Badlands [Mass Market Paperback]

Elizabeth Fackler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1998

"Fackler has written an engrossing story with one of the genre's most unique protagonists. A poignant novel, beautifully written". -- Tulsa World

Seth Strummar, after seventeen years of running on the wrong side of the law, has retired at last. Determined to provide a better life for his family, he has settled down in the Arizona Territory, where the townspeople barely tolerate the notorious killer. But that fragile peace is shattered when and old flame -- gorgeous, cunning, and diabolical -- shows up in town to settle an old score.
-- "Compelling tragedy laced with irony and fueled by friendship, loyalty, and love. Most memorable, though is Billy himself ... Billy and the time he lived in come off the page and capture the imagination". -- Kirkus Reviews, pointer review on Billy the Kid: The Legend of El Chivato

"Other novels have been written about Billy the Kid, and it is likely that more will be. But it is unlikely that any will surpass Elizabeth Fackler's in epic scope, in emotional depth and in rich characterization. She makes the legend live". -- Elmer Kelton on Billy the Kid: The Legend of El Chivato

"A compelling novel, one well worth reading. The setting and depiction of isolated ranch life in that time are vividly real". -- El Paso Herald-Post on Texas Lily

"(Texas Lily) has enormous entertainment value for fans of Western fiction, particularly stories focusing on the heroism of women of the West". -- San Antonio Express-News on Texas Lily

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third volume in Fackler's well-received Seth Strummar series is an uneven mixture of good guys, bad guys, bad kids, bad women and the gang that couldn't ride or shoot straight. It's 1883, and gunfighter and bank robber Seth has retired to a ranch in the Arizona Territory, determined to live down his bloody past. Despite his good intentions, however, he is still an outlaw saddlebum at heart, living off stolen money and letting down the friends and loved ones who need him most. When saloon tart Lila Keats rides into town out of Seth's past, it's clear that a revenge plot is afoot. Lila pulls a gang of inept hardcases into a brief blaze of action and gunfire, with Seth leading an equally inept posse in plodding pursuit. The whole story is dragged down by a raft of rotten, unsympathetic characters, Seth included. The sheriff is a crook, the women are whores with hearts of stone, the town's leading citizens are liars and thieves; even Seth's seven-year-old son turns out to be a killer. Joaquin, Seth's partner, is the only good guy, but even his light gets doused in this dismal tale. After Fackler's last, the superb Billy the Kid: The Legend of El Chivato (1995), this reads like an anemic horse opera in slow motion
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Seth Strummar was the most feared killer in the Southwest, but now he's settled uneasily into the life of an Arizona homesteader, married with children. Then Lila Keats and her husband, Bart, come to town. Bart calls Seth out--claiming he was wronged by Seth years ago--and Seth sends Bart out of the saloon face first. Set on revenge, Lila hatches a plan to rob the local bank, where Seth keeps all his outlaw loot. Seth lets the law protect his money, but it turns out to be a bad decision, forcing him to pursue the robbers in order to recoup his finances. The Strummar series strives to be more than a standard western shoot-'em-up, and it often succeeds. Strummar is attempting to redeem his past life through his new family, but every day is a struggle. He is an outlaw by nature and chafes at civilization's conventions. His struggle to suppress his nature makes this novel unusual and worthwhile genre reading. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812577612
• ISBN-13: 978-0812577617
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,253,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant story, beautifully written., September 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Badlands (Mass Market Paperback)

A touching, tragic story of family love and the price of loyalty among friends. The continuing saga of Seth and Joaquin keeps me coming back to each new book in the Seth Strummar series with excited anticipation.