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Raider #39
Killer's Moon
During his investigation into the murders of Jubal Chaney's wife and son, Raider, an erstwhile Doubting Thomas, begins to believe that werewolves do exist and that one of them is responsible for this carnage
Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1990
4 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Hardin
117 books8 followersJ.D. Hardin is a pseudonym of a number of authors of the "Doc and Raider" series of Westerns.
List of known authors:
Donald Bain
Victor Milán
Neal Barrett Jr.
List of known authors:
Donald Bain
Victor Milán
Neal Barrett Jr.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 16, 2018
A brisk read, if taken with enough salt to kill a full-grown hoss.
The premise is the standout here: a Pinkerton agent is assigned to a murder case where all evidence suggests a legitimate werewolf is responsible. The push/pull between a rational explanation and the fear that this ordinary case is more than it appears drives the book forward, and there's a great many sequence which attempts to play with POV and dialogue to further the ambiguity.
Other upsides of this book are its rapid pace, terse narration (to a fault), and no shortage of breadcrumbs and action setpieces. The "weird west" werewolf situation, the "whodunit?" case, and the frequency of fights ensures that there's always something interesting happening, and if you're bored with something it won't last long. The book is well-structured, too, being composed of very breezy and quick chapters; you'll finish this book in no time flat.
But it's just atrociously written. I'm giving it a pass because I find the concept appealing, but if you like literature as high art? This is an insult. This is pulpy, schlocky, 1990's westerns in both their peaks and their valleys. Characters are flat, descriptions are so sparse you can hear the narration echo, and the book's treatment of women (and animals) is...not flattering. In particular, this book boasts nearly half a dozen--count 'em--gratuitous sex scenes that come out of nowhere, contribute nothing to the plot, and have perhaps the most laughable writing short of using the word "pecker." The story is part of a series, and as such seems content to a slow start and end--cut the early parts involving all the sexual escapades (and what I suppose are the tangentially-involved supporting cast?) and the pacing would be a lot better. A shame, since the pacing is this close to being rather quite excellent.
I got this at the used bookstore, and despite the cheesy cover the tagline was so enticing that I snapped it up without even cracking it open. Such is the way with "Killer's Moon"--a corny, crass, underachieving western with some upsides and a very clear understanding of what it's after. It's held back by what amounts to awful craftsmanship, but the underlying appreciation for the raw ideas present helps it sputter across the finish line.
The premise is the standout here: a Pinkerton agent is assigned to a murder case where all evidence suggests a legitimate werewolf is responsible. The push/pull between a rational explanation and the fear that this ordinary case is more than it appears drives the book forward, and there's a great many sequence which attempts to play with POV and dialogue to further the ambiguity.
Other upsides of this book are its rapid pace, terse narration (to a fault), and no shortage of breadcrumbs and action setpieces. The "weird west" werewolf situation, the "whodunit?" case, and the frequency of fights ensures that there's always something interesting happening, and if you're bored with something it won't last long. The book is well-structured, too, being composed of very breezy and quick chapters; you'll finish this book in no time flat.
But it's just atrociously written. I'm giving it a pass because I find the concept appealing, but if you like literature as high art? This is an insult. This is pulpy, schlocky, 1990's westerns in both their peaks and their valleys. Characters are flat, descriptions are so sparse you can hear the narration echo, and the book's treatment of women (and animals) is...not flattering. In particular, this book boasts nearly half a dozen--count 'em--gratuitous sex scenes that come out of nowhere, contribute nothing to the plot, and have perhaps the most laughable writing short of using the word "pecker." The story is part of a series, and as such seems content to a slow start and end--cut the early parts involving all the sexual escapades (and what I suppose are the tangentially-involved supporting cast?) and the pacing would be a lot better. A shame, since the pacing is this close to being rather quite excellent.
I got this at the used bookstore, and despite the cheesy cover the tagline was so enticing that I snapped it up without even cracking it open. Such is the way with "Killer's Moon"--a corny, crass, underachieving western with some upsides and a very clear understanding of what it's after. It's held back by what amounts to awful craftsmanship, but the underlying appreciation for the raw ideas present helps it sputter across the finish line.
Displaying 1 of 1 review