Santa Fe Passage

by Clay Fisher

Book by Fisher, Clay, (A.K.A.) Henry, Will

Genres: Westerns

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1981

About the author

Also wrote westerns as Will Henry.

Henry Wilson Allen (September 12, 1912 – October 26, 1991) was an American author and screenwriter. He used several different pseudonyms for his works. His 50+ novels of the American West were published under the pen names Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen's screenplays and scripts for animated shorts were credited to Heck Allen and Henry Allen.

Allen's career as a novelist began in 1952, with the publication of his first Western No Survivors. Allen, afraid that the studio would disapprove of his moonlighting, used a pen-name to avoid trouble.[3] He would go on to publish over 50 novels, eight of which were adapted for the screen. Most of these were published under one or the other of the pseudonyms Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen was a five-time winner of the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and a recipient of the Levi Strauss Award for lifetime achievement.

Henry Wilson Allen was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Allen died of pneumonia on October 26, 1991 in Van Nuys, California. He was 79.

Reviews

[David Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a western, though it takes place in the late 1830s, during the 'Mountain Man' era. The lead character is just that, a Mountain Man who gets hired on to scout for a wagon trial travelling from St. Louis to Santa Fe, then still Mexican territory. He joins after a chance run-in with a woman leaves him infatuated with her, which becomes the books main romantic plot. The books adventures become episodic after that, ranging form Indian attack, to nature, to schemes by people within the wagon train. The characters are the though-line tying it all together.

Fisher's prose is richer than most westerns, eschewing the spare prose associated with the genre for rich descriptions and a lot of dialectical speech. This is both a strength and weakness. It definitely gets you into the world of these characters, but at times the reliance on dialect is annoying, and even confuses what the writer is saying. Similarly the man's prose can paint marvelous picutres of the great plains nad the west, but it also can over-describe to the point your not sure what exactly your focused on. In the action sequences especially the more florid prose seems to fall short, creating a distance form what's going on. But despite being a mixed bag, the prose-styling does make it a little better written, and a little more memorable, than most comparable works.

The character development is probably the greatest strength here. You definitely get to know these people and the types of lives their living. About the only drawback in that respect is that the ending feels a little rushed. A few more pages to round out the characters stories would've made this a five-star book, especially with regards to the semi-villain/love-rival Mexican noble. But it's still an enjoyable and well-written read.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this audiobook up on a whim at a library I don't usually go to. Recently came across the Santa Fe Passage in another book I was reading and was inspired to try this one. I wish I hadn't. I know part of my issue was that I had a distracted wandering mind, but it just never grabbed me from the get go. I forced myself to make it through it, but there really wasn't any point - I got nothing out of it. I found the author's word choice VERY distracting. Seemed like a kid trying to write an "authentic" Western relying mostly on throwing as many "cowboy words" as possible like ye-haw, howdy, and squaw. Had to constantly try to decipher what was trying to be said (similar to reading Shakesphere style Olde English) but it just seemed fake.

[Jennifer Bohnhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want a book that's politically correct, this isn't your read. If you're looking for something that reads like the old dime novels, this is it. A mountain man earns a place on a wagon train moving along the Santa Fe Trail just so he can be near the fiery slip of a girl who's struck his fancy. The story becomes an episodic string of disasters featuring wily Indians and double crossing teamsters, bison stampedes and wildfires. Through it all, our hero keeps his wits, saves the party, and wins the girl.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

CHIRP AUDIOBOOK

The storyline is about wagon train moving West from St. Louis to Santa Fe in the 1830’s and involves smuggling firearms to the Mexicans. The lead character in the scout who has to contend with the Comanche Indians that also want the rifles… There’s a lot of action, some romance and desperation on the part of the people moving west to find a better life. I found the storyline to entertaining, but the outcome was kinda predictable.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Western with the exception the main character is a mountain man and there's lots of action but not much gunplay. I liked it, but it didn't offer much to remember.

[Candace Simar · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read.

[D'Arcy Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun audible while driving along the Santa Fe Trail.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not certain but this could be the first western not written by LAmour or Grey that I have given four stars. Not an easy book to read, I had to read every word in every sentence. A very unusual western in the style of writing . Very good. Not written for the young reader or the simple minded. I am going on Ebay right now to see if I can buy some more of this authors works.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good western.