Here is the second posting of a breed of Wild Western, and a publisher who admits some stories feature “dark humor” such as cannibalism…
Noose; A Joe Noose Western, Eric Red, Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., Mass market paperback, $7.99. Fiction
Noose is a handsomely rugged individual who wears a hideous brand on his chest acquired for his misdeeds when still a teenager. Now, an adult, he turns to law- abiding pursuits namely bounty hunting. In this story he teams up with a beautiful young female U.S. Marshal, to capture or kill a band of cutthroat murdering bounty hunters who are likewise out to Kill Noose and the girl. Everybody in this spoof rides a stallion. Moose himself rides a magnificent copper colored stallion standing 10 hands tall (the size of a Shetland pony). All the horses have snouts (instead of muzzles), kick with their front legs (instead of hind legs) and drink water out of canteens.
All this fun is inter-mingled with hard riding, fast shooting, plus lots of blood and gore. Noose conveniently carries a roll of barbed wire in his saddlebags to string across the trail thereby decapitating any killer following him. Believe it or not, the story has a happy ending.
These Kensington paperbacks provide wonderful entertainment on cold winter nights when your TV is on the blink, or you are thirsting for something more exciting than Lawrence Welk and the Food Channel.
Editor’s Note; The reviewer Phyllis Morreale-de la Garza is the author of numerous books about the Old West including the novel Lost Roundup, published by Silk Label Books, P.O. Box 399, Unionville, New York 10988 (845) 726-3434. Www.silklabelbooks.com
