Kill Angel - Angel #3

Author: Frederick H. Christian

First Published: 1973

Fileseize/Pages: 451kb/141pp
Ebook Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing

Ebook Date: April 2014

(Note: My  numbering of the Angel series is based upon the publication order by Sphere UK)

I can't believe its been over a year since I last read a Western! I don't know why such a long time elapsed, but I'm glad I've got back in the saddle. Kill Angel is another tale of the Justice Deptartment's "get-it-done" special investigator, Frank Angel, written expertly by Frederick H. Christian (aka Frederick Nolan). I had a great time reading Send Angel back in May 2020, and I'm happy to report that Nolan entertains even more so with this exciting installment.

This time around Frank Angel is called upon to find and bring back to justice the head of the notorious Blantine clan, father Yancey Ballantine. Charged with his mission by the Attorney-General, Angel sets out to enlist the help of two friends, Chris Vaughan and Pearly Gates to travel with him into Mexico and ride right up in to the heart of the Blantine-controlled town of Agua Caliente. They not only have to contend with a town full of Blantine henchmen, but also the sons of Yancey named Harry, Burke and Gregg.

Frank Angel devises a plan to bring the Blantines out of thier hideout with a brazen entrance to Agua Caliente's saloon. Its a risky venture, as he throws himself into the lion's den with the help of his two partners - but somehow they need to find and capture the ring-leader who was responsivle for the mass murdering rampage of an entire town.

Nolan provides an excellent book. Afast, no-nonsense Western that skirts around the edges of the Piccadilly ultra-voilence that dominated at the time. His characters of suitable balck or white, and the action incridibly satisfying. There are a couple of stand-out scenes, a nighttime attack by local apache indians, and a show-down in a dead-end canyon.

My only negative was that possibly the order the Sphere paperbacks as published in the UK might mean that this was the first appearance of Angel's friends, Vaughan and Gates - whereas I have a sneaky feeling that perhaps they had already been characters in one or two of the other Angels books if they had been released in the correct order? I can't be sure, but the way both of the men are introduced, its cleaer that Angel has back-story with them, which as a reader I wasn't privvy too.

If you are after a neat, solid quick Western with a just a touch of bloody action, this could be the one for you. I really enjoyed this Nolan title.

Without Mercy (Morgan Kane #1)

Corgi, 1971

Author: Louis Masterson (aka Kjell Hallbing)

First Published: 1971 (English), 1966 (Norwegian)

Pages: 129

eBook Cover

When I started this blog I  thought I'd end up reviewing tons and tons of hardboiled crime novels of the sixties and seventies. That's where my interests have laid recently, and I naturally assumed that was what I would continue to read and what this blog would focus on. Instead I find myself drawn towards Western fiction? Yet again, I'm here reviewing a series of books from that genre; this one written in the greatest of the decades, the sixties. and even greater in the best year of the sixties, 1966. Of course the fact that it is the year of my birth is a complete coincidence (honest!).

The subject for today's review is Morgan Kane, and the inaugural book Without Mercy. Morgan Kane is a Texas Ranger, and eventually a US Marshall. The books were written by the Norwegian writer Kjell Hallbing, who published them under the name of Louis Masterson. They run to a staggering 83 volumes and have sold over an estimated 15 million copies worldwide.

Send Angel - Angel #2

Sphere 1973 UK edition

Author: Frederick H. Christian (aka Frederick Nolan)

First Published: 1973

File size/Pages: 1085KB / 158pp
Ebook Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Ebook Date: November 2012

Send Angel was a pleasure to read from start to end. It felt like the perfect antidote to the ultra-violent Westerns typical of the 1970's. Slightly longer in page length. An interesting central character that isn't bent on enacting bloody revenge on every person of questionable virtues he meets because of the voilent murder his wife, mother, father, or children. A good cast of supporting characters to accompany our hero. And most importantly, a decent plot that developes nicely and is allowed some room to develop.

I had planned to read the first of the Angel books, but got a little confused about their reading order, and it seems I ended up reading either the second or third book in the nine book series, Send Angel. I say "either" because according to Piccadilly Publishing's Ebook list, Send is the second novel, but according to the U.S. publication order it is the third? Author Frederick Nolan (writing as Frederick H. Christian) lists this it as the second on his website, so I'm going to stick with that principle.

Nolan hails from Liverpool, England. Born in 1931, he moved to London in the 60's and was a reader and editor for numerous publishing houses, most significantly with Corgi. It was through this association that the opportunity to write the follow-up books to Oliver Strange's Sudden series of books came about. This gave rise to the pen name he used for the majority of his Western fiction, Frederick H. Christian. The Sudden continuation books were incredibly popular selling over a million paperbacks.

Comanche! - Peacemaker #1

Author: Willaim S. Brady (aka Angus Wells and John Harvey)

First Published: 1981

Pages: 128pp
Publisher: Fontana
Not currently available in eBook format

Peacemaker is a companion book series by the same team that produced Hawk, Angus Wells and John Harvey writing as William S. Brady. As I hinted at in my review of Hawk #1 The Sudden Guns, this series has as its central hero, John T. McLain who was an influence on Jared Hawk. The Peacemaker stories appear to cover the early days of McLain, before he eventually teams up with Hawk and passes on his knowledge and advice.

That is not to say though, that McLain is portrayed as a young man in the books. In fact he is already facing early middle age, having just "signed the amnesty"with his fellow Confederates (I presume this puts the date at around 1863 as its not explicitly stated in the story). It transpires that despite being a Missouri man, McLain was enticed to join the cause after the modest farm he had established was the victim of raiders out of Kansas - reducing his home to ashes and killing his wife. He joined Bloody Bill Anderson's outfit, becoming an expert in guerilla tactics and military strategies. Making it through the Civil War unscathed, McLain went home. But the land was changed, and as his riding partner, Josey Wells, said "There ain't nothing left for us here", he acked his bags and travelled South.

This where we pick up the story with McLain. He finds himself pinned down by Nokoni Comanche Indians, with limited ammunition and even less water under a searing heat. The only thing in his favour is that the enemy are armed with just hatchets and lances. Despite the odds, he manages to survive and makes his way to the nearest settlement close to the San Antonio River, named Rio Verde. But on his approach his notices that the Mission is under seige by a large gathering of Comanche. Once he manages to gain access to Rio Verde he is quickly identified as a former Confederate by the Union Cavalry defending the small outpost. He agress to help them out, and is sent to find their commanding officer who has taken a small force out, but has yet to return, Captain Frank Donnely.

Digital Bibliophilia: A look back at Year One

Well - I've gone and done it. Today is the one year anniversary of the first review on Digital Bibliophilia. Even though it was for a crime comic!

Since 21 April 2019 I have done 56 reviews of genre books, the vast majority hailing from the 20th century. I wanted to celebrate in some way, so have decided to finally revamp the blog with a new theme and slight adjustment in the page settings. I hope you like it. I had been thinking about making a change for a while but was putting it off, so this feels like a good moment to finally do it.

Looking through the statistics, I can't quite believe that I am now getting over a thousand views a month. That seemed like a dream in the early days when less than 20 people were reading each review! The book that changed all that was Bamboo Guerrillas by Guy N. Smith. Suddenly a few more people visited the site and I was surprised because the book was so damn bonkers! Clearly I had underestimated the number of Smith fans there are out there.

At the same time, I also began to realise that having links to other like-minded sites was useful to generate traffic back to my own, so begun reading a lot more other review blogs and started to appreciate the wider genre reading and collecting community that's out there. I'm glad - because it has brought many books (especially reference ones) to my attention that I'd never have noticed otherwise.

The Sudden Guns - Hawk #1

Author: Willaim S. Brady (aka Angus Wells and John Harvey)

First Published: 1979

Pages: 128pp
Publisher: Fontana

Sometimes it takes a while for me to know whether or not I am going to like a book. For novels around a 200 page length, that might take up to 50 pages before I'm sure. For even longer books it can be double that. But on very rare occasions, I start to read a book and know literally within a page or two whether I am going to really enjoy it.

