Epeolatry Book Review: The Massacre at Yellow Hill by C.S. Humble

Full Disclaimer: This review covers the 2023 release of the first book of the That Light Sublime Trilogy.

Saddle Up, cowboys and cowgirls! Something Eldritch this way comes! Enter the Weird West world of C.S. Humble’s The Massacre at Yellow Hill, the first book in the That Light Sublime Trilogy. Set around the year 1868 between Yellow Hill and Big Spring, Texas, Humble’s world is full off hardships, struggles, and supernatural horrors. 

Similar to the aftermath of the actual American Civil War, Humble’s world is built around the aftermath of his book’s version of the “Slaver’s Revolt”. As many move west to find a new way of life, some settle in Yellow Hill, TX with promises of wealth from working in the mines of Jeremiah Hart. 

When farming goes bust, George Miller must take to the mines of Yellow Hills. A strange fate befalls George, a fate Jeremiah Hart would rather cover up. George’s wife, Tabitha, must take it into her own hands to provide for her family.

Meanwhile, in Big Springs, TX, Gilbert Ptolemy and his adopted son, Carson, give the reader the first interaction with the supernatural creatures plaguing West Texas. Gilbert and Carson face multiple enemies of humanity in addition to their human thralls. By chance, the two encounter a resident of Yellow Hill fleeing the mining town, and it’s enough to entice Ptolemy to check out the recent deaths. 

One of the hardest aspects of writing within this period is writing the interactions between black and white characters, and male and female characters. Humble perfectly balances the tone, severity, and nature of these interactions. This is best seen in the introduction of the Ptolemys as they ride into Big Springs. Even the simplest encounter, that of an old woman who questions why Carson, a white boy, is riding with Gilbert, a black man, is handled with a great deal of respect.

Also well executed—the parents’ interactions with their children. Tabitha Miller is the widowed parent of two children, Annie and Georgie, for whom she will do anything. In the case of both the Ptolemys and the Millers, there are exchanges of frustration, anger, hopelessness, and comfort. These scenes come across as wonderfully genuine and build real tension as well as reader investment. Even Jeremiah Hart has a son who often invokes Hart’s rare humane responses, the only ones the reader will see from Hart.

For me, the meeting of the Ptolemys and the Millers felt out of place. While much of the scene seems true to course, there is a big leap that moved some of the characters in a direction by force. 

Overall, “The Massacre at Yellow Hill” is a prime example of the Weird West genre. If you are a fan of westerns, vampires, shoot outs, Lovecraftian horror, or secret shadow societies, there is something in this book for you.

/5

Available from Amazon, Bookshop, and Cemetery Dance.