Rough Animals

Rough Animals is a contemporary Western noir about 19-year-old twins Wyatt and Lucy Smith, who operate their deceased father's cattle ranch in Utah. When a feral 12-year-old girl shoots their last viable bull with expert precision, Wyatt embarks on a hunt to find her. The pursuit leads Wyatt across harsh desert terrain and into Mexico's criminal underworld, testing his resolve and morality at every turn. His quest to save the ranch transforms into something darker as he encounters violence, drug trafficking, and human predation. Lucy remains behind to salvage what's left of their ranch, forcing both twins to confront brutal choices about survival and justice in an unforgiving landscape. The novel moves at a relentless pace through remote territory where law and civilization hold little sway. At its core, this debut novel examines questions of savagery versus humanity, and how extreme circumstances can erode the boundaries between predator and prey. The stark brutality of both nature and human nature takes center stage in this unflinching exploration of survival.

Readers describe this as a violent, gritty Western noir with literary prose. Many compare it to McCarthy's Blood Meridian in tone and style. Positives from reviews: - Raw, visceral writing that captures the harsh landscape - Complex character development of the twin protagonists - Unpredictable plot with mounting tension - Detailed depiction of contemporary ranch life Common criticisms: - Extremely graphic violence that some found gratuitous - Dense, poetic language that can be challenging to follow - Pacing issues in the middle section - Several readers noted confusion about certain plot elements Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (100+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (50+ ratings) "Beautiful writing but almost unbearably brutal" - Goodreads reviewer "The prose is stunning but the violence left me cold" - Amazon review "Like McCarthy and Faulkner had a baby" - LibraryThing review

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No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy A Vietnam veteran stumbles upon drug money in the Texas desert, setting off a chain of brutal events with an unstoppable killer.

Savage Country by Robert Olmstead A widow leads a buffalo hunt through dangerous territory while confronting both human and natural threats in the post-Civil War frontier.

The North Water by Ian McGuire A murderer and an ex-army surgeon face bloodshed and survival aboard a nineteenth-century Arctic whaling ship.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy A teenage runaway joins a gang of scalp hunters along the Texas-Mexico border, encountering relentless violence in the lawless frontier.

🌵 "Rough Animals" is Rae DelBianco's debut novel, which she wrote while working nights as a butcher in New York City. 🐎 The author spent extensive time on working ranches in Utah to research authentic details for the book's setting and cowboy culture. 🎓 DelBianco started writing the novel while studying at Duke University, drawing inspiration from both Cormac McCarthy's prose style and classical Greek tragedy. ⚡ The book's violent narrative was partially influenced by the author's experience of growing up around firearms and hunting in rural Pennsylvania. 📚 The novel has been compared to both modern Western noir and ancient revenge tragedies, with critics noting its unique blend of contemporary and classical storytelling elements.