Night Worms Book Party: RED STATION by Kenzie Jennings

RED STATION by Kenzie Jennings

This is book 7 in the Splatter Western series by Death's Head Press. You can see all of our other Splatter Western Book Parties, HERE

"I am absolutely astounded by Kenzie Jennings and her ability to craft a gut-wrenching story that is emphatically adorned in viscera. There are inconceivable horrors that lay in waiting for those who read this Splattertastic masterpiece. I declare that Red Station is the best book in the Splatter Western series. I'm not just recommending this book because it deserves much more than that. As a fan of all things dark and terrifying, you owe it to yourself to get this book in your possession as quickly as possible." READ MORE AT HORROR DNA

I don’t even know where to start because Kenzie Jennings legit blew my mind with RED STATION. I cannot believe how exciting this Splatter Western series is! This is the seventh book in the lineup and one of the best books I’ve read. I am all about this series right now, but you can pick and choose because each book is a standalone. Trust me, I have my favorites! MAGPIE COFFIN, THE NIGHT SILVER RED RUN, RED STATION, and THE THIRTEEN KOYOTE for starters! Hands down my favorite character is the lady in red, Clyde Northway. She’s everything I love in a badass, sharp, take-no-prisoners type female protagonist. Her character development is crazy good! In fact, Jennings does a brilliant job writing tangible, three-dimensional characters and the depth of this story is no joke. It’s a cinematic adventure! I AM OBSESSED.

I will admit the last couple of installments were not my favorite, but RED STATION totally makes up for it. Well done, Kenzie Jennings! @shereadswithcats

RED STATION is short, brutal, and badass. Based loosely on The Bloody Benders, a family of serial killers that offered respite to weary travelers at their home in the American West, this book finds a group of strangers on a stagecoach journey stopping for the night at a station house for a hot meal and a bed. However, before the night is through, the travelers will come to find that stopping at this home was the biggest mistake of their lives.

One of the traveler's comes off immediately as mysterious and worldly, and I think she is probably my favorite female protagonist ever. Rocking a gorgeous red dress and a very deadly hidden weapon, I defy anyone who reads this novel not to fall in love with Clyde. I want to see Clyde Cosplay. I need a Clyde enamel pin. But most importantly, I'm imploring Kenzie Jennings to write an entire series about Clyde. She is an absolute rock star, and she makes RED STATION so good.

Sincerely, I urge anyone who loves extreme horror to pick this one up. Come for the gore and fall head over heals for Clyde. @gowsy33

Death’s Head Press’ Splatter Western series has been rather hit or miss. And I don’t mean bullseye vs. a miss so near I can feel the wake of the bullet. I’m talking more of a fanboy gushing vs. an emphatic get off my lawn. Like the furthest distance between the Grand Canyon’s cliffs. But then Red Station’s Clyde Northway, savior in a red dress, comes swaggering in through the saloon’s batwing doors to let me know that the Splatter Western’s aren’t through with me. Not by a long shot. What makes Red Station stand out amongst the crowd? A strong and charismatic female lead, check. Serving after serving of brutal old west themed mayhem, check. A very compelling based-on-real-events narrative, check. A lack of racial and gender insensitivities as a plot device and/ or crutch.... hella check!Yeah, I dug Red Station quite a lot. It is a sleek, no time wasted, 135ish pages and you’ll more than likely be done with it before barkeep comes around for last call. This has more to do with the book drawing you in vs. slim page count. Know that I’m down for any and all further adventures of Clyde Northway.

Red Station by Kenzi Jenner from Death’s Head Press, personal entertainment value:
4/ 5 @zakk.madness

"Kenzie Jennings manages to take us on a fun, bloody little ride, with characters we can actually enjoy for a minute in such a short little book. I would be surprised if Ms. Clyde Northaway, the Lady in the Red Dress, was not everyone's favorite character in this story. Quick witted, with a silver tongue, Clyde is a mysterious bad-ass that makes this story what it is. I wanted more of her. More of her back story, more about where she was going, just MORE CLYDE.

