The Unkillable Frank Lightning

Josh Rountree

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English

Miscellaneous
01 December 2025

Science fiction; Fantasy

With his signature lean, clean prose, Texan author Josh Rountree (The Legend of Charlie Fish) has penned a Frankenstein-inspired tale unlike any other. With equal parts Cormac McCarthy, Mary Shelley, and Stephen Graham Jones, Rountree coalesces myth and legend into a dramatic tale of love, death, and its terrible aftermath.

Catherine Coldbridge is a complicated woman: a doctor, an occultist, and, briefly, a widow.

In 1879, Catherine's husband, Private Frank Humble, was killed in a Sioux attack. Consumed by grief, she used her formidable skills to resurrect her husband. But after the reanimation, Frank lost his soul, becoming a vicious undead monster.

Twenty-five years later, Catherine has decided she must make things right. She travels to Texas with a pair of hired killers. But Frank is no longer a monster. He has remade himself as the Unkillable Frank Lightning, traveling with the Wild West Show.

With his signature lean, clean prose reminiscent of Raymond Chandler, Josh Rountree (The Legend of Charlie Fish) has penned a Frankenstein-inspired tale unlike any other. With equal parts Cormac McCarthy and Stephen Graham Jones, Rountree coalesces myth and legend into a dramatic tale of love, death, and its terrible aftermath.

'With The Unkillable Frank Lightning, Rountree solidifies himself as not only one of the best writers working today, but makes the case for being the best Western writer of our present century.'

C. S. Humble, author of That Light Sublime trilogy

By: Josh Rountree
Imprint: Miscellaneous
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9781616964368
ISBN 10: 1616964367
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Josh Rountree is a novelist and short story writer who writes across multiple genres, and focuses mostly on horror and dark fantasy. His novel, The Legend of Charlie Fish, released by Tachyon Publications to wide acclaim in 2023, selected for the Locus Recommended Reading List and named one of Los Angeles Public Library's best books of the year. More than seventy of Rountree's short stories have been published in a variety of venues, including The Deadlands, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Bourbon Penn, Realms of Fantasy, PseudoPod, Weird Horror, and The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. Several collections of his short fiction have been published, most recently, Death Aesthetic. Rountree lives in the greater Austin, Texas, metropolitan area with his lovely wife of many years and a pair of half-feral dogs who command his obedience.

Reviews for The Unkillable Frank Lightning

Advance Praise for The Unkillable Frank Lightning ""With The Unkillable Frank Lightning, Rountree solidifies himself as not only one of the best writers working today, but makes the case for being the best Western writer of our present century."" --C. S. Humble, author of That Light Sublime trilogy Praise for The Legend of Charlie Fish San Antonio Current 10 Notable 2023 books from Texan Authors Los Angeles Public Library Best Books of 2023 Locus Recommended Reading List ""A fantastic work of dark historical fiction, in the spirit of Lansdale, Gorman, Pronzini, and McMurtry."" --Brian Keene, author of the Rising series ""A tense, exciting, and gorgeous read that will sweep you up immediately and not let go, lingering even after you turn the last page."" --A. C. Wise, author of Wendy, Darling ""Odd, creepy, funny, The Black Lagoon meets the Six Gun universe. High up on the way-cool factor. You need this."" --Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series ""A paean to turn of the 20th century Galveston, Tex., Rountree's romp of a debut novel (after the collection Fantastic Americana) combines a historical disaster with fantastical elements, including a creature who would fit right in, in the Black Lagoon."" --Publishers Weekly ""Equal parts touching and bizarre, The Legend of Charlie Fish is a Weird Western with heart and is a completely delightful read from start to finish."" --David Liss, author of The Peculiarities ""Part adventure story, part lament, the whole is a triumph of voice and heart."" --Andy Davidson, author of The Hollow Kind ""A tight heart-filled tapestry of almost alternate history that hits all the notes I crave in weird fiction. I adored it."" --John Boden, author of Jedi Summer, Spungunion, and Snarl ""The lyrical prose and sense of foreboding as undeniable as the first gusts of a hurricane make for an utterly charming and haunting tale."" --KC Grifant, author of Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger VERDICT: Rountree's colorful palette brings together Western and fantasy elements to create a magical tale about the deep bonds forged by circumstance."" --Library Journal ""A quintessential example of a weird western."" --Booklist