If you like to watch a fella raise hell, Hoyt Cooper sure gets his body count.

That's about as far as this story goes; I'd recommend this to someone who hasn't heard of or isn't familiar with the Deadlands setting, to whom said not-exactly human bodies and the ease with which a Heroic-level character can level NPCs might be novel. Gettng into potential spoiler territory, perhaps the antagonists should have been introduced at a time when they were an active threat to more than a well-equipped bounty hunter, since mowing the slow, largely unarmed foes down in passive minding-our-own-buisness-pretending-to-be-human season makes the gunslinger look more like a bully than a hero.

Alas, the interesting conceit of a mute protagonist is turned into a gimmick as the hinderance is literally removed by magic, but the art deserves celebration - Hoyt couldn't be described as generic or even good-looking from a country mile. There's no trace of sameface or Hollywood-style prettification amongst the spear-carriers, either (even if everyone's Spagetti-Western white), which lends a neat bit of atmosphere and grit to the tale.

This was my favorite story of the series. This and ‘The Kid’ kept me guessing most of the way through. Since the primary character is mute, this story did much more with the look and feel of the Deadlands setting. I think one of the reasons I liked this story so much is because it utilized the art better than the other stories. While the other stories have great art, you noticed it more in this book.

The hero is a Texas Ranger named Hoyt Cooper who rides around claiming to be a bounty hunter. Credence is added to this claim due to the dead body draped over his horse. Savages cut Hoyt's tongue out so now he communicates with a magic black board hung around his neck. What he thinks, you see on the blackboard.

The intro of Hoyt riding into the town of Dandelion Flats in the rain is wonderful and sets the mood for the rest of the story. Evil infests the town and Hoyt is there to clean it out - one town, one Ranger. But Ranger Cooper has a little help.

One of the reasons I love this story is that it concentrates on the story and not the setting. I love Deadlands but I love well told stories more. It would make a fine Twilight Zone episode being short, to the point, and horrific all at the same time.

If you only read one book in this series, make it Death Was Silent.