The Burning Range: A Ralph Compton Novel

by Joseph A. West

For a gambler locked in a claims war, the stakes are life or death! A plague of killings has descended on Green Meadow, Oklahoma. A villain called the Fat Man wants the town -- and the black gold beneath it. And Fat Man is willing to wipe out every man, woman, and child to get it. Only two underdogs stand in his seedy gambler Chauncey Drake and scrappy Pinkerton agent Reuben Withers. The pair will have to work hard and work together to force-feed the Fat Man a steady diet of hot lead -- or Green Meadow will run red.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

318 pages, Library Binding

First published October 25, 2010

About the author

Joe West was born and raised in the seaside town of Saltcoats in Scotland. At 19 he became a police officer, but soon turned his love of writing into a career as a journalist, working for the Daily Mirror in London among others. In 1972 West was recruited as a reporter for the National Enquirer, and began working in the United States. Traveling the world in search of stories, West almost froze to death on an Alaska mountain, and a spider bite nearly killed him in the Amazon rainforest. 'I swelled up like a balloon and turned a real pretty violet color,' he recalls.

Now a full-time novelist, West and his wife Emily reside in sunny Lake Worth, Florida, where he enjoys tamer pursuits like canoeing the alligator-infested swamps of the Everglades. His daughter Alexandria attends a local college where she studies forensic technology. She will have absolutely nothing to do with canoes and alligators.

West researches the settings of his novels by exploring the terrain in person, usually with little more than a sleeping bag and a can of coffee.

Recently he and Emily celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at the Lodge in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a gift from the students at Rio Rancho High School who use West's first novel as a textbook. They then spent a month in the mountains and deserts of New Mexico, often pitching their tent where the air is thin at 9,000 feet above the flat.

Reviews

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a great book. I love Westerns and couldn’t put this one down.

[David Burnworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Green Meadow, Oklahoma is the setting for this one. The people are unaware that the Fatman wants to take the town and then sell it to a millionaire. What the Fatman does not know is the president and the millionaire have a plan to catch the Fatman in an act of crime and finally arrest him. The plan was doomed from the start and only a shady gambler can save the day and the town, only he has no clue as to the road his life is going to take. There is a lot of blood in this one with enough killing to keep the pages turning.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting skeleton of a story that would have benefited from being fleshed out much more than it was. The plot was unique but the action was far too quick, ended too fast and moved on before the reader could catch up. Characters came and went without much development for the reader to get attached. If you have a good imagination to fill in the blanks and enjoy Westerns thoroughly, you should be entertained by this tale.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different type of western story. I liked it other then what happens to Nancy. Chaucey Drake is the main character. Story isn’t what I call action packed, but interesting enough to stick with it.

[Jason Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I personally was into sci-fi books until I picked up this one! There's a boat load of chapters but, they are short and manageable. Great story line! And surprises galore! I found my copy at the Dollar Tree. I feel that I got my money's worth.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Book By Ralph Compton..Love His Books.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Western,

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too much ultraviolence for my taste. The author also has an unhealthy fascination with violence against women.