As my reading preferences have veered into the rugged terrain of Western adventures, I've found myself on an unexpected path. Out of the blue, I've been inundated with review requests from Western authors. This influx led me to the audiobook of Subtraction, a novella by Stephenson Crossley and Peter Gibson. It's funny to think about it, really; the person who once declared their dislike toward audiobooks (yes, that's me) has somehow embraced them this year.
A little background on the creative minds behind this novella: Peter Gibson and Stephenson Crossley have over fifty years of experience in film and television. Peter, a seasoned producer, has worked on everything from award-winning ad campaigns for Mercedes to Broadway productions like The Ten Commandments. He's been mentored by the great Joseph Papp and has an impressive array of films to his name, including Kill Your Darlings and Free.
On the other hand, Stephenson Crossley is an award-winning location manager with projects that span from the critically acclaimed Nocturnal Animals to the long-running comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. With a lineage linked to Broadway royalty, his great-grandfather was the illustrious Florenz Ziegfeld, and his great-grandmother, Billie Burke, enchanted as Glinda the Good Witch in 1939's The Wizard of Oz.
Running at a brisk 2 hours and 27 minutes, the audiobook is narrated by the wonderfully talented Natalie Naudus, whose smooth voice captures the gravity of the protagonist, Clara Kane, with exquisite precision. This novella isn’t your typical Western; rather, it unfolds against the stark backdrop of the alkali flats of the 1869 Colorado Territory. The story centers on Clara, a half-Chinese young woman driven by a singular obsession: revenge. With her parents insidiously burned alive before her eyes and her brother left for dead, she harnesses her prodigious math skills to turn grief into a cold, calculated means of vengeance.
From the very outset, Clara feels more like a calculating machine than a mere mortal. She's a mathematics genius, her mind racing with equations and trajectories as she plots her revenge against the seventeen men who shattered her world. Every bullet drop, wind shift, and heartbeat between shots becomes part of her mathematical arsenal. While this obsession might suggest a character on the autism spectrum, her social awkwardness and cold demeanor give off a Sheldon Cooper-esque vibe; it's a nuance that adds rich depth. The childhood trauma undoubtedly plays a role in her emotional landscape, but her fascination with numbers seems to have a life of its own, an echo of her brilliance that existed long before the tragedy struck.
As Clara navigates the desert city of New Rome, a harsh fortress ruled by the villainous General Titus Creed, I couldn't help but relish the intricacies of her revenge plot. The bad guys here serve their purpose: cannon fodder for Clara's quest for vengeance. And while revenge stories might swim in a sea of clichés, Subtraction reinvigorates the trope with a fresh and thrilling approach that’s hard to resist.
The production quality of the audiobook is exceptional, rivalling some of the big-name publishers, if not surpassing them. Naudus's narration pulls the listener into Clara's world, making time swiftly disappear as the plot unfolds. The brevity of the novella adds to its charm; it’s a quick ride, yet it leaves a lasting impression.
In the end, Subtraction offers an engaging escape from the mundane worries of life, a revenge tale that’s both familiar and refreshingly original. Whether you're a die-hard fan of Westerns or just someone in search of a unique story, I recommend giving it a listen. ╌★★★★★
Please consider supporting future reviews on this blog by purchasing Subtraction as an audiobook [*], paperback [*], or a Kindle eBook [*].
〜B.J. Burgess
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“The plot thickens… especially when you comment.” 〜B.J. Burgess