Parker, Robert B. (2005). Appaloosa. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
ISBN: 978-0425204320
Pages: 276
Annotation: Two lawmen
must save a town from a corrupt rancher.
Summary: Virgil Cole and
Everett Hitch are asked by the aldermen of Appaloosa to save their city from a
corrupt rancher who has taken control of it. Cole is matchless as a gunman and
Hitch is no beginner either. Through strategy and planning they manage to get
the man on trial, but this only the beginning of their battle with him.
Evaluation: fair read
The characters in this
story were interesting, but with the exception of the narrator Hitch, I could
not connect with them. Cole, the main lawman, behaves irresponsibly. The female
character, Alice, is someone who I found myself wondering why he had a
relationship with her. The author provides an explanation which could seem
plausible to other readers but seemed too unbelievable to me. Hitch was the one
character I felt a connection with: not as irresponsible as Cole, loyal and I
could understand his feelings and reactions to situations. The storyline was
interesting because I wanted to find out how the relationships ended up and the
fate of Appaloosa. Unfortunately, I was unhappy with the ending. Hitch’s final
thought, and how the conflict with the rancher was resolved, was a letdown to
me. I could see the point the author was trying to make but it seemed almost
anticlimactic how things were finally resolved. The author does a good job of
making me feel like I am in the ‘old West’, but would have been better with
more details. This was a fair read to me, but fans of the genre may have a
better reading experience.
What else to read:
Other books by Robert B. Parker.
Hondo by Louis L'Amour.
The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard by Elmore Leonard.
The Day the Cowboys Quitby Elmer Kelton.
