The Guns of Abilene

The Gunsmith #4

by J.R. Roberts

The Gunsmith’s old friend, Bill Hickok, controls Abilene, Kansas with a tight fist and a fast gun, brooking challenge by no man. But even the legendary Wild Bill needs a hand when the James brothers, John Wesley Hardin, Phil Coe, and Ben Thompson converge on the town at once.

Clint Adams takes Hickok’s side—but not before a sexy lady saloonkeeper gets into the act, and into The Gunsmith’s bed. She does her level best to make him stay on for good. But Adams is too busy dodging bullets and backing up Wild Bill to let a woman tie him down.

Genres: Westerns

216 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

"J.R. Roberts" is the pen name of Robert J. Randisi under which he writes the Gunsmith series.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Phillip]

The Gunsmith is summoned to Abilene, Kansas to help an old friend.

A little bit of history is weaved into this part of the series that makes it really interesting.

The only issue I had with this one was Clint loses his edge. He tends to become a little too worried but then again so many different things could go wrong and his friend isn't worried at all. His friend adds a good element to the story but tends to be doing only one thing through the entire story.

It was a good story but not as exciting as the previous 3 or later stories.

[Joe Nelson]

I make no secret my personal dislike for The Gunsmith series. Most of the titles are watered down, repetitive, and lack the necessary fun that I, a very Serious Reader of Adult Westerns, demand from my smutty western novels. But this one? Shoot, this one is good!

Clint Adams, the infamous Gunsmith, ends up in Abilene, Kansas, right as his old buddy Wild Bill Hickock is struggling as marshal. Seems Bill has ticked off a prominent businessman and all these folks handy with handguns are paying the town a visit, folks like the James brothers, John Wesley Hardin, and a whole mess of Texans who don't especially like Hickock. So the Gunsmith agrees to help his old pal out and also take the time to romance, like, all of the unattached women in town.

These early novels are written in first-person and it works well here, keeping the reader directly in the action, of which there actually is some for a change! We get a couple of okay shootouts and some swell fistfights (including a doozy against a bruiser called Moose), and even get a lot of the risqué stuff that often gets sidelined in later Gunsmith novels.

Author Robert Randisi fits in a lot of his usual historical "accuracy" by using actual events and people from the time, but this go around he manages to weave Clint Adams into those events much more seamlessly than in some other installments. Clint is far more active and less of an observer here.

There is still a lot more talking than doing in the early going and some potential drama and excitement is wasted because of the adherence to real events, but this is still a solid western adventure with some action and sexy good times.

[David Burnworth]

Bill Hickok requests that Clint (The Gunsmith) make his way to Abilene, Kansas, and Clint goes without question to help his good friend. After getting to town Clint slowly learns the lay of the situation which finds Bill being outmanned and hated by the pondscum named Phil Coe, who has a partner named Ben Thompson, the famous gunslinger. As in many of these stories Clint is able to bed the two most beautiful women in town and in between his conquest he becomes a deputy, and gets in two first fights. Before the real action begins Clint learns that Bill's eyes are going bad making the problem-solving a lot more troublesome than it should have been. To learn what happens read this story, because more I will not give away.

[Bill]

Good book with classic old west characters. Plot was nicely woven: friendship above all means something. Standing up for someone and backing their play is integrity at its finest. Clint symbolizes the above and lives this tenet with strength and honor. Wild Bill Hickok stands tall in this book but also shows a human side as well. A quick and most pleasant read.

[Chris Haynes]

Another great Gunsmith novel

This novel mixes fact and fiction into an exciting novel full of action and great characters. I read these novels when I was a teenager and I'm glad I enjoy them just as much today. That's a sign of a great book.

Highly recommended!!

[Idowu Isaac]

Great

[Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth]

4.15

Lusty Gunsmith handles a town, and two women