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A review by evavroslin
A Wind of Knives by Ed Kurtz
5.0
*** Review copy received from the author for review consideration ***
This novella starts off with one of the most visceral, brutal openings, and without going into spoiler territory, all I can say is that it is definitely not for the faint of heart. Daniel, the protagonist, has inherited his now-deceased boss’s farm in Civil War era Texas. He convinces the reader that he’s your typical red-blooded American cowboy type in the 1800s, but turns out to be so much more.
Michael Arnzen wrote something to the effect that horror is showing the reader a character going into a room, seeing that there’s something under a bed-sheet that’s they know is going to be terrible, and amplifying a degree of suspense that can only be relieved when the character draws back the sheet and confronts the terror underneath. Wind of Knives embodies this sentiment. I found it an interesting choice to start the narrative where the author did at the point of what’s normally a denouement or an aftermath moment in plot structure, but Kurtz makes it work.
Daniel wants justice on those who committed an atrocious act on one of the few remaining farmhands, Steven. The town sheriff, James, reminds him that “there’s a goddamn war on.” James’s brother, Christopher, is the one Daniel was hoping to talk to, but that will have to wait. Kurtz writes Southern settings convincingly and doesn’t fall back on stereotypical dialogue to do it. He also brings in LGBTQ+ issues into the backdrop of the South in the late 1800s, which is not an easy task, but he pulls it off with great aplomb, playing with hyper-masculinization and gender roles of the era.
As the book races toward its conclusion, things come to a satisfying conclusion. Again, I can’t say much else without going into spoilers, and even though I would have wanted a more epic confrontation, I enjoyed the direction Kurtz took.
Wind of Knives is a powerful and moving piece, a stark reminder of why Ed Kurtz deserves a much wider readership. He is one of the most versatile writers of horror and crime today, and if you haven’t read any of his previous work, you should really aim to remedy that as soon as possible. He has written other books set in the South with more of a gritty crime focus, such as last year’s At the Mercy of Beasts.
I truly hope that more people will pick up his books, because they’re truly excellent. If you want to read his work but don’t know where to start, I would strongly recommend his earlier novel, Bleed.
This novella starts off with one of the most visceral, brutal openings, and without going into spoiler territory, all I can say is that it is definitely not for the faint of heart. Daniel, the protagonist, has inherited his now-deceased boss’s farm in Civil War era Texas. He convinces the reader that he’s your typical red-blooded American cowboy type in the 1800s, but turns out to be so much more.
Michael Arnzen wrote something to the effect that horror is showing the reader a character going into a room, seeing that there’s something under a bed-sheet that’s they know is going to be terrible, and amplifying a degree of suspense that can only be relieved when the character draws back the sheet and confronts the terror underneath. Wind of Knives embodies this sentiment. I found it an interesting choice to start the narrative where the author did at the point of what’s normally a denouement or an aftermath moment in plot structure, but Kurtz makes it work.
Daniel wants justice on those who committed an atrocious act on one of the few remaining farmhands, Steven. The town sheriff, James, reminds him that “there’s a goddamn war on.” James’s brother, Christopher, is the one Daniel was hoping to talk to, but that will have to wait. Kurtz writes Southern settings convincingly and doesn’t fall back on stereotypical dialogue to do it. He also brings in LGBTQ+ issues into the backdrop of the South in the late 1800s, which is not an easy task, but he pulls it off with great aplomb, playing with hyper-masculinization and gender roles of the era.
As the book races toward its conclusion, things come to a satisfying conclusion. Again, I can’t say much else without going into spoilers, and even though I would have wanted a more epic confrontation, I enjoyed the direction Kurtz took.
Wind of Knives is a powerful and moving piece, a stark reminder of why Ed Kurtz deserves a much wider readership. He is one of the most versatile writers of horror and crime today, and if you haven’t read any of his previous work, you should really aim to remedy that as soon as possible. He has written other books set in the South with more of a gritty crime focus, such as last year’s At the Mercy of Beasts.
I truly hope that more people will pick up his books, because they’re truly excellent. If you want to read his work but don’t know where to start, I would strongly recommend his earlier novel, Bleed.