Trouble Shooter

by Ernest Haycox

Frank Peace was the trouble shooter for the Union Pacific, hand-picked as the only man in the West who c ould get the railroad over a thousand miles of rugged desert and treacherous mountains. '

Genres: Westerns

379 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Creolecat]

Union Pacific (1939)

[Bradthad Codgeroger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A historical novel more than a genre western, it was a slog for me. I admire Haycox's ambition here, but he is better staying in the genre.

[Paul F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Trouble Shooter" by Ernest Haycox (copyright 1937) is an entertaining mix of Western skullduggery. Frank Peace, notwithstanding his last name, is a hired gun working for the Union Pacific Railroad as the transcontinental railroad is being built in 1868-1869. The problem for Peace is that he has made a lot of enemies as a result of his take-no-prisoners attitude toward anyone thinking about holding up the progress of the transcontinental railroad for whatever reasons. Prior to the beginning of the novel, Peace has made enemies in Julesburg, Colorado, one of the "end of track" temporary settlements, and now those enemies are out to kill him. One particularly determined enemy is Al Brett, who has a faux-chivalrous streak in him as he lets Peace know that he is out to get him, but at the proper time and place when Peace will supposedly be more ready for an attack and will have a fair chance to defend himself. Peace also has difficulty making up his mind which of two women who love him equally--Nan Normandy and Eileen Oliver--he would like to marry. He can only marry one of them, which means that someone is going to have to be disappointed.
The problem with "Trouble Shooter" by Ernest Haycox is that Haycox fell victim to the temptation to "character clutter". Overmile, Campeaux, Brett, Ring, Moynihan, Kein, Millard, Reed, Morgan, Latimer, Lovelace, Tarrant, Cherry, Rose, Dollarhide, Casement, Wallen, Moylan, and on and on, etc. etc.--they all took turns grabbing the reader's attention. However, with this many characters all seeming to play important roles in the novel, it became impossible for me to keep track of them all, how they all interrelated and moved the plot along. I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Sometimes less is more. Fewer characters, with a better, more simplified exposition of who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, makes for an easier, more enjoyable read as the action is clearer and sharper. The novel does give a good presentation of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the harsh working conditions that the Irish had to endure to get the job done, but it became more than I was able to follow.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of a Railroad

This book was the basis for the movie, Union Pacific. But if you have seen the movie then this book will seem like a wholly different story. That does not mean either one is better than the other one just that the two are different. I like the movie, but this book is a great story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. The main character is Frank Peace, troubleshooter for the UP, which means when trouble arises along the route he fixes it. The other characters are as interesting, as they all have their own reasons for following the railroad. Now there are not a lot of interplay between the railroad and the Native Americans so don't look for pitched battles, but there is gunplay aplenty. There is even a bit of a love story to be found in these pages. Fiction yes, but fiction that makes you think just what did it take to build that railroad.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book 📙

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Archie Millard and Cherry is heartbreaking