Title: The Country Under Heaven
Author: Frederic S. Durbin
Pages: 336
Release: May 13, 2025

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Evoking the majesty and grandeur of the Old West, Durbin spins a stirring yarn about the aftershocks of battle and the struggle to overcome what haunts us.

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Durbin’s A Green and Ancient Light was one of the first books I reviewed for The Speculative Shelf in 2016, and it has stayed with me to this day. It’s a thrill to return to one of his worlds. At the time, I wrote: “He creates a setting filled with such beautiful imagery that opening the book felt like being transported to the nameless countryside each and every time.” The same holds true here, as the American West comes to life, down to the last flower petal and blade of grass.

While I found Ovid Vesper’s journey and visions intriguing, the loosely connected chapters often felt disjointed and could have benefitted from fewer characters and a more streamlined plot.

★★★½

My thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.