1) Dawn of Fury (496pp) pub. December 1995
2) The Killing Season (448pp) pub. June 1996
3) Autumn of the Gun (432 pp) pub. December 1996
Author: Ralph Compton
Publisher: Penguin Book
Genre: Western
This is the first series I read when I started reading westerns twelve years ago. I was drawn to the tag line on the back cover "If you like L'Amour you'll love Ralph Compton" And I really could not argue with the price ($5.99). All three books were available so I got them in one fell swoop. You really do not need to get them all at once, none of them are left in a cliff hanger ending where you have to have the next book to see what happens next.
What I really enjoyed about this series is that the hero runs into historical figures from the west and the author lets you know with a foot note on the bottom of the page. That just added to the authenticity ad feel of the book.
The other enjoyable aspect of the series is when the hero gets shot, he really gets shot. It is not like a grazing wound and he gets pissed off and wipes everyone out before the dust settles. The hero of the book is very much human. He is not portrayed as the "Superman" of the west. AND he has his trusty sidekick...a dog named Cotton Blossom.
I did have a problem with this series. I guess the phrase "leaves a lot to the imagination" sums it up best. There is not a lot of descriptive detail in this series, and it left me feeling like there was something I was missing. For me it took some of the enjoyment out of the experience. Not enough to stop reading the series, but enough to leave me feeling like I missed something important.
3 1/2 stars out of five
Re-readable factor of 2
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