Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives by W.C. Tuttle W.C. Tuttle (1883-1969) was a prolific author of short stories and novels, almost entirely Westerns. One of his specialties was comedic detective Western stories, with cowpokes solving mysteries, not always with their brains. This volume collects three such stories starring the duo of Speedy Smith… Continue reading Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: The Virginian

Book Review: The Virginian by Owen Wister “When you call me that, smile!” When the Easterner who would become known as “the Tenderfoot” came to Wyoming at the behest of Judge Henry, he didn’t know what to expect. What he got was the acquaintance and eventually friendship of the man called “the Virginian”, one of… Continue reading Book Review: The Virginian

Book Review: Torture Trail

Book Review: Torture Trail by Max Brand The man calling himself Sammy Day (better known to many as “The Joker”) is tough. He shoots fast and straight, can lick a man twice his size in a fist fight, and is a winning poker player who knows how to cheat to lose as well. Yes, he’s tough. But he’s… Continue reading Book Review: Torture Trail

Book Review: Heart of the West

Book Review: Heart of the West by O. Henry William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), better known to most readers as O. Henry, moved to Texas from North Carolina for his health.  There, he worked on a ranch for a few years before feeling well enough to take up his primary occupation of pharmacist, and fell in… Continue reading Book Review: Heart of the West

Book Review: Stone Mad

Book Review: Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear This is the second in the “Karen Memory” series, and this review may have some spoilers for the first volume, also titled Karen Memory. Karen Memery and her boon companion Priya have bought a little ranch house outside of Rapid City in Washington Territory, and are moving in together. … Continue reading Book Review: Stone Mad

Book Review: The Wanderer and the New West

Book Review: The Wanderer and the New West by Adam Bender Disclaimer: I received a download of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway to facilitate this review.  No other compensation was requested or offered. Fifty years ago, the Born-Again Patriots party was a rising independent political party with a platform of libertarianism and isolationism.  About… Continue reading Book Review: The Wanderer and the New West

Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard

Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard by Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-2013) started his career as a professional writer by producing short Western stories for the pulp magazines.  According to the introduction, Mr. Leonard’s first attempt was not very good and was rejected, whereupon he decided that next time he… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939 Edited by Dorothy McIlwrath Short Stories started life in 1890 as a literary magazine, but switched to being a “quality pulp” in 1910, featuring stories of adventure and crime a cut above many of its competitors.   Like many of the pulps, it lost sales badly after World War… Continue reading Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Book Review: A Man Named Raglan/Gun Junction

Book Review:  A Man Named Raglan/Gun Junction by John Callahan and Barry Cord, respectively While most of the Ace Doubles (two short books fused together and printed upside down from each other) I’ve read are science fiction, Ace also put out mysteries and westerns in the format.  This book is one of the Westerns, and… Continue reading Book Review: A Man Named Raglan/Gun Junction

Book Review: One Night in Sixes

Book Review: One Night in Sixes by Arianne “Tex” Thompson Island Town used to be known as Sixes, when the Eadan Confederacy controlled this area.  But a decade or so back, the indigenous peoples pushed the Confederacy across the river.  Now Island Town is on the border, with only a handful of the old inhabitants… Continue reading Book Review: One Night in Sixes