Delirium Tremens;
or, the Timeless Skies Incarnadine
So, first off, what's with the pretentious title? Good question. My wife sent me an article years ago in which the author posits 'it’s hard to imagine any writer effectively taking up the verb “incarnadine” after Macbeth’s “The multitudinous seas incarnadine.” Shakespeare owns the word.'
Shakespeare owns the word? Shakespeare owns the word?!?
Sorry, Willy, not today. I'm taking it back.
The term "delirium tremens" has less of a backstory. The main character, Traxton Rhodes, drinks a lot and suffers for it.
This book is one of my favorites, alternating characters by chapter throughout: Traxton - the Han Solo-esque rogue ladies hate to love, Alistair - the British dandy for whom the west is an escape from the trappings of expectation, and Cyndel - a cocksure boss anywhere she finds herself.
There's train robberies, robbery-robberies, fist fights, shoot outs, kids drinking tequila, women tied to railroad tracks, men tied to railroad tracks, people getting buried alive, a woman launched into a ravine, a man named Bluto explodes, a former pirate looking for a new profession, Traxton gets the world's first DUI, and a suit of armor accidentally chops an old woman in two...
But never mind all that.
Delirium Tremens is a story of affection and goodwill amongst folks we're normally led to believe hate each other by default; western expansion with an eye to the silver lining.
Read it and let me know if Shakespeare still owns that word!
Amazing cover art by Burton Gray
Here's where to buy the book if you're so inclined, but hear me out - the audio version was done by West End's own Jeremiah James and it's more than a mere audio book - he brought the entire Delirium Tremens world to life. You'll swear you were right there on the range kicking up dust, knocking back tequila, and being shot at! He's that good!!
