Customer Reviews

Savage Run

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

C. J. Box has more than lived up to his high promise of his debut novel "Open Season," This time out, the writing is more polished, graceful and the plotting is more tightly controlled. I also hereby award the author "The Best First Line Prize of 2002" I was hooked after this: "On the third day of their honeymoon, infamous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride, Annabel Bellotti, were spiking trees in the forest when a cow exploded and blew them up. Until then, their marriage had been happy."
Hard to resist, right?

Joe Pickett is called in as game warden for a sighted "livestock slaughter." At the time, no one knew any humans were involved. This is not the story of golden haired environmentalists vs. evil developers. There is good, bad and sometimes just plain silly on both sides. But Joe gradually becomes aware that some seemingly unconnected deaths of major environmentalists have links with his cow explosion. The action is fast, the violence sudden and graphic and has a gratifying climax. I felt guilty about feeling satisfied, but I just couldn't help it.

The characterizations are extremely sharp. Though Joe has a very low opinion of his abilities, you have to listen how other people judge and estimate him to get a balanced idea of his true worth. Someone compared him to a Jimmy Stewart character and I think the comparison is apt. His wife Marybeth (the consensus is she's a "babe") is anything but a dim presence. She is Joe's other self, and sometimes the wiser one. The author handles the Wyoming scenery and ambiance like a master. You feel as if he has stepped on every foot of ground.

An excellent read, and I await my next meeting with Joe Pickett with pleasure.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett meets Sheriff Barnum and Deputy McLanahan to head up the mountain to determine what the explosion was that a fire lookout reported. Part of the way they have to ride their horses. They find a large crater. It appears that a cow exploded and killed a woman and a man. It turns out to be environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride.

The cattle belonged to ranch owner Jim Finotta. When Joe goes to notify him of the death of approximately 10 of his cattle, he notices an elk head on Finotta's wall. Joe determines that Finotta killed it out of season and left the meat to rot. He tries everything he can to prosecute Finotta, but he is so well connected that Joe is stopped at every turn.

Unbeknownst to Joe, his wife, Marybeth, knew Stewie many years ago. His death stirs up her memories and puts them in danger as well.

Then more environmental activists die in bizarre accidents. Joe knows something is going on, but can't quite put his finger on it. More things begin happening, and the next thing he knows, he is being hunted. Will he ever get home in one piece to his family?

I like Joe. He is a great guy. He always tries to do what is right. Quite often that ticks other people off and makes his job harder.

This series is a step out of my normal genre. I usually only read cozy mysteries (little sex, violence and cussing). This goes over that line, but because I like Joe Pickett and Mr. Box's writing style, I read this series. I do want to mention that this book is a bit violent and graphic. I found I had to skip over some of those parts.

I recommend this book. This is one series that you will want to read. The suspense keeps you guessing and the pace moves quickly.

Following up on his successful debut novel Open Season, C. J. Box brings back Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett for another adventure in the Wyoming backcountry. As in his first book, this novel has flatness to the writing at times, but the last 100 pages are filled with nerve-racking enjoyment.

As the novel opens, a massive explosion rips through the Bighorn Natural Forest just outside of Saddlestring, Wyoming. A fire lookout sees the blast and the resulting plume of smoke and falling debris. He calls the local Sheriff's office to report it and soon Sheriff O. R. "Bud" Barnum calls Joe. Sheriff Barnum does not have any idea what exploded but believes a number of animals were killed and requires the services of Joe.

Joe meets the Sheriff out at the explosion site and for a brief period of time, they are both able to put their mutual animosity towards each other aside. Dead cattle are everywhere as well as downed trees and a blasted crater several feet deep. The sheer enormity of the blast amazes and sickens both men. But soon, human remains are found and the Sheriff asserts his authority over the investigation, as the deaths of people are his domain. He forces Joe to the sidelines of the investigation but word of the victims soon leaks out and appears in the local small town paper.

