Last evening I finished reading, A Texas Ranger, by William
Macleod Raine, written more than 100 years ago but still a very good tale. Some
of these older westerns seem to be somewhere in between all the pulp westerns
that were so well read a half century ago and the newer, truer western of a few
years ago. The difference between the
new and the traditional westerns was summed up by Elmer Kelton, an all-time
favorite of mine, when he said that Mr. L'Amour's characters ''are always seven
feet tall and invincible, mine are 5 feet 8 and nervous.''
Seemed to me that much of the action, in
westerns today, is still the seven foot tall and invincible style but grittier
in modern westerns. That’s why I read them, love the action, that’s why its
fiction, it’s over the top. If I see any big changes in newer western novels it
might be the removal, at times, of stereotypes of Indians, women, Mexicans and
some religious groups. (See Zane Grey)The so called formula western is still alive
with a fair following, the one that puts the good guys against the bad guys. More
and more westerns seem to be of the romance variety and these new westerns seem
to be dominated by women writers, nothing bad about that, just an observance.
Type in “Westerns,” into an Amazon book
search – most interesting. You will find a mix of new and old, romance and traditional
and many very cheap or free on Kindle stories.
And like any good cowboy in the end I will ride off into the sunset.
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| Great Sunset Over the Laramie Range December First 2014 |
2 comments:
And a pretty sunset it is. I liked the Raine stories I read way back.
Thanks Oscar,
Not sure if I read any before this, maybe a couple but just in the last few years. Writing is pretty dated but fine stories
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