I really liked this more than I thought I would. I'm not normally a western reader, but I really enjoyed the characters (I'm particularly fond of Alice). There was some blood and gore, but that really didn't bother me or detract from the story. I liked the extra short story about Noose and Merella's past together, and would be curious to see more of what happened with them after the events of the story.

I happened upon ‘Noose’ randomly a few years ago, seeing Brennan’s work on his social media and being in the mood for what I thought would be a quick slice of Western horror.

This excellent novella stayed with me ever since, and I was so glad to see that the stories of Buzzard’s Edge are being reprinted by Brigid’s Gate.

The tale of an orphaned boy growing up to seek revenge moves with perfect pacing between moments of genuine pathos and sheer rage-inspired action. Rory Daggett is a relatable hero fighting a monstrous villain, and there are moments when it truly seems as if there’s no way for him to succeed. One particular twist had me literally exclaiming ‘Oh no!’ - the setup leading down a path that suddenly dead-ended, leaving Rory in even more difficulty than before. How can one man succeed against an ever-stranger (and more powerful) gang of desperados, with the tiny force at his side?

The Weird West atmosphere is fantastic (in every sense), and I loved the lonely, surviving-on-the-frontier vibe which combines beautifully with a sense of liminality - as if the frontier isn’t just about geography, but otherworldliness as well.

I accidentally read the second book first, and I'm so glad I read this, the origin story of how Rory came to avenge his family and become part of a found family with a young mute girl, Alice. Noose is a really bad guy, murdering entire families and seeming to enjoy his badness. This story is short, violent, and entertaining, and I'm excited that there's another book coming out soon. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I typically don't read any form of western type stories, but.this one is brutal and I enjoyed it! Well done, for a western horror story.

#NetGalley #Noose

This novella is a delightful, gore-packed horror western. It doesn’t hold back and goes straight for the action, and it goes hard, with barely a break to slow down across its short page count. I had a fun time reading it, and I am looking forward to the next novellas in the series, but I would have liked a little more—everything feels a little rushed.

Other than the violence and gore, which are excessive but not gratuitous, and a lot of fun, everything else is just kind of whispered at. Our main character has a complicated history, and we get a good description of him in these pages, but we don’t get many chances to really experience it for ourselves. It is easy to root for him, but he doesn’t feel entirely realized, since everything about his character is told not shown. It is similar with the other characters, all of them are interesting and have potential to be more than they are, because their backstories are simply told to us. The setting is the same, it nods at typical Western settings, so if you are familiar with the genre then you can locate this place, but if not there isn’t too much detail to make it feel like a lived-in place. The story is straightforward, and I appreciate that, but again there isn’t a lot of journey there, there are just things happening to our main character.

That’s a whole paragraph of nit-picking, but don’t let that suggest I did not have a lot of fun with this story. It was right to the point, it had some really wonderful imagery, a familiar-but-engaging storyline, and a cast of characters that were full of potential. It is a really short novella, and I think it could have been expanded by 25% - 50% and still been a tight, aggressive page count while putting more meat on the bones of the story that was told. As it is it gets in and out quick, jumps right into bloody action, and doesn’t ever really slow down. So, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, bloody little morsel of a horror western with a satisfying conclusion, you have come to the right place.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Brigids Gate Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Dope little novella. LaFaro does a great job at making this little horror western both accessible and entertaining. It was easy to read and hard to put down. There is some supernatural elements but they do well to complement the book without being completely over the top.

In Noose we have Rory whose parents were killed in a train robbery fifteen years before. You have a fairly standard revenge story but I enjoyed how Rory approached the antagonists separately (almost a Kill Bill vibe). Alice and Rory were both great characters and I would definitely read more books starring them.

There’s a shorter story, Come and Take My Hand, in this edition which gives us a look into what created the character, Noose. Both the novella and the short story tackle some heavy themes and get fairly dark and gruesome at times. Overall, I found Noose to be well paced and a great read. It’s a faster paced, shorter read which make it easy to recommend to most audiences.

“The street begged for a healthy dose of rain to wash away the blood, bone, brains, and hate spilled that day, but this was Buzzard’s Edge. Even in the best part of town, the sand would drink the blood, and unloved creatures would dispose of the rest when darkness fell."

