The Country Under Heaven
May 2025 · Melville House
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"Best Books of 2025: Science Fiction" Award—The Financial Times
"A Best Horror Book of the Year"—New York Public Library
Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions . . .
Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving one of the Civil War’s most gruesome battles, the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West.
Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country, rapidly changing but, like himself, still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night — all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions.
Ovid’s epic journey across the American West with a surprising cast of characters blends elements of the classic Western with historical fantasy in a way like no other.
"A Best Horror Book of the Year"—New York Public Library
Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions . . .
Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving one of the Civil War’s most gruesome battles, the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West.
Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country, rapidly changing but, like himself, still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night — all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions.
Ovid’s epic journey across the American West with a surprising cast of characters blends elements of the classic Western with historical fantasy in a way like no other.
"Best Books of 2025: Science Fiction" Award—The Financial Times
"A Best Horror Book of the Year"—New York Public Library
Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions . . .
Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid...
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About the author
Fred Durbin is the author of three novels and short story collections for adults and children. His novel A Green and Ancient Light was named a PW Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror book of the year; an ALA Reading List Honor Book; and won a Realm Award. Durbin taught English and creative writing at Niigata University in Japan for over twenty years before relocating back to the States.
Fred Durbin is the author of three novels and short story collections for adults and children. His novel A Green and Ancient Light was named a PW Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror book of the year; an ALA Reading List Honor Book; and won a Realm Award. Durbin taught English and creative writing at Niiga...
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