For the first time in quite a while, I had a need to grab something to read on a car trip on my device, and this looked pretty interesting.
I don't reaFor the first time in quite a while, I had a need to grab something to read on a car trip on my device, and this looked pretty interesting.
I don't really have any knowledge of the history of the Rangers... so I'm not sure if this is actually depicting a real event with a POV character added in, or if they historical figures are just name dropped in.
It was definitely a good story... it focuses on Trace LeFon, a young Ranger who signed up to keep out of trouble, and his partner. The book does a great job with the setting and relations between the different groups of people (both ethically and ethnically). The story itself is kinda slow, and it seems awfully easy for the Rangers to win in the end... the bad guys have serious Stormtrooper Syndrome, but at least it makes sense since they're outlaws with bad equipment.
Overall, I definitely wanted to finish it and would be happy to read the next one on my next trip....more
I grabbed this to read on the kindle for a road trip a while back (pre-COVID), and has a nighttime car trip for the first time since to finish it.
Fun I grabbed this to read on the kindle for a road trip a while back (pre-COVID), and has a nighttime car trip for the first time since to finish it.
Fun book if you're a western fan.. Buck and Dobie are cowboys that get framed for a crime and decide to (massively unsuccessfully) walk the 'owlhoot' trial. They fail at a variety of crimes until they mean a girl that is alot better at it than they are.
Massively predictible, but then most westerns are... definitely a good, light read for a car ride.
Grabbed this from the library (so happy I can actually go to the library and look at books again!) TO get in the mood for the upcoming Mandalorian SeaGrabbed this from the library (so happy I can actually go to the library and look at books again!) TO get in the mood for the upcoming Mandalorian Season 2... I know this is a 'legends' book, but it's not like there's anything in it that can't still fit into the current canon.
The author says he set out to write a Western in the Star Wars universe, which he thinks is unique. You could really say the original is very Western like, but this one is REALLY right out of the 60s Spaghetti Western playbook.. if you change 'Tattooine' to 'Arizona' and "Vaporators' to 'cattle' and you're pretty much all set, as long as you can picture the Tuskens as the 'indians'.
That's not to say there no place for Ben Kenobi, as he gets some great moments of characterization as he meditates and attempts to commune with the spirit of his mentor.
There was also some fun continuity nods... they went a bit overboard with the blue milk, but making sense of Jabba's first comic book appearance was really fun. And hey, the author also used his entry in 'A certain point of View' for his Tusken character, so it's kinda sorta still official. Definitely just what I was looking for to get in the mood :)...more
Boy, can Zane Grey paint a picture with words.. absolutely amazing descriptions of the desert abound in this book... perhaps too many.
The actual storBoy, can Zane Grey paint a picture with words.. absolutely amazing descriptions of the desert abound in this book... perhaps too many.
The actual story is not a surprise at all, and the action actually gets skipped over... so if you're looking for a spaghetti western in a book, this definitely isn't it. The character (though totally idealized) are fun to look at in historical perspective. This is easily the most positive portrayal of Mormons I've read.
I've got 1 more Zane Grey book from a 4 pack I got at Ollie.. not sure I'd read more of his stuff, but I'm glad to have been able to get a feel of such a classic and well known author. ...more
Had a night time road trip tonight, so I broke out the sort-of kindle for this one... I think I liked Elliotts sci fi better than the PI story. Jack LHad a night time road trip tonight, so I broke out the sort-of kindle for this one... I think I liked Elliotts sci fi better than the PI story. Jack Laramie reminded me very much of a poor man's Jack Reacher. There was a 'modern western' kinda twist on it (modern being the 50s I think? The setting is definitely much closer to WWII than we are now. the cars indicated late 50s, but it was a hick town, so it could have been a bit later).
The bonus story 'fighting chance' was a story about a boxer trying to break away from the mob which was quite good.. perhaps better than the feature.
I think this is the case with all kindle ebooks, but I found it very annoying that it says it's 103 pages, when at least 20 of those pages are ads, and they could all the stuff at the beginning of the book as well.. it was really only about an hour's read.
Every one in a while, I just want to read a western. Sure the plot and the characters are pretty near identical in every story.. this is no exception,Every one in a while, I just want to read a western. Sure the plot and the characters are pretty near identical in every story.. this is no exception, you can suss out the plot and exactly what happens before you're a quarter of the way through.
