Books For Review

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TOR/FORGE publishers has sent me two new books for review. One is a new novel by the excellent author and friend Elmer Kelton, and the second is a reissue of three Zane Grey novels in one volume. I hope to find time to review these books, especially the Kelton novels, in the near future. In the meantime, here is some info from the publisher.

Texas Sunrise: Two Novels of the Texas Republic
Elmer Kelton

Forge Books
Published: October 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2064-3
ISBN-10: 0-7653-2064-9
Trim: 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches
368 pages

InTexas Sunrise, Elmer Kelton brings together two novels that tell the story of the Texas Revolution as seen by the brothers Thomas and Joshua Buckalew who emigrate to Texas at a time when the Mexican-controlled province welcomes settlers.

In Massacre at Goliad, tensions mount between Mexican authorities and American newcomers, and revolution is in the air, something Thomas Buckalew welcomes but Joshua fears – he is in love with a Mexican girl.

The story touches on the immortal battle of the Alamo, but centers on the infamous Goliad massacre, and ultimately the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which made Texas an independent republic.

After the Bugles continues where Massacre at Goliad ends – on the battlefield at San Jacinto. Joshua Buckalew tries to put the pieces back together but finds that starting over in the aftermath of war can be as challenging as the war itself. The racial differences that helped foment the conflict have not gone away. And Texas finds that being an independent republic can be more difficult than being a colonial extension of Mexico.


Western Legends
Zane Grey

Forge Books
Published: October 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2065-0
ISBN-10: 0-7653-2065-7
Trim: 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches
784 pages

Three classics of the western genre by the greatest of its founders

Zane Grey is the most famous writer in westerns, a founder of the genre. His works have been made into more than one hundred movies and his stories have endured for a century, influencing all others in the genre.

Three fine, characteristic works are included in this omnibus: To the Last Man, the story of Arizona’s Pleasant Valley War—an historic brutal family feud that ended in universal slaughter; The Mysterious Rider, a romantic adventure featuring Hell Bent Wade, a basically good man with a violent temper that leads him to murder—and redemption; and The Lone Star Ranger, the tale of a youth turned gunman turned Texas Ranger—and perhaps the spark that inspired that mythic character, The Lone Ranger.