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. 

FRONTIER AMERICA

 

PREACHER & MACCALLISTER 1:
FRONTIER AMERICA
By William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
Pinnacle Books, August 2019

As the father of a young Crow tribesman, Preacher would like nothing more than to see the long-time natives and newly arrived settlers live together in peace. Then the killing starts . . . 

As a family man and frontiersman, Jamie Ian MacCallister is more than happy to help the officers at Fort Kearny negotiate a peace treaty with the Crow nation. Until it all goes to hell . . . 

This is not the American dream they were looking for. This is a nightmare. A brutal, blood-drenched frontier war that two heroic men must fight and win – or one struggling nation will never come together. For liberty and justice for all . . . 

Book one in a series that features both Preacher and Jamie Ian MacCallister, that is billed as them being together for the first time, yet as the story progresses, we are told that they already know each other and there is mention of how they met. Is there a book that tells this story? Perhaps there is in one of their own series, but I wouldn’t know as I’ve not read any of the Preacher books, or the Eagles series which starred MacCallister. I believe some of the Preacher books tell of how he met his son’s mother, rescued the woman who would become his son’s wife, and of where a revenge hungry enemy that has sworn to kill Preacher came from. This foe turning up in this book to create all kinds of deadly problems that Preacher will have to deal with whilst struggling to keep the peace between the Crow and the US Army.

From my previous paragraph you might think Preacher has the larger role to play in this book, but it’s actually MacCallister that takes centre stage. The two main characters don’t meet until just over halfway into the story. 

The author regularly switches between his characters, and it soon becomes apparent that both Preacher and MacCallister will eventually come together on opposing sides. On the Crow side we have the coolheaded leader who doesn’t want war, but will fight if he has to. There are also younger braves who’d like nothing better than to take on the soldiers. The American troopers are led by a glory hunting Lieutenant who sees the Crow as inferior and expects them to do as he wants. It’s his arrogance that will be the cause of violence between the two sides when he discovers that there is a white woman living among the Crow and he decides she needs rescuing. The woman in question is Preacher’s son’s wife, Butterfly. 

There are plenty of exciting, tense scenes and exhilarating, brutal fights throughout the fast-moving story. Two of the most memorable clashes being between the hate filled Sergeant O’Conner and the giant Crow warrior Big Thunder. Even when everything seems to have been resolved there is one more savage battle waiting as renegades lead by Preacher’s long-time enemy attack the unsuspecting Crow. 

I found Frontier America to be a very enjoyable tale that left me eager to read the next book in the series and check out both Preacher and MacCallister’s own series.  

American readers can get a copy here
British readers can get a copy here

POSSE FROM HELL

 

POSSE FROM HELL
By Huffaker
Cover art by Gino D’Achille
Futura Publications, 1975
Originally published by Fawcett, 1958

They murdered the marshal and turned the peaceful town of Paradise into a blazing chaos. Then they rode out, taking with them a young girl. Four murderers from Grandville Gaol.

When Banner Cole, deputy marshal, returned to town, people were only too ready to blame the killings on his absence. He only found six men willing to ride out in a posse after the murderers, and by then they were too late. By the time Cole’s posse caught up with the outlaws, two of them had already turned back, vowing to kill every man, woman and child in the town of Paradise, and then wait for Banner Cole.

This book starts off well with some tough, brutal scenes depicting the outlaw’s bloody crimes in the town of Paradise. The pace slows a little after that while Cole attempts to put together a posse. Each of the posse men is well drawn, each having their own memorable traits. Out on the trail, Cole finds himself at odds with one of them in particular and how this is resolved came as a surprise. It isn’t long before Cole only has two men riding beside him, one of whom is not used to riding horses, never mind fighting it out with outlaws. The pace picks up again once these three catch up with their quarry and there’s some excellent gunplay before the trail leads back to Paradise. 

Once the outlaw problem is resolved, the story continues and Cole is criticized for his handling of everything, rather than being accepted as the hero who brought down the killers and deputy marshal contemplates handing in his badge and leaving town for good ending the book on a sour note which is one of the books strengths. 

