Bitter Guns

by J.L. Bouma

Drew Redmain was a green kid when he cut loose from his father's ranch, and started drifting. Now he was riding home a man. One of his brothers was dead, the other a captive of an outlaw gang. And Drew knew he had to show the old man he was grown up with the only proof his father would recognize -- a pair of blazing guns....

Genres: Westerns

175 pages

First published March 1, 1973

Reviews

[B.G. Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitter indeed. There isn't a fun-loving soul to be found in this one. Thats why I returned to J.L. Bouma after reading his book VENGEANCE. There was bitterness in that book too, and like BITTER GUNS, it was also very readable. I wouldn't classify Bouma's style as Western Noir, as it doesn't provide that overarching sense of doom, but there's enough rotten characters in Bitter Guns to fill at least two books. There's a substantial body count as well; humans, horses, and even a dog. But this is not about a range war between two factions despite the inclusion of so much killing. In that sense it was more like a western by Ralph Hayes or George g. Gilman. The plot was good, but the bullets and bad vibes are front and center.

"A man got a contract for a herd for one of the forts scattered around the territory, or he made his trail drive to the nearest market and got gold for his beef. Then he took it home and buried it in what most cattlemen called the "Glory Hole."

Thats right...a GLORY HOLE. I didn't expect to see those two words in a western either.

Drew Redmain and his father, Jason Redmain, are the two prominent characters in this tale, but there's also many secondary family characters, including the wives of men. Then theres everyone else in the territory with a grudge against Jason Redmain for being a cruel sonofabitch for as long as anyone can remember. Also, the fact that Jason has a fortune in gold hoarded away is known far and wide by everyone and their mother. When Jason learns of his son being kidnapped, he waits like a stoic dick for his hunch to play out that someone will soon arrive with demands, and sure enough, they do.

"I do what it pleases me to do, and damn you and your talk of trust. You're worse'n I am, comes to that, selling my son back to me. Was I in your boots I'd hang him for what his father done. Now where do you want the gold delivered?"

So, just for context, this is Jason Redmain telling the man holding his son Jeff hostage that he would be justified in killing Jeff in retribution for Jason himself hanging the man's own son. One thing you can say for a character like Jason Redmain is at least he's honest. I've come across tougher gents in western fiction, but this guy was no snowflake, and unrepentant to the very end.

Come to think of it, what little repenting there is in this book does little good for anyone. By the end of this gnarly existential tale of revenge and familial dischord, boot hill will need an annex to make room for all the dead people.

"It's a selfish life anyway you look at it. A man does what he does on account of he's driven by selfish reasons and hopes for some kind of reward. There's no sacrifice involved, though the man of the cloth'd like to make you think so"

If you like a western in which very little light escapes, that will wipe the smile from your stupid face, then you'll probably dig this.

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harsh mean spirited revenge western with very few good guys and whole posse of mean people.