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Hong on the Range
In a future American West where most of the people and animals are partly mechanical, totally human cowboy Louie Hong tangles with bionic outlaws and bounty hunters who are blaming him for a recent bank robbery.
286 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 27, 2025
Dec 27 ~~ This was a great way for me to finish the year. Loved it just as much as the last time. Nothing to add to the review, but I did bump the rating from four to five. Moo one last time.
Dec 15, 2025 ~~ Time for a reread. I need some goofiness to finish this rough year. Will update review when I am finished. Moo.
~~~~~~~~ Original review, July 2015 ~~~~~~~~
This is a science fiction western, set in the American West years after unnamed biological disasters have destroyed most of the area. People are rebuilding now, and Louie Hong is on his way to make a new life for himself in the new wild West.
But Louie is one of those bumbling heroes that have things happen to them mostly by accident, misunderstandings, and his own naivete. On the way into the town of Femur, he comes across a rustled steerite named Chuck, who becomes a true friend. And what is a steerite? It is a mixture of biological steer and robotic parts: the legs, head, and tail are metal, the rest is regular cow. Steerites can apparently be butchered for their meat repeatedly, but the regenerating process is never explained. I wish it had been, I became very curious about it after the third or fourth time poor Chuck was reduced to a metal skeleton.
Cattle are not the only enhanced characters here. Horsites are pretty much the same as steerites, but with no ability to speak. They also cannot think for themselves, they must be directed like a regular horse. People are also enhanced, except that our hero Louie is what is known as a control-natural, denied by law from having such gadgets as Model C-5 Abilene Accordion ankles or any of the other weird and wonderful toys most of the other characters have as part of their bodies.
I needed the giggles this book provided. Some of the names of the outlaws began to get a little beyond silly (Sniffin' Griffin and Smellin' Llewellyn each with ultra sensitive noses to name just two) but actually the goofiness fit right in.
Louie develops into almost a regular hero as the story progresses. I liked him a lot, and I liked Chuck too. He was a proper gentleman steerite, and was supposed to speak with a Boston accent. I couldn't manage that bit mentally, but when he began to sing (and later taught an entire herd his favorite song) it was branded into my brain and I will never be able to hear the song Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie without thinking of good old Chuck. But I will spare you the aural loop....just imagine a young steerite instead of a cowboy and you will get the picture. Moo.
Oh, and just a bit of trivia. I have an extremely distant connection with the author: my doctor is his cousin. But I have never met or been in contact with Mr. Wu and the opinions in this review are my own. Moo again.
Dec 15, 2025 ~~ Time for a reread. I need some goofiness to finish this rough year. Will update review when I am finished. Moo.
~~~~~~~~ Original review, July 2015 ~~~~~~~~
This is a science fiction western, set in the American West years after unnamed biological disasters have destroyed most of the area. People are rebuilding now, and Louie Hong is on his way to make a new life for himself in the new wild West.
But Louie is one of those bumbling heroes that have things happen to them mostly by accident, misunderstandings, and his own naivete. On the way into the town of Femur, he comes across a rustled steerite named Chuck, who becomes a true friend. And what is a steerite? It is a mixture of biological steer and robotic parts: the legs, head, and tail are metal, the rest is regular cow. Steerites can apparently be butchered for their meat repeatedly, but the regenerating process is never explained. I wish it had been, I became very curious about it after the third or fourth time poor Chuck was reduced to a metal skeleton.
Cattle are not the only enhanced characters here. Horsites are pretty much the same as steerites, but with no ability to speak. They also cannot think for themselves, they must be directed like a regular horse. People are also enhanced, except that our hero Louie is what is known as a control-natural, denied by law from having such gadgets as Model C-5 Abilene Accordion ankles or any of the other weird and wonderful toys most of the other characters have as part of their bodies.
I needed the giggles this book provided. Some of the names of the outlaws began to get a little beyond silly (Sniffin' Griffin and Smellin' Llewellyn each with ultra sensitive noses to name just two) but actually the goofiness fit right in.
Louie develops into almost a regular hero as the story progresses. I liked him a lot, and I liked Chuck too. He was a proper gentleman steerite, and was supposed to speak with a Boston accent. I couldn't manage that bit mentally, but when he began to sing (and later taught an entire herd his favorite song) it was branded into my brain and I will never be able to hear the song Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie without thinking of good old Chuck. But I will spare you the aural loop....just imagine a young steerite instead of a cowboy and you will get the picture. Moo.
Oh, and just a bit of trivia. I have an extremely distant connection with the author: my doctor is his cousin. But I have never met or been in contact with Mr. Wu and the opinions in this review are my own. Moo again.
March 25, 2011
Louie Hong is a young man looking to find his fortune by heading into the West. The American West that remains after a biological attack of some kind has wiped out the population. Cities have fallen in to disrepair and humans are scattered into small settlements that hug the still being built railway. Louie also has one more thing going against him. He is a "control-natural", someone who is not allowed by law to have a cyborg enhancement. The rest of the population have bought whatever enhancements they can afford and that can improve their lives. This means they have arms that have built in whips or eyes that can see in the infrared spectrum. And they tend to shun people like Louie.
In this world, Louie gets caught up with a gang of bank-robbing, cattle rustling outlaws and is on the run from the law. He also ends up on the run from the outlaws when they think he has stolen the loot. Can Louie survive long enough to make his fortune?
In this world, Louie gets caught up with a gang of bank-robbing, cattle rustling outlaws and is on the run from the law. He also ends up on the run from the outlaws when they think he has stolen the loot. Can Louie survive long enough to make his fortune?
April 13, 2009
I read The Omnivore's Dilemma recently and that reminded me of the mechanical cows in this book.
Wouldn't that be nice, if you could get meat from ruminants without killing them. And if the cows could talk and tell you that they don't mind, as long as you are gentle. And they could regenerate the meat after a few months of grazing.
Wouldn't that be nice, if you could get meat from ruminants without killing them. And if the cows could talk and tell you that they don't mind, as long as you are gentle. And they could regenerate the meat after a few months of grazing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews