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Gunfighter's Reputation #9
Escape From Fire River
Lawrence Shaw is known as the fastest gun alive. But after recovering a fortune in stolen gold, being fast may not be enough. Garris ?The Cat? Cantro and his Border Dogs are remnants of the Confederacy who will fight, steal, and kill to the last man. And with all that gold, they can declare war on all who stand against them. Which is why Shaw is going to make his stand right now.
- GenresWesterns
284 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 3, 2009
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2020
3.5 Stars: Escape from Fire River is the sixth or seventh installment of the Gunman’s Song series by Ralph Cotton. Overall, I give this novel a decent “meh.” It wasn’t the worst in the series, but it definitely wasn’t the best, which is probably the first book in the series.
This book focuses more on Fast Larry Shaw (the books seem to alternate—one will focus on Dawson, Shaw’s best friend, and then switch back to Shaw). This book is more of a sequel to the previous book in the series where Shaw and Dawson intercept a huge shipment of gold that was stolen from a Mexican bank. Shaw’s job in this novel is to track the shipment of being guarded by Dawson and Caldwell (another friend of the trio). Shaw is hooked up with Janie from the previous book—a woman with a less than stellar reputation for decency—and the two get romantically involved along the way, which only creates frustration and tension for Shaw. I continue to enjoy Fast Larry as a character. Not only is he truly the “fastest gun alive,” but he combines that skill with humility and innate goodness, which makes him one of the more likable characters I’ve encountered in Western lore. Yes, these books are fairly predictable, and because we know a few more books exist in the series, it’s fairly clear that Dawson and Shaw will continue to survive their battles with the varies bad hombres they meet along the way. Each of the novels contains a fairly vile and revolting antagonist that the reader cannot wait to see Shaw destroy, and here, as in most of the other books, Cotton doesn’t disappoint. One aspect of the past few novels I have not been impressed with is that Cotton seems to have lost his ability to build the appropriate suspense to the gun fights, and then to leave the reader wanting when it comes to the description of the battles and the deaths of the characters. In previous novels, these battles were most enjoyable, and those who enjoy revenge feel appropriately satiated by the description of the bad guys’ demise. Here, almost every guy Shaw shoots gets “blown off his horse and dies.” This phrase seems to appear repeatedly, and gets a little old. I know Cotton is better than this, and cannot understand what happened. Did he too, like William Johnstone, start employing an army of ghost-writers? I have to wonder, because the past three installments of this series have not held up well to the previous ones.
Regardless, I will continue to read this series to the end. As I mentioned, like Louis L’Amour’s Flintlock, Shaw is just irresistibly intelligent, noble, and likable, and I honestly cannot get enough of him (not in any sexual sense, of course). I love westerns. When the world goes to hell like it has lately, I need a reminder of the simple life, where seldom was heard, a discouraging word, where the buffalo roamed, and where bad guys got their brains blown out like they deserved. Oh how I long for the good ole’ days.
This book focuses more on Fast Larry Shaw (the books seem to alternate—one will focus on Dawson, Shaw’s best friend, and then switch back to Shaw). This book is more of a sequel to the previous book in the series where Shaw and Dawson intercept a huge shipment of gold that was stolen from a Mexican bank. Shaw’s job in this novel is to track the shipment of being guarded by Dawson and Caldwell (another friend of the trio). Shaw is hooked up with Janie from the previous book—a woman with a less than stellar reputation for decency—and the two get romantically involved along the way, which only creates frustration and tension for Shaw. I continue to enjoy Fast Larry as a character. Not only is he truly the “fastest gun alive,” but he combines that skill with humility and innate goodness, which makes him one of the more likable characters I’ve encountered in Western lore. Yes, these books are fairly predictable, and because we know a few more books exist in the series, it’s fairly clear that Dawson and Shaw will continue to survive their battles with the varies bad hombres they meet along the way. Each of the novels contains a fairly vile and revolting antagonist that the reader cannot wait to see Shaw destroy, and here, as in most of the other books, Cotton doesn’t disappoint. One aspect of the past few novels I have not been impressed with is that Cotton seems to have lost his ability to build the appropriate suspense to the gun fights, and then to leave the reader wanting when it comes to the description of the battles and the deaths of the characters. In previous novels, these battles were most enjoyable, and those who enjoy revenge feel appropriately satiated by the description of the bad guys’ demise. Here, almost every guy Shaw shoots gets “blown off his horse and dies.” This phrase seems to appear repeatedly, and gets a little old. I know Cotton is better than this, and cannot understand what happened. Did he too, like William Johnstone, start employing an army of ghost-writers? I have to wonder, because the past three installments of this series have not held up well to the previous ones.
Regardless, I will continue to read this series to the end. As I mentioned, like Louis L’Amour’s Flintlock, Shaw is just irresistibly intelligent, noble, and likable, and I honestly cannot get enough of him (not in any sexual sense, of course). I love westerns. When the world goes to hell like it has lately, I need a reminder of the simple life, where seldom was heard, a discouraging word, where the buffalo roamed, and where bad guys got their brains blown out like they deserved. Oh how I long for the good ole’ days.
August 23, 2021
ESCAPE FROM FIRE RIVER
ANOTHER GOOD BOOK BY RALPH COTTON. HE always has a good story to tell & I have enjoyed every one of his books.
ANOTHER GOOD BOOK BY RALPH COTTON. HE always has a good story to tell & I have enjoyed every one of his books.
Read
September 7, 2015This was an 'okay' read...but am gonna shelf it to finish another time I just couldn't get into it right now. Listened to it on CD and the reader did a good job but just couldn't 'get into it' right now.
Read
September 8, 2015This was an 'okay' read...but am gonna shelf it to finish another time I just couldn't get into it right now. Listened to it on CD and the reader did a good job but just couldn't 'get into it' right now
Read
January 7, 2017Great book, as usual any book by Ralph Cotton is good. I have never found a book i didn't enjoy reading that he has written. They just pull you into the story and you can't wait to see what happens next. really enjoy his books. Thank you Ralph for a great read.
January 7, 2017
Great Read
Great book, enjoyed it bunches. Shaw is one tough feller. Wonder if him and Jane get together for good. She can't kill a man but she can track. Make a great team.
Great book, enjoyed it bunches. Shaw is one tough feller. Wonder if him and Jane get together for good. She can't kill a man but she can track. Make a great team.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews