A Tale Worth Reading in A Longer Fall

A Longer Fall is the second novel in Charlaine Harris’ Gunnie Rose series, and it carries just as much impact as the first. Gunnie Rose is an alternate history, set during the Great Depression – but with several fundamental changes. Most notably, the inclusion of magic.

Picture a classic western full of gunslingers and the like, and then throw in a dash of Russian influence and magic, and you’ve got a decent idea of the setting for this story. It’s unique and fun while also being free to show the darker sides of humanity.

Lizbeth Rose is a Gunnie – that is her way of life, and she’s damn good at it. After losing her entire crew in the first novel, she’s taken up with a new team. Only luck is not in their favor, and it doesn’t take long before Rose is pulled into a whole new set of adventures and danger.

Writing

Charlaine Harris has done it again. A Longer Fall is dark, charismatic, and memorable. While in many ways, this novel reads differently from the first (An Easy Death), many of the essential elements were carried over, including the main character herself, Gunnie Rose.

Rose is one of those characters who is truly kind-hearted, despite any assumptions that might be made based on her career. Yes, she can and does kill people. But never without reason. She’s also the sort of person who is talented at getting herself into trouble. Granted, Eli tends to bring her most of that trouble.

The world of Gunnie Rose is a unique blend of Western and fantasy, but it works well here. I’m quite in love with this world, as dangerous as it may be. I’ll be sad when the series ends, as I want to see so much more of it.

But speaking of this world, we were granted the opportunity to see a different city in A Longer Fall. This is a town entirely unlike the others we’ve seen so far. It opened the door for some interesting discussions (see below) and reminded us of how massive this world really is.

Development

A Longer Fall was a fast-paced read, taking little to no time to throw us into the thick of things. It certainly seems like any crew that Rose signs up for is cursed. We’ll have to see if that pattern holds true for the third book.

This plot seems to carry less tension than the first novel, focusing heavily on character development and interaction. That isn’t a bad thing, but I feel it is still worth saying. But don’t worry; there’s still plenty of action and gunfights.

Take a moment to think about the setting and location of Gunnie Rose. There are several elephants in the room here, and Harris went above and beyond in addressing them in this story. Sexism and racism are major focal points for the main plot, though sometimes they’re subtly woven in.

Character development was a significant focus as well in this novel. That seemed to come to a head later in the novel, and the ending is more than enough to leave fans eager for news on the next book. At least, that’s certainly the case for me.

Conclusion

A Longer Fall was a fun read, allowing us to revisit characters we’ve come to know and love. It wasn’t afraid to show the darker sides of humanity, but those scenes were almost always balanced out with something brighter. It made for an intense but compelling read from start to finish.

I’m looking forward to this series’s third (and likely final) novel. Unfortunately, since A Longer Fall just came out, we’ll be in for a bit of a wait. But I do not doubt that it will be worth it!

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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