Charlie Fish by Josh Rountree now, since one of the characters in this book comes from that one. I didn’t feel like I was missing out though. The Unkillable Frank Lightning is its own tale. It wasn’t until the afterword that I even knew that the one character came from another one of Josh Rountree’s books. I will definitely look into reading The Legend of Charlie Fish as soon as can.

The Unkillable Frank Lightning is an excellent tale. You don’t even have to like Western novels. The blending of western and monster tale works so well. The book absolutely sings and I think anyone could enjoy this book. It can be a violent tale, without a doubt, but it was also a beautiful tale. It was just so good.

I highly recommend The Unkillable Frank Lightning by Josh Rountree. I’m glad I got to read it early!

The Unkillable Frank Lightning comes out on July 15th, 2025. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing an early digital copy of the book.

While The Unkillable Frank Lightning lacks the complexity of McCarthy’s writing, it does capture the brutality and desperate nature of the American west without romanticizing it.

While I enjoyed the story, there are sections of text that feel drastically out of place given both the supposed time period and location. The way this book handles magick needed more historical context around it to make it feel more believable.

This book made me research the phrase "astral plane" and Rosicurianism, as these are obscure references constantly made that feel more anachronistic than they actually are. If there was more historical description or context given from the Protagonist then this wouldn't feel so jarring to the modern reader.
There is also references to Roundtree's other work that I haven't read so I gained nothing from it.

Overall though, I liked it. I enjoyed the protagonist and the narrative as a whole but it likely won't linger in the mind.

This novel was an enjoyable experience overall. As someone who has not previously encountered Western-inspired interpretations of Frankenstein, I found the storyline to be refreshing and original. However, I would have appreciated a deeper exploration of Catherine's magick. (The spelling choice of magick is a nice hint.). While the occasional briefings on her abilities were intriguing, they sometimes felt rather scattered and lacking in context.Without delving into spoilers, I must commend the ending; it aligned with my hopes, though it still managed to surprise me! An aspect I thoroughly enjoyed. Least favorite character....Catherine. Favorite character(s) ...Frank and Seth.
I admit, I did not develop a strong connection with the characters, however, I found that I could empathize with their emotions! Shout out to the author's skill conveying the different feelings from the characters. I will admit that the pacing of the book was not ideal to me... it took me some time to read through it. I wouldn't say it's because of a lack of quality; rather, there were points in the book where some conversations lacked the depth to fully engage my attention. I thought this was a solid read! I thought it was simple yet entertaining. I would certainly recommend this book to my friends.

This is a novel set in a realistic wild west setting which features magick, resurrection, and has an emotional reach which impacts the reader as it progresses.

A woman uses a spell to bring her husband back to life. He's been massacred along with others and she must replace some of his body parts with those of others for the spell to take effect. That's a particularly gruesome yet detailed scene.

But of course that comes with consequences. When she last saw her husband, he was a rampaging monster, causing her to flee in fear and guilt.

Years later and she's hired two killers to accompany her because she now wants to end her husband's life again. He's a performer in a wild west revue show and he is the Unkillable Frank Lightning. But he's a changed man. He's sweet and has friends, nothing like the monster he was.

We'll follow all of these wonderfully written characters as moral choices must be made which are hard to follow. The choices which could, and do, lead to bloodshed in the blink of an eye and the resulting fallout leads us on a horrific trail and nobody involved will be the same again.

I loved Josh's novel Charlie Fish and I was thrilled to see a certain character from that world have a huge impact in this novel. If you've read Charlie Fish you'll know.

This is a great story that takes a Frankenstein like tale and gives it a fresh makeover while delivering the terror, action, and heartfelt moments we all love. I highly recommend this one.

Merely calling this gothic horror western a “Frankenstein retelling” is a bit of a disservice because it’s so much more than that. It’s a devastating epic about lost love, how far someone might go to keep it, and the consequences of that obsession. Rountree’s words are thoughtfully indulgent without being bloated. He writes grief like nobody else and is a master at dialog. I fell in love with these characters almost immediately. I also really appreciate the fact that the main character is a middle aged woman, a lead we so rarely get to read from. Once again, this author has blown me away with his beautiful storytelling.