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The Floating Outfit #54
The Floating Outfit
Ole Devil Hardin's O.D. Connected Ranch was watched over by an elite crew of top hands called the Floating Outfit. Most of them were veterans of the War Between the States. They were skilled with rifle, revolver and knife. Folks in West Texas knew better than to trifle with them. And the biggest man among them was the smallest, a range-toughened ex-Rebel cavalry officer called Dusty Fog.
- GenresWesterns
184 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
33 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
J.T. Edson
183 books79 followersJohn Thomas Edson is an English writer of Westerns.
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 30, 2020
Some of the names mentioned in these novels are real people.
That is where the similarity ends.
In many ways these are modern versions of the old dime novels. The only similarity to the truth are the fact that... The author mentions real people.
However if you just want to read an old fashion cowboy shoot em up, that's what these books are.
That is where the similarity ends.
In many ways these are modern versions of the old dime novels. The only similarity to the truth are the fact that... The author mentions real people.
However if you just want to read an old fashion cowboy shoot em up, that's what these books are.
August 5, 2023
A treat for J T Edson fans. A story featuring each one of the five members of Ole Devil Hardin's Floating Outfit. Five great reads. The Mark Counter story could have had a better plot; it begins and ends abruptly. Still, it gives a glimpse of the physical prowess of the gentle giant.
April 17, 2014
Another short-story collection. Dusty's story is first and I had forgotten how funny it was. Without the backing of the floating outfit, Dusty uses guerrilla tactics to pick off and intimidate the bad guys while inspiring the citizens of a small town to stand up for themselves. In the second story Mark gets taken for a ride by a pretty con-artist but she makes a big mistake in underestimating his resourcefulness. The third story sees the Kid acquiring some moonshine for a judge and defending a friend from murder charges. Waco's story follows the one told in the previous short-story collection (The Hard Riders) and sees him still serving as a deputy in the marshal's absence. Doc Leroy has moved on so Waco is left alone to hold a rich rancher's son for murder against the hired guns of a group of ruthless businessmen. The final story features Doc Leroy, though Waco and Red Blaze briefly appear. Mistaken for his uncle who is the local Doctor, Doc is kidnapped and ordered to save the life of an outlaw leader. Upon arriving at the hideout he warns that the entire gang is at risk of infectious Plumbeus Veneficium or as it's better known: Lead Poisoning...
April 13, 2019
Collection of stories following individual members of the floating outfit as they get in various scrapes.
The stories are all interesting enough, getting down to the action straight away.
The stories are all interesting enough, getting down to the action straight away.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews