Eli's Justice

Reckoning at Shadow Gulch (An Eli Stone Western, Book 1)

By: Daniel Griffin

Narrated by: Henry Marshall

Gunsmoke curls. A stranger rides in. And in the heart of Montana's Shadow Gulch, Eli Stone's search for justice is about to ignite.

Eli Stone doesn't shy away from the ghosts of his past. As he urges his horse down the winding trails into the frontier town of Shadow Gulch, he's greeted by a place where fortunes are for the taking and survival is for the ruthless.

But Eli, marked by a life of hardship and the scars of battles survived, seeks something more than gold—redemption.

When the town's simmering tensions boil over, Eli finds himself in the midst of lawlessness, with the innocent paying the price. Driven by a code as unyielding as the mountains around him, he takes a stand, ready to rewrite the town's destiny with the steadfast aim of his six-shooter.

Eli's Justice is the gripping first installment in the Shadow Gulch Saga. If you like relentless heroes, vividly painted Western landscapes, and high-stakes showdowns, then you'll love the tale of Eli Stone's fight for a peace that's as elusive as a desert mirage.

Buy Eli's Justice to join the fight for order in the chaos of the Wild West today!

©2024 Daniel Griffin Smith (P)2024 Daniel Griffin Smith

Outstanding western

In the beginning it was kinda slow we the main male character who is a blacksmith and he finds out trouble is heading to town but he doesn’t want to get involved by picking up his guns. He used to be a sheriff but doesn’t want to be pulled back into the violence. It really picks up though and I truly enjoyed the rest of the story. I admit I’ve only read three other western style books but this one was quite interesting and kept me entertained so if this is your type of book you’ll enjoy. The narrator did a really good job as well would definitely listen to more of their work.

Awesome

I definitely enjoyed this book. The pace was perfect and smooth. The story really brings you into it. The narrator reads so smooth and Brings the characters to life. Love it!

Will He or Won't He?

This was my first experience with Daniel Griffin's work, and the story was good. Eli was in the town of Shadow Gulch when trouble came knocking. Eli had to decide what his role would be. I liked the vivid descriptions which brought the town, the townspeople, and the scenery to life. I liked many of the characters. I did think the beginning was a little slow and that it took too long for the story to get moving, but the conclusion was everything that I look for in western fiction. Henry Marshall's narration was good, but he spoke a little slow for me and because of that I listened at a speed of 1.3. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Hits the bullseye with its raw authenticity!

Step into the dust-choked streets of "Eli's Justice" by Daniel Griffin, where Henry Marshall's narration brings the Wild West to life with gusto. Griffin's writing hits the bullseye with its raw authenticity, immersing readers in Eli Stone's relentless pursuit of justice amidst the lawless chaos of Shadow Gulch. With gunsmoke lingering in the air and fortunes up for grabs, Eli's quest for redemption is a gripping tale of courage and resilience that'll keep you on the edge of your seat from cover to cover.

Sometimes a Tree is Just a Tree

I love Westerns and really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I found the author's writing style very difficult to read. I recognize this is subjective, so take it for what you will. In my opinion, the author overused similes, metaphors, figurative language, and descriptive phrases. Even in the midst of battle scenes, every sentence had some sort of descriptive phrase. Sometimes a tree is just a tree, and a shadow is just a shadow. I prefer to let the action and story speak for itself. Not everything needs a deeper meaning.

The main character, Eli Stone, has settled in Shadow Gulch to escape a past of violence and has committed to being a peaceful man. That internal struggle is a major element of the book, taking up pages and pages, yet the author never really explains why. Why did a lawman suddenly take off his badge and eschew violence? At one point, he hints at a time when Eli went too far and took justice into his own hands, but the explanation did not match the time spent on creating this inner turmoil. Such an important character element needs a compelling reason.

PLOT (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS): The story is of a town protecting itself against an attack by outlaws. However, the description is more of an invading army rather than a band of outlaws. The story could have been set in medieval times between two warring kingdoms. In the Old West, it would have been more realistic as a range war. When the author finally gave a purpose for the outlaws being there, it started to make sense, but the action didn't quite match the purpose. (A single man seeking vengeance against Eli). Otherwise, the outlaw gang was huge, used military tactics, and had siege weapons (catapults). All a bit far-fetched. The author could have focused on the story between Eli and the vengeful outlaw to make it more personal and realistic. The final face-off was insignificant in comparison with the rest of the book.

Another issue I had was that the Native American characters felt like a modernized caricature. They weren't treated as actual human beings with strengths and weaknesses. Also, the townspeople were the weakest bunch of frontiersmen and women I've ever heard of. Ranchers didn't know how to use a gun. Miners didn't know how to fight. Farmers didn't know how to use a hammer. They were all so helpless that they wouldn't have lasted five minutes on the trek west.

NARRATION: The narrator has a good voice and tone. He has a strong Canadian sounding accent, so don't expect a Western accent. That's not a critique, just an observation. The narration, however, was excruciatingly slow. I normally listen to audiobooks between 2.0x-2.5x speed. For this book, I had to max out at 3.5x speed just to reach my normal listening speed. It's a good thing the software allows for speed adjustments. Otherwise, he did a good job, and I would listen to books narrated by him again.

Too repetitive. Too long.

I received an Audible version of this book gifted from the author through Story Origin. This is my honest review.

This is over 15 hours of listening time that should have been maybe 4 or 5. It was so repetitive and full of similes, metaphores and whatever else. It was so hard to pick out the story. My husband and I fell asleep to this book night after night. I felt the story itself could have been good; just not written this way.

The narrator did the best he could. As the book rambled on, his inflections started sounding repetitive, too. 3 stars for him.

Not my jam.

I listened and re-listened a few times, trying so hard to like this, as it seemed to have potential and I felt I must be missing something, however … it just needs a lot of work, as it turns out.

It’s set in the ‘wild west’, supposedly, but this isn’t shown, the vibe just isn’t there. Usually when I read westerns, I’m transported back in time and space and this didn’t do that. Honestly, it could’ve been set last week, last month, 200 years ago, or 2000 years ago for the vagueness on this end.

The writing style is just … bland. There is no showing whatsoever, only telling, which makes for a dull reading experience, unfortunately. And then … there’s no consistent character development, no feels. Lots of talk about action without much views of action.


Just not for me, despite spending months trying to get into it.


🎧 Audio:
The audio isn’t good—though, I’ve heard worse.
There’s poor overall sound quality with some static, and some faint feedback. It’s not the nice crisp, clear sound that professional productions deliver.
The narrator’s voice for me, was a bit hard to take, though obviously this is subjective. The delivery, though, left much to be desired, as he didn’t bother to use different tones, voices, accents, etc. for different characters. Nor did he insert any sort of emotion, etc., it was almost robotic.
2 stars.