A while back when I read Peter Brandvold’s second Longarm novel under the Tabor Evans house-name, LONGARM AND THE WOLF WOMEN, I enjoyed it enough that I had to backtrack and find his first one, LONGARM AND THE HOLY SMOKES GANG. I’m happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed it, too.In this one, Longarm (who is actually Deputy U.S. Marshal Custis Long, of course) is assigned to find the hide-out of a gang of would-be revolutionaries who have been looting gold shipments to finance their planned rebellion against the U.S. government. Once Longarm has located the outlaw stronghold, he’s supposed to contact the army and let them handle the job of breaking up the gang. Well, if you’ve ever read very many Longarm novels, you won’t be surprised that things don’t turn out exactly that way. Brandvold throws in a few nice twists and turns in the plot to go with his usual blend of dryly humorous dialogue and fast-paced action. As a character, Longarm is a lot of fun to write (and I can still say that after fifteen years on the series myself), and Brandvold does a fine job of capturing that quality. You can tell he’s enjoying himself, and it follows that the reader will, too. This is another one I’m glad to recommend for fans of series Westerns.
5 comments:
Have fun writing a series Western and your reader will, too. Amen to that, James! I've never had the honor to be a "Tabor Evans" and to write about Longarm, but I know it's the approach I take for Misfit Lil. If it wasn't fun, I don't think I'd bother. From the Western writers I correspond with these days, that seems to be a common theme.
Chap,
Haven't you ever given consideration to being a "Tabor Evans"?
Gonzalo,
Not seriously enough to inquire whether there are vacancies! With writers like James and Peter Brandvold at work, I'm happy to be a Longarm reader. Frankly, last time I approached the US market, three agents told me they were having trouble placing their existing clients' western projects and taking me on would be a conflict of interest.
Presently, I'm busy/happy enough with Lil, though I wish she'd bring me in more money. . .
James, is there a site that lists who wrote what in these western series? Thanks.
--Stephen Mertz
Steve,
Nope, not that I know of, just piecemeal info here and there.
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