His Ragged Company

A Testimony of Elias Faust, Book 1

By: Rance D. Denton

Narrated by: John Pirhalla

A pissed-off warlock with a taste for revenge.

An army of sand-golems with fistfuls of magic.

A wishing well with a mind of its own.

No wonder Blackpeak, Texas never got its spot on the map.

Town marshal Elias Faust thinks that he can make any problem go away if he throws enough lead at it. The living’s easy for a lawman. Bloody, but easy - that is, until Magnate Gregdon arrives with his undead syndicate to tear the town of Blackpeak, Texas apart.

When a shootout with a pair of outlaws goes sideways, Elias Faust accidentally draws the Magnate’s attention. As if dealing with arcane sorcery, reanimated corpses, and the Magnate’s personal vendetta aren’t enough, Faust finds himself at the center of a power-struggle for Blackpeak’s eldritch secrets.

Suddenly, staying alive just got a lot more complicated.

Hunted by a cadre of sandshades and hounded by sinister spellcraft, Elias Faust may be the only bag of skin defiant enough to keep Blackpeak from being destroyed. To outlast the Magnate’s disciples, he’ll need to shoot straighter, run faster, and live longer…even if it means sacrificing a part of himself to do just that.

©2021 Rance D. Denton (P)2021 Rance D. Denton

An experience like no other

What else can I say? Denton’s singular imagination weaves the rarity of a truly unique tale. The storytelling is a kind of alchemy, turning gunmetal and quicksilver into alien metal with a golden sheen.

Pirhalla’a performance is spot-on and elevates the the entire thing (for this forum) to an unforgettable, spellbinding experience.

Can’t wait for what comes next.

What an adventure

What are wacky story? But it kept me interested just a little too fast paced but still enjoyable the narrator did an awesome job. This is what I would call the good the bad and the weird or odd whatever word you choose?

Western and weird

John Pirhalla does a good job with the narration, offering up a nice southern drawl and differing, distinct voices for each character.

I was interesting in this one and it was on my radar for the cover alone. I actually only read the blurb after starting it! This is an alt history novel that mixes fantasy, action, and humor into its gunslinging antics. Elias Faust is the marshal of Blackpeak, and while he may only believe in shooting people that deserve it, he does seem to do so an awful lot. A fist fight here, some disagreements there, larceny. The first couple of parts of the book start off with typical, mostly time period correct, tomfoolery. The fantasy element is quite toned down, and I found that it worked well with its slower buildup (the fantasy buildup is slow, the novel is not). And within this groove I found myself really enjoying it.

The later part of the book, when things started heating up, the fantasy element is heightened as well, and within that I struggled a bit. The magnate is out for revenge, trying his hardest to wrangle up Faust and stop him from turning his entire plot topsy-turvy. There are celestial beings(?), as well as semi-conscious reanimated corpses, and then a strange somewhat Trueblood-esque coyote situation that confused me a bit. A bunch of which kind of felt like possible eldritch town-lore, but lacked a bit of the horror and darkness to solidify it for me. Faust’s ability to survive and be guided felt kind of fantasy dream sequence-y to me, which is something I always struggle with.

Regardless, for a unique blend of western and fantasy, this gunslinging marshal does have a lot of fun to offer. And with the audio, it was an effortlessly fun thing to listen to. The dream sequence part, which I avoided details because [spoilers] is a known personal issue for me, and I’m sure others will not feel the same whatsoever. So grab your colts, load em, and saddle up.

Wow! This just brought it up a Notch!

I loved this story so much as I’m a big fan of western stories. This audiobook version just brought the story more to life. The narrator knocked it out of the park. His ability to change accents & tone made it so much easier to differentiate the characters. This was so much fun. If you enjoy western with a bit of supernatural elements this book is for you.

Guns, Magic, and the Marshall

His Ragged Company is just what the Fantasy Western Genre needed!

Elias Fais Faust is the Marshall and he is doing his best. He isn't the fastest gun or the smartest man in town. He is STUBBORN as hell. This makes him super fun to read. When paired with Cicero they become a dynamic duo!

I LOVED the first half of the book. A straight-up western with little drops of fantasy. Then the magic hits like a tsunami!!!! If you can't see the tide RUN. The fantasy elements come crashing into the story and sweeps you and Elias up in the chaos.

I will say that some of the fantastical elements are a bit confusing. However, I personally feel that this is a story that begs to be read more than once. The audiobook narrator brings this story to life and the physical copy should take pride of place on any collector's shelf.

I cannot wait to read more from Rance. This story is an absolute delight.

Fun! Crazy! Wonderful! Thrilling! OH SO GOOD!

What did I just read?? I don't know, but I LOVED IT! It was a little bit western, a little bit paranormal/ supernatural with a splash of thriller!! I was hooked from the first paragraph. Never in my life have I read a tale such as this, it was so wonderfully weird! The story was set at such a great pace, always something exciting happening. It also had the most wonderful, colorful cast of characters that brought so much to the book. Rance Dentons writing was done so well, the descriptions he painted delivered such a clear vision and experience for me. I felt like I could see, taste, smell and experience everything first hand.

The main character Elias Faust is a Marshall of a nothing Texas town with all the usual Old west issues. It has a town drunk, the bad brothers causing a ruckus always up to no good, a saloon, a brothel, a mine and a crooked mayor. However it is soon very clear, there is nothing typical about Blackpeak. There is something dark and sinister at work and it want its hooks into Elias. That poor man is put through his paces! It seems there is something waiting to get him at every turn. I went through pretty much all the feels while reading this, I laughed, I squirmed, I held my breath and I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation!

I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in this series. I need more Elias Faust and Blackpeak in my life! I listened to the audio version, and let me tell you, the narrator is FANTASTIC! He IS Elias Faust, I feel like he was the perfect voice for him. His ability to do all the other characters with a unique distinction was wonderful. It added so much to the story and really helped keep the dialogue clear to the listener. I couldn't recommend this more. Even if you don't think its a genre that you might normally read, TAKE A GAMBLE AND READ IT! I promise, it will not disappoint.

Non-stop awesome!

A stellar book performed by a stellar narrator. Do yourself a favor and pick up this weird western. It’s sure to be the start of something amazing!

effin awesome kick ass western

This book was very well written and fast paced keeping me on the edge of my seat. The narration of the audio book was on point the narrator was very well spoken and could be understood thcould be understood throughout the entire book. Moose

Gold standard for the Western Fantasy genre

Denton has established for me the balance and the recipe for Western Fantasy. This story is gorgeous and gritty, it’s a true western wherein weird and otherworldly shit goes down, and the simple drives of frontier women and men struggle to understand what they can and shoot what they can’t. It’s mysterious, and our narrator wrestles with reality such that we can’t know whether he’s got the right of it or not. All that, and the narrator handles voices and western inflection with profound deftness.

An absolute pleasure, leaving me eager for more.