I'm happy to report that Hawk: The Sudden Guns was one of those rare occasions. This was a 100% totally satisfying reading experience. The characters, the action, the setting, the atmosphere and the writing style were completely spot on - I bloody loved it.

The only problem I have with it? It's out of print and has no eBook version (that I'm aware of).

The Hawk series ran to fifteen books, published by Fontana in the UK between 1979 and 1983. Most of them sport great cover paintings by the talented Robert Adams (now known as Mike Adams - check out his website over at www.mikeadamsart.co.uk). His art was used for books #1 to #12. The series was written jointly by Angus Wells and John Harvey, which each book alternating between the pair until book #10 when Harvey took over for a while. This might have been so that Wells could concentrate on another Western series for a while. I suspect this may have allowed Wells to write a few installments in the Peacemaker books, which are linked to the Hawk books by a common character (more on that below). Wells and Harvey remained friends for over 30 years. The list of books written by each of them are listed below.

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)

Two Guns to Apache Wells (Shane and Jonah #2)

Author: Cole Shelton (aka Roger Norris-Green)

First Published: 1978(?)

File size/Pages: 3253kb / 110pp
Ebook Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Ebook Date: December 2019

Back in October 2019, I had fully intended to read all three of the first installments of Piccadilly Publishing's new release roster. But due to my terrible habit of being distracted by the lure of a new book (rather than sticking with the ones in my 'to be read' pile) I only got around to reading the opening book in Cole Shelton's series of stories featuring Shane Preston and Jonah Jones. My review of that book can be read here, and I was very surprised and honoured to have the author himself (Roger Norris-Green) comment on the Piccadilly Publishing Facebook page. Book 2 came out at the end of 2019, and I had already pre-purchased it based upon the opening book, Gun Law at Hangman's Creek. After finding myself having to abandon a rather unengaging book I was planning on reviewing, I wanted to quickly get into something I knew I'd be happy with - so I'm glad to be here with a review of Two Guns to Apache Wells.

I'll start off by saying this ebook has a much nicer piece of art on the cover. I didn't like the first cover, but this one is a lot better. I'm still not sold on this version of Shane Preston having a white hat, but at least he's wearing some black and the action could be taken from a scene in the story. Not that that should effect your reading experience I hasten to add, but it makes me happy so it might make you too. This could very well be art from the original paperbacks, but I am finding it hard to track images down on the internet, so cannot confirm.

Gun Law at Hangman's Creek (Shane and Jonah #1)

Author: Cole Shelton (aka Roger Norris-Green)

First Published: 1978(?)

File size/Pages: 3201kb / 111pp
Ebook Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Ebook Date: October 2019

October is a good month if you follow the release schedule of Piccadilly Publishing. Of the ten eBooks being published, three of them are the first novels in new series. It's always good to get in at the beginning of a run of books that you are following, so I have decided to give all three a chance beginning with Gun Law at Hangman's Creek, the opener for the Shane and Jonah sequence, which  I am led to believe via Wikipedia ran up to 25 novels.

The Shane and Jonah stories were authored by Roger Norris-Green, writing as Cole Shelton. As of the time of writing I've not been able to track down a list of the novels or their publication dates, but my guess is they began during the late seventies. Roger was born in Brighton, UK and emigrated to Australia with his parents when he was only thirteen years old. The family settled in the south of the country where Roger eventually began his writing career by submitting short stories to his school's magazine. He went into advertising and became successful enough to run his own agency. Following his marriage, and a period of study that led him to become a lay preacher in the Christian faith, Roger started writing professionally for the Cleveland Publishing Company. As well as writing around 140 westerns for Cleveland and Black Horse he has also published six novels about the Copper Coast and Christian faith books.

