KLAW

KLAW
By W.L. Fieldhouse
Tower Books, 1980

When John Klawson returned from the War to Great Ford, he found his parents dead, victims of a phony “Indian raid,” and their property confiscated by banker Warren T. Jennings. And the rest of the town was under the control of Jennings and his hired guns. Klawson vowed revenge, but Jennings struck first, sending his hardcases after the ex-soldier. In a violent battle Klawson lost his right hand and was left for dead. But he survived and was hidden by friends until his arm healed. A blacksmith fitted him with a gleaming steel claw for a hand, and Klaw, as he became known, learned all over how to use a revolver and a rifle. Soon he was ready to exact vengeance on Jennings and his crew. One by one they would die – painfully – if Klaw had his way!

Whilst America tried to inject new life into the western with the introduction of explicit adult content, the British produced books that were filled with graphic violence and brought the anti-hero more into the limelight. Some of these series such as Edge and Apache became massive successes in America too, so much so that American publishers jumped on the bandwagon and launched their own series with similar content such as Kilburn, Cutter, Hawk (not to be confused with the British series with the same name), and The Loner. I believe the three Klaw books was another of these, as was the equally violent Six-Gun Samurai series that Fieldhouse wrote alongside two other authors as Patrick Lee. 

This book has a slow start as the author fills the reader in on the Klawson’s backstory – events that lead to him facing Jennings in Great Ford. The momentum picks up after Klawson loses his hand and the blacksmith creates the claw for him. This claw is detachable and Klawson can fit other attachments in place of it, such as a modified handgun. This is where the pace of the story begins to move forward at a gallop. Revenge is all that Klawson lives for. As the death toll mounts Klawson becomes know as Klaw. Yet, unlike those anti-heroes of the British westerns, Klaw keeps some of his compassion which, at times, makes him seem like a bit of a contradiction. One minute dishing out death in a completely cold-blooded way, then showing his tender side, such as when he meets Elena and when he helps those back in Great Ford. This makes him a somewhat complex character, a man who clings onto some of his humanity. 

The action scenes are well described in all their graphic brutality. There are some excellent set pieces such as the ambush in a fort that sees both Gatling guns and cannon used effectively. The author often switches between the various groups of characters so he can include more vicious violence as we follow the men Klaw is hunting for. As you’d expect, everything comes together for a savage conclusion.

Throughout the story there is mention of an organization, one that Jennings worked for. Who they are, and what their ultimate aims are is kept vague. On finishing Klaw I was left to wonder if they will be part of the plot of the second Klaw book. I guess I’ll have to read it to find out which is something I aim to do very soon.

I started this review with my thoughts on how some American western series seemed to have been created to cash in on the success of some of the British series. I’ve always wondered if one of the British authors read the Klaw books and used them as an inspiration for his series Claw? He even seems to give a nod of acknowledgement by naming the leader of the outlaws, who are responsible for the loss of the hero’s hand, Jennings. If he didn’t, that’s one hell of a coincidence. 

KNIFE IN THE NIGHT

APACHE

Number 2 of 27

By William M. James

Cover art by Colin Andrew

NEL Books, March 1978

Cuchillo Oro, Apache warrior, continues his bloody bid for revenge on the man who removed two of his fingers joint by joint, destroyed the peace of his tribal settlement, and murdered his squaw and son.

Lieutenant Pinner is a marked man – a ruthless and sadistic Indian-hater who finally met his match. Luck seems to be with him for the moment but sooner or later his time will come, and when it does, he knows he can expect no mercy.

Apache was one of the best series to come from the group of British authors known today as the Piccadilly Cowboys. The series idea came from Laurence James, who wrote this book, and he shared writing duties on the series with Terry Harknett. When Harknett stepped away from the series, he was replaced by John B. Harvey. What makes this series unusual, is that it was first published in America by Pinnacle whereas all the other Piccadilly Cowboy series first appeared in the UK. 

Knife in the Night was first published in America in 1974. It was a few years later that English publisher Sphere began publishing the series but they only put out the first four books. NEL then relaunched the series in the UK and published the first 12. You can see the cover art for both Pinnacle’s and Sphere’s editions below.

Knife in the Night begins a couple of days after the end of the first book, The First Death. Cuchillo is consumed with hatred, but needs to recover from the attack on Fort Davidson. Laurence James gives enough information to fill new readers to the series in on what has gone before so that reading the first book isn’t necessary, but I’d suggest doing so as it will greatly enhance your enjoyment of this book. 

Cuchillo’s quest for revenge is interrupted when he witnesses the massacre of a complete village. The bandits make it look like Apache’s are the culprits. Cuchillo will not allow this, so aims to set things right by taking on all 14 bandits alone. This makes for an exciting and tense section of the book. Cuchillo then teams up with some other Apache’s to once again attack Fort Davidson in the hope of finding and killing Pinner. Cuchillo’s only white friend, John Hedges, is at the fort and their friendship will be severely tested when Cuchillo orders his friend to be tortured in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of Pinner which sets up another confrontation with the hated soldier. Will Cuchillo be successful in quenching his thirst for vengeance this time?

Laurence James probably wrote the more sadistic books out of the group of authors who make up the Piccadilly Cowboys, and this one certainly has some of that in it. James is good at exploring the darker side of the human race and this he does regularly in this tale. Whist James’ descriptions of violence aren’t as graphic as that written by Angus Wells, he certainly creates some vicious acts for this story, yet for all its horror it works, emphasising the harsh world that Cuchillo finds himself inhabiting. 

Like in many of his books, James’ name drops, and one of the ways he does this in this story is by calling one of the characters Andrew Ettinger – Ettinger was the editor at Pinnacle. Ettinger is an actor who appears in the opening and final scenes and through him James adds some dark humour to the story. 

Maybe not as good as the first book, but certainly a worthy follow-up that continues to develop the character of Cuchillo and the series theme extremely well and I was left eager to read the third book as soon as I can.

If you have trouble finding a copy of this paperback, you’ll be pleased to know that Piccadilly Publishing have started to put out the whole series as ebooks.

The First Death

APACHE #1:

By William M. James

NEL, March 1978

First published by Pinnacle, 1974 

(cover shown below)

In the great tradition of Cochise and Geronimo, Cuchillo is a warrior to be feared. But he is not a man easily driven to war. When the brutal and sadistic Lieutenant Pinner removes two of his fingers for allegedly stealing his ornamental knife, and brands him Cuchillo Oro (Golden Knife), he seeks a peaceful solution. When the true thieves come after him, even then, he keeps his head. But when Lieutenant Pinner takes his squaw and his baby boy hostage – then the white eyes have gone too far… 

Pinnacle published George G. Gilman’s very successful Edge series in America and saw them agree to publish a new series written by the man behind the Gilman pseudonym, Terry Harknett, and Laurence James. In fact the series idea came from the latter. Both these English authors, alongside a couple of others would latter become known as the Piccadilly Cowboys. When Terry decided to stop writing for this series his place was taken over by John B. Harvey, another of the PCs. The series ran from 1974 to 1984 and saw the publication of 27 books. Only the first 12 were published in the authors’ home country. The first book I’m reviewing here being written by Terry Harknett. 

This opening novel deals with the misunderstandings that lead to the tragic deaths that will set Cuchillo on the vengeance trail in the following books. It also explains how he gets his new name, Cuchillo Oro, and how he comes to carry the bejewelled knife. 

The book is superbly paced, full of well-crafted characters, and savage bloody action. There aren’t any white-hat heroes here, just hard men, and women, struggling to survive. Sympathies lie with the Apaches, as to be expected in a series with one of them as the lead character, and the soldiers are painted, mainly, as vicious, heartless, men who think nothing of torturing and raping, who take great pleasure from doing this, so it isn’t long before the reader is urging Cuchillo to victory. There is one white man who is a friend of Cuchillo, teacher John Hedges, a man who will turn up from time to time in later books.

For those who’ve read the Edge books and are aware of the groan worthy, grin-making, one liners of gallows humour Terry Harknett always included you’ll be pleased to discover he continues that tradition here, not as often but just as good, or bad, depending on your point of view.

The book ends with a very violent rescue attempt that leads to a couple of horrific killings that sees the story end with a promise that paves the way to the next book in the series and will leave you wanting more.

Due to its continuing storyline I’d suggest reading the books in order to get the greatest enjoyment from them.

Cuchillo Oro is Apache. 

Brutal

Unrelenting…

and Deadly.