The Marauders Of Pitchfork Pass

by Clay Houston Shivers

It's 1873, only a few years after the Civil War, and the West is changing. But there is still one town where good citizens can feel safe. When the sheriff of Silver Vein is killed, it's up to saloon keeper Curly Barnes - an admitted coward - to see that justice is done. Along for the ride are two legendary Texas Rangers, the soon-to-be famous outlaw Johnny Ringo, and a couple of brothers who like to play with dynamite. But after the dust settles, who will be the last man standing?

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction, Fiction

386 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2022

About the author

Clay Houston Shivers is an American novelist currently living in San Francisco. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, but spent every summer at his grandparents ranch near Georgetown, Texas, where he first became fascinated by the American frontier. It was through his grandparents that he discovered his love for westerns. Clay attended college at SMU in Dallas, Texas, and for the last twenty years he has worked as an advertising copywriter.

Reviews

[Laur]

Clay Houston Shivers first novel, The Marauders Of Pitchfork Pass, is definitely a very wild yarn about the Wild West. Colorful characters with often witty dialogue.

However, I thought the writing really lacked cohesiveness. At times, I felt the story was humorous - at other times, it was pushing the edge of offensive. (God and/or religious reference, and Comanches eating a baby among them), then there was old time corny expressions, intermixed with the use of f*bombs. I wasn’t convinced that this account (as was written in the preface) was supposed to be told and written down in 1926 (by Curly Barnes). It had more of a present day, type B, spaghetti western feel. More of a semi-traditional western, what comes to mind is a book of many colors.

2.5 rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

[VT]

The voice of Curly Barnes, the narrator of this story, who begins telling this tall tale as an old man who has managed to get the reader to sit still and listen to him for a change, is a friendly, sometimes somewhat inappropriate and often very amusing voice, and the occasional repetitiveness is surely due to his advanced age (and perhaps also his tendency to drink a bit.) While the story has fun with poking at some western genre tropes, (you might even come across some familiar names from western history) it pokes and winks in a friendly, laugh-with instead of laugh-at way, which I appreciated.

There is a certain amount of grisliness, violence, obscenity and the occasional scatological remark. If you are particular against any of that stuff, you will probably not want to read this work.

For the rest of us though...

Curly wants to tell us the story of what happened when the sheriff of the town of Silver Vein, Texas (no actual silver around) was killed. And then came back to life. Curly reluctantly played a part in the fight to take the town back from the hoodlums which had filled the void created by the law's absence, although he would tell you he was just a cowardly saloon keeper.

The first half of this book is quite quite funny, and the second half, while increasingly serious and violent, also retains some sense of humour.

There were a few times when I felt the narrative circling back on itself or the banter between some of the characters was slightly over-drawn, and it began to get perhaps just a little too long (but I am very much a "when it's over it's over" type reader who very rarely digs epilogues.)

Over all I was very pleased with this book, and entertained. It is a fun tall tale that is not to be taken too seriously. I look forward to reading more from this author, and recommend this book not only to genre readers but to readers looking for a humorous, adventurous read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Moraye Potgieter]

This was my first Old Western and I was pleasantly surprised. Going in I was expecting something dry and slow, so the quick pace was a surprise but definitely well suited to the book.

I found this an interesting read with enjoyable characters that were funny, while still holding true with the seriousness of the situation.

Sadly the format leaves a lot to be desired, but since this was a review copy I imagine it will be sorted out before final print.

[Bill V.]

I really enjoyed this Old Western story! What made this book so fun for me, was the diction and the characters. The author has a way of taking the reader back in time - I felt like I was rubbing elbows with dusty good guys and ornery bag guys 150 years ago. The way Curly Barnes speaks is fun to read, and makes him a likable, sympathetic protagonist.

The plot held onto my interest throughout the novel, too. Plot developments were frequent and exciting and meaningful, while not taking us readers off on a shocking tangent.

I'm impressed that this is the author's first work - it definitely is not shallow in writing style or character and plot development. Now I'm left wanting to read more about Curly Barnes or Silver Vein, or whatever else Clay Houston Shivers has up his sleeve!

[Jan]

Semi-traditional but more fun. The characters are a riot and the interactions are too much fun. Reminds me of the spaghetti westerns from late nite. Entertaining and enjoyable story and so much better than I expected!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Next Chapter Publishing/Gunslinger via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Tommy Justice]

Funny, entertaining, a good depiction of the rugged lifestyle of 1870s Texans and very sympathetic to Indigenous Americans.

[Melissa]

"The west was a lawless place. And a safe town in a lawless place is a beacon to those who seek a new life for themselves..."

The Maurauders of Pitchfork Pass reads like a comedic, old-timey Western movie. From the publisher's synopsis, I expected something gritty and perhaps a little dry, so I was surprised to find myself often laughing out loud at the blunt, sarcastic humor within the pages.

"I wanted to push him into a vat of soap; the man smelled like vulture puke."

Curly Barnes, the local saloon owner, barkeep, primary protagonist, and first-person narrator, is entertaining, often inappropriate, and self-aware.

"I'm a charming rascal, as I might have mentioned."

There is nothing genteel or politically correct about the story; while rough language and graphic depictions of violence may be commonplace in the Western genre, these won't appeal to all readers universally, and didn't sit particularly well with me.

"The Comanches didn't stop for anything unless it could be looted or scalped."

Overall, I enjoyed the sense of humor that Clay Houston Shivers brought to his writing, but didn't feel a genuine connection with the genre or the graphic violence. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

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Thank-you to Clay Houston Shivers, BookBuzz, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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[Mari]

First the “dead” sheriff returns announcing he is not dead after being cured by a Comanche Indian. He begins to restore order to Silver Vein. A tad difficult with the people who mostly prefer the whiskey served at the saloon by Curly. Then there is the grasping rancher that hires gunmen and raids the neighboring ranchers. He efforts seem to be successful until a sneak shot takes him out and Curly, the saloon keeper and friend grows into the job. Everyone seems to do a lot of bleeding, but the good guys seem to recover and continue the quest after the sheriff is shot dead for good. Curly gradually grows into his new position as sheriff with the rest of the town supporting him Johnny Ringo appears with a broken leg, but it seems he hasn’t really killed anyone. He does a lot of threatening though. Follow Curly as he goes after the rancher who hired the gunman and raided neighboring small ranches. Will he be able to deal with the gunmen, the rustlers, the evil rancher, and a bunch of angry Comanche? Read on for a different type of Western.

[Richard]

A very good book

The book starts a little slow at first, but really picks up as it goes a long. The characters are well developed and the part of the book where they crossed the desert makes you feel like you are there. There is good descriptions of the land, buildings and the people. There are a lot of details in the book about the land and people to give you an idea of how they lived and what they had to put up with. This book is well worth reading. Read and enjoy.

[Rhonda]

Like a good historical western. Intriguing and entertaining story with some twists and turns. Interesting characters. Keeps you guessing until the end. Good read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Harold]

Unlike any Western that I have ever read

This story has everything, bad guys, lawmen, cowboys, Indians, greedy ranchers, gunfights and saloons but the best thing is this is the first really funny Cowboy Book that I have ever read.

[John Flick]

Marauders

A rather interesting western novel. The story is told through the eyes of the main chat. There is a bit of realism in it with some real people and Indians. The novel is quite long and took sometime to read.

[Winn]

Well put together tale. Setting is 10 years after the Civil War, West Texas Mining town without valuable minerals. Plot follows a traditional bad guy greedy rancher line but with great and unique characters involving resurrection.

[Greg Rempel]

Very different from the hundreds of westerns I've read.

Everything from the characters to the story was a lot but it all came together and I was entertained. My first by this author but not my last.

[Rick Mitchell]

tedious and plodding

[J.D. Schechter]

Not your average oater

Engaging and well written, with a little humor, a bit of philosophy and a cast of characters that constantly and consistently entertains

[Mailmanr5]

I always enjoy a good western and this is a real good one. The characters are unique and the dialogue is a stich. Lots of laughs. Simple story that always works.

[Jeremy Taylor]

A really enjoyable and interesting experience, I found I couldn't put it down until I finished it 😀

[Phil]

Quit at the 20% mark. The story and characters didn’t grab me.