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The Floating Outfit #49
The Rio Hondo Kid
The hired gunmen came to Mahon’s place to take him away and kill him. But instead of Mahon they found a black-dressed Texas boy with a fast gun, and left him for dead, taking his horse. They had made their first big mistake.
In the town of Escopeta they met two more Texans, one a handsome blond giant, the other a small insignificant-looking individual, the sort of man one would pass in the street without a second glance.
The hired gunmen passed him without a second glance and in so doing made their second, and biggest, mistake. For the small man was none other than the famous Rio Hondo gun wizard, by name of Dusty Fog.
J. T. Edson was a former British Army dog-handler who wrote more than 130 Western novels, accounting for some 27 million sales in paperback. Edson’s works - produced on a word processor in an Edwardian semi at Melton Mowbray - contain clear, crisp action in the traditions of B-movies and Western television series. What they lack in psychological depth is made up for by at least twelve good fights per volume. Each portrays a vivid, idealized “West That Never Was”, at a pace that rarely slackens.
In the town of Escopeta they met two more Texans, one a handsome blond giant, the other a small insignificant-looking individual, the sort of man one would pass in the street without a second glance.
The hired gunmen passed him without a second glance and in so doing made their second, and biggest, mistake. For the small man was none other than the famous Rio Hondo gun wizard, by name of Dusty Fog.
J. T. Edson was a former British Army dog-handler who wrote more than 130 Western novels, accounting for some 27 million sales in paperback. Edson’s works - produced on a word processor in an Edwardian semi at Melton Mowbray - contain clear, crisp action in the traditions of B-movies and Western television series. What they lack in psychological depth is made up for by at least twelve good fights per volume. Each portrays a vivid, idealized “West That Never Was”, at a pace that rarely slackens.
- GenresWesterns
Mass Market Paperback
Published May 1, 1983
54 people are currently reading
384 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 5, 2014
The events of this story precede those in Waco's Debt and explain why Dusty, Mark and the Ysabel Kid are absent from that story. On his way to meet Dusty and Mark, the Kid comes to the aid of a family of 'nesters' and is badly wounded in the process. The would-be killers make a fatal mistake when they take the Kid's infamous white stallion into town to try and sell him. They run across not only Dusty and Mark, but the deadly gunfighter Wes Hardin (who is also Dusty's cousin). It does make for an amusing scene in which a hired gun informs Dusty that he has the drop on him and Dusty tells him that there is a man behind him with the drop on HIM. Naturally the gunman assumes this to be a trick, until the voice of Wes Hardin assures him that it is not. After learning that the Kid is still alive, Mark and Dusty settle down to help the local sheriff keep the peace. While they decline to be his official deputies, they recommend Wes Hardin for the position instead. Despite the lack of official status they are still able foil attempts to start a range war, though a blossoming romance between a farmer's daughter and rancher's son threatens to complicate matters.
August 10, 2014
If you passed him in the street you would overlook Dusty Fog. But if you look carefully you would see a man full grown and the Fastest Gun in the west, with two guns.
February 21, 2021
A Small Man
Rangoon was a small friendly man. Trouble was being stirred up in Escopita, but no one suspected Rangoon, until his hired hands made a mistake and shot the Ysabel Kid. Now Dusty Fog was involved.
Rangoon was a small friendly man. Trouble was being stirred up in Escopita, but no one suspected Rangoon, until his hired hands made a mistake and shot the Ysabel Kid. Now Dusty Fog was involved.
February 15, 2012
Great read. Mr. Edson is a great western writer. Another must read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews