Brennan LaFaro's short story collection, "Where the Daybreak Ends," gathers ten stories taking place in the same universe with his two Western horror novels, "Noose" and "The Demon of Devil's Cavern," the horror westerns that make up the Buzzard's Edge Saga. The official number of the tales in the book is actually eight (seven shorts and one novella), but there's also a wrap-around story, "The Reaping," presented in nine short parts, plus a tiny short, "Spokes in a Wheel," served as a bonus story, a 'Lagniappe' of sorts according to the author.

Anyone who's read the Buzzard's Edge Saga books, is in for a real treat with this collection: each story references or involves, implicitly or explicitly, characters, places and events from the other books, though without ever neglecting the first-time reader who picks the collection. This means that almost all the stories can be read on their own, as excellent western horror tales sharing a common background. But the order of reading does matter, so readers should heed LaFaro's advice and read each story as intended. This goes double for the wrap-around story, "The Reaping," since it will hardly make sense otherwise. Same with the last two stories - they are preparing the ground for the third Buzzard Edge's book!

OK, let's put such technicalities aside, and take a peak at the stories themselves. I'll be upfront about it, and immediately confess that I liked the collection far more than the novels themselves! The stories provide so much richness and background detail on Buzzard's Edge, they develop what happened in the novels and after them, it was impossible to read just one story at a time; I did enjoy the books, in fact I enjoyed them tremendously, but going through these stories was a truly fascinating reading experience, almost like completing a giant puzzle. Piece by piece, Buzzard's Edge begins to take shape as it gets populated by both familiar and new characters placed in unexpected situations, their stories full of action and intrigue.

"They Only Come Out at Night," for example, has two new characters with their own attractive dynamic, facing vampires; "Salvia Sunset," introduces another new character, Nola (guess who inspired that name!), this time facing on her own a giant flesh-eating monster; "Come and Take My Hand" (a tale first printed in the paperback of "Noose"), provides a sort of origin story for two already introduced characters (and is a truly heart-breaking story if you know what's waiting for them in the future); "The Ice Man," a novella-length story, revisits Rory and Alice, revealing what happened to them between the two books; and, finally, the titular "Where the Daybreak Ends" gives a glimpse into the story of a familiar gay couple - and casually drops a recognizable name from LaFaro's other fictional universe! I never expected to stumble upon such a link! And the tiny story of "Spokes in a Wheel" is the perfect post-credit scene we're all waiting for after the story ends: an extremely satisfying teaser for the forthcoming third book.

So the Buzzard's Edge collection is all entertainment, no misses. LaFaro's storytelling rocks, and when it comes to western horror, you're in the best of hands!

Josiah is on the brink of death when he finds two creatures. They tell him stories of monsters and men in a little piece called Buzzards Rest. Suspense filled tales that bring you deeper into the world of Buzzards Rest

There is a sort of magic in reading tales from the old west. It seems to transport you in a way that few other settings can. A time where communication meant face to face or hand written letters and weeks to months of waiting. A time where getting things done was a series of trial and error. A time where lawlessness was a way of life for many and greed controlled the frontier.
What Lafarro does to this gritty world by throwing in supernatural beasts and beings adds a new level of helplessness that makes the common man soil their britches as they freeze up and wait for a death that is soon delivered. For the reader, that helplessness is doubly so as you are mentally trying to help these characters that have quickly become your friends, and trying to do so without all the knowledge and modern conveniences readily at our disposable.
It was so much fun seeing old friends, old enemies, and the evolution of Buzzard’s Edge

Buzzard's Edge needs blood, and there's plenty of stories with it. It was great to be back to meet new and old characters. I really liked how it was organized between the main narrative and the short stories. I highly recommend reading the first two novels and then this collection. Though this can be read by itself, readers can appreciate his horror-western world building and characters more.

“This land drinks blood, Josiah. It feasts on misery.” This quote clearly describes what to expect when you come to the western town of Buzzard’s Edge. It’s a lesson Josiah learns as he is told several stories about this desert town from a vulture and a coyote.

As we experience these stories, we are introduced to many creatures, monsters, vampires, murderers, and bad people, just to name a few. Even though the stories are all separate and individual, they all intermingle in a strange sort of way.

I never imagined that I would like a western horror book, but I was honestly hooked. The author did a fantastic job tying everything together!
Thank you to Net Galley and Brigids Gate Press for this free ARC book in exchange for my candid review.

Back to Buzzard’s Edge we go, with a collection of stories old and new that show just how weird this little frontier town is. And once again, I’m entirely here for it.

I love Brennan’s own logic within his worldbuilding, as the laws of nature twist when the sun goes down or some unforeseen boundary is crossed, leaving those facing their monsters to fight or fall. His writing is so skilful that even if the reader has only just met these characters a few pages ago, we’re rooting for them and trying to figure out what they can do to survive - if that’s even the best option.

I also appreciate that these are Westerns told with a nod to modern sensibility. Yes, society’s morals and values were different in those times, but the mix of black and white, male and female, able-bodied and crippled, coloniser and native are all drawn sensitively, as humans making their way in a very lethal environment. If you’ve read the other books in this series, even the truly villainous have their motivations - everybody feels real in a world where the unknown simply needs to be dealt with.

These are campfire tales with bite. Bring something to defend yourself with, maybe a bit of strong liquor, and settle down to enjoy.

This is a smart, fun addition to the Buzzard’s Edge saga! The whole idea behind the project is fun, from the wrap-around to the short stories that expand the history and lore and population of Buzzard’s Edge. I enjoyed every single story, and especially appreciated that they played with different types of horror and action—it didn’t feel like a simple rinse and repeat across the stories. I think the writing was really strong here, and sometimes showing just a hint of a literary flourish that really made everything feel like a cohesive project.

This is more of an oral history of the town than anything else. In any given story it is hard to say there is great world-building, since the audience will have likely already read the first two books and, even if not, each story is homing in on a specific moment in time. The world-building is done across the stories, where the characters and the blood they shed are the building blocks for what this town is and will become. Considering the format, all short fiction, I thought the characters were fleshed out and fun. The western genre, even horror-westerns and weird-westerns, have a somewhat expected cast of characters, so a lot of the work is done for you. Yet each character gets enough shine to them that they feel like more than just a body to fill space. Many of the characters we have already met before, and those characters get fun little additions to their stories, different facets to their personalities or histories that make them more compelling and rounded.

As I mentioned, every story was fun. To be honest, for almost every story I wouldn’t have minded an extra thousand words or so, and that could have been used to add a little more character and scene building. Considering the first two novellas there could have been a little more splatter and I wouldn’t have minded that, either—these stories felt a little tame by comparison (the stories have allusions to greater horrors than we necessarily see on the page, sometimes). These are nitpicking complaints, though, because I enjoyed myself throughout this collection. It feels like LaFaro is just getting more and more confident about this world as he keeps adding to it, and I am excited to see what the next book brings.

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.

I'm intrigued by Western horror but have yet to find one that I like. This one blew me away. I haven't read the any of the book series this derived from (though I'll definitely be checking it out) and still enjoyed every story in this collection.

These short tales are well written with great characters and excellent atmosphere. Monsters of all kinds and the bloody hatchet of Josiah Dennis.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is how a short story collection should be done. Every story stands on its own and is interesting. All of the stories are different and dynamic enough that you don't feel like ideas are being rehashed. You could absolutely jump around to the stories that look most interesting to you, but there is a central thread that pulls it all together. For that reason, you should read this one front to back. If you have read Noose and The Demon of Devil's Cavern, there are some treats in here for you. Specifically, I was saddened by the background of the couple who built the cabin in The Demon of Devil's Cavern. I was also shocked to find out the background of Thad Locke. I can't give a greater compliment than to say this collection feels like being told the oral history of Buzzard's Edge while eating canned beans around a campfire in the middle of a desert.

Instantly fell in love with the cover of this collection of short stories in the world of Buzzards Edge.

As soon as I started reading this collection of short stories I was hooked, especially with the way they were narrated as though campfire tales but more of a mythos especially considering the two unlikely narrators.

They built up a past/present/future history of this place set in the blazing desert and just recently been found by (revealed to?) Josiah Dennis after trekking for a while with no food or water, just a bloody hatchet for company…

The collection is woven around the story of Josiah Dennis and his bloody hatchet, each as goos as the next and nothing really letting the collection down. Full of monsters both supernatural and human, they weave a bloody tale of life and death on this frontier between night and day.

I think two of my favourites were ‘Trade Secrets’ and ‘Holes’, both dealing with lawmen and their ways, and the darkness that they hold.

Eventually going to have to find the rest of Brennan’s works that are set in Buzzard’s Edge.

I received this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First came The Demon Of Devil's Canyon. Then, Noose. And, with this third book, Brennan LaFaro has cemented himself in the western horror genre.

These terrifying stories from Buzzard's Edge link characters from his previous books and expands this fantastic world he's created. It's filled with horrific creatures, bad man, even badder women at times, and all the wild west vibes you could want.

In this book, a man named Josiah is wandering the desert, hatchet in hand, and dying of hunger and thirst. He comes upon a small oasis and is met with a talking coyote and vulture.

These creatures have stories to tell about a town called Buzzard's Edge. A town which materialises from the sand as they speak. And in these stories, unimaginable terrors await. Vampires, monsterous man eating cave monsters, murderers, serial killers, and more.

But Josiah has secrets of his own. When these things come to light, he realizes he's been chosen for something sinister.

This is just a great western horror books. The series as a whole needs to be read by more people in my opinion. I think it's absolutely brilliant. It combines the wild west with not only terrifying situations but with heart as well. Rory and Alice are two of my favorite characters in this genre and I hope we'll hear more from them in the future. I highly recommend this and the rest of the series.

I really enjoyed the Weird Western element in this set of stories. I enjoyed the way the world was created and that i appreciated that the stories were told in chronological order. Each one worked with the town of Buzzard's Edge and glad I was able to read this collection. I would read more from Brennan LaFaro as this was really well done.