Gunslinger, and Nine Other Action-Packed Stories of the Wild West by Ed Gorman (Barricade Press) : Ed Gorman is possibly better known to folks as the creator of both the Sam McCain and Jack Dwyer mystery series among other suspense novels. He is a past winner of the Shamus Award for detective fiction, but also the Spur for his western writing. The short stories & essays included in this volume go back some twenty years, reprinted from a number of collections and western themed magazines. While some are what one might expect in such a collection (gunfighters and sheriffs hunting down evil doers) there are also a few of a gentler nature. The lonesome soldier whose attempt to rescue his ‘true love’ goes terribly wrong; the traveling executioner and how he spends the evening prior; and finally the aging fanzine writer & western fan (Okay, don’t even say it!) who finally meets his childhood idol. There is also a nice essay on the late Roy Rogers and just how one writes ‘modern western tales’. Recommended for fans of Gorman, westerns and just find short story writing in general.
If you head over to the Joe Bob Briggs site you’ll find that they have finally posted a few of my reviews. I think that there are only one or two which haven’t shown up yet, but I’ve posted them either here or over at PARTING SHOTS anyway. It’s also good to see that they are finally getting around to posting some newer material from Joe Bob himself.
Friday, September 09, 2005
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