‘An unflinching, soul-searching story about the dangers of the American West... Ireland’s voice stands apart and he will surely be marked as a courageous and essential writer.’

– Ann Weisgarber, author of the award-winning The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

‘Expertly plotted, artfully executed, compulsively readable… a writer who has something to say.’

– Los Angeles Review of Books

‘Ireland blends fanciful history with magic realism to create a critical allegory of the American expansionist experience ... Intellectual in theme, literary in execution: think Gabriel García Márquez reimagining Little Big Man.’

– Kirkus Reviews

'Mythical, dangerous and deeply unsettling.'

– Shortlist

'Ireland’s intensely and brutally violent debut novel sweeps through period and place while exploring the role memory plays in the establishment of creation myths ... a barbaric vision of the West.’

– Library Journal

‘With trenchant dialogue, affecting characters, and a page-turner of a story, Ryan Ireland has given readers a mysterious and exciting Western that may become a classic.’

– Ron Hansen, author of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford