Fool's Gold

De: pdmac

Narrado por: Steve Wannall

US Marshal Mason Sadler has a great hustle going on with the vivacious and lovely Belle Dubois, the madam of the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. She keeps the outlaws occupied until he conveniently shows up to arrest them after which she and Mason split the reward.

Their business arrangement is going rather well until the wealthy inventor and archaeologist Henry Mitchell decides to make a play for Belle's attention and affection. After all, he's single while Mason is stuck in a marriage to a woman who prefers laudanum to marital bliss. But does Henry really desire Belle or is his interest a deflection from his true intentions, for gold from the Seven Cities of Cibola has been discovered in the mining hills of Tombstone. Two men desperately want to keep the discovery a secret -- Caleb, the old miner who found the treasure, and Henry who has spent the past several years hunting for it. Unfortunately for Caleb, Henry has no qualms about using whatever means necessary to take what he wants, even if it means murder and kidnapping. Regrettably for Belle, she eventually gets in the way. With the help of two Chiricahua machinists, Mason sets out to stop Henry's escape and rescue Belle. But everyone has failed to take into consideration two dead conquistadors who are not quite ready to part with the gold.

©2017 Paul Diuglas McKittrick (P)2017 Paul Douglas McKittrick

Mystery/thriller with a western flavor.

They’re calling this a steampunk western because it includes several steam-powered vehicles and/or inventions, which a few of the characters were utilizing. In fact this is a wonderfully written mystery/thriller with a western flavor. As you progress into the story more twists and turns are made known. I was quite impressed as I found the story getting better and more interesting as I dove deeper into the tale. The writing is excellent and cleverly done. The characters are likable and interesting and so well fleshed out that not a lot of background was necessary. Narration by Steve Wannall was excellent as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will look for more from pdmac. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Treat for Steampunk fans

Would you recommend Fool's Gold to your friends? Why or why not?

None of my friends are into steampunk, so recommending this book to them won't do any good. But for those who love steampunk and/or western classics, this book might work well.I myself am very new to this genre, having read only one book ("Steampunk is dead") a few weeks ago. That book was of LitRPG genre actually, but based on a steampunk world. This book is pure steampunk genre and hence more geared towards fans of that genre.

Did Steve Wannall do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, most of the characters had distinct voice and were easy to differentiate. Only a couple of sequences were unclear and needed relisten.

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook for free from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Interesting and entertaining alternative history/western/steam punk story

I thought the overall premise of the book was great. The main character has some internal struggles that were quite different than you run of the mill hero book.
Most of characters seem to the same as any western you've read, cantankerous prospectors, bartenders, and outlaws. The addition of the steampunk characters and theme really helps this story stand apart from the others.
I enjoyed listening and will be looking for the other books in this series.

Enjoyable read.

My first read from author P.D. Mac. I love a good mystery and I love Steampunk. This book has both. I don't restrict my reading to any particular genre. Instead, I'm a sucker for anything with memorable characters & a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat until the end. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. Narrator Steven Wannalls talented narration added greatly to the enjoyment of the book.
(RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018)

Steampunk, zombies, and cowboys. Ho, Boy!!!!

I have come to really embrace the mashup genre, you know, you take two very seperate and distinct genres like horror and romance (when Jason Vorhess falls for that really special girl who is holding out for marriage) and smashthem together. Sometimes you get fool's gold, and others you get Fool's Gold by PDMAC.

I'll admit that I am a noob when it comes to steampunk, I could never find something that looked good. I think the closest I had come, up until now, was Hard Magic, and that was a mash up of several genres as well. Either way, I've caught a flavor for it.

Fool's Gold involves a Marshall and a Madam, a prospector and a scientist, and some angry zombies. The story would work great just as a western, but the other elements really work wel, even the zombies. It is kind of like sitting down to watch a Lone Ranger episode and finding him and Tonto battling werewolves. A surprise, but something you can't look away from. The characters are well thought out and have areal depth. These are not just cut out paste and stick characters. The story even manages to blend in a little mystery and romance. The story's pace goes from a trot to runaway stagecoach in a suitable time frame, and you really enjoy the ride.

Wannall does a great job, giving everyone distinct voices, although I had to go back and relisten to the book to make sure I wasn't imagining that the Birdcage Bordello Madam started with a french accent, and lost it later on. I chalked it up to her using that voice to make her self sexier. That really is nitpicking, and it doesn't affect the story at all.

This is a fun book that starts what looks to be a great series. I'm off to book 2!!!

Compelling Story, great characters

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. At first, it started slow, and read like a traditional western. It was enjoyable, but probably a 3-4 star book. However, that changed as the book continued on. The depth of the story, characters, and emotions was beautifully done. I found myself rooting for characters, and hating other characters. The steampunk added in was done well, as all the inventions were, and the fantasy element threw me for a bit of a shock when it appeared, nothing too crazy, more like Stephen King light fantasy elements with his horror. But at first, I thought it came from left field, and I was like, "What is this, there was no foreshadowing at all." Then it clicked. There was foreshadowing, and it was so subtle that I nearly missed it. A touch of dialog scattered throughout the book between characters was all the foreshadowing needed. I had the privilege of meeting this author at a local convention, and picked up his fantasy book, then found this book on audible. I look forward to checking more out by the author.

Excellent

As a fan of westerns I was presently surprised by this one
The old west with advanced steampunk Technology but doesn’t go overboard with it
The zombies are not your typical brain eaters and fit nicely in the story
Very original and well narrated highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Awesome Book!

This is a great steampunk novel. Well done story and performance. Worth a credit!

"This book was provided at no cost for a unbiased review."

Fun in the wild west

Really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It was fun and imaginative. Great characters and excellent narration.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Fun steampunk western

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was very much like another steampunk-western, but different enough that I enjoyed it. I thought the writing was good and I thought the narrator was a good fit. All in all, an enjoyable experience.