Stewie Woods and his wife were apparently both killed in the explosion. Stewie Woods, who some considered an ardent environmentalist and others considered him to be an ecoterrorist is blamed for the blast. Sheriff Barnum's theory is that Stewie, long known for sabotaging ranchers, miners and everyone and everything around in defense of the environment as he saw it, was attempting to sabotage some of the cattle that were grazing on federal land. Theoretically, he mishandled explosives that he was attaching to the cattle in protest and accidentally killed himself and his new wife. Joe thinks the answer is just too pat and has a personal stake in the situation, which becomes a major portion of the book. He launches his own investigation and soon finds himself in the cross hairs of a sniper's rifle as a killer chases him across the high country of Wyoming.

As in Open Season, C. J. Box is best at describing the rugged beauty of the Wyoming landscape. Those scenes come alive and for a moment it seems as if you are on a horse next to Joe as he surveys elk flowing across the spring grass under a stark blue sky with a gentle wind blowing. Unfortunately, when his characters speak, the illusion is cracked as many of the dialogue sections seem just a bit stilted. One kind of winces at times knowing that most folks do not really speak the way he writes in the scenes he describes.

However, his last 100 pages of this novel make you forget the limitations that came before them. Something happens and everything begins to click and run together as the chase winds across the rugged mountains with Joe chased by a determined killer bent on finishing his job to the last man. What follows is some of the best writing I have had the pleasure to read in sometime and ranks up there with some of the best written chase scenes by the masters. What starts off rather slow becomes a nerve-racking finish and certainly well worth the read.

I *loved* Open Season, and I certainly like the way C.J.Box writes, and I also loved the first half of Savage Run. But, I'm sorry, the plot contained too many wildly unbelievable coincidences and dei ex machina for me. Amazon guidelines and common decency prevent me from listing them, but they caused my suspension of disbelief to disintegrate completely, and I was so disgusted that I could only skim the last bit of the book.
Having said all that, I'll still read his next book, because C.J. certainly has talent. But with this book I felt much the same frustration I feel after seeing a thriller movie that has so much promise and then tanks at the end: don't authors or screenwriters let someone read the book (or see the movie) before publication, so they can find out if the story seems to fall apart and become a comic book at some point? If you want us to suspend disbelief and be completely into the story, then the story must be believable on some level.
Box still gets three stars from me because I like his writing, but *please* work out the plots a little better!

The second great book in this series. A great read. Joe simply does the "right thing" to the best of his ability. Great relationship between him and his wife and kids. Lots of action just simply a excellent book. Cann't wait for the next.

Starting with probably the most intriguing first paragraph of any novel I have ever read, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of conspiracy to kill environmental advocates/ecoterrorists that is set in the beautiful Wyoming mountains. The hero of this tale is game warden Joe Pickett, an ordinary guy who takes his job very seriously. Pickett gets called to the scene of an explosion in a cow herd that kills 10 cows and an unknown number of people. In between his work to enforce fishing and hunting licenses or count Elk calves, Pickett gets involved in investigating the apparent murder of ecoterrorist Stewie Woods who we find out was a teenage lover of Pickett's "babe" wife Marybeth. As the story evolves we track the progress of assassins who are working their way down a hit list of environmental activitists, Congressmen, lawyers etc. As part of their agenda, the killers dispose of their victims in an ironic way--often having the animals or setting that are being protected resulting in the deaths of the victims. Particularly gruesome was a situation involving bacon and some wild animals....

I enjoyed author C.J. Box's writing style including his droll humor and his ability to turn ordinary, everyday people into very interesting and likable characters. There was nothing particularly special about Joe Pickett: his work seemed routine, he had several bad and possibly fatal blunders and his straight-arrow personality and dogged pursuit of out of season hunters irritated some politicos in the state. But his devotion to his job and family and his integrity endears him to the reader.

Box, a former ranch hand and fishing guide, is a Wyoming native and does a great job of describing the rugged Western scenery as well as the pioneer spirit of the people. I look forward to more in this series.

