Title: The Warded Gunslinger: A Space Magic Western Short Novel
Publisher: LVE Press
Author: Filip Wiltgren
Pages: 124pp
Price: $8.99 / $2.99

Jake is a mage. Sort of. He never graduated from the academy — he burned it down first and then fled to the edge of civilized space — but he is patient, powerful, and highly skilled. When he lands on the isolated world of Jackson Depot, he finds exactly what he needs: a quiet place to disappear. At first. But Jackson Depot turns out to be more exciting than he expected. There is a war brewing between the founding families, the Syndicate is trying to move in on the mining operations, and someone breaks into his ship and kidnaps the void dragon hatchling in his care. Forced to pick a side, Jake only wants to rescue his dragon …. It will take all of his power and cunning as a mage to rescue the hatchling and get the heck out of Jackson Depot before the Syndicate tracks them down ….

I am not a particular fan of the western genre, but I adore space fantasies. Books that effectively combine technology and magic in a futuristic setting are few and far between, so I happily backed the kickstarter for The Warded Gunslinger when it popped up on a list of recommended campaigns.

I loved this book. Jake is a great character. He’s honorable and courageous, but not stupid. He keeps his head down and stays out of trouble. He knows that his primary responsibility — his only responsibility — is to keep the hatchling safe. Void dragons are pure magic, and there are few people who would hesitate to enslave the dragon or kill it and harvest its magic. But there are a lot of guns, a lot of mercenaries, and one very nasty mage standing between him and his hatchling.

Did I mention the epic magic battles? No? Well, there are plenty of those. There’s also fantastical magitech, a grumpy mechanic, a loyal but naive sidekick/tour guide, and a very clever bar owner/chef with a gift for vanilla pastries.

The Warded Gunslinger is the first book in the series and is now widely available. The two sequels, A Graveyard in the Sky and Last Stand at Rimont, have also been released. And I really hope there will be more. I have discovered that I love space western fantasies.

Highly recommended to fans of the television series Firefly, along with Northwest of Earth by CL Moore, and Blade Witch by Jenny Schwartz.

[Reviewed by Rebecca Buchanan.]