The Ruby Demon Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

The Ruby Demon: A Western Horror by Oscar O’Rourke is Western story in which Jack, a teenager, is on the trail with his contemptible family when a series of events lead to Jack branching out on his own. He befriends Jasper, a rich traveler from New York, who travels with a valuable parcel that cannot be opened, yet it does not stop making knocking sounds from inside the wagon. Jack is quickly haunted by this sound, and as his travels continue to go wrong, he finds that this sound is inescapable and becomes stronger when things are appalling. The sound drives him to murder more than once.

There is no real plot to this story other than Jack meandering through the trail with no true destination. There is no purpose to his actions and his merciless deeds would appear to be motivated by his feeling of being haunted, or perhaps not, as Jack’s feelings or what the source of his desperation is are never fully described or delved into. Scenes that are meant to be tense are unfinished. For instance, how would one go to sleep in the middle of a noisy haunting episode? It seems as if some scenes are cut short just when it is seeming to become horror. This is anti-climactic, and the supposed horror of this horror novel is never demonstrated or felt. Some things, like a secondary character’s death, are not well described so it is never fully understood what is happening. The reader is left questioning and frustrated. The book also showcases needless animal abuse and death, which despite its historical Western setting, seems shocking.

The writing is unique. It most notoriously employs eye dialect that takes some getting used to. The dialogue is overcome by its style—it seems to be unfocused and it sometimes appears nonsensical. There are some grammar and proofreading errors, particularly in the first chapter of the book. Sometimes the writing focuses too long on details that are not entirely relevant to the progress of the story, such as reading a diary or having a dream. The pacing is too fast for its own good—events are over before they have even been described.  

The strongest points of this story are the relationships which are formed between Jack and other people. The narrative is reflective and takes time to shortly develop friendship that is affectionate, particularly in contrast to Jack’s earlier relationship with his despicable family. At times, when Jack becomes somewhat possessed or deranged, the nature of Jack’s friendship is unpredictable, which adds a twist to the story, but also adds instability to an already unclear plot.   

This book is categorized as a western horror, but the only horror to be found in this novel is the cruelty and unpredictability of characters. Jack is haunted by a sound which later takes shape, a shape which is never described, and his feeling of being haunted is mainly told through his actions of cruelty rather than showcasing his feelings of fear or dread. This book is not a horror novel in the slightest, but it is certainly a Western. This novel is closer to being a literary fiction work due to its focus on developing relationships and lack of a clear plot line.   

To conclude, this book could do with a firmer story structure and taking more time to describe events in full. The animal cruelty is gratuitous. This novel is a pass if it is to be read as a horror novel. For those who wish to read about friendly and romantic relationships on the open trail in a Western setting, this is the book for you.

This book was received as an ARC.