Huffaker wrote a screenplay from this story which was made into the 1961 movie Posse from Hell starring Audie Murphy and John Saxon.

Posse from Hell proved to be a gripping read that left me looking forward to reading another Huffaker book soon. 

A. LESLIE SCOTT BIBLIOGRAPHY

The 2nd part of Anders Nilsson's Leslie Scott bibliography is now available from archive.org including books published before 1980.

https://archive.org/details/lesliescott_booksbefore1980_nilsson_2024

Alexander Leslie Scott (1893-1974) was a very productive American western writer best known for his stories about the Texas Ranger known as Jim Hatfield or Walt Slade. 

The present bibliography lists his books published before 1980, including 223 titles used for 185 different novels. For each novel all known reprints, including translations, are listed. The highest number of translations were documented from the Scandinavian countries, including 145 novels in Swedish translation. 

Cover scans are displayed of editions from Australia and a selection of European countries.

HAUNTED VALLEY

HAUNTED VALLEY

By Jackson Cole

A Chosen Western, 1949

Most, if not all of the books published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd., under their Western, or Chosen Western, line are reprints that most likely appeared in the American pulps first, perhaps in shorter versions and quite often under a different title. Haunted Valley is one of those books.

Haunted Valley was originally published under the title Riders of Embrujada Valley in the October 1943 issue of Texas Rangers and it stars long-running hero Jim Hatfield. Jackson Cole is a pseudonym shared by a number of authors and this story was written by A. Leslie Scott.

Hatfield, also-known-as The Lone Wolf, rides into the Embrujada Valley to find out just what is the source behind the troubles there and put a stop to it. The reader is one step ahead of the Ranger, as the author has already told of the theft and hiding of some black opals that are supposedly worth a fortune but are also tainted with bad luck. The author does keep some secrets from both the reader and the Ranger until he’s ready to reveal them, usually through Hatfield working out just what is going on. Hatfield seems to have knowledge of everything under the sun. This is helpful when he sets to solve a cryptic map that should reveal the location of the hidden opals. Hatfield has a habit of talking to himself and his horse, Goldie, whilst pondering the problems he has to overcome. 

The author moves his story forward swiftly, so there is never a dull moment. There is plenty of gunplay as Hatfield takes on a small group of killers, but who are they working for? There are also two rival ranchers who seem set on a range war, can Hatfield stop the bloodshed before it starts? Hatfield will find himself in all kinds of deadly situations, one of which is illustrated on the book cover, before managing to bring peace to the valley.

A. Leslie Scott’s writing pulled me into the story easily, his descriptive passages are excellent, and are a little poetic at times. I did smile at some of the terms used as they were definitely a product of their times, for instance where bad language should be it says “blankety blank blank” instead. Many of the characters, including Hatfield, talk old style cowboy lingo that I occasionally had to re-read to make sure I’d understood what was being said properly.  

Overall, Haunted Valley is an entertaining read that left me looking forwards to reading the many Hatfield stories I have in pulp magazines and a handful of books.

TRAIL OF THE DAMNED

TRAIL OF THE DAMNED

By Gil Martin

Cover art by W. Francis Phillips

New English Library, May 1975

Originally published by Robert Hale, 1966

One man dead at Jackie’s feet. Another, bleeding and dusty, lies gasping out his last words. And for Jackie Burrows killing becomes easy.

On the run, from the law and from himself, he changes his name and his women but he cannot change his life and the smoke from his gun hangs heavy on him – thick like blood.

From the moment that first bullet tore into a man there was no turning back – only the beginning of a trail of death for J.B. The Trail of the Damned.

The original hardback published by Hale was put out under the authors name, Martin Overy, as was NEL’s first paperback version in 1968. In America, Berkley put the book out in paperback form in 1967 under the pseudonym of Gil Martin. This was the name used on subsequent NEL publications too. 

Like the other books I’ve read by this author, the story is told in a very hard-boiled style and has a number of dark themes running throughout. Written in the first person we share Jack Burrows bitter observations on life and death, share his emotional turmoil when dealing with women and his desperation to stay away from the law who are hunting him for killing one of their own. 

