Blood, Bullets, and Buckskin

Gunsmoke #1

by Joseph A. West, James Arness (Foreword)

In this new series from a "writer of extraordinary originality" (Robert Olen Butler), Marshal Matt Dillon keeps Dodge City safe from rustlers, gamblers, and desperados-and rejoins Doc Adams, Kitty Russell, and all the cherished characters from the classic TV series.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 4, 2005

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

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun book works both as a western, and a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Die-hard fans of the show will no doubt find a few things to nitpick -- as is so often the case -- but I found the differences to be inconsequential for reading enjoyment purposes.

Joseph A. West has given us not only a trip down memory lane, but a fine and atmospheric novel in the western genre. Blood, Bullets, and Buckskin is a fast read laced with humor, excitement, and characters with whom most of us are at least somewhat familiar. It is no wonder that Matt Dillion himself, James Arness, wrote the forward to this fun book.

Making Matt Dillon the town Marshall of Dodge City rather than a United States Marshall ensures that most of the stories in the series will be centered in the place we came to know and love over the years. This is not one of those sketchy books just written to cash in on a good thing, however. The author has an ear for dialog and captures the way people spoke to one another during the period. And he does a fine job of capturing the essence of the characters we came to know over many seasons.

Whether Matt Dillon is lighting an oil lamp, or sending Festus out to make his rounds along Texas Street, it all rings true. You can almost feel the rain on Dillon's yellow slicker as he rides long into the night after killers. In the author's hands the reader senses danger as hard men converge on Dodge for a war in which Matt may have to choose a side. A young man named Sean Tyree shows up in Dodge with legendary gunfighter and gambler, Logan St. Claire, eager to settle a score. After St. Clair's murder, one deadly friend of his after another arrives, along with a slew of cowhands. Young Sean Tyree will set up a confrontation the town, and Matt, may not survive.

The relationship between Matt and Kitty which was implied in the show is fleshed out here. It was an unspoken truth that Matt and Kitty belonged to each other, and would be together once Dodge no longer needed the firm hand of a good man with a fast gun. Doc is out of town in this one, as noted by others, but Festus and Miss Kitty are here. Just as in the television series, Matt Dillon looms larger-than-life over the city of Dodge in this fun and somewhat nostalgic read from Joseph A. West. These are hard books to come by now. Definitely worth a read for fans if you can track one down somewhere for a respectable price.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 2 out of 5]

First the molasses the portrayal of Matt the character here "sounded and acted" a bit more like the character we all know than in the last Gunsmoke book effort I reviewed here.

Now for the sulfur the writer (Joseph A. West) ruined the book for me within the first chapter. (By the way, some reviewers like his Gunsmoke adaptions. I suppose they are better than what went before.) To some of you I suppose this may not be a big deal....if you're just looking for a western you might enjoy the book more than I. The last "Gunsmoke" novel I read I gave a 1 star rating as I recall, because it was nothing like Gunsmoke and it was a poor book. At least here if you take the name Gunsmoke off the book it might work as a fair western, thus 2 stars as opposed to 1.

For me (and I suspect others) Gunsmoke is more than just a western. I heard some of the radio episodes back in the last few years before it went off the air. While there were significant differences in the characters as they moved from radio to TV Matt at least stayed the same for me. I was a young boy and Matt Dillon was one of my "heroes"...thus as an adult I have little patience with anyone playing fast and loose with the character. Played by William Conrad (later Cannon and other TV characters) on radio when the series moved to TV James Arness took over as Matt and he's the one most of us recognize today as Marshal Matt Dillon. And no wonder as he portrayed the character for 20 seasons (which produced more programs per season than TV programs do now) and also stared in 5 Gunsmoke movies afterward.

Ironically James Arness wrote the intro to this novel, I suspect he didn't get to read the book first...though I can't be sure. Within a few pages of the book's opening "Matt" runs down 3 men he's been trailing and the "outlaws" challenge him by pointing out that they're not in Dodge so Matt has no jurisdiction.

Let me shout this for any would be western writer who wants to write a Gunsmoke novel: MATT DILLON IS A U.S.MARSHAL! NOT A TOWN MARSHAL!

If the people who own a product are going to try and make a profit from their fans they should at least hire a writer who bothered to watch the program...so a 1 star or less from my heart. I'll give it 2 as a generic shoot'em up.

[Lee Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big GUNSMOKE fan, I've watched 100s of episodes and all the TV movies. So I eagerly awaited this book -- and I wasn't disappointed. While there were a few unfortunate errors (as others here have pointed out) casual viewers of the show won't notice them or care. They didn't even bother James Arness, who wrote the introduction. West succeeded in his most important task, capturing the essense of the characters and the tone of the show. The Matt Dillon in this book is the Matt Dillon of the series...and even, I would argue, the Matt Dillon he became in the TV movie/sequels. Festus and Kitty were brought wonderfully to life on these pages, too (I missed Doc, who is absent in this story). Reading the book is like experiencing a typical episode of the show and I, for one, can't wait to read the sequels. West is a gifted writer and we're lucky that GUNSMOKE is in his very capable hands.

[Read1000books · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good I didn't want to put it down. And the introductions by James Arness in each book (there are 6 in the series) are nice bonuses as well. A fitting tribute to a good show, a good marshal, and a good actor.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Dillon, Festus, Doc and Miss Kitty. What more do you want in a Cowboy story?

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, first I've read from Joseph West but I'm sure I will read more from him then just this series. It portrays the charcters from the classic show well, though there may be an error or two it captures the essence of the tv characters more then I even hoped. It works well too as just a solid western even without the trappings of the show. A nice plot showing that not all is black and white and everything has to be decided on its own merits. Kept me guessing even though you know the TV characters will be fine still didnt know about all the side characters and how the tale would end.

Highly recommended for fans of the show but again is a solid western as well.

[James Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

like watching the tv show.

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! A Matt story.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

fine writer. Good tale.