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Reno Western Saga #4
Boomtown
Reno may face more than he can handle. The Innocents are determined to stop Reno and the vigilantes. So is Saul Logan, a crooked saloon owner. And Logan's cold blooded gunslinger brother is more than willing to put Reno out of commission. Book 4 in the Reno Western Saga.
261 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1992
89 people want to read
About the author
Gilbert Morris
551 books563 followersalso published under the name Gilbert L. Morris
Gilbert Morris was one of today's best-known Christian novelists. He lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie. He is the father to Lynn Morris and Alan Morris
Series:
* Adventures of Kerrigan Kids
* American Century
* Appomattox Saga
* Barney Buck
* Bonnets and Bugles
* Cheney Duvall, M.D. (with Lynn Morris)
* Cheney and Shiloh: The Inheritance (with Lynn Morris)
* Chronicles of the Golden Frontier
* The Creole (with Lynn Morris)
* Danielle Ross Mystery
* Daystar Voyages
* Dixie Morris Animal Adventures
* Far Fields (with Robert Funderburk)
* House of Winslow
* Jacques and Cleo: Cat Detectives
* Katy Steele Adventures (with Alan Morris)
* Lady Trent Mystery
* Liberty Bell
* Lions of Judah
* Lone Star Legacy
* Omega (with Lynn Morris and Alan Morris)
* The Price of Liberty (with Robert Funderburk)
* Reno Western Saga
* Seven Sleepers
* Seven Sleepers: The Lost Chronicles
* Singing River
* Spirit of Appalachia (with Aaron McCarver)
* Too Smart Jones
*
Gilbert Morris was one of today's best-known Christian novelists. He lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie. He is the father to Lynn Morris and Alan Morris
Series:
* Adventures of Kerrigan Kids
* American Century
* Appomattox Saga
* Barney Buck
* Bonnets and Bugles
* Cheney Duvall, M.D. (with Lynn Morris)
* Cheney and Shiloh: The Inheritance (with Lynn Morris)
* Chronicles of the Golden Frontier
* The Creole (with Lynn Morris)
* Danielle Ross Mystery
* Daystar Voyages
* Dixie Morris Animal Adventures
* Far Fields (with Robert Funderburk)
* House of Winslow
* Jacques and Cleo: Cat Detectives
* Katy Steele Adventures (with Alan Morris)
* Lady Trent Mystery
* Liberty Bell
* Lions of Judah
* Lone Star Legacy
* Omega (with Lynn Morris and Alan Morris)
* The Price of Liberty (with Robert Funderburk)
* Reno Western Saga
* Seven Sleepers
* Seven Sleepers: The Lost Chronicles
* Singing River
* Spirit of Appalachia (with Aaron McCarver)
* Too Smart Jones
*
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 7, 2016
This one definitely comes off as part of a the "Reno Western Saga" series.
In this story, Jim Reno is going through gorges after leaving the Hellgate River. Riding had made him trim. He rode all day & finally arrived in Virginia City. A one-armed man noticed how used up the horse was when he dropped it off at the stable. Reno told him that he had come from the Bitterroots. Reno purchased a team from the man, who's name was Bible. Bible advised Reno to keep his money out of site as things were tough in the area. From the stable, Reno went to Creighton's General Store where several miner had congregated. A man with white hair asked if he needed something. Haze Lyons, the deputy sheriff, introduced himself & commented on the hard winter. Reno told him that he might try his luck by staking out a claim. Reno got a primitive room at the hotel, then sat down to eat at the restaurant. As he got up to leave, he ran into a couple, William Merritt and his daughter Mrs. Warren. Later he walked the streets, observing the minors who had come in from their claims. On his way back to the hotel he met Sam Bible, who told him he had loaded the stuff he bought at Creighton's & load it on the pack. Bible took him into a saloon & introduced him to several of his friends: Beidler, Jukes, Tbold & McKeever. Beidler said that since the pass was clear, thousands more men would be there in a month. These men were suspicious of the deputies. Since Reno hated the taste of liquor, he asked for wine. Since Creighton had also fought in the Civil war, they discussed the battle at Gettysburg. It had been a hard war, but the opinion was expressed that it wasn't any safer at this location than in the war because of the Innocents. No one knew who they all were, but Bible was sure that Reno wasn't one of them. The noticed that Reno was cunning. As Reno was leaving, Haze Lyons insisted that he have a drink of liquor. Reno knew if he were going to survive in Virginia City, he had to meet this challenge. Lyons tried a ruse to catch Reno off guard, but Reno pulled away from the punch, causing Lyons to fall against Reno. Lyons kept going after Reno, & Reno decided to let him wear himself out, Old Blue Light's way. After Reno had knocked Lyons out, other men took up the fight, which Gallagher allowed, telling them to fight fair. Boone Helm promised to bust Reno to pieces. The fight lasted only a few seconds, unlike the fights that the miners were used to. Gallagher decided to put Reno under arrest for disturbing the peace! Jay Dillingham, Reno's old lieutenant, appeared, asking Jack what was going on, then overruled the arrest. Jay was glad to see Reno, and they went together to get caught up.
