Customer Reviews

Pursuit (Thorndike Western II)

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

 

 

Verne Athanas' literary star shone brightly albeit briefly in the 1950s. Before his writing career was prematurely cut short by a heart attack at age 45, Athanas wrote a number of fine western short stories and three novels. Leisure Books has brought together a sampling of Athanas' stories, the first such collection of a talented writer's work.

PURSUIT consists of seven stories. Six of the tales, all set in the Old West, were previously published in the 1950s. The seventh story - 'Killer at Large' - is the book's lengthiest story. Set in contemporary times, it was previously unpublished.

Make no mistake about it, there are some crackerjack stories in PURSUIT. 'Ointment for Mangas,' for example, is a gripping tale of a trapped Cavalry unit told by its lead scout, who decides on desperate and pitiless action to save his comrades. 'Day of Saint Andrew,' set in a Rocky Mountain town, is a classic and somewhat lighthearted love story of a man forced to fight to win the love of his life. 'The Pioneers' is a grim tale of a man, left for death after an Indian attack, who singleminded sets out to rescue his wife and child from his attackers.

Having never read Athanas before, I really enjoyed this book. The characters in the stories are interesting, flesh-and-blood people; the action, well-done. I was somewhat disappointed by 'Killer at Large.' It was competently done but not, in my opinion, as engaging as the other stories.

On balance though, because of the overall quality of the collection, I gave PURSUIT five stars.