Matagorda

Author: Louis L'Amour (born Louis LaMoore)
First Published: 1967
Pages: 140

Okay, so the first thing I should own up to is that I did not read a digital version of this book. Those readers that follow the same Facebook groups as me, may have seen that I was recently able to acquire a fairly large collection of books by L'Amour in the UK Corgi editions. This is the first of those I have decided to read. I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said that the vast majority, if not all, of L'Amour's books are readily available in eBook format. So I don't feel like I am cheating on the premise of this blog by reviewing after reading a paperback edition. And I will say now, that I fully intend to repeat this stance going forward. I am not a 'digital only' proponent - I love paperbacks, I collect them in modest amounts, and cannot ever see that stopping. But the reason I read more digital than I used to is because of a) a lack space in my home, b) to save money, and c) to avoid giving my partner an asthma attack (she can hardly spend much more than 10 minutes in most UK second hand books these days, so having a house full of old books needs to be avoided). I will always purchase a vintage paperback if the price is competitive in comparison to an eBook, and I will mention that in all my blogs. But the overriding principle is that an eBook should be available. In this case, my L'Amours worked out at less than £1 per book, whereas on Amazon UK, a single L'Amour could cost between £1.50 and £4.50 each.

With that out of the way, let's concentrate on Matagorda by arguably the most famous Western writer on the planet (anyone disagree with that?). L'Amour (1908 -1988) was born Louis LaMoore, in Jamestown, North Dakota. Hailing from French ancestry through his father and Irish through his mother, he travelled the world and finally settled in Oklahoma in the early 1930's where he changed his name to Louis L'Amour and settled down to become a writer.

Tears of Blood (Crow #3)

Hanging out with Tom Petty

Author: James W Marvin (aka Laurence James)
First Published: 1980
Pages: 128

The last time we caught up with Crow in 'Worse than Death' he had come to the rescue of a wagon full of cavalry officers wives and drivers escorting them across country. It didn't end particularly well for most of the characters, Indians and settlers alike were pretty much dealt rough justice by both parties. In Tears of Blood, Laurence ?James, writing as James W Marvin gives us another neat twist in the tale, meaning that this Crow story is significantly different enough to the previous two to make if fresh and engaging. It makes we wonder precisely why this series only lasted for eight paperbacks, because so far I am enjoying them greatly and I'm now wondering if I should ration myself and spread out reading the rest?

I raced through Tears of Blood. It was just as good, if not slightly better than the previous installment; which I felt was a good sequel to the opening novel. We are as ever introduced to Crow through the familiar framing device of an old man talking to an unknown person- who it now seems to be confirmed is supposed to be The Writer. The old man gets a little bit more flesh as well, and I'm pretty convinced the intention eventually was to drop hints that he is actually Crow  - let's see if the length of the series allows that to develop, and if my instinct is right?

Worse Than Death (Crow #2)

Author: James W Marvin
First Published: 1979
Pages: 149

I feel like I need to review a novel that isn't the first part of a series - just so that you don't get the idea I'm going to create a blog consisting solely of Number/Issue One's!

The second installment in the Crow series sees our anti-hero coming to the aid of a besieged group of cavalry wagon trains consisting of a rag-tag group of troopers and their officers wives. It's a very different take on the first book, in both setting and situation. James W Marvin pits Crow against a blood thirsty band of Indians as well as the backdrop of a freezing winter environment in this improvement on The Red Hills.

All the elements from the previous book are still here; Crow's lean long-haired black garbed appearance; the trademark sawed-off shotgun; a totally inept commanding officer; a slice of torture, and a spicy sex scene (more on that later!). However, this time everything feels a bit more polished in its execution on reflection when compared to #1 (except the low key ending perhaps?) and I loved the way that having this set during such a bitterly cold climate added to the plight of the characters.

We begin with the obligatory opening scene of two characters in Abelene, Kansas discussing Crow (an old-man Crow and the author perhaps?). They are discussing Crow's response to the quote, "a fate worse than death", with the old man saying that Crow said there is NO fate worse than death and never to forget it.