But Zane Grey is something, there's a reason his stuff is still around and in print nearly 100 years after he wrote it... his descriptions of the frontier west are really amazing... you can't help but picture things as you're reading.
Not high literature by any means, but any time you want to escape to the saddle and get in touch with your inner noble robber, this is the book!...more
The concept of this book is pretty fun... a group of actor/thieves that cover their robberies with their performances, but it doesn't really make sensThe concept of this book is pretty fun... a group of actor/thieves that cover their robberies with their performances, but it doesn't really make sense. It shouldn't take too long to connect things. And it didn't.. alot of the book is about an extremely generic train robbing outfit that our main characters come across, and the Pinkerton detective that figures out their game.
Estleman's writing is far better in the Page Murdoch books I've read... here he goes to 3rd person, and gets way to descriptive for ordinary things that don't need describing. The detective was quite fun though, and the characters all unique and interesting.. this COULD have been an excellent book, it just didn't quite pan out (alot like the actual plot, really).
I grabbed this thinking it would be Page's 'origin' story, but instead it's just one of his many adventures... written at the end of his career (whichI grabbed this thinking it would be Page's 'origin' story, but instead it's just one of his many adventures... written at the end of his career (which I just read about in reading the last book of the series on a lark).
This one was jam-packed with action from beginning to end, as Page's simple run to pick up a captured prisoner puts him in the middle of a war between the Mountain that Walks- Bear Anderson (an old friend with a vendetta against the Flathead Indians) and the tribe in the area. Add in a government bounty hunter looking for Bear to stop the Flatheads from going to war and his prisoner escaping, and it's a crazy 3 way fight through a Montana blizzard with shifting alliances and no shortage of bloodshed.
Estleman isn't shy about killing his characters, which added realism, but was a little sad. While some of the characters were a bit too good at things, and Page himself FAR to resilient even for Captain America, never mind a plain ole Deputy marshall, the book was a great classic western.
I grabbed this off the shelf in the library, not realizing it was brand new... it had a cool train on the cover, after all! I suspect long time fans oI grabbed this off the shelf in the library, not realizing it was brand new... it had a cool train on the cover, after all! I suspect long time fans of the series will enjoy it immensely, but as a first time reader of the author it was a bit on the boring side.
The main character, Page Murdock, is escorting the widow of the judge he's served for his long career as a deputy marshal, and takes the opportunity to take a trip down memory lane to give us recaps of what I suspect are the previous books in the series.
The actual story of the book definitely took a back seat, but between the style and the characterization I will definitely be happy to check out the earlier stories if I get the chance. ...more
Harry Destry is you typical western ne'er do well.. good at fighting and causing trouble.. with a few friends and mounting enemies. When the express gHarry Destry is you typical western ne'er do well.. good at fighting and causing trouble.. with a few friends and mounting enemies. When the express gets robbed outside of town, and his enemies decide to be rid of him by blaming him for it, well, a few months to relax in the slammer sounded just fine... until he found it would be 10 long years. Destry returns a broken man... but it's quickly revealed as just a front, and his new mission in life is to punish the 12 jurors that send him to prison.
As is typical of Max Brand, this book has larger than life characters right out of a 60s western (I suspect most of those followed Brand's formula), beautiful descriptions and a 100% predictable plot. If one is in the mood for a western, this is a pretty good one of the type, but just don't expect anything else....more
IT's really hard to actually describe this comic... the back cover tries, but it doesn't do it justice. There are robot alien cowboys and indians, bigIT's really hard to actually describe this comic... the back cover tries, but it doesn't do it justice. There are robot alien cowboys and indians, big foot, the lock ness monster, and a main character that's somewhere between Han Solo and Mace Ryder. Do yourself a favor and don't try to make sense of is, just read it if you come across it... wonderfully weird fun.
If you're in the mood for a spaghetti western, you could do alot worse than this one. It's got everything you can think of... bank robbery, indian troIf you're in the mood for a spaghetti western, you could do alot worse than this one. It's got everything you can think of... bank robbery, indian trouble, Mexican revolution, etc. Not masterpiece of literature by far, but great if you're in the mood for the type....more
Nat Turner (also known as Deadwood Dick) is the beginning of a great story of the American West, and gives a truly compelling portrait of what life waNat Turner (also known as Deadwood Dick) is the beginning of a great story of the American West, and gives a truly compelling portrait of what life was like for a black man in the west in Post-Civil War America.
