Ride for Rule Cordell - Softcover

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Fans of the traditional western need not live on Max Brand reprints. The genre in its classic form remains in good hands, thanks to such contemporary authors as Cotton Smith. This tale of a couple of Texas Rangers and a reformed gunslinger out to wrest control of a small town from a deranged female rancher (an evil version of Barbara Stanwyck in The Big Valley) who sees herself as the as-yet-uncrowned Queen of Texas. There’s a little bit of Shane here, and a tasty dollop of The Magnificent Seven, as Ranger John Checker and outlaw turned preacher Rule Cordell join hands to set matters right for the locals in Caisson, Texas. Smith hits all the right archetypal chords, neatly choreographing the fight scenes and portraying his lonely Ranger heroes as torn between rugged individualism and the lure of a good woman and a tasty plate of stew. Don’t expect much in the way of subtlety or surprises (except for a Tennyson-spouting Ranger), but Smith knows the basic western tune by heart and plays it without missing a note. --Bill Ott