EXCITING WESTERN - August 1954

EXCITING WESTERN

British Edition, Vol. III, No. 7

Atlas Publishing, August 1954

This issue of Exciting Western contains five stories, all taken from the American edition of July 1948. Of the eight tales that are in the America version, only five made it into the British edition. None of the American columns, articles or the quiz appear either, and the only illustration to make it is for the lead story in the British publication, Outside the Law, which was drawn by C.A. Murphy. The cover art is the same, although it is presented in a different way – I’ve included this at the end of the review.

The opening novelette is Outside the Law by Jackson Cole. This is one of the fifty Navajo Tom Raine: Arizona Ranger tales that appeared in Exciting Western. The real author behind the pseudonym of Jackson Cole is unknown to me.

Raine is in town to take a vacation, a few days of fishing is what he’s looking forward to. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t how things work out as a number of people believe he’s come to town to track down the missing Gordon Meade. Does the town boss, Stephen Waldron have something to do with his disappearance? He certainly wants to stop the growing romance between his daughter and Meade. Waldron has also posted a reward for Meade’s capture as he says Meade is a rustler. Raine reluctantly finds himself sorting this mess out, having to use his brains and guns to do so and a neat trick with the reward money brings the tale to a close on a happy note. This ending was a little too perfect for my taste, particularly as one person seemed to have a sudden change of temperament to allow this to happen.

This was the first time I’ve read a Navajo Raine story and I liked his character enough to want to read more, something I hope to do soon.

Trigger Trouble in Tejon by W.C. Tuttle is the next novelette and this features his range detectives Tombstone and Speedy who are trying to patch up a range feud and solve a rustling puzzle. Tombstone and Speedy don’t seem to be the brightest pair of sleuths to ride the range, but their conversations were always fun, as was their explanation for being in the area; to count horned toads for the government. There’s a couple of well-written action scenes, and I especially enjoyed the outcome of a fight in a hotel room. It’ll come as no surprise that they crack the case, more by luck than judgement. This was an entertaining story that left me looking forward to reading more tales about Tombstone and Speedy, or other stories by Tuttle. 

The first short story is Hymns for Hell’s Basin by Robert J. Hogan. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Hogan so far and this tale is no exception. Under the spell of a girl’s smile, cussin’ cowpoke Johnny Rand helps a passel of nesters find new homes. Pastor Freeman and his flock have a grant from the Government giving them permission to stake a claim to an area of land for their new homes. Trouble is the local townsfolk and cattlemen want that land for their own use and begin staking their own claims to the land, which is all legal according to a lawyer. Rand has to think fast to stop all the promised land being taken. All this because one of the female members of the wagon train showed some interest in him, something no girl has done before. The story didn’t end quite how I expected but it was a fitting conclusion to this tale.

Louis Dearborn LaMoore is much better known as Louis L’Amour and he also wrote stories under the name of Jim Mayo. The final two short stories in this issue of Exciting Western both come from him, one as L’Amour and the other as Mayo. 

There’s Always a Trail by Jim Mayo is about a drifter who had a gun job to do before he could settle down and grow roots. This drifter tells people his name is Handy, but it’s obvious that this is a pseudonym to hide his real identity and that his true name will be discovered at some point. Handy says he’ll track down some outlaws and retrieve the money they stole in exchange for half-ownership of a ranch, even though he’s told the robbers haven’t left a trail to follow. Handy soon proves them wrong and tracks the outlaws and everything ends with an exciting gunfight. 

The last story is The Nester and the Piute by Louis L’Amour. For such a short story (it’s only five pages long), L’Amour packs a lot in making this yarn a gripping read. This tale is told in the first person through a young man who decides to follow Bin Morley as he tracks a Piute whose done him a wrong. Quite what that crime is, isn’t revealed until the very end and that left with a big grin on my face. 

All the stories in this issue of Exciting Western are well written and easily held my attention. L’Amour’s tales contained the most gunplay but all had intriguing plotlines that engaged my imagination and kept me reading in a need to know how they ended. Overall, I found this to be a very good collection of stories that kept me entertained throughout. 

52 western novel recommendations

52 WEEKS – 52 WESTERN NOVELS

By Scott Harris and Paul Bishop

October 2017

The Old West is uniquely American. It is a legend brought to life in sagas of blazing six-gun justice in wide-open towns and across vast ranges. 52 Weeks – 52 Western Novels is a fun guide to some of the best of these Western tales. Step into the Old West. Ride dusty trails, slap leather with outlaws, and get ready to battle Indians and the elements – all from the comfort of your favourite reading spot.

Scott Harris and Paul Bishop, along with a number of guest contributors, have brought together 52 western books that are favourites of theirs. Among them you’ll find old favourites and hopefully discover some new works to add to your collection.

This book is beautifully designed by Kari Kurti and Nerissa Stacey making it a pleasure to browse. Its presentation is well thought out, each entry including clear renditions of covers and film posters, many of which are supported by portraits of the authors too. Every entry is broken down into the same five or six sections depending whether the book in question has been filmed, these being; Book Facts, Author Facts, Beyond the Facts, Fun Fact, Movie Facts and a Favourite Quote. Every now-and-again you’ll come across a double-page spread Celebrating some aspect of the western genre such as the work of Louis L’Amour, the Piccadilly Cowboys and Western Comics. The book closes with profiles of the editors and the guest contributors.

