Sudden

Corgi 1974 UK Edition

Author: Oliver Strange

First Published: 1933

If I had done a little bit of basic research before starting to read Sudden, I'd have realised that it is in actual fact the third book in Oliver Strange's Western series, rather than the first. I mean, it seems logical that the opening book would be named after the central character doesn't it? Not in this case it isn't. Well, that's taught me a valuable lesson that I won't take for granted anymore!

The original novels of Oliver Strange are not available in eBook format. However, after his death in 1952, the series was still selling rather well into the sixties, so a set of follow up books was commissioned by Corgi Books in the UK. These have been released as eBooks by Piccadilly Publishing. They are written by Liverpudlian author Frederick Nolan under the pen name of Frederick H. Christian.

I could find very little information about Oliver Strange the man. Other than a quote on Wikipedia telling us that he was an English author, there is not much else about. I guess him being English perhaps explains some of the odd things about the style of the writing and the language which I'll go into in a bit. (Maybe he could be considered as the first Picadilly Western Author!). The Sudden books under Strange began in 1930 and lasted till shortly before his death, with the final book published in 1950.

The Range Robbers (1930)
The Law o' the Lariat (1931)
Sudden (1933)
The Marshal of Lawless (1933)
Sudden—Outlawed (1934)
Sudden—Gold Seeker (1937)
Sudden Rides Again (1938)
Sudden Takes the Trail (1940)
Sudden Makes War (1942)
Sudden Plays a Hand (1950)


Despite it being the third novel, I thought Sudden stood up very well as an introduction to the character. Even a small number of references to previous incidents and a recurring character from Sudden's past didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.

It's important for me to point out that this book dates back to the 1930's. I've always been very reluctant to read books from this period as I have always been of the opinion that they are not particularly good and don't age well. So why did I read this one? Well, to be totally honest, I had purchased a bunch of the Sudden books in an eBay deal, all in amazing condition. Added to that, I had no idea they were so old, and didn't even realise till I had read the first couple of pages when it dawned upon me that the style was a bit 'off'. A quick look at the publication history - and the penny dropped. I considered just popping the book back on the bookshelf but decided to give it a fair shot before making judgement.

The writing style takes a while to get used to. It's definitley of its' time, and was clearly a 'pot-boiler' novel designed to entertain rather than set the literary world alight in 1933. Strange used a very mannered way of representing the vocabulary of the American West in his books. You will have to get used to reading such lines as;

"Thisyer's the spot," he said. "See where the hoss r'ared?"

And my particular favourite;

"I tell one leetle story," Ramon replied. "Once I see two moutain lion fight over ze carcase of a deer. It was one great battle, senor, an' when it was feenish both ze lion was dead; si, zey keel each other yu sabe. An' zen a coyote sleenk outa ze brush, where he been watchin', an he get ze meat."

However, once you get into the rythym of the language (I don't think the word "you" appears anywhere in the book, "yu" is used instead) it becomes almost hypnotic.

Due to its age, the book contains some sensitive text in relation to how it depicts and describes black people. It feels very odd reading those passages, I've no doubt you wouldn't see them in any revised publication if they were to be reissued again. In particlar, Sudden's horse has an incredibly controversial name that I cannot believe would get past an editor in today's climate. Even the character of Sudden describes all the villains as "black" and all the decent citizens as "white" - I'm not sure if it was just my own sensitivities coming out at this point, but it started to get noticable.

The story of Sudden takes place around the town of Windy, which is plagued by a conflict between two rival cattlers. The Circle B ranch owned and run by the Burdette family; and the CP run by Chris Purdie and his family. Sudden is sent by Governor Bleke of Arizona to Windy, undercover, to find out what is happening and to try and resolve the recent murder of the head of the Burdette family. When Sudden arrives he is immedeiately involved as a witness to the murder of the only son of Chris Purdie - shot in the back with .38 by a mysterious figure riding into the distance on a grey horse. Sudden isn't able to save the young man's life but takes the body into Windy.

He is met by the townsfolk and the decidedly corrupt Marshall Slype who all but accuses Sudden of the murder himself. He won't consider that the killer had to be one of the Burdettes, young Luce. Even in the face of him having a grey horse and owning a .38 rifle. Chris Purdie arrives to see the fate of his only son and by way of thanking Sudden for him not leaving his son's body to the wolves and coyotes, offers him the job of foreman at his ranch, to take over from his son. Sudden eventually accepts and after a meeting with the head of the Burdettes, King Burdette, he joins the CP.

At the CP he meets an old friend, Yago, who is glad to have the young fellow on board. He knows a little of Suddens background and makes it easier for Sudden to blend in with the ranch-hands and cattlers of the CP.

Back at the Circle B, King Burdette is only too pleased to see that the blame for the killing of Kit Purdie is being targetted on one of his brothers, Luce. He is an outright villian, who lusts after the daughter of Chris Purdie in the form of Nan Purdie. His desire is even more strengthened when he discovers that Luce and Nan are in love and have been meeting in secret for months. King wants to wed Nan and bring the two ranches together extending thier property over a huge area, encompassing land rich and fertile for cattle rearing as well as gold-mining. He goes so far as to throw Luce out of the family, telling him to leave town and never return.

Sudden is plunged into this family fued and murder mystery - he has landed on the side of the Purdies, but in this style of book it's clear the villains of the piece are the Burdettes, and so the novel falls into rather a repetitive structure where Sudden is faced by the menaces of hired killers or the Burdette brothers one at a time, while Luce is systematically accused of each death that occurs!

Although it reads quite dated, and the story falls into a predictable cycle of threat and rescue where the characters are pretty much good versus bad portrayals, it was still an enjoyable Western in the end. A little too long for modern tastes I suspect, but I'm now intrigued as to how the follow-up series by Frederick H. Christian reads.