From the excellent opening paragraphs that immediately pulled me into the story, I found this book difficult to put down. With each person Jack meets tension mounts as he fears he will be recognized, even though he has changed his name to Jess Burgess. Taking a job as ranch foreman for a man he knew back in the Civil War could be the perfect hiding place, until his boss, Frank, takes a new, young, wife. Jack is immediately attracted to her, and it seems the feelings are mutual. This is where the feel of the book becomes more like a crime noir novel, although it never loses its identity as a western, and I began to wonder if this young lady would prove to be a femme fatale. 

Jack is not an easy man to like but this is exactly why he’s such a compelling character. At times he’s harsh, cruel even, to those he finds himself working with and loving. He’s never hit a woman, but tells one there could always be a first time. He’s hardly ever at peace, scared someone will know or discover who he really is. Does Frank’s wife know the truth and if so, why is she keeping it to herself?

In Trail of the Damned, the author has written a gripping, taut tale in which the mental strains Jack struggles to deal with feel very real. Can a man who admits to being a killer ever find happiness or will he get his comeuppance? I can’t reveal that here, but if you do decide to read this book, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy finding out.  

Robert Hale, 1966

New English Library 1968

NO HALLOWED GROUND

 

Double-A Western Detective Agency 2

NO HALLOWED GROUND

By Steve Hockensmith

Rough Edges Press, October 2024

When the A.A. Western Detective Agency needs to hunt men down, it turns to its toughest operatives: former cavalrymen Oswin Diehl and Ira Hoop and their Mescalero Apache scout Eskaminzim. So, when the Double-A is asked to catch bank robbers fleeing across Missouri toward the Indian Territories, it sends the three to head the gang off. Along for the hard ride is Hoop’s wife and Eskaminzim’s sister, Onawa, who’s tired of waiting around to learn who won’t be coming home from the A.A.’s latest assignment.

But when the four reach Missouri, they learn that there’s much more at stake than the holdings of a single bank. The “gang” they’re after is actually a company of former Confederate Cherokees—and they’re backed by a powerful cabal of conspirators bent on avenging the South’s defeat in the Civil War.

What starts out as a chase to track down bandits turns into a battle for the future of the country…one our outnumbered heroes can’t possibly hope to win.

It’s great to see the second book in the Double-A Western Detective Agency series come out so soon after the first one. Hired Guns was a great read and I was left eagerly looking forward to another book featuring Diehl, Hoop, and Eskaminzim. 

The first part of No Hallowed Ground sets up the twisting plot superbly. Diehl and his companions wondering just what they’ve got themselves in to as they pursue the bank robbers in a mission to retrieve the contents of an ice-cream wagon that is being used by the robbers to transport their loot. Each time they met a new person the mystery deepens and it becomes clear that they haven’t been told the truth, but they’ve been assigned to the case and will do their best to get the bank’s property back. It’s only when the second part of the book is reached that the outrageous reality is discovered and the race to stop the gang becomes even more desperate. Trouble is things aren’t going to be that straight-forward as the author has more surprises waiting for his heroes and readers that will add more complications to the mission.

There’s a lot of humorous observations throughout the story, mainly coming from Eskaminzim as he often likes to wind-up his fellow detectives and enemies alike. Having Onawa along for the ride sees Eskaminzim’s competitive side become stronger than we’ve ever witnessed before, such as when he tries to prove he is the best tracker in the group.

Action scenes come thick and fast and these violent acts are often hard-hitting and offer some nail-biting edge of the seat reading, such as those that take place in a hotel. Hockensmith regularly switches from character to character, often leaving them in cliff-hanger situations thus ensuring you’ll keep reading to find out what happens to each of them.  

The final showdown is excellent as all the various factions battle for the contents of the ice-cream wagon and very few people escape the flying lead. This shootout provides some tense reading as everything is resolved in blood and fire. What happened to the loot was shocking but also made me laugh as did how the Double-A detectives decided to conclude their mission.

All I can now hope is that it isn’t too long before Steve Hockensmith writes another book about these operatives of the Double-A Western Detective Agency.

American readers can get a copy here

British readers can get a copy here