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I would have given this one star but for the fact that Gene Hackman wrote it, and I feel like at least part of the blame is mine for thinking that there was any way this could have been anything but crap. But you know how it is ... he plays smart on the screen, he has been in plenty of movies I like, and I was curious about the quirkiness of Hackman trying out his hand on a novel.

I should have known better. Actors turned authors are often shiite, and it is rare for an actor to be as strong as Ethan Hawke. Hackman no Ethan Hawke. I can tell you that. (Actually, now that I say that, I would love to see Ethan take a crack at a western. I bet his western would kick ass.)

Now this isn't to say that Payback at Morning Peak was terrible. It was actually not too difficult to get through, and more than once I thought it would make a totally serviceable film western. But it was ridden with cliche, had a ridiculously evil villain, an even more ridiculously competent teen hero, and a lovely, intelligent young lady who, through the awesomeness of her beau, avoided getting raped and realized that he place was with him rather than following her dream of becoming a doctor.

Still, there were some good shootouts. And even if the sexism was just about era correct, Hackman did manage to keep the racism to a minimum. Ugh!

I made the mistake of buying Payback at Morning Peak in a bundle pack with some ocean tale of Hackman's. It may take me a while to get there, however, because once I put down Payback at Morning Peak I stopped reading everything but the newspaper for two weeks. That kind of break is a break too long for me.