Book Log 26/2016 - Tim Lebbon: Pieces of Hate with Dead Man’s Hand

[jacey]

Two novellas paired in one offering: the first a gunslinger story, Dead Man’s Hand, and the second a pirate tale, Pieces of Hate, linked together by a vengeance plot and a character living through the centuries until he gets his revenge. Gabriel is the one-eyed assassin seeking vengeance on Temple a shape changing demon who slaughtered his family a thousand years ago. The family seems to be a plot device as they don’t get much page time.

It’s one of those ‘be careful what you wish for’ scenarios; having wished to kill Temple without realising that Temple is a demon, Gabriel is condemned to live long enough to complete the deed, and that could be forever. The first story is set in Deadwood, in the American west - chronologically later than the second story which is set on board a pirate ship.

Gritty, bleak and gruesome, this couldn’t be described as a feelgood story and unsurprisingly Gabriel fails to kill Temple on both occasions, so there must be more to come.

Received from Negalley in exchange for a review.