Mike Resnick is one of the most prolilfic speculative fiction authors around, but I had never read his work before. When I saw this steampunk novel, I jumped at the chance to give him a try and read more in one of my favorite sub-genres. Unfortunately, this novel doesn't encourage me to read him again.[return][return]First of all, the positive: the world here is fascinating, and Resnick has definitely done his research. His Tombstone is populated by people who really lived and died there. The tale is told through Doc Holliday, and his perspective is interesting and yet...[return][return]It's very hard to carry suspense in a book when your character is already dying of tuberculosis and doesn't fear death. A lot of dramatic things happen and Holliday doesn't really react. Actually, the entire cast consists of very stoic men. They make witty banter in conversation, but don't show any expression. It made the entire thing feel stiff and emotionless. The only women in the cast are Big Nose Kate, a madam, and her whores (which includes robotic ones). Most of the men in the book also frequent the whorehouse. That may be historically accurate, yet... meh. I also found the whole shiny steampunk robot sex thing to be a turn-off, and was glad it never showed a scene of it.[return][return]There was an entire subplot with Bat Masterson that seemed to be there to distract the others. I had been excited that Bat was a character, but he simply showed up, did weird stuff because of a curse, and never touched the main plot. Speaking of the main plot, the entire book works up to the big gunfight between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo. Doc quickly figures out why Ringo hasn't killed him yet, but every time they meet it becomes a chat of, 'You here to kill me yet?' 'No. Let's talk classic literature.' It was cute at first but got old as it dragged on. And then when they do fight, it's anticlimactic; actually, that's the pattern of the whole book--lots of talking and very little action. Because it's a steampunk book, it's like Resnick had to force steampunk into the resolution and then did the most obvious and practical thing (which involves fire).[return][return]Actually, a number of the steampunk elements felt forced in but didn't really make sense. For example, the point of the book is that the gunmen are there to protect Thomas Edison and Buntline. Their houses are reinforced by bullet-proof brass and even has a FORCE FIELD to keep them safe. Yet the men, especially Buntline, keep wandering all over town with chest armor but nothing to protect their heads. If they are really in danger, don't leave the house! And no one ever shot them.[return][return]In case you couldn't tell, I was disappointed by the book.[return][return]The concept is incredibly cool. I loved the world. But it really felt like it would have been better as a novella focusing on a steampunk O.K. Corral battle.[return][return]I won't be picking up the other books in the series, and I'll hold off on reading Resnick for a while, too.