Customer Reviews

Abilene Gun Down (Owlhoot Trail)

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My second Jory Sherman book after the very good Sidewinder (also reviewed here).

The Brand brothers, Jed and Dan are driving cattle for a shady man named Silas Colter. They arrive in Abilene where Colter double crosses them. Before they know what is happening, Colter kills Dan and frames Jed. He is now a fugitive, riding the 'owlhoot trail' (western slang for being on the lam).

The plot synopsis makes it sound like just another western revenge tale, and I guess it is. However, plot threads are developed that promise to take the tale in some interesting directions.

Jory knows how to tell a western. The pacing is sure and steady and he sprinkles the narrative with western turns of phrase that give the book a real flavor, without overdoing it. He is very skilled at describing landscape with a painterly eye, creating some really vibid images in my head. He can also write action scenes that are gritty, tense and exciting to read.

On the other hand, he tended not to describe his characters at all, or with only the sketchiest of details (I don't even remember reading what color Jed's hair is). It's odd, because he really does build up a convincing landscape for his story to take place in. I was able to believe in his world as I read and perhaps because of that, I was able to people it with actors from my imagination. But I would have liked to know what Jory imagined his characters looked like.

Abilene gun Down was intended to be the first in a series. Unfortunately, Pocket Star canceled their western line before publishing the promised sequel Journey of Death. Due to this, there were a number of promising plot threads hanging at the end that unfortunately will never be followed up on. This is not at all the author's fault, but regardless Abilene gun Down feels like half of a story.

I enjoyed the book and think the pacing was better than it was in Sidewinder. However, the unresolved plot keeps me from recommending the book, though not from recommending Jory Sherman as an author. Do try him, but start with his John Savage trilogy (The Savage Gun, The Savage Trail and The Savage Curse ) or Sidewinder, which although the first in a series, tells a complete tale.