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Renegade 1: Renegade
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RENEGADE
No one’s going to stop Captain Gringo!
He’s snatched his life from the noose, wangled his freedom from his Army jailer, cajoled bed, board and a disguise from the town madam. He’s a man on the run – Captain Gringo. By wit, by guile, by force, by skill with guns and women, he’ll burn his way across the border – wiping out a troop of Rurales and the sadistic pervert who commands them, leading a guerilla band on daredevil raids, hijacking, fighting, killing, winning. He’s Captain Gringo, driven by fate to be a soldier of fortune and by sheer will to be – a renegade.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lou Cameron (June 20, 1924 - November 25, 2010) was an American novelist and a comic book creator. He was born in San Francisco in 1924 to Lou Cameron Sr. and Ruth Marvin Cameron, a vaudeville comedian and his vocalist wife. Cameron served in Europe during World War II in the U.S. Army's 2nd Armored Division ("Hell On Wheels"). Before becoming a writer, Cameron illustrated comics such as Classics Illustrated and miscellaneous horror comics. One of his first written stories, "The Last G.I.," is a science Other fiction story about American soldiers struggling to survive in a nuclear battlefield. It appeared in Real War (volume 2 number 2, October 1958).
The film to book adaptations he wrote include None But the Brave starring Frank Sinatra,California Split, Sky Riders starring James Coburn, Hannibal Brooks starring Oliver Reed and an epic volume based on a number of scripts for the award winning CBS miniseries How the West Was Won (not to be confused with the novelization by Louis L'amour of the identically titled feature film, although the TV series was loosely based on that film.)
He also wrote two novels based on TV series: an original, The Outsider, based on the Private Eye series starring Darren McGavin (alone among Cameron's tie-ins, it's written in the first person, from the POV of its main character, P.I. David Ross, a device inspired by the main character's voice-over commentary in the episodes); and "A Praying Mantis Kills", one of the novelizations of the Kung Fu television series, under the "house name" (shared pseudonym provided by the publisher) "Howard Lee". (The three other books in that series were written, also as Howard Lee, by Barry N. Maltzberg and Ron Goulart.) .
Between 1979 and 1986, using the pseudonym "Ramsay Thorne", pulp fictioneer extra-ordinaire Lou Cameron wrote 36 "Captain Gringo" adult western novels featuring as protagonist Richard Walker, better known as "Captain Gringo".
He has received awards such as the Golden Spur for his Western writings. He wrote an estimated 300 novels.
RENEGADE
No one’s going to stop Captain Gringo!
He’s snatched his life from the noose, wangled his freedom from his Army jailer, cajoled bed, board and a disguise from the town madam. He’s a man on the run – Captain Gringo. By wit, by guile, by force, by skill with guns and women, he’ll burn his way across the border – wiping out a troop of Rurales and the sadistic pervert who commands them, leading a guerilla band on daredevil raids, hijacking, fighting, killing, winning. He’s Captain Gringo, driven by fate to be a soldier of fortune and by sheer will to be – a renegade.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lou Cameron (June 20, 1924 - November 25, 2010) was an American novelist and a comic book creator. He was born in San Francisco in 1924 to Lou Cameron Sr. and Ruth Marvin Cameron, a vaudeville comedian and his vocalist wife. Cameron served in Europe during World War II in the U.S. Army's 2nd Armored Division ("Hell On Wheels"). Before becoming a writer, Cameron illustrated comics such as Classics Illustrated and miscellaneous horror comics. One of his first written stories, "The Last G.I.," is a science Other fiction story about American soldiers struggling to survive in a nuclear battlefield. It appeared in Real War (volume 2 number 2, October 1958).
The film to book adaptations he wrote include None But the Brave starring Frank Sinatra,California Split, Sky Riders starring James Coburn, Hannibal Brooks starring Oliver Reed and an epic volume based on a number of scripts for the award winning CBS miniseries How the West Was Won (not to be confused with the novelization by Louis L'amour of the identically titled feature film, although the TV series was loosely based on that film.)
He also wrote two novels based on TV series: an original, The Outsider, based on the Private Eye series starring Darren McGavin (alone among Cameron's tie-ins, it's written in the first person, from the POV of its main character, P.I. David Ross, a device inspired by the main character's voice-over commentary in the episodes); and "A Praying Mantis Kills", one of the novelizations of the Kung Fu television series, under the "house name" (shared pseudonym provided by the publisher) "Howard Lee". (The three other books in that series were written, also as Howard Lee, by Barry N. Maltzberg and Ron Goulart.) .
Between 1979 and 1986, using the pseudonym "Ramsay Thorne", pulp fictioneer extra-ordinaire Lou Cameron wrote 36 "Captain Gringo" adult western novels featuring as protagonist Richard Walker, better known as "Captain Gringo".
He has received awards such as the Golden Spur for his Western writings. He wrote an estimated 300 novels.
- GenresWesterns
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 7, 2022
1st in the men’s adventure series Renegade featuring the character of Captain Gringo. This has everything you would expect from the genre, action, adventure and a fair amount of sex. Not so much an adult western as it is the beginning of a mercenary series. Not for the easily offended but, definitely for those looking for crazy, adrenaline and hormone fueled thrills.
January 5, 2021
Prolific author Lou Cameron wrote all the Renegade novels under the pseudonym “Ramsay Thorne”. These books are similar in many ways to the “Longarm” books, a character and series he created and for which he wrote over 50 books.
The first book in the Renegade series, originally published in 1979, opens with Lieutenant Richard Walker in an Army jail somewhere in the desert southwest, not far from the Mexico border, awaiting the hangman’s noose. His crime was one of compassion for some prisoners that were getting a raw deal so he let them escape. Walker also manages to escape, putting him on the run and leading him into one adventure after another as he makes his way down to Mexico and earning the moniker, “Captain Gringo”. We also meet Gaston Verrier, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire who is now a soldier of fortune and a heavy influence on Walker’s choices. Indeed, he will be a continuing co-character throughout the series, providing much of the humor along the way.
