A Review of Transmutation Texas (Watcher of the Damned #1)

A western that delivers in heart and soul aplenty

What happens when you take modern-day Texas and push it through the apocalypse, decimating all notion of life as we know it? What comes about in the aftermath, especially when procreation is a thing of the past, and most of the fairer sex is wiped out by a contagious virus? Worst of all, how do the survivors fare in such a dangerous new world?

These are but a few of the questions that Transmutation Texas, the first volume in R.H. Snow’s Watcher of the Damned, asks for us to ponder. Currently, it’s the year 54 ATH (After The Happening) as local gunslinger Saul Azarian (aka The Watcher) is a prisoner in his home town of Camp Reunion. The place is a dictatorship of sorts, as its denizens are kept in a perpetual state of complacency with the addictive substance known as the Stuff.

Along with being an adept gunslinger himself, The Watcher cannot speak because of a mutation that’s caused his tongue to harden over time. That’s right - our protagonist, as well as most of humanity, is now some variation of mutant. Gone are the days of easy pleasure and feminine virtue; what remains are hypermasculine males, as well as females who’ve had to adapt to a virus targeting low testosterone levels. Even the makeup of one’s skin varies from mutant to mutant. Some like The Watcher, for example, have scales whereas others may have something more akin to tree bark.

No two cowpokes are the same. Only one thing is for certain: no mutant is fertile.

The Watcher’s only comfort is with his beloved Abuelita, one of the few who still knows how to make the Stuff. Yet all of that changes when he crosses paths with an Afterling, one of the few surviving women who’s not been affected by The Happening.

What follows is a tale of triumph and adversity, defiance and freedom; yet more than anything, Transmutation Texas is a story about love and a celebration of men and women.

So what makes Watcher of the Damned so unique? you may ask. Well, first of all, the narrative takes some great liberties with its setting, as we’re introduced to a world that’s learned how to thrive well after the End of Days. Both Camp Reunion and the Tejas Co-operative are incredibly well-realized, with a grounded sense of history, law, and ecology to get you invested. Likewise, the mutated wildlife is just as hostile as one might expect, with mythical chupacabras posing a major threat to anyone who dares venture along the countryside. This is not mentioning the regular menagerie of bulls, poisonous snakes, bloodsucking insects, etc. that make life in this version of Texas all the more dangerous.

At its heart, however, Transmutation Texas is a romance story through-and-through; and it’s in this respect that R.H. Snow excels as an author. Along with the extensive amount of research and historical philosophy that’s on display, it’s the budding relationship between The Watcher and the Afterling Rose that kept me flipping from one page to the next.

Speaking as a reader who doesn’t normally indulge in romance fiction - what with plots that tend to get muddled in tiresome cliches and/or the author’s own perversions - Snow, by contrast, puts her contemporaries to shame with an attention to character, tone, and symbolism I truly find admirable. The Watcher is hypermasculine, gruff, pragmatic, and strong; whereas Rose is stealthy, effeminate, caring, and sensual. Both embody many of the greatest aspects that men and women can bring to the table, along with some of their own respective weaknesses.

Snow takes this idea of co-dependency and runs with it in true poetic fashion. There’s a consistent theme on the importance of literature and song, specifically in how both can bring people together. With The Watcher being a mute himself, and the Afterling knowing very little about his condition, they find that the only reliable method of speaking is through holding hands.

Like I said, the narrative is dense with symbolism. Add in the odd action scene as well as a dash of sci-fi, and you’ve got yourself one powerful combo!

It’s pretty obvious that my reading experience was a positive one; however, I do have one or two problems with the book. The most notable would have to be the first thirty-or-so pages, which is focused on introducing us to The Watcher, as well as getting us up to speed with the wider world. Even though I would describe this as good exposition, overall, it is still heavy exposition, and it did take me out of the story a couple of times. The plot is relatively sparse until right around the forty-page mark. That said, once the action and drama sink their hooks into you, they don’t let go until the final few pages.

Which leads me to my second criticism. To some readers, I could see the ending for Transmutation Texas being a little on the unsatisfying side, as there are a lot of questions left unanswered by the story’s conclusion. This feeds in directly with R.H. Snow’s plans of splitting up her original manuscript into two separate novels, which could be off putting to some.

But this is a highly subjective take. Hell, it’s one that I’m not even sure I fully align myself with. In my personal opinion, I think the conclusion works quite well from a cliffhanger standpoint. We get to see just enough of the romance developing between our two main protagonists, before the proverbial rug is pulled right out underneath them.

Yeah, one could argue it’s a little clunky. But it still works wonders as a dramatic hook!

More than anything, though, I still have that desire to continue reading, which is probably the highest mark of approval I could give for this kind of series. Despite some relatively minor problems I have, I simply couldn’t stop myself from binging Transmutation Texas from cover-to-cover once I was hooked. It really is that good.

If you would like to learn more about Transmutation Texas or Watcher of the Damned, you can find it on Amazon. Likewise, you can follow R.H. Snow on her website, Flow page, Twitter, and YouTube.