In this story, Jim Reno is going through gorges after leaving the Hellgate River. Riding had made him trim. He rode all day & finally arrived in Virginia City. A one-armed man noticed how used up the horse was when he dropped it off at the stable. Reno told him that he had come from the Bitterroots. Reno purchased a team from the man, who's name was Bible. Bible advised Reno to keep his money out of site as things were tough in the area. From the stable, Reno went to Creighton's General Store where several miner had congregated. A man with white hair asked if he needed something. Haze Lyons, the deputy sheriff, introduced himself & commented on the hard winter. Reno told him that he might try his luck by staking out a claim. Reno got a primitive room at the hotel, then sat down to eat at the restaurant. As he got up to leave, he ran into a couple, William Merritt and his daughter Mrs. Warren. Later he walked the streets, observing the minors who had come in from their claims. On his way back to the hotel he met Sam Bible, who told him he had loaded the stuff he bought at Creighton's & load it on the pack. Bible took him into a saloon & introduced him to several of his friends: Beidler, Jukes, Tbold & McKeever. Beidler said that since the pass was clear, thousands more men would be there in a month. These men were suspicious of the deputies. Since Reno hated the taste of liquor, he asked for wine. Since Creighton had also fought in the Civil war, they discussed the battle at Gettysburg. It had been a hard war, but the opinion was expressed that it wasn't any safer at this location than in the war because of the Innocents. No one knew who they all were, but Bible was sure that Reno wasn't one of them. The noticed that Reno was cunning. As Reno was leaving, Haze Lyons insisted that he have a drink of liquor. Reno knew if he were going to survive in Virginia City, he had to meet this challenge. Lyons tried a ruse to catch Reno off guard, but Reno pulled away from the punch, causing Lyons to fall against Reno. Lyons kept going after Reno, & Reno decided to let him wear himself out, Old Blue Light's way. After Reno had knocked Lyons out, other men took up the fight, which Gallagher allowed, telling them to fight fair. Boone Helm promised to bust Reno to pieces. The fight lasted only a few seconds, unlike the fights that the miners were used to. Gallagher decided to put Reno under arrest for disturbing the peace! Jay Dillingham, Reno's old lieutenant, appeared, asking Jack what was going on, then overruled the arrest. Jay was glad to see Reno, and they went together to get caught up.
December 3, 2014
I originally read this as a mass-market paperback titled "Vigilante." I was just beginning to appreciate westerns at the time. I'm so glad to have found this. I subsequently bought and read the entire Reno series. Most were pretty good but I'm confident this is Morris' pinnacle in fiction.
Jim Reno is a Confederate veteran, a reformed alcoholic and some-time "gunslick." He's also, like so many of us, spiritually lost...unsure how to fill the God-shaped hole in his soul. This is Christian fiction, but not preachy (or wimpy). There is one sermon in the yarn, which lasts for a paragraph of roughly three sentences. Christian characters surround Reno but, while it is no secret what the author believes, he doesn't sermonize. At his core, Jim Reno is a "good person" who has fallen short of exemplary behavior in his life, and who wants to get right with God, but spends a good portion of this series alternating between running from his Creator and surrendering to Him. Something I can relate to. I haven't read tons of Christian fiction, but I've read enough to be sick of the formulaic conversion of the main character at the end...reciting the sinner's confession, standing ovation, blah blah blah.
One "bad person" does get saved in this novel, but Morris pulls it off deftly. I was so engrossed in the story I didn't see it coming.
