Customer Reviews

Nothing But a Drifter (Sagebrush Westerns)

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"Nothing But a Drifter" is the perfect summary title for this book. Brian, our drifter, stumbles upon a father and daughter struggling to free a bull from mire and amidst his efforts to help, finds himself as hired hand on a small ranch.

Brian is convinced to stay on a spell to guide Sam Pearsons' boys during the next season. Sam and Hildys' daughter, Laurie, is being courted by a local rancher (Frank Hunter) with a bad attitude and vibe. Brian and Frank Hunter suspect each other, and as the herds are gathered and joined for a community drive, a battle for both the Forked P and the heart of Laurie begins.

Lee Hoffman was a spectacular writer with numerous awards and novels to her credit. Her skill at creating sympathetic characters and inclusion of ranch knowledge is remarkable. While not as smooth as Johnny Boggs, her style is rugged, just like the character of Brian whose growth we witness in this book.

Highly enjoyable fiction from a master of the genre.

Strange goings on on the Forked P range: prize bull shot for no apparent reason, barn burned again no apparent reason, Cheyennes being shot at when begging beef, and at least one mysterious rider known as "beef killer" seen by the Cheyennes. Is it just the Pearson ranch coming under fire or is there more afoot here too? A lot more as this story unfolds.

Lee Hoffman (Shirley Bell Hoffman) winner of the coveted Spur Award, 1967, (Western Writers of America Spur Award for THE VALDEZ HORSES)wrote this very smooth reading western back in 1976, this Doubleday DD hardcover has now been re-issued by Leisure Westerns book club as part of their 4-book monthly package for July shipment. According to Leisure Books this is the first time this western has appeared in mass market paperback.

The main protagonist here is a Texas drifter named Brian, a man who is quite happy alone and drifting. Due to an accident Brian is called upon to settle down and run the Pearson ranch while the owner is laid up from a cattle goring. Brian has his hands full with not only Pearson's lovely daughter, but also with the two younger boys who think they are bigger and older than they are. Through one scene after another Brian tries to put pieces of the puzzle together to make some sense of what is occurring on the Pearson range, with Frank Hunt a fellow rancher being the most problematic of all. Rustling, possible Cheyenne war parties, rivalries between ranchers, rough country stings of horses and wild cattle, all coming at winter's end and spring roundup's beginning to possibly bust loose with lead flying in the air, this is a western story well plotted and well written.

This western from Lee Hoffman (1932-2007) will keep most western readers interested by its plot and soft humor. Somewhat atypical of many contemporary westerns the story is a very clean read with an optimistic ending. No sad, anti-heroic cowhands in this story. Step back a generation in time and ride with Lee Hoffman as she lassos up a fine western yarn.

Semper Fi.

This is a reprint of a 1976 novel by Lee Hoffman.I didn't realize that Lee was a lady writer until after I finished the novel and read the Reviews.It is the first novel I've read by her.I chose it because the cover showed that she was a "Spur Award Author".It is well written,a good storyline with a couple of well developed main characters and quite a few other characters we encounter for brief periods.These lesser characters put in appearances but we really don't get to know much about them.It is set somewhere after the Civil War and the panic of '73 in north Texas;but could just as well be in any of the western "cattle States" and at anytime over a fairly long period.It is somewhat of a fairly common theme where a drifter shows up and gets involved with a struggling rancher,cattle are being rustled,there are some personal entanglements and the outsider comes to their aid and,helps solve the problem;then rides off into the sunset--or does he?
There is a lot of detail about ranching and handling cattle.There is not much in the way of real gunfights ,fights to the finish,or struggles against seemingly impossible odds.Rather than fistfights and shootouts;we get a lot of palavering;a word which comes up on several occassions. As a fan of Old West westerns like "Longarm",The Trailsman",The Gunfighter,"Slocum" and such;I found this novel more akin to the old B&W movies of the 40's I grew up watching on Saturday afternoon at the local movie theatre;such as Roy Rogers & Dale Evans,Gene Autry,The Lone Ranger,The Durango Kid,etc.;the only thing missing was the singing and the music.