Skip back in time, and we are introduced to a wagon train full of cavalry wives and womenfolk travelling across Dakota Territory. It consists of the rather pompous wife of Captain Hetherington, who is leading the band as his first independent command of any sort (you know that's not going to endear him to Crow right?), and the virginal daughter of Lieutenant Shannon.

Hetherington doesn't disappoint for long of course, and takes it upon himself and his small charge to try and kill or capture the local Indian Shoshone Chief, Many Knives. Many Knives is on the war path; he's bolstered by the recent victory of Crazy Horse and wants to make a name for himself. Needless to say things don't turn out well for the Captain or most of his troops.

Enter our anti-hero. Reluctantly. He can see a great massacre is on hand if he doesn't intervene and so decides to assist whats left of the ladies and the wagon drivers to defend their small party, trapped by the Shoshone on one side and the raging icy waters of the Moorcock River on the other. They are trapped and surrounded, and the bitter weather is beginning to take its toll.

Marvin sets the scene nicely, everything is set up for a great piece of action, which we do get. There is another great intro to Crow - his dispatching of three young braves is ruthless. We get a truly ghastly torture by the Shoshone, and the tension mounts as people begin to freeze to death as the Indians mount attack after attack. Despite the action throughout it felt like there was less of the ultra-violent description than before. But this doesn't take anything away, I still got my money's worth.

And oh yes, Crow gets his way, with both women at the same time in this story - of course, they were all so  cold it just made sense - in order to generate some heat you know what I mean?

Worse than Death is better than The Red Hills, I enjoyed the story a bit more this time, with the added environmental aspects it felt like Crow was fighting not just men,  but also mother nature.

As with all the books in this series, currently published by Piccadilly, this one cost a mere £0.99 in eBook format. There were a few spelling slip ups, but nothing major to  report, the quality control seems to be of a high level and won't spoil your reading experience in my opinion.

Undercover Gun (Clay Nash #1)

Author: Brett Waring
First Published:  2016 (?)
Pages: 105

"Clay Nash and his neighbor Cash Matthews were never going to be friends.

Matthews was a big, powerful rancher who always wanted more. Clay was just a homesteader, content with his lot. But when Matthews went after Clay's land—and fenced off the water Clay's cattle needed in order to survive—Clay had no choice but to declare war. It was a foolish gesture that could only end one way, and it did—with Matthews sentencing Clay to a long, lingering death on the high desert. But somehow Clay survived, and when he came back for revenge, he was a new man, a harder man, a man who showed no mercy to his enemies.

Clay Nash was Wells Fargo's secret weapon … an undercover gun."

I enjoyed The Red Hills (Crow #1), so much that I decided to try another new (for me at least) Western series from Piccadilly Publishing. At £0.99, it's hardly going to break the bank if I don't like it, I thought. I'm happy to report it wasn't a waste of my hard earned cash. Undercover Gun, number 1 in the Clay Nash series was enjoyable and a nice departure from Crow. This series is written by Brett Waring, aka Keith Hetherington, who has also written Banner the Enforcer as Kirk Hamilton. Knowing this before I made my purchase provided that extra bit of confidence that I was in for a good yarn.

This first novel sets the scene for all the novels that follow. There are 25 in the series and at the time of writing Piccadilly have published up to number 15. So don't expect any undercover gunning from Clay Nash till the final act of this opener. As you can read from the blurb, Clay is a small time rancher who just happens to living next to a much more powerful and notorious rancher in the form of Cash Matthews. Clay comes to the attention of Matthews after he dispatches a couple of his henchmen, who were looking to impart a bit of punishment on Clay for using the river on Matthews land to water his herd.

Eventually Matthews captures Clay and decides to teach him and all the other ranchers around his growing empire a lesson, by releasing Clay out into the searingly hot desert with a few hours head start before Cash and his cronies come looking for him. They expect it to be a dead cert that Clay will not get far, or last very long in the wilderness. Their a bit of sport does not go exactly their way though, as Clay has spent some time among the native Indians and has some skills of his own.

