Scott Harris's Blog, page 17
April 16, 2018
Book Review: Epitaph
“Epitaph” is one of five Westerns written by L.J. Washburn, whose full name is Livia J. Washburn. The story is about Hank Littleton, a teenage boy being raised by his grandfather in a small West Texas town. In a matter of days, Hank thwarts a robbery, killing two of the three would-be robbers, and in [...]
April 9, 2018
Book Review: Coyote Canyon
“Coyote Canyon” is a short novel written by Sharon Siamon. It is written for children, ages 10 through middle school, and I think it is fair to say the primary audience would be girls. It is set in the West, though late 20th century, not 19th. However, it is a Western. So why did I [...]
April 2, 2018
Book Review: Double Crossing
“Double Crossing” was Meg Mims’ first published novel, though she has since published many, including the sequel to “Double Crossing” — “Double or Nothing.” “Double Crossing” won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, and it was also a finalist for the USA Book News Award for fiction. “Double [...]
March 28, 2018
ROPE AND WIRE — A Collection of Scott Harris Western Shorts
Need a fix, and have already read “Coyote Courage,” Coyote Creek,” and “Coyote Canyon?” Head on over to my author page on Rope and Wire, a website that promotes the West and those who write about it, to read a few of my featured Western stories I’ve written over the past few months. Below, are [...]
March 26, 2018
Book Review: Diamondback: Shroud of Vengeance
Pick a Saturday afternoon, any Saturday afternoon, and grab your favorite beverage and perhaps a good cigar. Settle in for a couple of hours and enjoy Pike Bishop’s Diamondback: Shroud of Vengeance. This is an adult Western, the 1970s and 1980s version of a pulp Western, and it’s just old-fashioned fun. It’s the type of [...]
March 19, 2018
Book Review: The Day the Cowboys Quit
“The Day the Cowboys Quit” is a 1971 Elmer Kelton book, based in the early 1880s on the Texas Panhandle. Things are changing rapidly, and few, if any, are equipped to handle the change. The old-school cowboys want to keep their way of life, working hard for $25 a month, riding for the brand and, [...]
March 12, 2018
Book Review: The Californios
“The Californios” is a Louis L’Amour book, which means I’m predisposed to like it, which I did. It has been almost 10 years since the last time I read it, so the benefit of my bad memory paid off, and I got to enjoy it almost as if it were the first time. It’s a [...]
March 5, 2018
Book Review: Strong Convictions
“Strong Convictions” is the first in a three-book series by Gary (G.P.) Hutchinson. The protagonist, Emmett Strong, has two tragedies strike him five years apart. The two combined control and direct his life. Joined by two friends, including the brother-in-law of his deceased wife, Strong heads to Nevada to track down his brother’s killer. They [...]
February 26, 2018
Book Review: The Big Drift
If you like cattle and cattlemen and enjoy reading about lonely and isolated cowboys fighting demons (internal and weather based), "The Big Drift" is for you. Zeke Boles is a recently freed slave, tearing himself apart for an accident that killed his boss, (who was also his former master), an accident he was not responsible [...]
February 18, 2018
Book Review: The Burning Hills
“The Burning Hills” is a Louis L’Amour book. The simple review is this: If you like Louis L’Amour books, you’ll like “The Burning Hills.” I was doing some research on first chapters and picked 10 Louis L’Amours for my homework. I sat down and read the first chapter of each book to look for patterns, [...]
