For a woman – he challenged the desert…challenged thirst and hunger…challenged the whole Comanche nation…challenged death itself…
Against the vast loneliness of the terrible Staked Plains stood one man, challenging the scourge of the Texas border. He fought death by thirst, hunger and violence, because the woman he wanted had been taken from him. Arne Bushby would have challenged Hell itself rather than back down from a fight for what belonged to him.
When we first meet Arne Bushby, he is on the run with his friend Carl Diplock. They’re being pursued by a posse. Bushwhacked and wounded, Bushby and Diplock make it to a cabin which is the home of two young ladies. The posse catch them there but before anyone can leave the Comanche attack. This prolonged battle sees the girls taken by the Comanches which leads to Bushby, Diplock, the girls father Lane, and an English rancher who is sweet on the same girl Bushby falls for, ride out to rescue them.
Cy James is a pseudonym used by Peter C. Watts, perhaps better known for his work as Matt Chisholm. If you’ve ever read anything by him, you’ll know you’re in for an action-packed read and Death Rides Fast is certainly that. The siege of the ranch house is full of tension and dramatic scenes, something that could easily have been the conclusion to many stories, but Watts has much more hardship planned for his rough heroes. How about two of those men tracking the girls and their captors facing fifty bloodthirsty Comanches? Another, Bushby, attempting to rescue the girls from a large Comanche camp? Later, Bushby will have to face superior odds alone. There are plenty of other skirmishes too and not everyone will survive.
Watts’ characters are tough men, and women, all of whom will sacrifice themselves to achieve their aims. Fear is brushed aside so they can do what needs to be done. Watts excels in his descriptive prose of the battles and the determination of Bushby to survive comes over strongly even though the odds on that happening seem hopeless.
The plot is straight-forward and plays out pretty much as you’d expect, although there is always a nagging doubt of any of the main characters surviving. The storytelling is excellent and the pacing is terrific as it gallops from one bout of gunplay to the next with hardly any time to breathe between.
If you like fast-moving tough westerns, filled with action, then I’d recommend this book to you. If you’ve never read anything by Watts, then Death Rides Fast would be a great introduction to his writing.
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