Alfred Pitney, a representative of some British cattle ranchers, arrives in Texas to buy a bull from the Bar-40 ranch. Pitney intends to take the bull to Wyoming and, with three tough Bar-40 cattlehands as escort, sets out on a journey that'll be an adventure of a lifetime. Luke Deal and his gang want the bull for their own and taking it will allow them the chance to settle a very old score...
David Robbins, writing for Ralph Compton, comes up with a winner here, a very readable book filled with gripping situations, excellent characters, including the bull, Big Blue, and the accompanying cows. There's plenty of humour - usually involving Alfred Pitney - that balances out the more violent clashes this small trail drive encounters.
Sweet Sally's attempts to find some goodness in Luke Deal made for some fascinating reading, and I thought it was great she was not the usual attractive, perfect figured, female that many westerns have as their main female roles.
One thing that surprised me was how easy the relationship between Deal and Owen was to work out right from the beginning which was a little disappointing plot wise as the surprise revelation at the end wasn't. Having said that, it really didn't take anything away from this book being a terrific read, in fact I enjoyed the characters so much that I'm hoping there will be a follow up that covers the last part of the trail drive.
David Robbins, writing for Ralph Compton, comes up with a winner here, a very readable book filled with gripping situations, excellent characters, including the bull, Big Blue, and the accompanying cows. There's plenty of humour - usually involving Alfred Pitney - that balances out the more violent clashes this small trail drive encounters.
Sweet Sally's attempts to find some goodness in Luke Deal made for some fascinating reading, and I thought it was great she was not the usual attractive, perfect figured, female that many westerns have as their main female roles.
One thing that surprised me was how easy the relationship between Deal and Owen was to work out right from the beginning which was a little disappointing plot wise as the surprise revelation at the end wasn't. Having said that, it really didn't take anything away from this book being a terrific read, in fact I enjoyed the characters so much that I'm hoping there will be a follow up that covers the last part of the trail drive.