While there are a couple places where things reach a level that leave reality and skim into tall tales, the nature of the book (that of an old man telling the stories of his adventurous life), make it work just perfectly. As a western fan, it's always fun to visit 'old friends' from Deadwood... Lansdale's version of Buffalo Bill is one of the best I've read.
I haven't read too much Lansdale, but boy is he a great writer. He really captures life, and has an absolutely amazing delivery of deadpan humor.
He's also very, very good at keeping his characters in character, so that they really feel like they could be real people. Rather than a hero doing 'heroic' thing or the villain being 'evil'. I'd love to see more about Nat.. I hope the book does will enough to warrant a sequel.
If I was to have any complaint, Lansdale is almost too good at it... the period dialects and sayings can, on occasion, get to be too much, but it all just contributes to allowing one to get lost in the story. ...more
If you like the series, you'll like this one, though a few of the themes certainly repeat themselves.... Resnick's take on young Teddy Roosevelt is ceIf you like the series, you'll like this one, though a few of the themes certainly repeat themselves.... Resnick's take on young Teddy Roosevelt is certainly worth the price of admission! ...more
Sometimes, you just want to read a western. Max Brand (one of several pen names of Frederick Faust) has a real flair to his stories... his characters Sometimes, you just want to read a western. Max Brand (one of several pen names of Frederick Faust) has a real flair to his stories... his characters are more like knights than cowboys.
Lots of unique settings.. these are definitely not just shootout stories. Still, they are kinda all the same in the end. Not a bad choice if you're in a western sort of mood, though. ...more
This is book 2 of the poorly titled 'Weird West Tales'. After the first book was an alternate version of the OK Corral story, here Resnick takes his nThis is book 2 of the poorly titled 'Weird West Tales'. After the first book was an alternate version of the OK Corral story, here Resnick takes his newly built world forward, with Doc Holliday as the main character. Doc has moved to Leadville, CO to prepare to die in a Santarium there, when he drinks even more than usual and makes a dumb poker mistake that causes him to lose his entire bank roll.
With failing health and only $200 to his name, Doc decides to turn Bounty Hunter.. the biggest bounty he can find... Billy the Kid. While there, he finds a woman Hunter that's after the same bounty to avenge her husband. Oh, and a rival to Geronimo has cast a spell of protection of the kid (since he hates 'white eyes' and Billy kills them) so Doc has to cut a deal with the Apache to get him use his magic to counter it.
This one is much more 'fiction' than the first, though there's a fun scene at the end that sorta brings it back to the 'real' world a bit. As with the first book, if you're a Doc Holliday fan (as he's played in Tombstone by Val Kilmer), then you'll love this book. There's fun steam punk moments with Doc's buddy Thomas Edison, and crazy magic by Gernimo. There's nothing deep or symbolic her, just a fun western romp that's just historical enough to make it feel comfortable....more
I picked this up from the library on a whim, I'm a fan of Resnick (I liked both his space opera series and his 'Stalking the...' Private eye book)... I picked this up from the library on a whim, I'm a fan of Resnick (I liked both his space opera series and his 'Stalking the...' Private eye book)... I wasn't disappointed with this one. It's pretty much the actual story (as much as larger than life legend that's been re-told so many times can have an actual story) of the shootout at the OK Corral, but Steampunk-ized. We have Edison and Buntline inventing stuff in Tombstone, with Resnick's homebrewed twist of Geronimo and other Indian 'medicine men' magically keeping the US from crossing the Mississippi. Edison is trying to break their magic, and the government is hiding him out in Tombstone (there territories in the west, just not states.. seems a weak distinction, but whatever). The Earp boys are there to protect Edison, and the Clantons and co. are trying to assassinate him. There's several twists along the way (Bat Masterson is literally turned into a bat, then there's Zombie Johnny Ringo), but pretty much Resnick tells the OK Corral story around his particular alternative history.. which is apparently a series focusing on Doc Holliday (who is by far the best written character.. much like his portrayal in the movie Tombstone).
The lack of dramatic tension (since we all know what happens) is really the only weakness.. the book apparently has turned into a series, and stops staying close to real life, so I'll definitely be checking it out....more
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