Pride Of The Mountain Man (The Last Mountain Man) [Paperback]

William W. Johnstone (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078601671X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786016716
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A REAL PAGE TURNER!!!, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pride Of The Mountain Man (Paperback)

Non stop action in the tradition of the dime store Western! Missouri bushwackers get their come uppance in the wake of a Dodge City bank robbery. After the Rebs lost the war they should have stayed the Hell out of Dodge!

1.0 out of 5 stars Splatter Punk in Dodge City, May 15, 2011

By 

Wisconsin Reader "Wisconsin Reader" (Cottage Grove, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride Of The Mountain Man (Paperback)

"Pride of the Mountain Man" by William W. Johnstone is a cliché, at best. A lone hero and a few sidekicks take on a gang of villains. Fine. Most western novels are clichés, and their effectiveness depends on such elements as descriptive language, sense of place, historically accurate background, and unique characterizations. Mr. Johnstone's narrative is instead a catalog of bloodshed, and graphic depictions of bullet wounds and the writhing throes of death. I agree with the premise that America and the Old West were extremely violent and that life was often short, brutish, and nasty. Unfortunately Mr. Johnstone uses this premise for an entire plot as he fills page after page with killing after killing.

Witness these random descriptions:
* "Hicks fell over on his back, feet kicking, reaching for his mouth with both hands...'Lookee there ! Tom's teeth come plumb out of the back of his neck. Two of `em's layin' there underneath under his skullbone'."
* The gunman was midway through looping his reins around the hitch post when he stiffened his spine....His stetson flew off amid a cloud of crimson mist, and it appeared that a plug of his long black hair went with his hat."
And so on. This is the substance of this novel. These depictions substitute for any sort of writing acumen or skill.

I also had problems with Mr. Johnstone's lack of even a modicum of historical research.
* The author mentions several times that his villain Bloody Bill Anderson was reported shot down after the Civil War. I have no problem with Bloody Bill being resurrected, but he ould have been reported dead in October, 1864. The war did not end till the next spring.
* He has Bill Anderson fighting with the Army of Tennessee in the battle at Franklin (TN). Bill never served in Hood's army nor did he fight at Franklin.
* Wyatt Earp is described as the 22-year old City Marshall of Dodge City. Earp was actually Assistant Marshal at the age of 30. He was never marshal.

Okay, I'll allow for poetic license, but I would suggest that in the future Mr. Johnstone at least take a cursory glance at Wikipedia for a few pieces of factual information.

Finally the title belies the plot of the narrative. It is about a rancher/gunfighter. A mountain man only has a peripheral role as the mentor to the hero. The reader becomes acquainted with him only through the hero's recollections. I fail to see how this story has anything to do with his "pride".

William W. Johnstone has apparently authored a huge quantity of western novels. My guess is that it took him less time to write this trashy book that it did for me to plod through its tedious pages.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kick Ass, November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pride Of The Mountain Man (Paperback)

And heres another good book about Smoke Jenson who beyond all odds thrives to kill people and bring about a personal revenge. Wyatt Earp is not a very central figure so dont buy it because of that. Buy it because it's a good shoot 'em up book.