book rec!
gonna do a very quick book rec for the prompt "rec something that reminds you of Evil West" for the #highnoonheat event, although anyone interested in a book about gay cowboy witches might be interested as well lol.
bc that's the simplest way i can describe Gemma Files' three-book series (note: i have only read the first one) which is a supernatural western about gay outlaws who are also witches. the first work in the series is called A Book of Tongues and i wrote a much longer review for it here (note: there are some mild spoilers; there are also trigger warnings at the bottom of the post if u need them).
most of the first novel is from the pov of a Pinkerton spy (yes, i know; see my review linked above for me lamenting the fact that he's the most engaging character) named Morrow, who has been sent to infiltrate the gang run by gay witch outlaws Rook and Chess, all three of which become wrapped up in some truly apocalyptic happenings (thanks to world class poor decision making).
why Evil West fans will like this: mostly bc of the supernatural western aspect tbh. A Book of Tongues is centered on witches rather than vampires, and the witches are also the protagonists, but if you're a fan of the melding of these two genres in specific i think this series will be a nice fit. it's more historically accurate than Evil West, but it's also a nice balance of humor and drama, which i appreciated. also there's plenty of violence/gore, which Evil West also has lol. no cool tornado dynamite attacks unfort, but Rook's whole thing is he reads passages from the bible (used to be a preacher) and aspects of them (plagues, etc.) manifest physically, which is probably just as neat.
why fans of queer fiction will like this: two of the three main characters are explicitly queer and their romantic relationship is centered (as in: it is important to the plot) and tho i personally wasn't digging it (see review lol), it will def tick off a lot of boxes for others.
the writing is also overall really nice. i did have some issues with it, most notably the use of phonetic accents, which are always a terrible decision in writing. the prose itself is overall pretty great, however, and i enjoyed the solid attempt at historical accuracy with the dialogue. warning, however, for explicit depictions of period specific bigotry (mostly homophobia/racism). again, if u want a more detailed review, including a more in depth discussion of the prev aspects in particular, pls see the link above.
anyway if ur big on either supernatural westerns or gay outlaws A Book of Tongues is worth checking out!