Hornswoggled at Hell Creek by Jack Hazen

Hornswoggled at Hell Creek is a ribald romp following a ferocious band of freaks on a zany ride of pillage, plunder, murder, mayhem, and a whole lot of random gunfire. Oh, and a little archaeology, too.

Author Jack Hazen uses brazen sexual deviance and violence to uniquely satirize sensitive concepts. Race, religion, culture, transgenderism, and general non-conformity of social norms and stereotypes are all subject to scrutiny in this somewhat fictionalized version of the late 1800s Wild West. We have a bearded lady. We have opium-dealing “Chinamen” and savagely murderous “Injuns.” Prostitutes and “painted ladies” ply their trade all throughout the novel.  The coup de grâce character is a pre-op transgender woman detective using her God-given gear to great effect.

But let me be clear: the freaks in this novel are not the self-styled freaks. The members of the circus gang, the bearded lady and the midget clowns, etc., are the normal, everyday folks we encounter along the roads and ravines of the rugged Montana Territory.

No, the real freaks here are the serial murdering brutes and raping lawmen. They make up the vast contingent of brigands attacking, molesting, and otherwise antagonizing the good (?) guys. These evil characters are not necessarily overdramatized in their lack of moral integrity and willingness to use others for their own nefarious ends. While our heroes may be obviously satirized, the bad guys are a little too close to reality, when you really look at them. And here, in Hazen’s Old West, they are taken in stride by the cast of protagonists. It gives me the willies to think that kind of stuff was undoubtedly happening in the real Old West, as well.

Hornswoggled at Hell Creek is not for the faint of heart or stomach. There is unrelenting sexual and violent brutality at all times in this novel. Though, to the author’s credit here, there is no overt and overdone description of said brutality. This novel is not a play-by-play of each act of deviance. Circumstances are stated as if they are simply the facts of the case, which, for our heroes, they are.

I’ll close by stating that I have never in my life seen the word “pecker” so many times in one place. Bravo.

You can read this oddity for yourself over on Amazon. Hornswoggled at Hell Creek by Jack Hazen.

Until next time,
Jenna

Jenna Justice is a fiction editor and proofreader for independent authors. She specializes in middle-grade and young adult fiction, with an emphasis on fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism.

Visit Jenna’s website at Justice Serves Proofreading, and say hi on Twitter at @justice_proofs.