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Post by bushwick on Nov 16, 2008 19:06:04 GMT
 'The American Civil War was over but the killing wasn't. In the bloody conflict, one man had honed his craft of killing as surely as the sabre he still carried. The man called Track. The land had cooled but he hadn't and he found that his lust for combat could be put to good use.
On the murderous trail of a vicious half-breed named Lone Wolf, Track discovers a burned out farm and just one survivor of the massacre.
A beautiful girl named Holly Fulton. A girl whose skill with a rifle almost matches his own.
They both want Lone Wolf dead but, to Track, the half-breed means money and not even a woman is going to stop him killing his quarry.
One driven by vengeance, the other by greed they find that they must fight side by side when Lone Wolf's tribe attack them and Track finds that he's not the only one who enjoys killing...
For most men the War has been hell, for Track it has been practice.'As I've said before, since being alerted to the PC Westerns by a thread on the old board, I've bought dozens and have read them voraciously. The plots tend to blur after a while, with certain set-pieces, characters and dialogue still sticking in the mind. Now, I know I have read many, many better Westerns, yet for some reason I am compelled to comment on this, Hutson's first in his short-lived Track series. Like 'Apache Gold', it's another non-stop outrageous torrent of sadistic violence with very little wit indeed. Easily one of the most violent Westerns I've read, matching or perhaps topping the Breed or Crow books: 'The heavy bullet caught the rebel in the face, shattering his bottom jaw before exploding from the back of his head.' '...lying face down beside his mount, a gaping hole in his back offering a glimpse of his spine and the pulped remains of his kidneys.' Hmmm, you say, that's not too strong for one of these books? And you'd be right, except this takes place on THE FIRST PAGE. Bang, straight in there with a bloody Civil War skirmish and many deaths. It turns out to be a dream sequence, but it still counts because, we find out, it did actually happen. Track has seen and caused some bloodshed during the war, and he is now haunted by the same dream, of where he was seriously injured back at Gettysburg. The plot? Just as the synopsis, very little to add to that. Not much in the way of humour - people often call Track a 'bastard', to which he invariably replies, 'who's arguing?'. Which is okay, but not up to the standard of an ornate Josiah C Hedges pun. The thing that stands out is the constant action, unrelenting pace and constant lovingly-described death. I got to near the end and thought 'he's gonna put some genital mutilation in here, he's got to', and was I right? Damn straight! Generic cipher half-breed (with lazy name) Lone Wolf gets his cock and balls shot to pieces by the woman he raped. In the other one I read, another feller's articles were severed and then eaten by a coyote. Which was two books later, so old Shaun had obviously upped his game there. Other highlights include Track force-feeding a dying man salt and robbing valuables from corpses. And scalping. He'll do anything for cash and does not give two hoots. There's a lass in this, but she gets up to no action with old Track. Perhaps he is masking issues. I commented before about 'Apache Gold' that there was no real character exposition or backstory. Well, I should have read this one first, as we discover that Track's mum died when he was a baby. Raised by elder sister who was later killed by her waster husband before he blew his own head off. Dad was a lawman who didn't do very well and got shot by a drunk. Since the War, he's been using his skill and love for killing to earn bucks. Etc. I do recommend these highly. The writing is functional and without frills, but it's good sturdy stuff that carries you along without too many unintended laffs before the next disembowelling. I'm going to try and get the second one as I'm sure it's more of the same. Has anyone read Hutson's 'Wolf Kruger' joints? I can imagine them being the direct 'war' equivalent of these, full of brain matter... |
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Post by killercrab on Nov 16, 2008 19:39:42 GMT
Well, I should have read this one first, as we discover that Track's mum died when he was a baby. >> This is the interesting thing I find about the various western *series* - the big picture if you like. That doesn't mean reading backwards is bad - after all finding trashy gems isn't easy these days if you go the hard route sifting by hand for gold. Great review brother Noah - you have given me the lift to tackle something unredeemable. Btw Noah - have you checked out this interview with Terry H ? uk.geocities.com/pulp_pages/index.htmSteve's set-up - recommend the Linaker too. KC |
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Post by Dr Terror on Nov 16, 2008 23:33:45 GMT
I've only read one Track book; can't remember which, but someday I'd like to read the rest.
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Post by jkdunham on Nov 17, 2008 2:31:01 GMT
Has anyone read Hutson's 'Wolf Kruger' joints? I can imagine them being the direct 'war' equivalent of these, full of brain matter... Started Men Of Blood not so long ago, got a couple of chapters in, picked up something else and never got back to it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad - it's all there, you know, the requisite mud and blood, the laconic one liners, it just didn't really engage me at all. I found exactly the same thing with Apache Gold. It was fine as far as it went but there just didn't seem to be any spark to it. Too much like writing by numbers - by the book, if you like. I'll certainly go back to Men Of Blood at some point and give it another shot, and I'd even pick up more of the series if I saw them around. They're entertaining enough these things, I just find there's something curiously unsatisfying about them. |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Nov 17, 2008 10:36:16 GMT
Has anyone read Hutson's 'Wolf Kruger' joints? I can imagine them being the direct 'war' equivalent of these, full of brain matter... Started Men Of Blood not so long ago, got a couple of chapters in, picked up something else and never got back to it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad - it's all there, you know, the requisite mud and blood, the laconic one liners, it just didn't really engage me at all. I found exactly the same thing with Apache Gold. It was fine as far as it went but there just didn't seem to be any spark to it. Too much like writing by numbers - by the book, if you like. I'll certainly go back to Men Of Blood at some point and give it another shot, and I'd even pick up more of the series if I saw them around. They're entertaining enough these things, I just find there's something curiously unsatisfying about them. I've definitely read one and it was very good, if a tad obviously derived from Cross Of Iron. The insanely generous Steve has sent me a Track which I must get down to. Once I've...erm...tossed off Robert Lory's The Witching Of Dracula. Which I've got to review as it has one of the most brilliantly pointless chapters in it that I've ever read. One of our heroes is locked in an hotel room. The only way he can escape is to knot the bed sheets together and climb out of the window. This he does, but realises that a rope of knotted bedsheets dangling from an hotel window is a bit of a giveaway. So he goes back into the hotel, gets the room key, returns to the room, hauls the makeshift rope back in and remakes the bed. If it wasn't for the fact he discovers a couple of blood-stained corpses shortly afterwards this would be rather dull and silly. |
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Post by andydecker on Nov 17, 2008 19:02:11 GMT
As a Hutson fan - which frankly gets harder with his recent stuff - I bought one of those. Compared to the PC novels I found it very pedestrian, can´t even remember which one it was  Not a good sign. |
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Not a good sign.