Customer Reviews

Six-Gun Caballero (Stories from the Golden Age)

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Michael Patrick O'Banon finds himself facing serious trouble when the Gadsden Purchase moves the US border well beyond his ranch in previous Mexican territory. Hubbard takes a real example of the struggle in moving borders. Cleverly written. O'Banon pulls a few unexpected stunts which kept me wondering how he could pull out of the mess. Unexpected ending.

this story was awesome. I felt the grit between my teeth! Looking for ward to the rest of the series.

I am not a big western fan but I have never been disappointed by L. Ron Hubbard's story telling - ever! This was no exception and I absolutely recommend ANY book by L. Ron Hubbard!

Six-Gun Caballero takes the famous American land purchase of Mexico (the Gadsden Purchase) from the perspective of O'Banon, a large land owner. When American 'renegades' show up to snatch his property, O'Banon needs to think fast. This is a clever story with several twists and turns. When it all looks hopeless for O'Banon and his people, strange and unexpected things occur that just might turn the tide... (I need to leave something up to your imagination!) I enjoyed this story quite a bit -- a great story of courage and wit.

L. Ron Hubbard is probably best known as the founder of Scientology and creator of Dianetics, but his fiction has been popular for decades. His science-fiction epic Battlefield Earth was a worldwide bestseller, as were all ten volumes of his Mission Earth series.

These days, however, his name is largely connected with the antics of the some of the more (shall we say?) "outspoken" members of the religion, overshadowing the fact that the man really knew how to tell an entertaining story. Now Galaxy Press, founded to promote Hubbard's fictional output, are focusing on the author's early work for the pulp magazines of the 1930s and '40s, reprinting all 150 of the stories he wrote during those years.

Pulp fiction fans rejoice, because there's a "new" voice on the block that deserves to be noticed. I'm a big fan of Westerns and audiobooks, but sadly, Western audiobooks are increasingly hard to come by these days. Plus, when you can find them, they're expensive. So, when I learned that the Stories from the Golden Age series was simultaneously being released in paperback and audio -- with both versions at the same price -- I knew I would have to try them out, despite any preconceived notions I had about the author.

The recordings I've tried so far are just terrific. They are a professionally produced combination of traditional narrated audiobooks (with narration deftly handled by R.F. Daley) and old-time radio, with actors playing the characters (often multiple roles) and genre-specific music and sound effects rounding out the experience.

Six-Gun Caballero was originally published in Western Story Magazine's March 12, 1938, issue. Michael Patrick Obañon inherited 100,000 acres of land from his father, Irishman Tim Obañ. Recently, the Gadsden Purchase has turned this Mexican property over to U.S. ownership, and all such property has been deemed open for settlement.

Tim's old friend, Judge Klarner, attempts to advice don Michael to refile his claim with the U.S. government, but he gets there just before the arrival of a gang set on taking the land and everything on it. When they mistake Don Michael for a "greaser" ranchhand and offer him new employment, he accepts and takes the opportunity to infiltrate. Because Michael Patrick Obañon is not about to let the renegados commandeer his father's legacy, but he'd rather use his wits than his silver-inlaid pistol any day; it's more fun that way.

Director Jim Meskimen's performance as don Michael grounds the whole cast's performance with its subtlety. He embraces the charm and humor of the character, adding more than could be projected merely on the printed page. Meskimen's relatively low-key acting leaves Shaun Duke free to chew up and spit out the microphone in his wonderfully over-the-top, villainous turn as Charlie Pearson. The rest of the cast, R.F. Daley and Tait Ruppert, is equally talented. (All the roles are played by just four people, and you'd never know it.)

Hubbard uses the traditional Western form to tell a challenging and unpredictable story, where the hero outwits his attackers instead of merely having to outshoot them. In doing so, he also puts the spotlight on the consequences of a well-known historical event: one seen as positive on the one side but obviously not fair to everyone involved. But Six-Gun Caballero is so intelligent and suspenseful that you'll not really notice the historical subtext until it's over.