Morris likes to pepper his tales with romance, too. I do fault him for the way he shuffles love interests in and out of Reno's life. Between the first and second books in the series, his happily-ever-after soulmate disappears with no explanation whatsoever, never to be mentioned again. In this one, the love interest Morris spent the entire previous novel priming for Reno is unceremoniously kicked to the curb in lieu of a brand new one.
The plot should be familiar to those who've read in the genre, or even watched western movies. A frontier town is at the mercy of lawless, greedy cattle barons and their hired guns. Decent folk band together in an attempt to protect themselves and the innocent, and turn to Jim Reno who has that rare (in reality) combination of a heart of gold and talent for violence. Reno, of course, doesn't want to get involved, for all the I'm-trying-to-escape-my-violent-past reasons.
Whatever faults I could list here (and believe me: I could nit-pick ANYTHING if I put my mind to it), "Boomtown" is a great read. It is hard to put down. The bad guys will curl your lip, you will grieve for the victims, cheer for the good guys, and close the back cover with a satisfaction only the great books can give you.
Jim Reno is a Confederate veteran, a reformed alcoholic and some-time "gunslick." He's also, like so many of us, spiritually lost...unsure how to fill the God-shaped hole in his soul. This is Christian fiction, but not preachy (or wimpy). There is one sermon in the yarn, which lasts for a paragraph of roughly three sentences. Christian characters surround Reno but, while it is no secret what the author believes, he doesn't sermonize. At his core, Jim Reno is a "good person" who has fallen short of exemplary behavior in his life, and who wants to get right with God, but spends a good portion of this series alternating between running from his Creator and surrendering to Him. Something I can relate to. I haven't read tons of Christian fiction, but I've read enough to be sick of the formulaic conversion of the main character at the end...reciting the sinner's confession, standing ovation, blah blah blah.
One "bad person" does get saved in this novel, but Morris pulls it off deftly. I was so engrossed in the story I didn't see it coming.
Morris likes to pepper his tales with romance, too. I do fault him for the way he shuffles love interests in and out of Reno's life. Between the first and second books in the series, his happily-ever-after soulmate disappears with no explanation whatsoever, never to be mentioned again. In this one, the love interest Morris spent the entire previous novel priming for Reno is unceremoniously kicked to the curb in lieu of a brand new one.
The plot should be familiar to those who've read in the genre, or even watched western movies. A frontier town is at the mercy of lawless, greedy cattle barons and their hired guns. Decent folk band together in an attempt to protect themselves and the innocent, and turn to Jim Reno who has that rare (in reality) combination of a heart of gold and talent for violence. Reno, of course, doesn't want to get involved, for all the I'm-trying-to-escape-my-violent-past reasons.
Whatever faults I could list here (and believe me: I could nit-pick ANYTHING if I put my mind to it), "Boomtown" is a great read. It is hard to put down. The bad guys will curl your lip, you will grieve for the victims, cheer for the good guys, and close the back cover with a satisfaction only the great books can give you.
January 17, 2012
The plot of Boomtown is very similar to that of Reno. Bullies are controlling the town and scaring the miners off their claims. Only Reno can rally the troops to fight them. Ho-hum. It was really hard for me to finish this book. About halfway through I asked myself if taking the time to finish it was even worth it. But, I hate not finishing a book so I pushed through. The end was much better than the beginning so ultimately I was happy I finished it.
Lee and Dooley are back in Boomtown. I was pleasantly surprised that they made it to another book. That’s a plus.
The minus: everything else. The plot was contrived. The characters were flat. Reno meets yet ANOTHER love interest that he’ll leave later. Meh. The only character who was remotely interesting was Zane Logan, brother of evil Saul Logan. He grows and changes and seems the most real to me. His entrance in the book (the last 1/3) is what kept me from throwing the book down and never finishing it. So hooray for Zane.
If you’re reading the series, go ahead and read Boomtown. It’s not Morris’s best work, but it can still be entertaining at times.
Lee and Dooley are back in Boomtown. I was pleasantly surprised that they made it to another book. That’s a plus.
The minus: everything else. The plot was contrived. The characters were flat. Reno meets yet ANOTHER love interest that he’ll leave later. Meh. The only character who was remotely interesting was Zane Logan, brother of evil Saul Logan. He grows and changes and seems the most real to me. His entrance in the book (the last 1/3) is what kept me from throwing the book down and never finishing it. So hooray for Zane.
If you’re reading the series, go ahead and read Boomtown. It’s not Morris’s best work, but it can still be entertaining at times.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews