WESTERNS READ DURING 2024

Here's the list of the westerns I read during 2024. Not as many as I wanted to read but other interests took up a lot of my spare time and I feel I don't read as fast as I used to as I get older. The listing includes a number of western pulp magazines which I've been enjoying more and more these days. The oldest book I read was published in 1949 and the rest are from the 1960's right up to some published in 2024. To read any review just click on the book number.

1. The Battling Harrigans of the Frontier 2: A Need for Violence by Dusty Richards and Matthew P. Mayo
2. Canyon O’Grady 13: Assassin’s Trail by Jon Sharpe
3. Teacher with a Tin Star by Harriet Cade
4. Holmes on the Range: Partners in Crime by Steve Hockensmith
5. Jim Bannister 1: On the Dodge by D.B. Newton
6. Buck Trammel 6: Killers Never Sleep by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
7. Bloody Joe Mannion 4: To Make a Man by Peter Brandvold
8. Abilene 10: The General by Justin Ladd
9. Carey’s Vengeance by Irving A. Greenfield
10. Three Canyons to Death by Luke Jones
11. Molly and the Gold Baron by Stephen Overholser
12. The Trailsman 136: Texas Triggers by Jon Sharpe
13. The Wicked and the Dead by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
14. Western Story Magazine – December 1961
15. The Outlaw Herd by Peter Field
16. The Toughest Town in the Territory by Tom West
17. Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy
18. The Badge 15: Farrell’s War by Bill Reno
19. Bad Times Coming by Gil Martin
20. Holmes on the Ranger: Black List, White Death by Steve Hockensmith
21. Shelter 2: Hanging Money by Paul Ledd
22. Brasada by Luke Jones
23. The Smoking Iron and other stories by Elisabeth Grace Foley
24. Texas Rangers – October 1956
25. Long Rider 21: Ranchero by Clay Dawson
26. Lawdog by J. Lee Butts
27. Fight for the Valley by Lee Leighton
28. Through Western Storms edited by Richard Prosch
29. Hired Guns by Steve Hockensmith
30. Six-Gun Western – British Edition
31. No Hallowed Ground by Steve Hockensmith
32. Trail of the Damned by Gil Martin
33. Haunted Valley by Jackson Cole
34. Posse from Hell by Huffaker
35. Preacher & MacCallister 1: Frontier America by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
36. Exciting Western – August 1954
37. The Carey Gun by Irving A. Greenfield
38. Gunslinger 10: Blood Target by Charles C. Garrett
39. The Texicans 3: War Devils by Zach Wyatt
40. The Trailsman 117: Gun Valley by Jon Sharpe

Other items:
1. A. Leslie Scott Bibliography

2. New work on A. Leslie Scott

WAR DEVILS

THE TEXIANS

Book 3 of 5

WAR DEVILS

By Zach Wyatt

Cover art by Bruce Minney

Pinnacle Books, December 1984

For the proud young Texan, Josh Sands, there was no life outside the Rangers. And very likely no republic either, without the fierce and fearless band of Texians who put their lives on the line every day, in service for their beloved country.

But when the cigar-chomping politicos back in Austin cut the Rangers’ funds, the battle-weary Ranger made the most of the enforced peace – and the generous charms of the beautiful Elena.

But peace and pleasure were not to last. For meanwhile, at the border, a precisely trained and inexorable machine of death gathered – mustering the might of the Mexican Army to test the strength of the embattled Rangers, and the whole fledging republic.

Like the previous two books, this story uses real events for the backbone of its plot. Sands will find himself riding alongside a small, and hopelessly outnumbered, group of Rangers and volunteers lead by Captain Matthew Caldwell and Captain John Coffee Hays to stop General Adrian Woll and his sixteen hundred soldiers, supported by artillery, who had managed to cut off and capture San Antonio before marching on Salado. Sands will also find himself involved in the massacre of Captain Nicolas Dawson’s men when they tried to surrender to the Mexican Army. 

The author, George W. Proctor writing as Zach Wyatt, plays with historical facts a little so that the fictional Josh Sands can take a lead role in the battles to stop Woll’s invasion of Texas. Sands private life is also explored when he is cut lose from the Rangers due to financial cuts. This part of the story fleshes his character out as we discover how he hopes to make money, how his relationship with Elena is developing, and his views on how Texas can or cannot defend itself without the Rangers.

The story contains plenty of action, from the opening scenes of Sands rescuing a young girl from her Comanche captors and their subsequent attempts to get her back. There are also exciting tactics to discover that show how the Rangers take on groups of Mexican troopers and the larger scale battles when facing Woll’s army. 

Any story using real historical events for its plot means that some readers will know how certain parts of the tale will unfold and come to a close. Proctor, though, keeps things moving forward at pace, and adds a fresh take on the real events by including his fictional lead that should keep any reader turning the pages to find out what happens next.

I didn’t think this story was as strong as the previous two books, but I still found it to be an engaging read, one that both entertained and taught me more about the history of the Rangers and I was left looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

BLOOD TARGET

GUNSLINGER 10

BLOOD TARGET

By Charles C. Garrett

Cover art by Chris Collingwood

Sphere Books, 1981

John Ryker. Gunsmith . . . bounty hunter . . . and killer. No one knew more about the lethal code of killing that was the key to survival in the violent West.

When Ryker heard about the shooting contest down in Simeonville, it looked an easy way to earn big money. The way that he knew best. Which meant that his heavy Buffalo rifle – the most powerful long gun in the West – was going to see a choice piece of action that would stretch his death-dealing gun skills to the farthest limits . . . and beyond.

Gunslinger was one of my favourite series to come from the small group of writers better known today as the Piccadilly Cowboys. This series was written by Angus Wells and Laurence James, with the latter writing Blood Target.

Each of the Gunslinger books has a plot that revolves around a specific gun and in Blood Target the guns in question are long guns used for target shooting, namely Rykers’ Sharps and the European Schuetzen fitted with telescopic sights. This long-range weapon being described in beautiful detail as Ryker discusses its finer points and possible weaknesses. Rykers’ love for guns being the main hook of the series and the authors include a lot of fascinating information about the firearms used in each story. 

Blood Target doesn’t have as much killing action as other entries in the series but the tension of the shooting contest that takes up the majority of the book more than makes up for that. As the competition progresses so Ryker’s suspicion grows as to what the real reason for holding the tournament is. Of course, the story does contain bloody killings, the opening chapter seeing Ryker’s friend Sheriff Frank Nolan facing two young arrogant gunfights called Stotter and Whitehead and this showdown has always been one that has stuck in my mind. Ryker also gets to show his brutal side when someone tries to kill him during the contest.

Some of you may well recognize the names of the two young killers, Stotter and Whitehead, as using the names of people in the business or friends of the authors for characters was something that was done regularly in this series and others that came from this group of writers. Also mentioning the heroes of other western series was common, and in this book there’s name checks for Crow, Jed Herne and Cuchillo Oro. 

Blood Target is an exciting read that builds its plot well. The target shooting sequences make for gripping reading and at no time is it a foregone conclusion that Ryker will emerge victorious. The real reason for holding the contest in the wilds of Apache country isn’t revealed until near the end and it brings the story to a fitting bloody conclusion. Sadly, Blood Target was the last book of the series, and for me, it brought the series to a strong close.

American readers can get a copy here 

British readers can get a copy here 

THE CAREY GUN

 

THE CAREY GUN

By Irving A. Greenfield

Cover art by Mike Cole

Tandem, 1975

Originally published by Dell, 1974

When Thomas Carey was mustered out of the Confederate Army, he stripped off his uniform but he kept his gun. He would need it where he was going, for ten men had sworn to kill him, then men whom he had last seen in a Yankee prison.

He would need it, too, when he returned to claim the Texas spread he had left five long bloody years before, and the wife who loved and hated him. The land-grabbers and rustlers who had moved in while he was gone had had plenty of time to forget what kind of man Carey was. Now they were going to remember, just as fast as it took Carey’s Colt .45 to clear leather . . . 

In this, the third Carey book, we learn that after taking time-out from the war Carey had returned to continue the fight. This story begins near the end of the Civil War, with Carey involved in the attack on Fort Stedman, also known as the battle for Hare’s Hill, on March 25th, 1865. It’s just before the Confederates attack that Carey learns of the ten men who want to kill him, one of whom is taking part in the battle alongside him. I found this part of the book to be the most exciting as after Lee surrenders the Confederacy the pace of the story slowed quite a lot. 

A promise to a dying Union soldier sees Carey agreeing to deliver news of the man’s death to his sister. On the way Carey decides to visit a woman he’d met in the previous book only to find her dead and discover that he is now a father. Carey takes the baby and the child’s grandfather with him as he heads for home. The fact that the grandfather is black and the baby a half-cast will cause even more problems for Carey, not least whether his wife will want to look after a coloured baby. Then there’s the men wanting his spread that they plan to buy or take with the gun.

Quite a few storylines in this book began in the previous two novels. Even though the author gives brief outlines to what has gone before I think it might be advantageous to read those earlier books before this one. 

Irving A. Greenfield’s prose is very readable, and even though his hero Thomas Carey isn’t a particularly likeable protagonist you will want to know what happens to him. The story is quite dark in tone and the violence fairly brutal in its description. 

The story meandered a bit too much to me though. Once Carey had left the army it seemed to take a long time for anything to happen. When it did, it was exciting enough to keep me reading. I also thought a couple of story threads had been forgotten, but they did rear their ugly heads towards the end even though they didn’t conclude. This makes me wonder if Greenfield had planned to write more books in this series which just didn’t happen for whatever reason. A shame really, as this makes The Carey Gun a weak ending to the trilogy. Overall, I enjoyed the three Carey books, it’s just somewhat disappointing that too many plotlines were left hanging.  

American readers can get a copy here

British readers can get a copy here