These books are often marketed as “westerns” but most of the series takes place in Central America and are basically mercenary stories. They do, however, earn the “adult” western notation due to graphic sex scenes mixed in along with a heap-load of violent action. I will be reading more…
The first book in the Renegade series, originally published in 1979, opens with Lieutenant Richard Walker in an Army jail somewhere in the desert southwest, not far from the Mexico border, awaiting the hangman’s noose. His crime was one of compassion for some prisoners that were getting a raw deal so he let them escape. Walker also manages to escape, putting him on the run and leading him into one adventure after another as he makes his way down to Mexico and earning the moniker, “Captain Gringo”. We also meet Gaston Verrier, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire who is now a soldier of fortune and a heavy influence on Walker’s choices. Indeed, he will be a continuing co-character throughout the series, providing much of the humor along the way.
These books are often marketed as “westerns” but most of the series takes place in Central America and are basically mercenary stories. They do, however, earn the “adult” western notation due to graphic sex scenes mixed in along with a heap-load of violent action. I will be reading more…
December 30, 2025
Interesting southwestern story with ever changing sitauations, multiple sexually active women, plenty of suspense, gun fights, Mexican Federales, Soldiers of Fortune and a West Point graduate and 10th Cavalry Officer. Encounters from Arizona to Mexico's coast lines. "Captain Gringo" a talented tactician who has plenty of opportunites to demonstrate his skills. Many supporting characters in this book experience difficulties, deaths, and struggles to survive. I look forward to reading additional adventures of the now notorious and respected "Captain Gringo"
July 19, 2019
Origin of Captain Gringo a good read
We find out how Captain Gringo comes to be. We are given lots of aventure and tight situation. Gringo is a pragmatic strategist who find a way.
We find out how Captain Gringo comes to be. We are given lots of aventure and tight situation. Gringo is a pragmatic strategist who find a way.
December 28, 2019
Same 30 pages written over and over again. Even the characters call out how tired they are of having the same conversation repeatedly.
May 2, 2020
Renegade 1
This was a good read that follows the other stories in content and the most logical conclusion that could have been written
This was a good read that follows the other stories in content and the most logical conclusion that could have been written
May 30, 2023
Lots of fun, over-the-top action and adventure balanced out by a rushed ending and some of the most unsexy sex scenes I have ever read.
December 3, 2014
Lou Cameron originally wrote these men's adventures under the pseudonym "Ramsay Thorne." They are being advertised as westerns now, but that's not exactly accurate, as they take place in Central and South America during the 1890s. I guess I'd call them "jungle mercenary" adventures.
In this one we meet Dick Walker AKA Captain Gringo as he's awaiting execution by the US Army. As a commissioned officer, he allowed some prisoners to escape because he thought they were getting a raw deal. That earned Richards himself a raw deal.
The Renegade escapes, and almost immediately runs afoul of crooked authorities in Mexico. He also makes acquaintance with Gaston Verrier--a middle aged soldier of Fortune who originally came to Mexico as part of the Foreign Legion. In almost-believable fashion, the two of them team up to survive against bleak odds, and raise a lot of hell along the way. Surprisingly, they part ways before the novel is finished (Gaston is Captain Gringo's consistent sidekick in the series).
The Renegade series reads almost like a Foreign Legion adventure, only with a XXX rating. And the sex scenes in this book are much raunchier than I remember them being in the later ones I read years ago.
The ethnic stereotyping is also much more pronounced than I remember, and occasionally grates.
Based on the typos in the new E-book, I would guess they put the original into digital format by running a scanner over one of the paperbacks, then trusting software to sort out the spelling and punctuation. It's plenty readable, just annoying if you have OCD concerning syntax.
One asset to reading any of Cameron's work is the nice little historical and cultural tidbits he mixes in with the plot, whether it be Latin customs or mindset; unexplained natural phenomenon; obscure historical events; or the function and employment of a water cooled machinegun. Though pulpy to the extreme, it can't fairly be called "mindless entertainment."
In this one we meet Dick Walker AKA Captain Gringo as he's awaiting execution by the US Army. As a commissioned officer, he allowed some prisoners to escape because he thought they were getting a raw deal. That earned Richards himself a raw deal.
The Renegade escapes, and almost immediately runs afoul of crooked authorities in Mexico. He also makes acquaintance with Gaston Verrier--a middle aged soldier of Fortune who originally came to Mexico as part of the Foreign Legion. In almost-believable fashion, the two of them team up to survive against bleak odds, and raise a lot of hell along the way. Surprisingly, they part ways before the novel is finished (Gaston is Captain Gringo's consistent sidekick in the series).
The Renegade series reads almost like a Foreign Legion adventure, only with a XXX rating. And the sex scenes in this book are much raunchier than I remember them being in the later ones I read years ago.
The ethnic stereotyping is also much more pronounced than I remember, and occasionally grates.
Based on the typos in the new E-book, I would guess they put the original into digital format by running a scanner over one of the paperbacks, then trusting software to sort out the spelling and punctuation. It's plenty readable, just annoying if you have OCD concerning syntax.
One asset to reading any of Cameron's work is the nice little historical and cultural tidbits he mixes in with the plot, whether it be Latin customs or mindset; unexplained natural phenomenon; obscure historical events; or the function and employment of a water cooled machinegun. Though pulpy to the extreme, it can't fairly be called "mindless entertainment."
March 28, 2012
Quite enjoyable.
March 26, 2016
Thoroughly exciting - but I think it needed a postscript with a little bit of explanation as to how much was history...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews