Cold West

Grimdark meets weird west. A genre mashup that I have not seen before, and it works surprisingly well. Snyder's protagonist has a classic, world weary voice that just fits that weird west so well. Couple that with some extremely callous violence and an interesting magic system and you have a well lived in world, with all the greys you expect from a real feeling grimdark fantasy.

Emotions are definitely wrung out here, with loss being a major theme. From the loss of his wife to the loss of his anonymity to the loss of his children, Cutter is definitely taken through the wringer. It all makes his callous disregard for other peoples life more believable - the world he lives in is the definition of nasty, brutish and short. His flaws are very much on his sleeve.

The magic feeds well into the weird. Opening portals, but trying not to let anything back through is an interesting (and dangerous) magic!

An impressive genre bending story that definitely felt original!