52 Weeks was never intended to be a “Best of” collection, it’s purpose is to bring together some excellent examples of the western, gathered together by fans of the genre. This ensures there is a wide selection that covers all types and eras of these books being written, from 1902 to 2015.

This book offers much in the way of information behind the creation of those novels you love to read and will certainly have you searching for those you don’t yet have in your personal library. The book is intended for dipping into at your leisure, but I’m sure many readers will devour it all as soon as you get hold of a copy like I did and I can guarantee you’ll return to it time-and-again to re-read those entries whilst struggling to choose just which of the many great books to be found within its pages you’ll want to hunt for next.

52 Weeks – 52 Western Novels is a reference book every fan of the western genre should own as it’s a sheer pleasure to read and proves to be a valuable resource for discovering new books and authors that you’ll enjoy adding to your must-read list.

 

Down the Long Hills

By Louis L’Amour

Bantam reissue, June 2007

Originally published January 1968

Everyone was dead. Indian raiders massacred the entire wagon train. Only seven-year-old Hardy Collins and three-year-old Betty Sue Powell managed to survive. With a knife, a horse, and the survival lessons his father taught him, Hardy must face the challenges of the open prairie. Using ingenuity and common sense, he builds shelters, searchers out water, and forages for food. But as he struggles to keep them alive, he realizes that their survival will depend on his ability to go beyond what his father was able to teach him. Hardy bravely presses on, fighting off the temptation to give up, until a howling blizzard and a pack of hungry wolves force him to make decisions that no seven-year-old boy should ever have to make.

I picked this book to read as the blurb above indicated that the hero would be different to those I usually read about. Here we have a young kid instead of the fast-shooting drifter, gunslinger or lawman etc. My one fear was that L’Amour would make the boy too much like a young man, give him abilities that no child of his age would have. But I needn’t have worried; L’Amour does an excellent job in his characterization of Hardy Collins and Betty Sue Powell. They come across as children, children full of belief that Hardy’s father will find, and save, them.

There are some exciting action scenes too, although one of them stretched my belief a little, that of a fight between a horse and a grizzly, but still it was very entertaining and that’s what is asked from fiction right? If you agree with my last comment then you’ll also be able to overlook the other things that had me asking questions, such as how Hardy made a very good bow and arrows without any tools to speak of?

Forgetting the eye-brow raising moments, this is an easy to read book that offers a straightforward storyline that has a predictable outcome but still proves to be a very enjoyable read. In fact this book could be a perfect way to introduce young readers to westerns due to the fact that the heroes are children too.

Ghost Towns

Edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis

Pinnacle, July 2010

The sound of a crowed saloon… The cry of a train coming through the night… The pounding of horses ridden by friends or foe… From the searing sun to snow-steeped winters, towns called Sentinel, Iron Mountain and St. Elmo stood strong and fierce – before they finally died.

From a soldier on the run from the fires of war… From a gambler who has long since played his last hand to a solitary, singing rifle man protecting a besieged town… With dreamers and schemers, with men and women of courage, conscience and faith – here is a collection of adventures that see these ghost towns return to life.

Contents:

The Water Indian by Steve Hockensmith

The Ghosts of Duster by William W. Johnstone, with J.A. Johnstone

St. Elmo in Winter by Margaret Coel

Mr. Kennedy’s Bones by Johnny D. Boggs

Gunfight at Los Muretos by Bill Brooks

Iron Mountain by Candy Moulton

The Defense of Sentinel by Louis L’Amour

Paradise Springs by Sandy Whiting

Silent Hill by Larry D. Sweazy

End of the Line by Lori Van Pelt

The Town That Wouldn’t Quit by Deborah Morgan

Now We Are Seven by Loren D. Estleman

Contention City, 1951 by Jeff Mariotte

The Ghost of Two Forks by Elmer Kelton

Kiowa Canyon by James A. Fischer

This anthology brings together a fine selection of tales that are all extremely well written; all offering elements of the supernatural thus blending the western with ghost stories. Like any collection I have my favourites and there are a couple I wasn’t sure about – in fact there was one I gave up on. Not all the stories are set in the Old West, some are set right up to the present day, although these do have links to the past.

Most of the authors above will be familiar to western readers and fans of the Johnstone books should be pleased to discover that the story The Ghosts of Duster features Bo Creel and Scratch Morton from the Sidewinders series. Similarly fans of Steve Hockensmith’s two would be detectives, Big Red and Old Red from his excellent Holmes on the Range series should be equally pleased to find another story about them here.

I’ve always found it disappointing that the editors and/or publishers of anthologies like this feel the need to include yet another, already widely published, story by Louis L’Amour. The only reason I can see for doing this is hoping his name will help sell more copies of the book. L’Amour’s story, as expected, is well told and is in fact one of my favourites in the collection, but it is the tale that doesn’t quite fit in with the theme of ghost towns as well, if at all, as the others.

