After the Chapter One of Seven Ox Seven Part Two, Escondido Loosed (Full print edition of Seven Ox Seven Part Two, Escondido Loosed at link below)
Reactions to Seven Ox Seven Part One, Escondido Bound – BarnesandNoble.com
– Michael Dunford, Midwest Book Review
– Elmer Kelton, voted Best Western Writer of All Time by Western Writers of America
– Writer's Digest
After the burning and Tom’s confrontation with Henry Edwards at the HE ranch, Luke, Elizabeth, and Tom face the momentous decision of whether to remain in or leave their cattle ranch in Escondido Canyon in the caprock region of the West Texas frontier. Staying could mean more of the unpredictable and often petty harassment that has proven to be dangerous and may yet prove to be fatal. Leaving could provide safety and relief but would require an abandonment to their tormentor of the fruits of their labors, of their plans and hopes, of what they have committed to. Could a sudden change in their circumstances relieve them of the need to decide whether to stay or leave? Could it signal the beginning of a new and better way? Or could it prove to be the agent that exposes fault lines in the foundation of their the foundation of faith, integrity, loyalty, and sanity? Whatever the case, developments in the present expose the Stuarts to more of the breadth and depth of Tom's past, and that past better informs Tom's dealings with those developments in the present.
(Link to print edition of entire Seven Ox Seven Part One, Escondido Bound :