This tome The Untamed
West (2018), edited by L.J. Washburn, comprises 29 all new stories in the
classic western tradition; it clocks up 564 pages and is a hefty weight, in
excess of 150,000 words. The contributors belong to a worldwide group of
writers called the Western Fictioneers.
The tales that bookend the volume, ‘Byrd’s Luck’ and ‘Ravens
in the Graveyard’ concern simple but honest men who hit face hard situations;
the writers Jeffrey J. Mariotte and S.L. Matthews respectively create likeable
believable characters with poignancy and depth. The former also has plenty of
humour. Indeed, there are a number of humorous tales in the collection: ‘The
Pig War’ by Gordon L. Rottman and ‘The Professor Goes West’ by Charlie Steel. I’d
certainly like to read more about the professor from the East as he fits into the
Old West. L.J. Washburn’s ‘The Battle of Edendale’ relates the days of early
cinematography featuring one of her recurring characters, Lucas Hallam. Again,
I’d like to read more about this guy!
The fair sex is ably represented with two female sheriffs (‘New
Beginnings’ by Jesse J. Elliot and ‘Gunmen can’t Hide’ by S.D. Parker), an
oppressed stagecoach station mistress (‘A
Sweet-talking Man’ by Easy Jackson,), an
orphaned woman and her brother under threat (‘The Gamble’ by Cheryl Pierson), a
female stagecoach driver (‘Gun-Brand of the Stagecoach Queen’ by James
Reasoner, and an abandoned wife (‘The Homestead’ by Angela Raines).
There are a couple of excellent cavalry tales, too: ‘Savage
Law’ by Clay More and ‘A Deadly Decision at Adobe Wells’ by Big Jim Williams.
The above gives a flavour. There are others too, all of them
evoking certain aspects of the Old West, every one of them worth reading for
their emotional and historical content.
[Declared interest: my story 'Preacher' is also included...]