This story gives of some serious Rob Zombie vibes, or really just makes you think of any slasher film you can find with a weird ass house with a bizarre family living there. This is one in this series that you do not want to miss!" 4/5 @keelyfuse85

"Is it a persuasive treatise? A call to action?"
"A response," she said flatly.
"A response to...?"
"To those who believe women should not be expected to be rational thinkers."

If there is ever a SplatterWestern you should read, this is it. THIS. IS. IT! Red Station is a winner. The dialogue! The characters! The gore! It's all right here waiting for you. 5/5 @spookishmommy

Well well well... what have we here? *wipes blood from corner of mouth and smiles*

I've been having a love/hate relationship with this series but oh the LOVE I have for this installment.At under 150 pages, this story never lets up. I could feel the dust in my nose, could almost taste the coppery tang of blood on my tongue and found myself enthralled with every page. Give me a lady in red and you bet she'll likely end up my favorite and hellooooo Clyde! While this installment still holds true to the time period, we also get this protagonist with such a presence... you may find yourself sitting up a little bit straighter when she arrives on your pages.

Jennings does NOT hold back with the gore and splattery goodness we all love in these types of reads. And I appreciate that there are no supernatural elements featured like with the past installments. Instead we get good old fashioned evil people doing their thing. *hat tip* 5/5 @wherethereadergrows

"The story begins by introducing our group of characters who will soon become pawns in the slaughterhouse station. Their rapport is enjoyable, if a bit long-winded at times. They reach a giant house and their hosts invite them in for the night. The family seems friendly, but there's something a little "off" about them. Tension is building, and Clyde is increasingly on guard. Then, in the middle of dinner, and right at the midpoint of the book, things go gloriously off the rails.

No spoilers, but basically what you were dreading/anticipating finally happens. It's not a surprise, but it's a fantastic payoff to all the set up in the first half. Amiable drama becomes slow burn becomes survival horror thriller. The wildly violent second half plays out like a movie, both in the turn of events and the author's descriptive style. It's fast-paced, brutal, and a lot of fun. My few complaints are that Clyde has several moments of serious miscalculation that seem out of character, and there's a weird Texas Chainsaw-esque twist thrown in at the very end. Otherwise this is a pretty sold story and, I want to reiterate this, I need to see more books chronicling the adventures of Clyde!" 4/5 @reading.vicariously

Shamefully I had only read Magpie Coffin so far in the DHP splatterpunk western series. That was a 5 star and even appeared on my Top Ten of 2020. But I just for some reason had let the others slip past me. Every time there was a Night Worms party, I knew I needed to get back into them. Another genius notion is although it is a series, each book is also a standalone. So, when I started hearing rave things about Red Station by Kenzie Jennings, two things stood out. One, Kenzie is an awesome female writer and females writing extreme and splatterpunk are sadly few and far between. And two, after briefly chatting with Kenzie (who is wonderful) she relayed it was a slasher. SOLD!!! 

Kenzie is a damn fine storyteller and a definite advocate of the show don’t tell preference. After reading her post about how she came up with the idea and the intense research she put into it, I am even more impressed and intrigued by the rich history of the Wild West. Being a Brit, I find this time in US history fascinating, and although this series is very much fictional, I have no doubt of the horrific real-life atrocities that took place during those times. 

This book in particular has made me excited for the series again and I am very looking forward to The Thirteenth Koyote, which I hear is about western werewolves … sign me up now! 5 Stars All the Way! @JaninePipe

"From a start to finish, Kenzie Jennings crafts a story that demands attention. We start off getting to now the characters through banter and dialogue on a stage coach, giving you just enough to spark the interest. When we reach our destination, you start to realize SOMETHING is up, and not soon after the story takes off like a bat out of hell. 

Red Station is a book full of excellent writing and brutal gore. The action is fast pace, it’s violent. It wears is splatter proudly. This is a book that if you want, you can easily finish in a day. Trust me, you’ll want to. Clyde is an interesting character, and I hope that this isn’t the last we hear from her. 5/5 @steelrainreviews