Customer Reviews

Loco

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Loco is a misnomer. Rather it should be "The Cowboy Berserker." Even that is incomplete. Rather I would say it's a classic and worth preserving as are the great classics preserved.

There is a suggestion of the author having been influenced by the Clint Eastwood -Sergio Leone "dollar trilogy" in the writing of this 1969 novel ,in that it also features an un-named protagonist ,"Loco" being a nickname ,not a given name.The ending also partakes of the slighly bitter-sweet ,fatalism of the tougher minded spaghetti westerns of the era.

"Loco" is an an American ,a gun for hire who has been plying his trade in Mexico for many years.He is a man with a social conscience ,having come to the aid of the downtrodden peons more than once .He has sold his gun but never his soul.On returning to the States he is shot at from ambush by the rancher ,Ruth Caisson ,who mistakenly believes he is a gunman hired by newly arrived settlers ,the "Sheep" who are believed to be behind a spate of cattle thefts in the territory.He is taken in by her and her mother but beaten up by her ranch hands without her knowledge ,as they firmly believe he is a potential enemy.He is taken in by the "Sheep"who turn out to be a religious community ,wholly innocent of any wrongdoing .They have engaged a gunman ,Loco's old friend ,the engaging ,if dangerous ,Ray de Vaca ,to organise their defences in the event of an an attcak from the ranchers.

"Loco" sets out to expose the real culprit and so head off an impending range war ,while at the same time striving to win the heart of the feisty Ruth.The book is well and unfussily written ,with some deft comedic touches ,and while it breaks no new ground it is a satisfying genre read for those who like Westerns