Other than wanting to read all the work I can by authors I enjoy, the main reason I read anthologies is to try writers that are new to me, or those I’ve been meaning to try for some time. And, as should be the case, I know have a longer list of authors I want to explore further.

Stagecoach

edited by Ed Gorman and

Martin H. Greenberg

Berkley, September 2003

Immortalized in film and legend, the stagecoach was a colourful, hard-driving transport that linked far-flung places the railroads didn’t reach. Now, Stagecoach is galloping into town with a strongbox full of eight action-packed stories celebrating this icon of the American West, written by some of today’s top Western writers. Each tale follows an enigmatic stranger who arrives by stage at Tombstone – the town that was too tough to die – where they encounter the likes of the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday.

Contents:
Bluff Creek Station Louis L’Amour
A Fresh Start Don Coldsmith
Hearts Richard S. Wheeler
Nate’s Revenge Robert J. Conley
The Fly on the Wall Judy Alter
Killer in the Dark Ed Gorman
The Story Robert J. Randisi
Hangman’s Choice Loren D. Estleman

Anthologies are a good way to try authors you’ve never read before, and for me this collection contains stories by three such writers, Alter, Conley, and Wheeler. Two of which inspired me to read more by them.

All the stories were very readable and, even though some feature the same real life characters, were all very different in content.

Some have a traditional approach, a couple managed to touch my emotions, others include humorous moments, one doesn’t contain any gunplay but is non-the-less a compelling read, a couple contain great twists, one or two are quite dark in their themes.

So a great mix of stories, those by Gorman and L’Amour being the standout tales to me. In fact L’Amour’s story being the best work I’ve ever read by him - and this is the only story to have been published before, the others being written for this anthology.

Rogue Lawman #2

DEADLY PREY
by Peter Brandvold

Berkley, April 2006

Deputy U.S. Marshal Gideon Hawk is a hunted man. Now he’s hiding out in a remote cabin, hoping to simply disappear. But when Catherine McCormick seeks him out he knows the respite is over. An outlaw gang have moved into the local mining town, ravaging and brutalizing at will - killing Catherine’s ten-year-old brother. She’s willing to give Hawk anything to hunt the raiders down and dispense justice, his way. But where eveil men are concerned, the only payment Hawk needs is in blood...

The second Rogue Lawman book begins sometime after the first and Gideon Hawk has a deadly reputation, there’s even dime novels about him. But his notoriety is embarrassing a group of state governors who want the law upheld the legal way, not out of the barrel of a gun, and they send a man to bring Hawk down, a man Hawk taught to be a lawman. So while Hawk hunts the outlaws a lawman hunts him.

Once more Peter Brandvold has written a very fast moving book, a book that seems to be one long blood feast that will satisfy any reader who enjoys action packed reads. The characters, both male and female, are well-drawn, tough, and at times brutal, who will stick in your mind for a long-time.

Quite why Brandvold’s books carry a quote about him being the next Louis L’Amour I don’t know, as his books nod more towards spaghetti westerns than L’Amour's more traditional approach.

You want a well written, savage, western to read? Have never tried Peter Brandvold’s books? Then I suggest you do something about it right now!

 

 

The Key-Lock Man

as by Louis L’Amour

1965

The Key-Lock Man, and his wife, are being hunted by a posse from town, and a man who lost his woman to Key-Lock. The Key-Lock Man is himself hunting for a golden stallion and it’s herd. Throw into all this some long missing gold wagons which become the focus of the hunt, rather than the man for some, and you have the ingredients for a fast moving and exciting western, or do you?

At first I found this book to be slow and the various characters just a bunch of people to which I didn’t relate, or feel for, and really didn’t give a damn about any of their fates. L’Amour at times seemed to be giving geography lessons. But the book did pick up and I began to feel for the characters as the pace of the story gathered speed as all the groups began to converge for the final showdown.

And then the Key-Lock Man became a super-hero, one bullet to the leg and another through his chest and, after a few moments of struggle, seemed able to shrug off these near fatal wounds to battle on. Everything coming to a quick end in just a few pages leaving me feeling cheated of a great finale.

Also a number of storylines seemed to be left hanging, why so much attention brought to one of the wild horses which carried a scar? Never did find out.

So, for me, quite an unsatisfactory book that does little to explain the heaps of praise laid upon Louis L’Amour.

Taggart

as by Louis L’Amour

Corgi reprint 1974

Taggart rides into Apache country in an attempt to lose a bounty hunter and posse. Stark, his wife and his sister are deep within Apache country living in a fairly well hidden canyon while collecting gold to finance their dreams. The Apache are hunting them all.

Few complications are thrown into the plot other than Stark’s wife wanting to leave him. So L’Amour offers a very straight forward story in this book.

Not having read that much of L’Amour’s work this one rates quite highly to me. The book starts slowly as L’Amour seems sidetracked into telling the reader what each rock is called, most of which is totally irrelevant to the story. Once Taggart and bounty hunter Shoyer are introduced the tale picks up well to an action packed escape from the Apache.

All in all a L’Amour book worth a read.