The Country Under Heaven

It’s 1880, and former Union soldier Ovid is still struggling to find his way. During Antietam, he nearly died from a blast that also opened a crack between dimensions, both giving Ovid “the sight” and allowing monsters through. Ovid’s journey is told in vignettes, and readers will quickly fall in step with him as he visits old friends, rides into town on his trusty horse, works cattle drives, stops bank robbers, gets involved in shootouts, and visits traveling carnivals. Each stop has Ovid battling monsters both real and supernatural, but the action pauses with interlude chapters as he contemplates his life, the after-effects of war, and his connection to other worlds. The danger escalates as the book proceeds, with the monsters becoming more numerous and the barriers between worlds beginning to thin, but Ovid becomes more determined to find peace for himself, his friends, and the creatures he encounters.