Customer Reviews

Noble Outlaw

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Overall, I enjoyed Braun's Noble Outlaw. It was very well-written, and Braun managed to transform a thug with a nasty temper into a sympathetic and misunderstood Texas hero. Though I'm not so sure the men Wes Hardin killed would appreciate the author's skill, I enjoyed the book and intend to read more of Mr. Braun's work. I would, however, be careful and not use the term "Historical Fiction" too loosely, for according to my history books, Wes Hardin was no hero.

A fair book. It is about the life and times of John Wesley Hardin. Please read it with a grain of salt. Mr. Hardin was not the hero he appears to be in the book. Some is fact but lot is fiction. He kills his first man at age 15, I think, then is really on the run from then on. He is quick with a gun and very good with a shotgun. He finally gets married and has two children. As usual, he is caught and pays the price, as set out by a judge and jury. Lots of shooting, lots of western clans involved. I am sure true to life at that time. Just don't believe he was as good as book leds one to believe.

Noble Outlaw by Matt Braun is another well-written, and stupefyingly historically inaccurate, portrait of the gunman John Wesley Hardin.

The title of the novel gives you some sense of the whitewashing of history regarding this cold-blooded killer that Braun embarks upon. Braun is a very good writer. Frankly, there are few better working the field, imo, aside from Gorman and Estleman. But Braun has a tendency to "Hollywood-ize" his novels in such a way that not only divorces them from reality, they make us question our own knowledge of historical fact. And, to be fair, when you fictionalize history you do have to sometimes cut corners, invent dialog, compress time, and do other things that might not jibe with the facts. As a professional writer myself I get that. It's understandable.

But in this novel John Wesley Hardin is little more than a misunderstood patriot gunning down lawmen who want to capture him. That's all. He's actually a pretty nice fella, to hear Braun tell it. Loves his wife and kids, loves his freedom. If only those dastardly carpetbaggers and Texas Rangers would just leave him alone.

Of course, historical fact and verifiable evidence paints a much grimmer picture of Hardin. We know exactly the kind of man he was, the guns he wore and how he wore them, Braun's rainbow pictorial notwithstanding. However, even with all that, this is a very good novel. I do highly recommend it.

Just be aware you are reading fiction.

A LOT of fiction.