The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin

 

This is a weirdly gentle and eventually moving novel of an Old West where Lovecraftian entities roam the plains and deserts--though it's possible the stains of human evil are more dangerous, more painful, and more lasting. It's a very episodic novel, some of the chapters read like pretty self-contained short stories, though they do happen in a specific order for clear and good reasons; it's maybe not quite stream-of-events enough to be a picaresque--there are big time skips between the chapters. The authorial voice is consistent and well-handled and seems to owe something to Lansdale, there are nifty turns of phrase lurking all over; the characters and story (or stories) are all well-handled, everything shines clear on the page. I'm very impressed, this is a nicely handled interstitial take.