The Country Under Heaven - by Frederic S Durbin (Paperback)

About the Book

"Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving one of the Civil War's most gruesome battles, the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West. Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country, rapidly changing but, like himself, still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night -- all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions. Ovid's epic journey across the American West with a surprising cast of characters blends elements of the classic Western with historical fantasy in a way like no other."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Louis L'Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions . . .

Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving one of the Civil War's most gruesome battles, the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West.

Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country, rapidly changing but, like himself, still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night -- all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions.

Ovid's epic journey across the American West with a surprising cast of characters blends elements of the classic Western with historical fantasy in a way like no other.

Review Quotes

"Durbin (A Green and Ancient Light) skillfully combines cosmic horror tropes with American frontier fiction in this standout historical horror novel set in the Old West... This is Lovecraftian fiction at its finest" -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"With an almost Jungian perspective of the collective unconscious, Durbin (A Green and Ancient Light, 2016) teaches us that resolution happens deep within all our hearts. Readers of The Country under Heaven will be transformed by this book." -- Booklist, STARRED review

"Verdict: Durbin's (A Green and Ancient Light) stellar and unique novel combines lots of heart, a plot that replicates the best of classic Westerns, and awesome cosmic horror into one terrifying, thought-provoking, and entertaining package. Recommend to those who enjoyed Lone Women by Victor LaValle." -- Library Journal, STARRED review

"A triumphant snapshot of the hellish fallout in the divided US after the Civil War, The Country Under Heaven makes note of the amorphous individual terrors that those involved in the war carried with them forever after. This is a cosmic Western novel that doubles as a psychological treatise on the hidden wonders of radiant and mysterious inner worlds." -- Foreword Reviews, STARRED review

"Whatever else it is, The Country Under Heaven has been a new kind of storytelling for me. It's the first time a story or novel has first contacted me not through a place but through a voice: a main character's steady, gentle, confident voice, speaking to me with a story to tell." -- CrimeReads

"A haunting, violent, touching, episodic fever dream of a novel that spans from the Civil War to the post-war Wild West. I've never read anything quite like it." --C.J. Box, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of Three-Inch Teeth

"The best of the (weird) west. Durbin invokes eldritch terrors to examine the peculiar, lawless hellscape that was the American West following the civil war. Delicately written, beautifully told, and bristling with dark turns of the unexplainable, The Country Under Heaven is a phenomenal read." --Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger

"It's just extraordinary, combining elements that would seem to repel one another--historical fiction about the Reconstruction era, the supernatural, and a Western--but that form the most memorable story I've read in some time, with writing to match." --Henrietta Thornton in FirstClue

"The Country Under Heaven is a brilliant exploration of the Old West and even older supernatural horrors. Elegant, thrilling, and deeply satisfying! Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of the Joe Ledger thrillers

About the Author

Fred Durbin is the author of three novels and short story collections for adults and children. His novel A Green and Ancient Light was named a PW Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror book of the year; an ALA Reading List Honor Book; and won a Realm Award. Durbin taught English and creative writing at Niigata University in Japan for over twenty years before relocating back to the States.