Trail of the Snake

By Norvell Page

Black Dog Books, 2011

For millions of readers, the name Norvell Page is synonymous with the pulse-pounding, red-hot adventures of The Spider. Years before he was guiding The Spider, Page was turning out dozens of short mysteries and Westerns.

Here, collected in paperback for the first time, are all of Norvell Page’s known Western works, including his first fiction sale, “Corralled.”

Trail of the Snake is another beautifully produced book from Black Dog Books. Sandwiched between an entertaining introduction by Bill Crider, and an informative look at Norvell Page’s history written by Tom Roberts we have five stories that originally appeared in the pulps during the 1930s, the last three tales being published under the pseudonym of N. Wooten Poge.

Contents:

Trail of the Snake

Secret Guns

Brand of the Cougar

Hell’s Backtrail

Corralled

Three of the stories are about lawmen bringing down outlaws and the other two have revenge as the main storyline. They are very fast moving and packed with action and colourful characters. Two of the stories are from Spicy Western Magazine, so have a number of attractive women in them that all seem to lose their clothes at some point. (The other three stories appeared in Masked Rider Western Magazine, Thrilling Western, and Western Trails) Some of the stories contain neat twists, a couple of which I didn’t anticipate, which in turn provide some neat outcomes to the tales.

Norvell Page’s writing stands-up well today and is very readable. Of course his use of words is of the times and his dialogue is of the period too, for instance horses are often referred to as “fuzz-tails” and characters speak thus: “Lift yore hands, yuh murderin’ kiyote! I’d jest admire a chance to drill yuh!”

If I haven’t convinced you that this book is worth reading then let me finish with Bill Crider’s quote from the back of the book: “Page’s Western tales are pure fun, filled with smoking guns, thundering hooves, and beautiful women…. If entertainment in the grand pulp style is what you’re looking for, you’ve surely come to the right place.”

Nomad's Trail

The Saga of Simon Bolivar Grimes, Volume 1

By E. Hoffmann Price

Black Dog Books, 2011

Hit the owlhoot trail as naïve Simon Bolivar Grimes, tassel-headed youth from Georgia, sets off for Crockett County, Texas searching for his Uncle Carter. Grimes will boast, brawl, ramble and roll his way from outlaw to hero, whilst learning a little bit about loving along the way.

After a very informative introduction by one of today’s most respected western authors, James Reasoner, Nomad’s Trail then presents the reader with the first twelve stories in the long-running Grimes saga, which made their debut in the very first issue of Spicy Western Stories in November 1936. These early tales have strong links to each other as the storyline of searching for Uncle Carter ties them together as do a number of other reoccurring characters. Once his Uncle has been found and left behind new characters move along with Grimes from tale to tale.

Grimes makes for an engaging hero, his inexperience placing him in some dangerous situations that only his super-fast ability with his guns get him out of alive. Due to being written for Spicy Western Stories Grimes comes into contact with many young women who seem to lose their clothes at some point. Grimes also makes some amazing discoveries about women, like that they have legs! (You’ll have to read it to fully appreciate that comment)

Descriptions are well written and most of the plots are fairly straightforward although many contain a twist or two. The dialogue is of the times, and I must admit I did have to read some of it more than once to fully understand what was being said, but this all adds to the charm of these stories. There’s plenty of action too, be it using guns or fists.

This really is a great collection of stories and as the subtitle is The Saga of Simon Bolivar Grimes, Volume 1 I can only assume that Volume 2 will soon follow. I for one will be looking forward to that being published.

Lust of the Lawless

By Robert Leslie Bellem

Black Dog Books, 2010

Way back before I was born there was a pulp called Spicy Western Stories and this book brings together all of Robert Leslie Bellem’s output for them, the first, Powdersmoke Passion, being published in December 1936, and his final story Gold – and a Girl, appearing in December 1938.

Contents:

Meat Hunter

Killer’s Brand

Powdersmoke Passion

Bait for a Mantrap

Brand of the Question-Mark

Lust of the Lawless

Coward Man’s Size

Gold – and a Girl

The above titles are sandwiched between an excellent introduction by James Reasoner, and a fascinating couple of pages about the author written by Tom Roberts, owner of Black Dog Books.

All these stories move forwards at tremendous pace, they are filled with action and terrific characters. Many of the women being nearly as tough as the male leads – and being as these stories appeared in a Spicy pulp, they all seem to loose their clothes at some point, often whilst seducing the hero so they can steal his pistol. In fact most of these stories do seem to follow a similar pattern so when one didn’t it came as a great surprise, this tale was written in the first person whereas the others are all in the third. A number of these stories also contain a twist or two but overall they have straightforward plots.

I was surprised by how little these stories come across as dated, true there is some dialogue of the times, particularly when Mexicans speak, and there are plenty of terms we don’t see that often in today’s westerns. Some of the violence is quite graphic in its description. All this, for me, adds to the charm of this great collection of short stories.

I’d originally planned to read these stories over a few days but found myself reading one then thinking ‘just one more’ and before I knew it I’d read the lot. For me, it really is a shame that Robert Leslie Bellem didn’t write more westerns, as I found all of these to be highly entertaining and I’d certainly recommend this book to all fans of the genre.

Check out Black Dog Books here.