Bloody Season [Paperback]

Loren D. Estleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1999

From the three-time Golden Spur Award winner--the classic novel about Tombstone, Arizona...

"Pistol-hot...rawhide tough."--Kirkus Reviews

"Gritty and unwashed realism...a brutal showdown."--Elmer Kelton

"High drama...so real you can smell the horses."--Elmore Leonard

"Raw, realistic, myth exploding."--Booklist

* The gunfight at O.K. Corral is the ultimate Western adventure--and Estleman's novel is the definitive account

* Estleman is the author of This Old Bill, Journey of the Dead, Billy Gashade, and City of Widows

"High Drama... Estleman's account of events following the O.K. Corral gunfight is the best one I've ever read, by far."--Elmore Leonard

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Winner of three Golden Spur Awards, Estleman here tells of the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 Tombstone, Ariz., but the novel is a curious mixture of impressionism and straight history. Most readers won't be able to sort out the dozens of characters until close to the end, which is a pity because Estleman, master of the hardboiled western (and mystery) story, has a terrific way of grabbing our attentionthe first sentence is a shockerand keeping us turning pages. The plot concerns the political and financial wranglings that ensued after the famous shoot-out (which was not in the O.K. Corral), an event that not only made Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers notorious but made them targets as well. Estleman displays solid historical knowledge and his usual deft writing. The charactersespecially Holliday, an alcoholic, tubercular woman-beater, and Wyatt Earp, a dandified womanizer interested mainly in moneyspring indelibly to life. The feel, sights and smellsof 1881 Tombstone are beautifully etched in this flawed but compulsively readable gem.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Estleman's latest novel is a vividly written and carefully researched account of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Opening with the shootout itself, the narrative then recounts both the events leading up to the battle and its legacy, often doing so in a documentary fashion that focuses on the personal histories of the individuals involved. Along the way, many cherished myths about this quintessential American story die off as hard and fast as the characters themselves. Of particular note is Estleman's ability to convey the myriad physical sensations of life in the frontier Southwest. In those collections where Westerns are popular, this is sure to be one of the more requested titles of the year. Lonnie Beene, West Texas State Univ. Lib., Canyon
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Jove (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515125318
• ISBN-13: 978-0515125313
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since the appearance of his first novel in 1976, Loren D. Estleman has written more than 65 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. Alone (Dec 2009, Forge Books) is the second in a new series about L.A. film detective Valentino, and features Greta Garbo.

To kick off the new decade, Estleman's The Book of Murdock (eighth in the U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock series) will appear in March and, to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of Private Detective Amos Walker, The Left-Handed Dollar will publish in December. It's the 20th novel in the award-winning series.

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

He has received seventeen national writing awards: four Shamuses from the Private Eye Writers of America, five Spurs from the Western Writers of America, two American Mystery Awards from Mystery Scene Magazine, two Outstanding Mystery Writer of the Year awards from Popular Fiction Monthly, two Stirrup Awards for outstanding articles in the Western Writers of America magazine, The Roundup, and three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987, the Michigan Foundation of the Arts presented him with its award for literature. In 1997, the Michigan Library Association named him the recipient of the Michigan Author's Award. In 2007, Nicotine Kiss was named a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.

Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Journalism. On April 27, 2002, EMU presented him with an honorary doctorate in letters. He left the job market in 1980 to write full time. He lives in Michigan and is married to writer Deborah Morgan. For more information, please visit his website: www.lorenestleman.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Badly Dated Historical Fiction, January 23, 2011

By 

Chris Dacus (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bloody Season (Paperback)

Estleman's take on the Earp saga is now an extremely dated work of historical fiction. It seems Estleman found himself, for one reason or another, pandering to the revisionist craze that dominated Western academic historiography from the 1960s-1990s. (The novel was originally published in 1987.) Unfortunately for Estleman, one of his main sources, the memoirs of Allie Earp edited by Frank Waters, has since been proven to be a fraud. It is obvious that Waters's now infamously fictionalized tale posing as "history" is the basis for "the Earps were nothing but lowdown pimps, crooked gamblers and shakedown artists posing as lawmen" interpretation that Estleman presents in this novel. The reason it is pretty obvious is that Estleman conveys this message mainly through the character of Allie Earp in dialogue and narration taken almost directly from Waters's book. Given that this is the main thrust of the plot of the novel, there is really nothing positive one can say for it as "historical" fiction. Interestingly, by the time this novel was reprinted in 1999, it was pretty clear that Waters was a fraud. In a "Postscript" to the 1999 edition Estleman writes that he attempted to tell the story "with as much accuracy and objectivity as is possible" but concludes by saying that his novel is "not history." His failure to address here his use of Waters as a source is telling.

As a piece of pure fiction "Bloody Season" is not bad but certainly not remarkable either; it is a work of pretty standard prose. I would skip this one and read Robert B. Parker's "Gunman's Rhapsody," which is more accurate historically than Estleman's offering and superior aesthetically because the form of Parker's spare prose style perfectly matches his conceptual content of the stoic western gunman.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear distinctions, November 25, 2003

By 

Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloody Season (Hardcover)

Of the hundreds of books written about Tombstone and the Arizona Territory during the times of the Clanton and Earps I'd give this one the highest marks. Although it's a fictionalized history, Estleman manages to capture several traits concerning the period I've never seen in non-fiction.

No US Territory during the 19th Century was exactly the shiny ideal we're tempted to assign to America. While the Tombstone marshals Earp faction were battling the Presidential appointed Territorial Governor appointed Sheriff Behan/Clanton faction in Territorial Arizona over who could seize power, steal the most cattle, rob the most stage-coaches loaded with silver from the nearby mines, similar events were happening in New Mexico and other Territories. Estleman re-creates the nature of this politically motivated war for raw power descended directly from Washington DC as few writers have managed to do. The author is also careful to explain to his readers where he's deviated from documented fact, such as in the details of conversations between the parties.

Estleman also avoids the pitfalls of so many writers by seeing a clear distinction between courage and heroism. Men willing to enthusiastically face other armed men in gun battles from a distance of a few feet are certainly in possession of fearlessness, or courage. In Tombstone, Arizona, such fearlessness was rife on both sides of the local war. The author succeeds in communicating the fact that such profound courage doesn't necessarily accompany virtue of any other sort. Tombstone was a war between brave men of ambition. The ground they fought for was profit and naked power. Nothing more, nothing less.

I'm giving this book five stars because of the eggs it breaks.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For all lovers of Western History!, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloody Season (Chivers Sound Library American Collections) (Audio Cassette)

Dietz is a veteran of over 75 audio book productions per the back cover, and he reads this action-packed, myth-busting Western with dramatic flair. Dietz sounds like an Old West cowboy character with a gravelly, terse voice. He makes the scene come alive and so real I could smell the blood and sweat. It's 1881, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, and the gunfight at OK Corral has occurred and the Earps and Doc Holliday have been arrested. From negotiations with the sheriff and Virg and Morgan Earp's injuries to Doc's frustrated beating of Big Nose Kate plus Wyatt's assignation with a prostitute, nothing is left out. Dietz struggles with the female voices, but that's not too distracting. Even though you think you know the story, this performance and account of the ultimate Western adventure are a terrific combination and will be enjoyed by all.