Book Review: And Hell Followed with Him by Mage Leader

Westerns are an invaluable part of American mythology–in many cases quite literally. Much of what the average American thinks of when the term “Western” is brought up is largely reality filtered through a century of storytelling through cinema, tv, comics, and novels. What it is distilled down to now are fantastical stories of rugged individualism vs civilization, moral absolutes, and unfettered adventure.

Which makes it fertile ground for compelling stories like the western novella ‘And Hell Followed With Him’ by Mage Leader.

Mage Leader is a youtuber in the Battletech fandom, though his interests fan out much farther than just Battletech. He is also a big fan of the Green Hornet and westerns, thus leading to this first of a planned series of novellas.

Coming in at just under 160 pages, the tight prose and plot of this western novella make for a quick, but highly memorable read. By the time I was done reading, I felt like I had read a story longer than it was.

The story revolves around Preacher Elijah Sheffield, a circuit preacher traveling from town-to-town to deliver his message. The book opens with him entering the territory of a sleepy middle-of-nowhere town named Pearson’s Hope and interrupting a pair of bandits with his six shooters. Right away, the Reverend presents himself not as a pacifist, but a man of action willing to exact justice upon the wicked for their deeds if they do not heed his warnings.

Once in town, the Reverend comes to find a town disarmed by the local mayor, kept in check by the sheriff following his orders, and a large band of outlaws using Pearson’s Hope as their own playground–led by a former Confederate soldier named Calhoun who shares a past with the Reverend. All the pieces are in place and set into motion quickly, leading to the Reverend Sheffield to try and take on impossible odds–by himself, if he has to.

The bulk of the narrative is the Reverend’s response to the various injustices happening to the people of Pearson’s Hope. He doesn’t need a lot of convincing to take up arms against the adversaries set upon him from the moment he walks into town. Faith in God, stalwart and unapologetic, is at the heart of every decision he makes, never letting anger temper his decisions. Unfortunately for the villains of Pearson’s Hope and the men of Calhoun’s bandit army, Reverend Sheffield has a bit of a past and is not only quick on the draw, but cunning and ruthless when his mind is set to violence.

This is not to say the Reverend is out for blood. He is a composed and strong character, who very much cares for the people of Pearon’s Hope. Several chapters are dedicated to him spending time with the people, hearing their grievances until he quickly becomes their advocate. Rather than going in guns blazing, he is willing to meet with those doing wrong by the people and get them to reconsider their ways. This does not, as you can imagine, go the way he wants, though not all the villains are that way by sheer nature.

Sheffield is a fantastic christian character and a much needed breath of fresh air to the archetype. Typical modern caricatures of christian or catholic reverends are of spineless men, strong in faith but weak in deeds. More often than not they are barely pious enough to cover up their own corruptions because thats one trope Hollywood just can’t get enough of. A stand out scene which has Sheffield the proverbial den of lions and having a discussion with Calhoun of their past and of the roles they took in life. It makes a conversation had later in the book so much more poignant because both men see their impending collision and neither is willing to surrender their values enough to avoid it.

It reminded me of one of the better scenes in Injustice 2, where (alternate world) Batman & Superman both lament the loss of the men they used to be before their inevitable clash. Beautifully written on the part of Mage Leader. The theme heavy chapters are accentuated by chapters of pulse-pounding western action as Sheffield takes to heart the role of Shepard protecting his flock, a man of cunning and lethal abilities spearheading a confrontation between the good people of Pearon’s Hope and their oppressors without and within.

An exceptional western novel in the first of hopefully many more installments.