I'm really excited about sampling more of the Stories from the Golden Age series of pulp tales. I think you'd agree that anything that gets somebody actually excited about fiction these days is worth a look. And Six-Gun Caballero is a great place to start: it's not only an exciting story, but it also takes a nontraditional approach to the hero, something that is even today a pleasant surprise in Western fiction.

In the 1930's and 1940's "pulp" magazines were all the rage. L. Ron Hubbard was one of the most prolific and popular writers of that era. The genres in his books included science fiction, fantasy, western, mystery, thriller, horror with a little romance thrown in. In "Six-Gun Caballero," Hubbard tells the story of a fight over land situated on the United States and Mexican border. He writes on the first page: "After all, the United States government will certainly recognize the old Spanish grants." This sets the stage for unfolding the tale. What actually happens is the owner of a 100,00 acre ranch willed to him by his father is threatened when a renegade band makes false claims on his ranch. A devious strategy ensues to outwit the imposters to regain the land and his birthright. Hubbard has a knack for telling a good story by creating plots that twist and turn and this tale exemplifies his unique ability.

"Six-Gun Caballero"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-Cast Performance
Produced 2009, by Galaxy Audio
Approx. 2 hours

"Six-Gun Caballero," originally published March, 1938 in "Western Story Magazine," tells the tale of Michael Patrick Obañon, who may have an Irish name, but has the soul of a Spanish gentleman, loses his hundred-thousand-acre spread and has to fight his renegade foes with cunning and firepower. Michael, or Don Michael as he is called by those who know him, is the son of an Irish immigrant and a Mexican woman and was sent off to school in Mexico city, is nothing but a pure gentleman the whole time and that politeness is what wins this little war.

New Mexico has just become part of the United States and claim jumpers are aplenty as they move into the new territory under U.S. law taking what once belonged to the Mexicans and claiming it as their own. A band of renegades led by three men, one of which is a gambler, one is the financier and the other a sort of ruffian bodyguard type. The fun part of this group is the gambler who speaks in card playing/gambling terms for everything. It's amazing how many card terms Hubbard came out with for this man's dialogue.

The three have met their match with Michael Patrick Obañon, proud owner of a 100,000-acre spread willed to him by his father, when they make a false claim on the ranch. Faced with having to save his property and his people, Obañon takes a courageous stand against the renegades, with the help of the villagers and vaqueros and even from the local cavalry, who think the "bad guys" are the "good guys" but it turns out the "good guys" are the "bad guys." Yeah, this story is full of the good ol' Hubbard twists and turns that keep you guessing what will happen next, but the listener/reader is always clear who the good guy is, after all, he is a pure gentleman.

Obañon realizes it will take far more than mere weapons to win the day. With all guns seemingly drawn against him, Michael must come up with a devious strategy of his own to outwit the imposters and regain his birthright. With excitement all they way through 2 possible hangings and a surprise ending that even seems to surprise Don Michael, this little piece of historical fiction is a fun telling of how the west was won and how America came to be.

As always Galaxy Audio utilizes excellent vocal actors, perfect sound effects and original music to give that old time radio feel or what I have come to call an Audio Pulp. Since the stories Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press were originally all published in the old pulp fiction magazines of the early to mid-20th century.
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I truly enjoyed this western tale by Hubbard. For one, I learned something from it. The historical facts are very interesting. For another, it pulled me right on through. Short and fast adventure read. I could say for any western fan or non-western fan (your never a western fan till you read a great western) you will get glued to this one.

I had the distinct pleasure of going to a pulp fiction reading in 2004. Let me tell you. . . this was one of the greatest performances I have ever been a part of! Truly a magical experience. I later read the book and it was even better than the first time! An epic tale from the golden age!

This story hooks you and really pulls you in. I'm not usually a western fan but when I started to listen to this as an audiobook on a recent road trip I was totally into this story and the time flew by as I listened to what was happening next to the lead character. He is heavily out gunned so by using his best weapon, his wits, he works to defeat the men who are working to take away his birthright. You will enjoy this story quite a bit.