Seattle-based author Matthew D. Jordan spent over ten years crafting a huge, remarkable saga called We Live Amongst the Dust. The three-book series is equally gunslinging-Western full of action and blood, mind-bending time travel with portals, alternate universes and multiples timelines, striking emotional drama with characters of great depth, and a unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre, exploring how humanity rebuilds when life as they knew it falls apart.
Previously released under the title Tincture, the story was only available as a dramatized audiobook read by the author, complete with sound effects, voice acting and a vibrant soundtrack. All three books of the trilogy are now newly available in beautiful Hardbound editions with new introductions by Josh Gaines (being me).
In the first volume, An Apocalyptic Proposition, I provided a fairly “traditional” Foreword that overviews the thematic elements and philosophical implications of the series overall. I analyze the relationship between the characters and the main villain as an archetype, and suggest how the perspective and approach Jordan takes in this series is utterly unique among apocalyptic literature. It’s basically a literary analysis about how badass I think this series is and kind of hyping the reader up to enjoy it, and perhaps point them to a few elements to pay close attention to.
In the second and third volumes, the “Preamble” of And the Devil Pulls Six-Guns and the “Prolusion” of And the Old King of New Nebraska before the main text provide short stories within the WLATD universe, giving further backstory for main characters or previously unseen glimpses into the events prior to the novels. These add some exciting and fun layers of complexity to the saga overall, fleshing out even further the curious nature of this fictional world.
The books are newly available in this edition as of February 2022, and can be ordered at the link:
