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Who is Icy Sedgwick?
Icy is a folklore blogger and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. She is based in the north east of England, where she was born and raised amid the folk tales and legends of Tyneside and Northumberland. Icy is fascinated by history, cinema, art, and the occult, and griffins will always be her favourite mythical beast. She also writes dark fantasy novellas, Gothic short stories and the occasional weird Western, and she holds a PhD in Film Studies!
Great ending Icy to a really entertaining and creative trilogy.
I love the line:
“Shades of people long gone drifted to and fro, pausing to converse with each other, the echoes of their voices reaching through the ages.”
It’s beautiful.
You recreate what feels to me like an authetic wild west. I can taste the dust, grit and stale whisky.
This is delightful. [So, it’s safe for me to return to the poker table now, right?] I missed the first two parts. I must go read them now.
This is the best yet, Icy.
“Soiled Doves” nod. Phrase of gold. Veiled reference, simply put.
Liked the Sticks ref, too. And the twist with Death was lovely. Knew he was dead, that had been worked towards nicely, but having Bill come to rest because of the killings, excellent.
Great ending to a fine set of stories. This was nice and atmospheric.
This was a great ending to this series. (Although I hate to see it end.) It left me feeling rewarded for having read the other stories and the descriptions were fantastic. I could hear the boots knocking on the wood as he crossed the saloon.
Great work. This was a thoroughly satisfying ending to the story arc.
I love how the Styx became a set of railroad tracks! Nice job of tying everything together.
Sticks = Styx … very clever, Icy. And very well done … I liked this a lot.
Nice wrap up. And ‘Sticks’ was very clever too. Very enjoyable. 🙂
Voice with a millennia of rot! Love. I enjoyed this.
Since this is my first time here, I missed any previous pieces, but loved this on its own.
Have a delightful weekend,
Lola
Fooled me, Icy. I thought the dead were going to come to him, zombie and Undead Nightmare style. But a ghost town that’s actually an afterlife is a better kick. Do you still want me to record one or all of these?
This must be one of my favorite trilogies-ever. Really, the language is brilliant, the character you’ve created in Death is haunting (please find a way to use her in other stories!) and the trilogy sends us cruse-crossing through time after a gunslinger as confused as we were. You’ve got yourself a devoted fan here- well done!
I grew up on Westerns (and in the old West, a few miles from Billy the Kid’s grave) and I really love how you’ve captured the feel of it. Beautiful writing as always, Icy.
Love the language and the descriptions. Wild Bill sounded true to life. Very imaginative plotting. I’ve never seen Death in that guise in a story before, but it works. Good job.
I really enjoyed this–this installment and the series as a whole. Neat way to wrap it up. Adds a layer of myth to it all. Well done!
Top notch times three Icy! Cool Twilight Zoney script in this one!
*face palm* I only got the Sticks/Styx reference when it was mentioned in the comments. You’d think I’d figure it out considering it’s the final ep of the trilogy.
What a great way to end the series. The opening paragraphs were stellar. It is a very satisfying conclusion at the end. Solemn and sombre end, but just perfect.
Adam B @revhappiness
Justin – I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed it! I’ve tried to keep it as realistic as possible, despite the supernatural elements.
Tim – Yes, you can play poker now.
ibc4 – I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the series. I do love my Sticks puns.
Lauirta – Thank you!
Chuck – I’m a big believer in using senses other than sight in stories. Possibly as I’m so short-sighted myself!
Tony – Thanks!
FAR – I should have named the horse Charon…
Janet – Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Cathy – 🙂
Lola – Glad you liked it! And have a great weekend yourself.
John – I figured the afterlife should look different for different time periods…and oooh you can record whichever you want! Interested to see what you do with them.
Bev – Oh Death pops up whenever she fancies. I’ve used her before in a couple of other stories but she’s asked if she can be in a novel too (she’s very polite). Glad you liked it!
Danni – It genuinely means a lot that someone “local” would say that! So pleased you enjoyed it.
John – Death has appeared as a woman before (Gaiman’s done that) but I like my Death to seem unappealing and decayed but actually be quite a good sport.
Ericand Harry – Thanks!
Adam – ^_^
Icy, I’d LOVE to see a movie like this. Wild Bill and Death, riding together. You paint a tremendous picture. What a wonderful story you’ve created. Bravo!
Fantastic ending to your trilogy! Beginning to end, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
A nice solid ending to the trilogy Icy, I liked the ghost-town feeling, I kept expecting to read of a tumbleweed rolling past.
Cool way of closing things up and explaining the second story’s death. Loved this trilogy, Icy. 🙂
Your description of the enviornment really helps create the mood of this piece. I like the references to stars and darkness-death seems just like another beautiful place.
Neat closure- and loved the haunting description of the world of death. Could see and hear the shadows whispering.
My Friday flash is here:
http://tinyurl.com/5s8s933
Like others, I loved the Sticks/Styx mythology applied to a western. It also plays out well with the old saying: “He lives way out in the sticks.” Great stuff, Icy.
Enjoyed the dialogue, particularly “Well you’re Wild Bill Hickok, and you’ve just come through the valley,” replied the young woman. Stars glittered in the depths of her midnight eyes. with her non-answer to his question. Amusing premise and fitting closure.
This was the perfect ending
“The gunslinger… the gunslinger… the gunslinger…” I like the refrain. It made me feel that once Wild Bill didn’t have anyone else to kill, he would have to perish. And the way he found his end “convulsed in a deep yawn”? unique and disturbing enough to make me feel he paid for what he did.