Mar 27, 2015: Something shocking is happening on the open flatlands of Kansas. It’s just years after the Civil War and the U.S. has entered wholeheartedly into its Reconstruction Era. The chaos of a land still rebuilding becomes embodied and reflected in the challenges of Isaac Benjamin, veteran of the war. He arrives in town to become the new sheriff while suffering flashbacks of gruesome battles, rattling guns, and the mechanical thump of military walkers.

That’s right, walkers, because this story takes place in an alternate universe where technology has broken free earlier in history. The Civil War was fought with legged tanks wielding Gatling guns and canons. Sheriff Isaac wields an interesting array of electrified weaponry and battery-powered gadgets. The world is powered with bright ideas and interesting twists of anachronistic futurism.

But K.R. Kampion, the author, ties it together seamlessly with the recovering country and its battle-scarred hero. Down-to-earth people live in the town of Lawrence Kansas and reveal a varied population with engaging pasts that shine a light on the past and cast a shadow on their future. Things have not moved on from the war just yet, and it is Isaac and the supporting cast’s struggles with demons and their accompanying living terrors that keeps the pages turning. Welcome to a very voltapunk story . . . 

One star for readability, half for originality, one for cohesive setting, one for characters and their development, one star for enjoyability. 4.5 total.

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