There were three men – unwanted, except by the law.
Arch: the gunman, lover of horses and woman.
Rance: touch as rawhide, wild as a Comanche, steady as a rock.
Jim: young, unpredictable, often frightened – but with guts.
They fled into the desert, three desperate men with all hands turned against them, but they kept their pride and their code.
When they met the woman and saw what had been done to her, they ignored their own danger and offered her the only thing they had – themselves.
Together the three came riding into the open maws of death. They did waver, wanting only that their epitaph should tell those who came after them that they did not step back or flinch in the face of death.
I’ve long been a fan of Matt Chisholm’s writing. His books are packed with action. His characters are tough, heroic when they have to be, and capable of making the wrong decisions too. His stories often contain touches of dry humour. His plots are rarely predictable and he isn’t afraid of killing off some of the main characters.
This book begins with the three main characters being pursued across the desert. Chisholm’s descriptions of hopelessness, heat, and desperation for water are superbly written. Why these three men are being chased is slowly revealed as is the fact that the posse isn’t exactly law abiding, even though they have the sheriff along who is a drunk and is easily led. It seems their real mission is to kill every Mexican they can find, drive them back over the border.
When the woman, Maria, is introduced to the story, then the plot becomes more complicated. A nameless corpse in a tower also adds intrigue – who was he, who killed him and why?
It isn’t long before Arch sets out to rescue Maria, alone, against impossible odds. When Arch attempts to free her from her home proved to be one of the highlights for me. I could almost feel the tension as Arch tries to break into the heavily guarded building.
Matt Chisholm, once again kept me thoroughly entertained with this very fast moving western, reinforcing my belief that he is one of the greatest British western authors.
Matt Chisholm is a pseudonym for Peter Watts, who also wrote westerns under the pen-names of Cy James and Luke Jones.
2 comments:
Very enjoyable review, Steve. I agree with you - MATT CHISOLM was one of the very best British western authors. His stuff was gritty and authentic, with excellent action scenes, leavened with plenty of salty humour. I particularly liked his McALLISTER series with it's great central character. I never understood why McAllister never turned up on TV or in western film as Chisolm's style was very cinematic and his crackling dialogue would have worked perfectly on-screen.
I really like Chisholm's Storm series and keep thinking of L'Amour Sacketts stories when I read it. Funny with the Storm name as Robert Hale published a series of hardbacks at about the same time by Steve Stevens with focus on a bounty hunter named Jack Storm: (1971-1975): Storm across the border, The marshal must die, Storm in Arizona, The hellbringers, Storm in the mountains, Showdown in Salida, Storm on the trail, Killing kind, The ranger breed, Storm in Wyoming, Damnation trail, Judgment day at Kryder Flat, Storm in Montana. Strange thing is that I not read a single word about these novels, and seen nothing about this Steve Stevens. Who is he?
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