Covering Covers: The Buntline Special - Mike Resnick

Cover Artist: J Seamas Gallagher

I think it's safe to say that Steampunk has finally arrived. At first, it seemed like the Steampunk movement was all style and no substance but the lineups of 2010 / 2011 appear chock full of boiling water and bronze gears. One such title is Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale. I've yet to read many Steampunk titles but this one is sure to make the shortlist based on the excellent cover alone. Prostitutes and ray guns! And even though I typically don't like the overly stylized font, it works here. It seems to flow directly from what I presume are powerlines, creating a cohesive feel. Very pulpy and very cool.

Speaking of cool, I also have it on good authority that Gallagher is doing some interiors for the novel. If his interiors are even half as impressive as the work Keith Thompson put together for Leviathan, The Buntline Special could be something special indeed. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of details about this book right now, but Lou Anders did provide a teaser or two over on the Pyr blog.

We've just signed with [Mike Resnick] for The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale. Picture a fractured America, steampunk technology, cowboys, rayguns, Native American shamans, and, drum roll please, zombies! I feel very safe guaranteeing that the West will never be the same.

The Buntline Special comes out from Pyr this December.