The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales (The Works of Robert E. Howard) [Paperback]

Robert E. Howard (Author), David Gentzel (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005 | Series: The Works of Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard turned to writing comic and dialect Western tales only late in his career, but he found an immediate and continuously successful market for them, and they are in many respects his most accomplished and polished works. The sixteen tales collected here are some of the best of his stories, featuring Breckinridge Elkins, Pike Bearfield, and Buckner J. Grimes—three inimitable characters who lead well-intentioned lives of perpetual confusion, mischance, and outright catastrophe. Fifteen of the stories were published between 1934 and 1937 in Action Stories, Argosy, or Cowboy Stories; the other remained unpublished for more than thirty years. Many of these stories were rewritten for book publication and have never been reprinted in their original form. They are reminiscent of traditional southwestern tall tales, told in dialect, featuring larger-than-life characters, swift action, broad satire, and wry humor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The University of Nebraska Press collections are an important contribution to anyone interested in Robert E. Howard, or just how good pulp fiction can be."-Southwest BookViews (Southwest BookViews )

"An entertaining selection of Western tales, many of which were originally published between 1934 and 1937, features such inimitable characters as Breckinridge Elkins, Pike Bearfield, and Buckner J. Grimes, as they make their bumbling way through the colorful landscape of the American West."-Paper Clips (Paper Clips )

"These sixteen stories collected here are all `tall tales' featuring larger than life characters such as Breckinridge Elkins, Pike Bearfield, and Buckner J. Grimes. Told in dialect, these tales are a combination of slapstick and action. . . . Sit yourself down with a jug of corn juice-`half a gallon is enough for any man'-and enjoy."-Mike Ashworth, Historical Novels Review (Mike Ashworth Historical Novels Review )

About the Author

Robert E. Howard (1906–36) lived and wrote in Cross Plains, Texas. From 1924 until his death, he sold hundreds of stories to pulp-fiction magazines such as Weird Tales, Argosy, Action Stories, Fight Stories, and Cowboy Stories. As a twentieth-century American master of fantastic adventure, he rivals Edgar Rice Burroughs. David Gentzel is a noted Howard scholar and collector, specializing in the humorous Western stories. He is the editor of Busted Ribs and Broken English and a textual consultant for the Wandering Star editions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803273541
• ISBN-13: 978-0803273542
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,284,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

(1906-1936) Robert Erwin Howard was born and rasied in rural Texas, where he lived all his life. The son of a pioneer physician, he began writing professionally at the age of fifteen. Howard killed himself in June 1936 when he learned that his beloved mother had fallen into a coma.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hipster Spies With His Little Eye Something That Begins With--Western Insanity, Howard Style, June 13, 2006

By 

The Mystic Eye Of The Hipster (Murfreesboro, TN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales (The Works of Robert E. Howard) (Paperback)

Robert E Howard's Western heroes create hilarious chaos wherever they go, from devastation at a crooked Election Day to the insanity produced by a young giant of a man going into a civilized town for the first time in his life. And darned near leveling the whole community. By accident.

Each & every story reads like the Saturday Night Live crew playing the Man With No Name.

Fine Westerns, don't get me wrong. But lots of laughs, too.

Robert E Howard is most famous for his "Conan The Barbarian" creation.

But this collection of Western tales proves his talent wasn't limited to that.
He was too good a writer to be limited to that.

If this item interests you, you might also enjoy--
Daisy Kutter: The Last Train

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales, December 9, 2007

By 

J. Deckard (lincoln ne usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales (The Works of Robert E. Howard) (Paperback)

I think this collection of REH westerns is some of his best work.The hero of most of the stories,Breckinridge Elkins,is,to quote Howard, "of the Pecos Bill style". The stories go beyond comedy, into slapstick tall tales. Elkins absorbs more lead,cuts, and bashing in one brawl than ten ordinary men,usually before he leaves home.His horse Cap'n Kidd is the only thing on two or four legs thats a match for him and the story "Meet Cap'n Kidd",is one of the best in the book.The character in the next three stories, Pike Bearfield is not quite as outrageous as Elkins,and the stories a bit more realistic,but Howards use of dialect and humor is still very entertaining.The story "The Riot at Bucksnort" is written as a series of newspaper articles, letters and telegrams,and is indeed a riot.In the last three stories,Buckner J. Grimes,is yet more realistic and the stories not as funny,in fact "A Man Eating Jeapord" is a good straight foward western with some humor thrown in. If you like Howard, humor, westerns, or just good entertainment I think you will enjoy this.

2.0 out of 5 stars Howard at his weakest, May 11, 2010

By 

Jay "SarahsJay" (Douglasville, GA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales (The Works of Robert E. Howard) (Paperback)

R E Howard is one of my personal favorite authors, and I enjoy much of his work in the western genre. That said, I just couldn't get into his Breckenridge Elkins and other humorous westerns. By far Howard is at his best in his dark work, and that shows in the stories contained in this book. The situations Elkins and others find themselves in are intended to be hilarious but strike me more as ludicrous. Their redundancy doesn't help matters. The strongest quality of these stories is Howard's powerful writing, but that can't overcome their deficiencies--for me anyway. To anyone wanting to read Howard's work, I recommend looking for the other collections in this Bison Books series or the volumes in Del Rey's ongoing reprints of Howard's work as close to his intended vision as possible. This is a volume for the Howard completist only, and even then I'd have a hard time recommending it.