Six-Gun Shiva is the second book R.H. Snow’s Watcher of the Damned Sci-fi Western series.
As this is the second book in the series, it includes some spoilers about the events of the first book. You can read the review of the first book Transmutation Texas: Watcher of the Damned Here.
Spoilers from here on out.
Six-Gun Shiva does not bring us back to the two main characters, Saul and Rose, right away. It introduces us to a new primary character entering the scene: Evangelo, the Ranger. Evangelo is part of the System that once kept Saul, aka The Watcher, as a glorified guard dog for his particular survival community. Now, the events of the previous book have seen Evangelo’s leader and lover, Shaney, sending him out to investigate a beacon signal activated at the end of the first book.
Here he runs afoul of The Watcher, chained in the basement of a church waypoint thanks to the seductive wiles of Rose, who knocked him on the head post-coitus to escape. None of this is told to Evangelo, who sets Watcher free and is convinced to join him in searching for Saul’s “missing fugitive,” aka Rose.
Much like the first book, a game of cat-and-mouse between Watcher and Rose continues, though the stakes are far more serious as the consequences of the epic climax of the first book see other agents and Rangers of the System tracking down both Watcher and Rose, with Evangelo being drawn into their drama as an unwitting third party. Rose, for her part, is a crafty and resourceful survivor, but flawed in that she still answers to deeply ingrained indoctrination to a cultish order.
The three come head-to-head with the opposing force of Rangers, and shocking revelations end up driving Rose and Evangelo both into a desperate escape across the Texas wasteland with Watcher in tow, facing rogue Rangers, packs of bear-sized beasts called Chupacabras, dangerous wildlife, treacherous terrain, and crumbling ruins, all in the hopes of reaching a safe place while their personal issues try not to clash harshly enough that it breaks their cohesion as a trio.
The inclusion of Evangelo brings a welcome addition to the cast, turning the duo into a trio. Watcher is a hulking individual who is fast, strong, and stoic. He is masculinity personified, a man of action over words, though he is also pensive and thoughtful when there’s no shooting to be done. Evangelo, then, is more the Sensitive Young Man™ to Watcher’s Strong Silent™ type. He’s smaller, but no less capable. He trains horses for the Rangers to use, a premium privilege in the System. He is caught between his duty to Shaney and his adoration of her, his oath to the Ranger code and wanting to help Watcher and Rose after the shocking revelations send them hurtling across the Texas wasteland.
Evangelo makes a great partner for Watcher, a well-needed friend to help watch his back. Rose was a perfect foil to Watcher, a complement to Watcher and no less lethal or crafty as a survivor. But Evangelo brings a male camaraderie component that wasn’t in the first book, as well as someone else for Watcher to talk to. (Via his ring, as the character is mute). They make a formidable trio together.
It does bring up an issue with the prose and narration that’s impossible to ignore: switching between POVs within the scenes. In most books, the POV switches between chapters, sometimes with scene breaks in the same chapter to establish another POV. In this book, the author often has all three characters’ perspectives in the same chapter, switching back and forth with single-line spaces between paragraphs where the perspective changes.
It’s unorthodox, but for this book’s dynamic it seems to work. Whether or not it works for different readers will be up to the individual, but for my part it was not distracting because I was so invested in the events of the book. I got used to it very quickly. In terms of quality, the book is a big step forward over the first book, which gave its readers a large mental stack. The Watcher of the Damned books have unusually long chapters, closer to acts than actual chapters. In the first book, it was 84 pages before you reach the end of the first chapter. It doesn’t lend itself to “One or two chapters before I head to bed.”
Regardless of these critiques, Six Gun Shiva is a phenomenal follow-up to its predecessor, building on the events of the previous book to give us a full scale western across the ghostly ruins of post-apocalyptic Texas. I recommend giving the appendix a glance to see just how much research and consultation RH Snow put into helping describe Texas–which I detailed is a character in and of itself in the first book. From the flora and fauna to the accurate description of firearms to the history of the state. Everything page bleeds love for the Lone Star instead of just copy-pasting western tropes into a post-apocalypse setting.
The post-apocalyptic setting adds another layer of personality to the setting. Similar to its inspiration in Fallout, the apocalypse didn’t happen until after a few more decades of technological advancement, so the tech level on display is more advanced. Watcher acquires an energy weapon. All three characters use a WeeSpeex Ring, which functions like a powerful personal computers that project HUDs directly into the vision of one's eye and allows for silent person-to-person instant messaging and contact. Helpful for Watcher, who is mute and can only “talk” to Rose by docking their rings by holding hands. (A narrative element I consider one of RH Snow’s most clever inventions). The world of Watcher of the Damned might be dead, but its bones still glow neon.
As with the first book, it features occasional drawings of black-and-white pencil art from RH Snow herself, giving occasional glimpses into the world she’s authored. It’s one of many personal touches that give her work its unique personality.
The book ends on a promise of a heroic continuation of the adventures of Watcher, Evangelo, and Rose. Doing so on a cliffhanger that screams for its reader to jump into book 3 immediately.
Six-Gun Shiva: Watcher of the Damned is a perfect follow-up to the first book of the series building on well-established events and relationships in a unique setting to bring readers what continues to be one of the most unique indie book series available. A recommend.
You can follow RH Snow on Twitter and Substack
Grab a copy of the Watcher of the Damned and Six-Gun Shiva
Let me know what you think in the comments. And Remember: We Will be Free
John A. Douglas is an independently published author and the author of the Age of Adventures fantasy series including its two starter books: The Black Crown and The Lionheart: Icon of Justice.
He can be found every Monday at 7:00pm Central on the Knights Watch livestream with Shad Brooks of Shadiversity
Articles every Monday and Reviews every Friday over on Substack and Twitter.
