Let Them Look West

Book excerpt: Rob Coen has a mission he has reluctantly chosen - to interview the newly re-elected Wyoming governor, James Alexander, a populist politician who has seemingly reinvented not only his state's politics, but also its soul. No one could more strongly contrast with Coen, a big-city, liberal journalist, than the rural, Bible-thumping Alexander and his strange social and religious projects, which include constructing Mount Calvary, a monument to the Crucifixion atop a man-made mountain. Coen quickly becomes personally invested, and his trip to interview Alexander becomes a joust, pitting his nihilism against the faith of the people whom he meets as he seeks to discern the lie he is convinced hides at the heart of their righteous kingdom. At the same time, Coen begins to realize that he himself is being swept up in a struggle beyond his understanding orchestrated by forces out of his control. With prose as vivid and scenic as the majestic Wyoming landscapes it describes, Let Them Look West draws the reader into a story of discovery and intrigue which serves as a backdrop to a fundamental clash of worldviews - one secular and materialist, the other spiritual and transcendent. The tale twists and turns until its climax, which calls into question the true meaning of what has transpired. Antelope Hill is proud to present our first fictional contribution, Let Them Look West by author Marty Phillips.