Review: “Unicorn Western” by Johnny Truant and Sean Platt

This series is a lot of fun! I haven’t normally been into Westerns, but it’s something I’ve been slowly eking into as I listen to Volbeat and my husband, who has been edging into Westerns himself.

I can see the comparisons to The Dark Tower. I’ve only read a little bit of The Dark Tower, but from what I know of it, there are big enough differences in the tone and plot to make Unicorn Western its own thing. It’s probably more light-hearted, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally comedic. Think Doctor Who or Firefly in terms of the mix of comedy and drama.

You can tell the creators are nerds, between the Dark Tower references and many others. It’s fun to see the pop-culture references, like the Lady Gaga-type artifacts. There are plenty of Western-specific references, as well (just look at the titles). There’s a Seven Samurai-type town in one, and you’ve got your goons, your bandits, and plenty of wandering around through dusty landscapes. It’s not all that, though – you get to “civilization” later, and there’s enough change in scenery to make it interesting, like the Seven Samurai-style magic river town.

Clint Gulliver is… Clint Gulliver? Pretty standard stoic hero. I didn’t find a lot to identify with or anything, but I enjoyed his journey. Some of his manly, manly reactions are so over-the-top that I’m pretty sure it’s poking fun at the genre. You get a fight over chili later on in the series. It’s pretty hilarious.

I think Edward the unicorn alone is good reason to read these books. He’s a sarcastic jerk and very entertaining. I found Mai to be wonderful, and there are plenty of side characters to root for and cry over.

Though the tone is a combination of rollicking fun, unicorn-sarcasm, and earnest action, there are some surprisingly deep nuggets of insight in this. Don’t expect it to stay in one place. It gets interesting later on, so if you put on your spurs, don’t be surprised when you get taken somewhere weird. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you want to check it out, try here! You can also try your local library.