6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Leonard western., September 22, 2004
In the course of the last month, I've become a big fan of Elmore Leonard's Westerns. I'm new to the Western, late in the game. After a few L'Amour's, a friend put me on to Leonard. He's the very top of the genre, in my view. The dialogue and the action tell the story and make the points about toughness and character, not the sentimental interior thought process of the hero, so common in this genre; at least what I've seen thus far.
Kirby Frye is young and green (as a deputy), but he stands up to the townsmen and Phil Sundeen, the bad cattle baron, much to their surprise. He reminds me a lot of the implacable Roberto Valdez in "Valdez is Coming" (I think Leonard's greatest Western), and there are similar qualities to the story. But this is early Leonard (1954), and he only gets better as time goes on.
We again meet the scoundrel Sundeen and see his fate in Gunsights, a much later book (1979).
It's going to be hard to go back to other Western authors having been introduced to Elmore Leonard this early on!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT CHARACTER WINS AGAIN!!!, August 25, 2002
Kirby Frye is a young Deputy Sheriff but he has a lot of guts. Men are dragged from his jail and hanged while he is out of town. When he goes after the men who did it they humiliate him. The second time he goes after them they take off his shoes and make him walk out of town. THAT WAS A MISTAKE!!! Phil Sundeen has all the men, power and money and he thinks Frye will keep on going. Sundeen has always done what ever he wanted to do, but that is about to come to an end. He uses his own tough men plus a hired gun but to no avail. The story is about Fryes tracking the men responsible and has a lot of action in it. It shows that Frye is human and can make mistakes. I liked the character of Dandy Jim. A quick read, very good western that will hold your attention.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Lawman's Inner Strength, August 17, 2002
Leonard's lawman in this tale is a youngster whose fortitude remains internal and gives no hint of itself to the young sheriff's adversaries. As a result, they are prone to humiliating him whenever there is opportunity. But it is their ignorance of what constitutes strength that makes them blind to the perseverance of the youth and his solid belief to uphold the law. A nice and easy read from beginning to end.
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