HOMBRE

HOMBRE

- Elmore Leonard - 

A stagecoach trip gone sour.

Why? Bandits hold it up.

Why? There is a bag of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Why? That is the part of the mystery.

The mystery and suspense were the best part of this book. This seemingly random bunch of people, on a stagecoach ride to nowhere town in the middle of the desert, all have hidden secrets or strange connections to one another. The more I read the more I found out. I started to wish I could speed read and just get to the end already! There were lots of surprises that popped up and I really had no idea what was going to happen next. Very well written in that way.

The first person narrative, from a somewhat naive sounding clerk, helped with the suspense - he didn't have the life experience or the brains to really have any solid predictions, which made everything a surprise.

Also, the way this clerk built up other characters was great. He stereotyped everyone; the Doctor (who could do no wrong), the cute girl (who could do no wrong), the ruffian (who could do wrong), but, best of all the 'Hombre'. He build up this man to be a bigger than life superhero and made it seem like everyone was in good hands...but, were they?

All of the characters were different and showed their true colours as the story progressed. It was very entertaining to see them all 'break down' at some point. Another part of the book that was very well written.

I've heard Elmore Leonard mentioned over and over again in the Western circles, but, I've never gotten around to reading anything by him. Now that I know how great he writes I will be sure to look into more of his books.

RATING : READ

RIFLE RIVER - BUCKSKIN #1

RIFLE RIVER

Buckskin #1

- Roy LeBeau -

Well this book was a surprise...in a couple of different ways. I picked this up at the library on a whim. I was rushing through on my lunch and wanted a quick, small, western. Saw a series called Buckskin, randomly picked one, glanced at the cover and saw a tough looking cowboy (not sure how I missed the half naked lady!?) and was on my way. Later, when I actually took another look at the cover it reminded me of a James Bond book - with the guy and the seductive lookin' lady. I started reading it.
It started off as a typical macho type western, where the protagonist is described as this larger than life gunslinger who is always good with the ladies and has a bit of an edge or a criminal history to him. Then, as with most good westerns, there is a scene or two that shows just how tough this guy really is. Usually it is a saloon fight or some fast gun draw...well in Buckskin's case it was to do with two saloon gals! There were some pretty rough words used, words that you do not see very much in life, or at least I don't. It was a bit of a shock. What was I reading!?
I finally noticed the small print on the front cover - his guns were hot, but his woman were hotter!
Turns out this Buckskin series is some sort of 'erotic western'! Luckily, forgive the pun, those scenes were quick (and badly written to boot) and I could get back to the story about ranching and cowpokin'. Luckily, the rest of the book was pretty good. A standard western about this Buckskin guy trying to start a new life and leave the fighting in the past. However, he is just too good hearted and ends up being drawn into a fight when some lumberjack is beating up a saloon girl. This leads to all sorts of trouble in the town and they eventually find out about his past. There are gun fights, fist fights, horse chases, and near death experiences. All the action one could want...plus more, if you are interested. It ends on a high note too, a cliffhanger kind of thing, that makes you want to rush out and get that next book.
I was surprised this 'pulp' would be so entertaining and that I plan on getting the next book out of the library asap. I just hope the librarians do not look at the cover while I'm checking it out. They might get the wrong impression of me!

RATING: READ

After doing a bit of research, I found out the author is really Mitchell Smith (Roy LeBeau being his pen name). Pen names are always strange to me.