"Haxan," by Kenneth Mark Hoover

[Scott H. Andrews]

This thread is to discuss "Haxan," by Kenneth Mark Hoover, which appears in BCS Issue #13 (http://beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=13) from Mar. 26, 2009.

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[Unregistered]

The prose was clear and vivid. It was nice to read a Western with such an interesting slant.

[Kenneth Mark Hoover]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. I have some added content, character sketches, on my Haxan webpage you also might like. Here's the link if you're interested: http://kennethmarkhoover.com/haxan

And thank you for your kind words about the story. I'm glad you found it vivid and liked the unusual slant, I was really trying for that. :)

[Unregistered]

Great story, would like to hear more of these characters in more stories about the town of Haxan. Would really like to hear more about Magra and if she developes any powers of her own. Possibly more adventures of Marwood and more detail on his travels (and how he travels) would be great tales. Also, Marwood seems to have a good connection with his horse as heroes in Westerns should. Very nice character names also, very creative, I especially liked the punny character name, Jake Strop. If Marwood ever picks up a stray dog for a companion a good name for the dog might be Bogie (just a suggestion). Keep up the good work Mark.

[Kenneth Mark Hoover]

Haha, thank you, I'm happy you liked the story. I don't think Marwood will be picking up any stray dogs, though, haha. But you never know. :p

I'm glad you liked the character names. And funny you should mention it, but seeing more about Magra and what she's capable of is actually something I've been thinking about.

[Unregistered]

Well Done. I enjoyed reading this story. Keep it up.

-Weston Ochse

[Kenneth Mark Hoover]

Thank you very much. I'm flattered you enjoyed the story. :)

[DFowler]

First Hangman now Haxan,I'm really enjoying the western themes.This story begs for more. Can we hope for another John Marwood story in the future?

[Kenneth Mark Hoover]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much. Thank you for your comment. I hope to write lots more about Marwood and the town of Haxan. :)

[MG_Ellington]

I love your work. Haxan is a terrific story. I love the feeling it creates when I read it. From the onset, I know this will have a western feel to it. Yet, if I didn't know it, you do a wonderful job of getting me there. I am glad to know you have plans for these characters.

Can you tell me a bit about what brought you to Haxan?

I know this story is the foundation of a series. Do you think you will eventually take the characters somewhere besides Haxan?

MG Ellington
http://mgellington.wordpress.com/

[Kenneth Mark Hoover]

I don't see this series going anywhere other than in Haxan, really. It's one thing to have Marwood think about his past, but to tell complete stories about that would dilute the Haxan world itself, imo.

I wanted to write a Western in which I used dark fantasy to describe what the West was really like. I wanted to show what the West was, with believable characters, other than the cartoonish "Westerns" you see so often on television that get everything so wrong. The real West was not a romantic place. It was brutal and violent. I wanted to show that using a dark fantasy setting with characters I hoped the reader would care about. :o