I'm so glad I discovered C.J. Box. This is my second Joe Pickett novel (I'm reading them in order), and I'm delighted to have a long series to look forward to.

Savage Run pits two fanatical groups against each other: environmental activists and a shadowy organization out to stop them. Both are determined to win back the west, no matter what it takes. Joe Pickett, game warden in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming, unintentionally gets into the thick of the conflict.

The well-crafted plot is full of surprises, so I won't even hint at it. Suffice it to say that Joe will get threatened, shot at, and subjected to daunting physical trials before we're through. There will be plenty of spectacular Wyoming scenery and glimpses of wildlife along the way. And C.J. Box also weaves some fascinating bits of Wyoming history into the story.

There are interesting characters: unattractive recreational ranchers, a colorful eco-terrorist, a truly chilling villain, corrupt authorities, cute kids, personable horses - and Joe's smart, gutsy, gorgeous wife. The extremists among the characters are a bit exaggerated and tend to speechify, but these are minor flaws I was willing to overlook.

In any case, Joe's character is a pleasure. He's quiet, dedicated, very human, and not particularly self-confident. He's not a good shot, and that makes his confrontations with bad guys especially fun.

The frontier culture of Wyoming is a whole new world to me - and I'm enjoying the total immersion offered by C.J. Box.

Overall his books are great. Of his first four books I would rank Savage Run at the bottom. Box lives in Wyoming but doesn't research the weapons he uses in the story. A hired killer uses a 308 (nato cartridge) to shoot at Joe and company from over 1500 yards. That is nonsense. The Marine corp. recommends the 308 not be used as a sniper rifle past 1000 yards and the army says about 875 yards (800 meters) Speer says match grade ammo zeroed at 300 yards will drop over 30 feet below zero at 1000 yards and a 10 mph wind will cause a drift of almost 9 feet. Imagine what the drop would be at 1500 yards. The sniper does not have a fixed bench set up and is probably shooting prone just holding the rifle or maybe has a tripod mount so any small movement on his part is going to translate to huge movements at 1500 yards. Even a fine (and expensive) gun like the mini-windrunner would not allow a sniper to hit someone in the head at 1500+ yards and then make lots of other near misses. Easily researched mistakes like that detract from the story. Nevertheless I will continue to enjoy Box's fine novels.

Lots of interesting facts go into story of eco-terrorists vs the barons. Box doesn't go for the standard profanity and gore. Somehow a competent professional killer is scarier than the sicko-sexuals which have been done to death. Would add that g-ratedness and the good character of game warden Joe Pickett makes it recommendable for young readers.

This is an interesting series, and Open Season was an interesting first novel. One question I had then was how long the author would be able to sustain the series with some believability, given that the main character is a Game Warden in rural Wyoming. It's not every day that a Game Warden gets involved in a shootout with nasty bad guys who are out to kill someone, out in the wilderness.

This time around, Joe Pickett, Game Warden, has been lying low, dealing with his job and the aftermath of his debut book, Open Season. In the opening sequence, a radical environmentalist and his ditzy new bride are blown up by a bomb attached to a cow (sounds strange, but actually it sort of makes sense in the story) and Joe is called to help with the investigation. When it's discovered that no wildlife was killed, he goes on his way, and nothing seems to come of the explosion. Radical environmentalists aren't that well liked in the wilderness: their politics often mean unemployment and poverty for the locals. Then things go kind of sideways, when a local rancher who's a retired personal injury lawyer appears to have poached an elk. Meanwhile, there's a legendary Stock Detective, a descendant of Tom Horn, in deed if not blood, roaming the country with an assistant killing radical environmentalists, like the one he blew up with the cow. As if things aren't complicated enough, the guy blown up by the cow might not be dead, and reporters are questioning Joe Pickett's wife, because she apparently dated the guy in High School. There are other assorted characters wandering in and out of the story.

This is a good novel, though the ending is a bit anti-climactic. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it.