At only 8 years of age, Rory Daggett was the soul survivor on a train slaughtered by Noose Holcomb's gang, including Rory's parents. Fifteen years later, Rory goes on a hunt to take down Noose's gang, one by one, to make up for all that was taken from him.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, the thrills, the fight scenes, the bond between Rory and little mute Alice. I felt like I was really immersed in the Western timeline. This was a great quick read, and I would recommend it to fans of Westerns and slashers. It perhaps felt it was missing something extra, or the build-up wasn't quite fleshed out enough for me, but it was a decent read!

Genre: Western slasher horror
Read if you enjoy: Revenge/ Gore / Westerns/ Gangs/ Badass kids/ Supernatural elements

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Brigid's Gate Press and Brennan Lafaro for this advanced readers copy.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

I really enjoy a Western, in film and board games, but I haven’t found too many books that have really achieved the perfect atmosphere. This book does it in abundance! Not only do we have great Western vibes and tropes, but we also have magical realism and occult woven in at points too.

This is quite a short book but it just manages to capture the feel of a Western so well. Be warned, this is very violent. It starts with a gruesome opener on a train that introduces our villain and our main character and sets up the events that will follow. Our main character’s life is marked by multiple tragedies. He seeks revenge against the one who has perpetuated his troubles. We follow him as he searches for the accomplices of the villain in order to find and exact his revenge. He must journey into his past to succeed.

This was so fast-paced, action-packed and exciting. A short book, but very enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley, Brennan LaFaro and Brigids Gate Press, LLC for the eArc of Noose.

I must admit, Westerns isn't my forte but coupled all the horror elements of this book made for a gruesome, edge of your seat read. It's a short book but it packs a nice punch with lot of tension, cat and mouse thriller like tension as well as a little bit of a supernatural element. It's a fast paced fun read which kept the pages turning. I really enjoyed the characters in the plot and the dynamics between Noose Holcomb and Rory Daggett.

Would like to read more from Brennen in the future .

4 stars

A fun, quick read that takes a horror spin on a classic western setting. With a main character bent on revenge for the death of his parents, the plot focuses on his search for the man responsible, working his way through gang members until he finds him. The plot qraps up quick and was a little anticlimactic, but overall this was a fun book with enough interest to make me want to read the sequel.

This was a very fun book that plays out like a horror western procedural. I could literally see each chapter being an episode in a season of a show, a new issue to resolve, with an overall revenger arc. I had a hard time putting the book (epub) down, and started talking about it at cookouts unprovoked. The writing was relatively strong, but more than respectable for genre fiction. That's not a knock on the author, I don't need literary prose crawling into my fun as hell cowboy revenger stories. The characters were well realized and had distinct voices, and you really felt yourself rooting for, or against, each for different reasons. I am genuinely excited to read the next in the series. Almost a perfect 5, but way more than 'popcorn book', so a solid 4-4.25 for me. Definitely want to see more from Brennan, and in this world.

This is Rory’s revenge story. He is the only one alive after Noose’s massacre of the passengers of a train.
Rory is our narrator. This is a fast-paced novella with several great qualities such as the vibe and the inclusion of a witch.
Because I found the plot uneven, and wanted to find out more layers and dimensions about, first of all, Rory, then Noose, and see more when the ‘moment’ arrives, this was not the 4 or 5 star read I had hoped it was.
It is a strong book, and I am sure other readers, especially those who like Westerns, a bit of horror, revenge, and speculative fiction sprinkled in, will enjoy this book.

Noose is an excellent novella which gives us the origin story of Rory Dagget and his quest to kill the biggest, baddest, and supernaturally charged psychopath nicknamed Noose.

This book has all the beats of an almost super hero story. Orphaned at a young age, taken in by people who loved him, and his ultimate revenge on his lifelong quest to kill the man responsible.

But of course it won't be easy. Because Noose has a gang, including a hulk-like killer, a man who is very adept with blades, and a witch! Rory must take them out to get to his goal, Noose himself.

There's not a scene that lags here. Every page, right from the start, is filled with wild west vibes and bloody rampages which makes it such a fun breath taking horror ride.

As a bonus in the copy I received, there's also a short story about how Noose and his witch met when he was just a child. That was pretty awesome and a great addition to this whole world.

I highly recommend this fantastic western horror novella.