Customer Reviews

The Fourth Horseman

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Eickhoff has written a tour-de-force that will surely become a classic of the genre in years to come. This is an outstanding contribution to the Western genre. He has diligently researched a very difficult subject and even found examples of Holliday's vernacular. He has most certainly found the soul of Doc Holliday and laid back the veneer of legend to expose the true man. Some disgruntled individuals who do not know the historicity of the novel may show their ignorance by debunking Eickhoff's attention to detail, but that cannot take away the excellent of the work itself.

I found this book to be somewhat enjoyable, as a casual read. But if you are looking for honest, hard-core facts about the man who was John Henry Holliday, then this book is not for you. But as a fiction book, it was ok. The main problem that I had with it, and that I see other reviewers had with it, is that it is *very* similar to the movie 'Tombstone'. The main character is modeled so closely after Val Kilmer's movie take that he actually uses the same phrases. Even events that happened in the movie, such as the murder of Johnny Ringo, which was probably a suicide, more than a murder, were taken directly from the movie.

On the account of the 'name-dropping', I found it somewhat quaint, almost like a 'Forrest Gump' kind of move. Running into Calamity Jane, Edwin Booth and other such notables was quite fun, if you're interested in that.

I would have given this book four stars if not for the end. It happened almost exactly as it did in the movie 'Tombstone', which was very disappointing and almost sad. And throughout the whole book, the main character was spouting off phrases from the movie, almost verbatim, such as 'You're a daisy', which was certainly the 'in' slang word of the time, but not as much as was used in the book. But the whole thing about 'I'm your huckleberry' got to be a bit tiresome, as he said it like twenty times, and a bit embarrassing for me to read it. Another example was the use of the adjective 'cosmopolitan' to describe towns, places, etc.

The book itself was well written, with the descriptions of the South being dead-on. Magnolia, and willow trees and an array of interesting characters contributed to the 'persona' that we know of as being 'the South' were all very interesting. The pace of the book was well-set, nice and easy with out being too hurried or too slow.

All in all, I'm pretty sure I would recommend this, if you have an open mind towards the *fictional* character of John Henry Holliday. But if you're looking for a true to life story, check out 'And Die In The West' by Paula Marks, which is one of the best non-biased tellings of both the fight at the O.K. Corral, and the stories of all the men involved.

Like John Ford's classic movie of Holliday/Earp/Tombstone this is a work that uses the facts as a jumping off point for a world of fiction. Much liberty is taken with what is known of Doc's life, and much use is made of things that can not be known. Like Ford's movie this is the worst place to start if you're looking for solid info about Doc's life. But (also like the film) this is excellant entertainment if you already have the facts down and are interested in seeing what a tallented creative mind can do with a figure who will always be more myth and ghost than flesh and blood.

This book truly portrays life for Dr. Holliday. His descriptions of each moment of Holliday's adventures are beautifully rendered and put you "there". This is the life and times of the famous Doc Holliday, as if Doc had written it himself. A classic if ever there was one. I have spent years with research on Dr. Holliday and though some of the book embelishes on what is accepted fact, it could be as close to the truth as anything else written on him, possibly more so, because of the simple fact that his life is at most guesswork and what really happened will never be known. "Truth is only in the eyes of the beholder." This applies to history more than anything else. I commend Mr. Eickoff on his work and hope for the day that this book will be used as a basis for a feature film based on the life of Doc Holliday instead of his famous friend.

If you are a Val Kilmer fan you'll just love this book. If you're looking for Doc look elsewhere. Perhaps the best biography of Doc ever written is the long out of print "DOC HOLLIDAY" by John Meyers Meyers. If you can find a copy of it you've come close to finding the real John Henry Holiday DDS.

A must read if you are a Doc Holliday buff. Even though it's fiction, I couldn't put it down. Friends that I loaned it to could not put down either. Product arrived on schedule and I would buy from this seller again!

This is one of the best reads ever. Eickhoff leads you throught the life of one of the Old West's most well known & least understood characters.

I found this book to be very disappointing after having enjoyed his joint effort, "Bowie, a Novel", so very much. It wasn't the racism, about which I was duly warned; after all, it was set in a very racist time and the attitudes certainly fit the characters. No, it was the name-dropping that got to me. Eickhoff had Holliday hopping aroung the country meeting, and frequently bedding if they were women, many, many famous people. Names that come to mind are Belle Boyd, the Confederate agent, Mary Anderson, the Union doctor, as well as the Earp brothers. I just got tired of it and gave up on the book.

I don't know if Randy Lee Eickhoff had anything to do with the screenplay, but Doc Holliday in this book is definitely Val Kilmer in print. In the book, Doc even does Val Kilmer's signature trick of rolling a coin on his knuckles! Anyone who has watched the movie will recognize the dialogue. It was interesting to read of Doc's pre-Tombstone days, but for that I would definitely recommend Karen Holliday Turner's "Doc Holliday- a Family Portrait". By the way, I counted Doc as saying "I'm your huckleberry" 5 times in the first 50 pages of Eickhoff's book, and some diologue is nearly verbatim ("Why, Johnny Tyler! Where are you going with that gun?"). If you want to read this anyhow, I recommend getting it through a library like I did. Use your hard-earned greenbacks to get Turner's book.

If Mr. Eickhoff has any integrity, he needs to send every nickel of his earnings from this book to the person whose brilliant interpretation of Doc Holliday actually wrote this Tombstone rip-off. Randy, make that check out to: Val Kilmer and you'll sleep better tonight. For a truly original book (you know the kind... the ones the grownups write...all on their own...with no help) try Bruce Olds' amazing Bucking the Tiger. Now, THAT'S art.