Tuesday 28 May 2019

Home is the Outlaw

By Lewis B. Patten
Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1958

Morgan Orr stepped clear as the horse fell. He looked at the dying animal with pity, then he drew his gun and put a bullet into the horse’s head. Then, weary and empty, he turned and stared down at the town.

Ten long years and this is what it came to. Ten years of violence while the name of Morgan Orr became whispered from one end of the frontier to the other, while his gun became a legend told in a thousand saloons. Ten years of watchfulness etched in his bony face, of wildness and caution stamped in his long, lean stride.

And this is what it came to. A ragged, hungry man, limping down the slope of the mountains – tired of killing, sick of his life, heading back to his home at last. Back to a place called Arapaho Wells – the last town in the world that would let him hang up his gun….

This book has a fairly dark tone throughout. Patten excels in his writing of despair, frustration and empty hope. The surprise that greets Orr when he meets Tena again – the woman he left behind but never stopped loving – causes more grief to rise within him, all written so well the reader will share the pain Orr feels.

Even though Orr tries to lay down his gun (he even sells the weapon) and step away from fights, you just know he won’t be able to do so forever. One man cannot control his own destiny it seems.

Orr is an interesting, and troubled man, and Patten doesn’t give him an easy ride, even having a childhood friend wanting to draw on him, to be the man who kills fast gun Morgan Orr. This is a confrontation Orr does his best to avoid.

All this mixed into a plot that includes mistaken identity, a crime that will completely destroy the town that can only be kept secret by killing, and you have a twisting storyline that you can never be sure of where it will go next, thus providing a gripping and exciting read.  

I’ve only read a handful of Lewis B. Patten’s work and they always leave me hungry for more and this book has reinforced that desire.

5 comments:

Duane Spurlock said...

I've yet to read a Patten novel that left me completely unsatisfied. A couple of his earlier ones demonstrate he didn't spring forth will complete storytelling mastery, but even those carry merits that make them enjoyable. I've read several of his novels, and he's my default choice when I need a reliable reading experience. Fortunately, Patten was quite prolific.

Chuck Dixon said...

Patten's work always feels authentic and fresh. And he doesn't shy away from the nastier elements of frontier life.

Andrew McBride said...

Excellent review, Steve. I would very much recommend Lewis B. Patten's BONES OF THE BUFFALO, about the tragic outbreak of the Cheyenne in 1878.

Chap O'Keefe said...

This book is a Patten I don't have and must seek out, Steve. Back in 2008 James Reasoner and I discussed the noir aspects of Patten's work in the September-November issue of Black Horse Extra (www.blackhorsewesterns.com/bhe11/): "In this edition, two western writers of today find occasion to revisit the books of Lewis B. Patten, which were published in UK editions by Hale from the 1970s to the '90s." Lots in that article that I'm sure readers here will find of particular interest.

Anonymous said...

Patten is a highly underrated writer. I hope some publisher brings his books out in new editions.