Vendor
	Liepman Literary Agency Marc Koralnik
Original language
English
Categories
Fiction & Related items

SPACE COWBOY

Justin Stanchfield

It's kill or be killed in this gripping adventure in the wild west of space.

In the spirit of Joss Whedon's Serenity, Cowboys & Aliens, and Jordan Peele's Nope, Justin Stanchfield delivers a striped down Space Western. It's a breathtaking ride filled with suspense, adventure, and a killer cryptid that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.
Something deadly has awakened on barren, rocky Aletha III, where cowboys and their cows are terraforming the place into a green lush inhabitable planet. Travis McClure, desperate for adventure, is bored with life on the remote planet herding cattle all day. He gets more than he bargained for when he is attacked by a creature that should only exist in nightmares. Travis is determined to prove what he saw is real, despite the mocking of his fellow cowboys and the denial of government officials. Armed only with his father's rifle, he heads into the wilderness alone to track down the alien beast before it kills again, but will he be the hunter or the hunted? It's a deadly game, and survival is the only prize.

Justin Stanchfield's short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines ranging from Cricket, Cicada and Boys' Life, to mainstream science fiction and fantasy in Interzone, Asimov's and other publications, including several reprints in the Years' Best SF volumes. He has written several novels including Timewalker and Space Cowboy from Usborne Books. He lives with his wife and two children not far from the Continental divide in southwest Montana.

Available products
Book Published 2023-03-01 by WordFire Press

Comments

"With its reference to the ethics of altering a planet and genetic engineering it tackles subjects of concern in our own world. Despite the initially uneasy juxtaposition of two genres, Stanchfield manages to pull off a cracking good read, a sci-fi adventure which gets tenser the further you get into it."

"[A] story in which science fiction and western genres very entertainingly come together. He manages most of the time to avoid the more usual clichés of both and is particularly good at depicting the tensions and rivalries of a small community thrown together: his descriptions of the Alethan landscape, usually in a sparse prose which reflects its aridity, are also very impressive, as is his gentle indication of the first, tentative signs of young romance. But best of all is the portrayal of the relationship between Travis and his father."

"Feels like Alien ... in the way it builds tension, creates heroes and never pauses for breath."

"Stanchfield captures male teenage angst well. There are also strong female characters, including Riane, who is confident and capable, and Alice Prevoroski, a spiky-haired meteorologist. ...I would recommend this for ... readers wanting gritty, unglamourous adventure with a strong sense of place."

"[A]n intriguingly plotted, tensedrama with believable characters and motivations."

A classic cowboy adventure with a vivid sci-fi twist from an exciting debut author."