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The Phantom Strikes
The desert terrain was once haunted by the Phantom - a blanched man on a pale-grey horse, who struck in the night and killed without mercy. Wild Bill Hickok shot the legend down once - and twenty years later, when the Phantom's son took up the torch, he did so again... With both culprits dead, Hickok and his compadres are satisfied they have laid the ghost to rest. But when a mortally wounded man gasps that the spirit has returned, they must take up arms once more - against the Phantom's second son...
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 22, 2017
A fun read! I would like to read more from this author. I think this story is from a series of books involving some of the same characters, so that's interesting.
One thing I've noticed about these Black Horse Western stories is they end very quickly, in that the final showdown between "Hero" and "Baddy" is usually very brief. A few gunshots exchanged, a dastardly wound or two, and finally -- upon the delivery of one remarkably well aimed bullet -- the sudden death of the villain(s). I'm not saying I don't like it. I'm just not used to it. I'm hardwired to expect more running around, ducking and diving, narrow escapes, exhortations for explanations and well-meaning yet highly unnecessary offers for last minute repentance. Et cetera. So something like this is definitely new. I think "Refreshing" might be the right word for it (inside joke).
Another thing... why do all of these Western characters smoke so much? Seems they're always chewing on a cigarette, and every single time they break out a new one, we're lead through each step of lighting/making a cigarette and how it is placed firmly between either a) strong white teeth or b) dirty broken ones.
In this particular story, the character of "Wild Bill" is said to have hooded eyes. I was lead to believe the hoodedness was very important to the story because any time his eyes were mentioned, every time he did anything with his eyes (which was quite a lot), the word "Hooded" preceded the action -- to the point where I wondered with intrigue, "Do they have powers!?"
If they do have powers, we didn't get to see any of them in this instalment of the Wild Bill Saga.
Otherwise and all in all, I liked the style of writing in The Phantom Strikes. I found some pretty eerie prose and gripping descriptions of the dessert between the pages of this book. Well worth the read.
For now, this is the last of my Black Horse Western books.
It's been an eye-opening journey. One I have not regretted. One I will continue one day. One that has enabled me to read a wider variety of genres and enjoy them. One.. *continues to add to list of "ones" until the end of this review*
Thank you for reading this review, and I bid you adieu!
One thing I've noticed about these Black Horse Western stories is they end very quickly, in that the final showdown between "Hero" and "Baddy" is usually very brief. A few gunshots exchanged, a dastardly wound or two, and finally -- upon the delivery of one remarkably well aimed bullet -- the sudden death of the villain(s). I'm not saying I don't like it. I'm just not used to it. I'm hardwired to expect more running around, ducking and diving, narrow escapes, exhortations for explanations and well-meaning yet highly unnecessary offers for last minute repentance. Et cetera. So something like this is definitely new. I think "Refreshing" might be the right word for it (inside joke).
Another thing... why do all of these Western characters smoke so much? Seems they're always chewing on a cigarette, and every single time they break out a new one, we're lead through each step of lighting/making a cigarette and how it is placed firmly between either a) strong white teeth or b) dirty broken ones.
In this particular story, the character of "Wild Bill" is said to have hooded eyes. I was lead to believe the hoodedness was very important to the story because any time his eyes were mentioned, every time he did anything with his eyes (which was quite a lot), the word "Hooded" preceded the action -- to the point where I wondered with intrigue, "Do they have powers!?"
If they do have powers, we didn't get to see any of them in this instalment of the Wild Bill Saga.
Otherwise and all in all, I liked the style of writing in The Phantom Strikes. I found some pretty eerie prose and gripping descriptions of the dessert between the pages of this book. Well worth the read.
For now, this is the last of my Black Horse Western books.
It's been an eye-opening journey. One I have not regretted. One I will continue one day. One that has enabled me to read a wider variety of genres and enjoy them. One.. *continues to add to list of "ones" until the end of this review*
Thank you for reading this review, and I bid you adieu!
Displaying 1 of 1 review