What follows is a very competent and entertaining western following the desperate attempts of Matthews to hunt down Clay Nash, and Nash's ingenuity in foiling his neighbor. The story follows a lean plot that hardly ever lacks pace and kept me engaged throughout. The violence is not as graphic as that in the Crow novel I read before this, but it is still satisfyingly detailed; Nash is a mean shot and the action scenes are really well written.

There were no sex scenes in this opening story, I'm not aware if that changes over time, but there is what could be the start of a burgeoning romance. So, if you are not in the mood for a grisly or ultra-violent western, then this might scratch you itch. Recommended.

I'm led to believe that these stories have been published previously, however I could not find any covers for old paperbacks, so the cover above is the very good cover form Piccadilly, which apparently uses the original cover? I'd love to see a picture of the originals if anyone can point hem out somewhere on the Net?

The Red Hills (Crow #1)

Author: James W Marvin
First Published:  1979
Pages: 128

"Know what Crow used to say about livin' by your guns? Said it made him like a kind of alchemist. Said he was the first man in history to turn lead into gold. Yeah. Meanest son of a bitch ever. Crow."

No other name. Just Crow. Dressed in black from head to toe. The meanest man in the bullet-scarred annals of the West. Nobody ever turned their back on him. A cold voice in the shadows, a vengeful angel of death ... 

Time was when Crow was a Lieutenant in the Cavalry. A time when he rode against Crazy Horse and the Sioux. Commanded by Captain Silas Menges, a bloated, drunken obscenity of an individual. Even Menges' beautiful, sensual wife, Angelina, couldn't make up for the insults Crow took from him. No one crossed Crow and Lived. No one ... "

The Red Hills is the first novel in a series about a man named Crow. Just Crow. Written by James W Marvin a pseudonym for Laurence James, the prolific British-born author who also wrote other popular Western series Apache, Herne The Hunter, Caleb Thorne and Gunslinger. Piccadilly Publishing have brought a few of these series to us in eBook format recently (Great work Piccadilly!) and I'm a happy man. I loved this. There is possibly some parallel to be had with the Edge series by George G Gilman (Terry Harknett, who actually collaborated with James on a few occasions), in that I guess this series was trying to cash in on the popularity by having a similar sort of anti-hero. Crow only lasted for eight books though, as opposed to the massive 60+ of Edge. I am looking forward to finding out if this series loses its way or get repetitive quickly. Anyone with better knowledge please feel free to comment?

Crow is introduced to us straight away and it is immediately obvious he is a total bastard. Using his trademark sawed-off double-barreled shotgun to blow the head off of a little girls pet dog just because it won't give up Crows yellow neck scarf sets the bar. This is not a man to upset. Dressed all in black, tall, lean and mean, this is a no nonsense dude.

The story (framed within the structure of an old man being interviewed - might it be Crow himself?) centers around Crows involvement as a Lieutenant in the Cavalry deep in Indian country. He is set off against a truly manic, over the top, drunken commanding officer, Silas Menges, who is hated by his troop and who Crow instantly has no respect for. Complicated into this is the addition of the Captains' wife, who pretty quickly takes a shine to our anti-hero. There follows bad decision after bad decision by the officer, poorly planned raids to attempt to rid the area of Indians, and Crow eventually getting his end off with Mrs Menges, which seals the deal for a showdown with the Captain.

It feels a little strange that Crow is presented as a no nonsense son-of-a-gun initially, but for the rest of the book we see him struggling to restrain himself from reacting to the awful actions of his senior officer. However, this provides the reader with their own feeling of frustration, and all builds up to the final climax and Crow eventually handing out his own truly ghastly revenge on Menges.

I really, really enjoyed this book, Marvin cleverly presents his plot without any fluff, delivers great, bloody action scenes, a bit of gratuitous sex, and a satisfying ending for the 'baddies'. I like the format of Westerns with an anti-hero such as Crow or Edge - that feeling of the violent 70's spaghetti western brought to novel form is great. Highly recommended.