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The Dakota Series #1
Arson!
Dakota Taylor likes other men, but so what? What's important is that he's got a gun for hire, and the handsome Bennie Colsen has a job for him. Don't miss Silver Saddles and Rattler!
Dakota Taylor is a gunfighter with a low dose of morals. He likes his horse, and that’s about it. But when Dakota is hired by the young and handsome Bennie Colsen to hunt down and kill the person responsible for murdering his family, he finds himself more emotionally involved than a legendary gunfighter wants to admit. He finds himself falling for Bennie Colsen, and coming face to face against another deadly gunfighter…Ryder McCloud, his ex-lover.
Who killed the Colsen family? Why is there a drought in the evil town of Turnpike? What is the Eternal Spring? And what do the Hopi Indians have to do with it? It’s up to Dakota Taylor to find out and avenge the death of the Colsen family. That’s what he was hired to do. But, when Dakota Taylor gets revenge… all Hell breaks loose.
Dakota Taylor is a gunfighter with a low dose of morals. He likes his horse, and that’s about it. But when Dakota is hired by the young and handsome Bennie Colsen to hunt down and kill the person responsible for murdering his family, he finds himself more emotionally involved than a legendary gunfighter wants to admit. He finds himself falling for Bennie Colsen, and coming face to face against another deadly gunfighter…Ryder McCloud, his ex-lover.
Who killed the Colsen family? Why is there a drought in the evil town of Turnpike? What is the Eternal Spring? And what do the Hopi Indians have to do with it? It’s up to Dakota Taylor to find out and avenge the death of the Colsen family. That’s what he was hired to do. But, when Dakota Taylor gets revenge… all Hell breaks loose.
233 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1992
2 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 7, 2022
so, so much to love here. This wasnt what I was anticipating (better than I expected especially since I usually struggle with first person perspective), and I enjoyed the atmospheric western/mystery deal, and the main character is such a great flawed hero. Although this wasn’t a romance by any stretch of the imagination, there was a romantic sub-plot that was satisfying. My favorite part was the narrative on being gay- the hero cowboy is unashamed of loving other men whereas the character from England has been in a society where that’s obv looked down upon. Something about Iversen’s vision in ‘92 of this wild west where the cowboys are free to love each other comes through in such a beautiful way, I loved it so much.
I gotta put two quotes here, just because this book is mostly out of print and if you dont mind getting spoiled here they are:
Hushed talk around the chuck wagon was about a trial taking place, as we sat there, in the territorial tribunal. Some fellow had been caught fooling with a neighbor's eldest son. A crime against nature was the charge they brought him up on. A crime every man around the campfire had committed at one time or another in his life. We shook our heads and unanimously agreed what a disgusting act it was. Then we blew warmth on our hands to keep the little fingers from falling off, hunched our shoulders to keep the sleet out of our ears, and stayed touching distance away from each other. But most of us knew better.
-
“Does it bother you?” he finally asked, his mind too busy for its own good.
“What?”
“Liking men.”
I glanced up from the fire. “I don’t like men, Junior, I love men.”
“That I can tell.” He smiled across the fire.
“I love everything about them.” […] I reached across the fire and ran my hand down his neck, squeezing hard. “That muscle right there. There ain’t nothing I don’t love about a man.”
“It’s against the law,” he said, dismally. “I’m afraid it always will be.”
I chuckled. “There ain’t no law west of the Mississippi.”
-
I held a Colt up to the flames. They flickered off the silver barrel and it immediately warmed in my hand. “This is my law. This is the only book I go by: law book or Good Book. The law hasn’t been able to jail me for killing men with this gun, and it’s this gun that’s going to keep them from jailing me for loving men. This is what you do about it, Junior. You fight back. And you die fighting. You’re going to learn how to use it before you go back east.”
-
Anyway wish me luck finding a copy of book 2 🤠
I gotta put two quotes here, just because this book is mostly out of print and if you dont mind getting spoiled here they are:
Hushed talk around the chuck wagon was about a trial taking place, as we sat there, in the territorial tribunal. Some fellow had been caught fooling with a neighbor's eldest son. A crime against nature was the charge they brought him up on. A crime every man around the campfire had committed at one time or another in his life. We shook our heads and unanimously agreed what a disgusting act it was. Then we blew warmth on our hands to keep the little fingers from falling off, hunched our shoulders to keep the sleet out of our ears, and stayed touching distance away from each other. But most of us knew better.
-
“Does it bother you?” he finally asked, his mind too busy for its own good.
“What?”
“Liking men.”
I glanced up from the fire. “I don’t like men, Junior, I love men.”
“That I can tell.” He smiled across the fire.
“I love everything about them.” […] I reached across the fire and ran my hand down his neck, squeezing hard. “That muscle right there. There ain’t nothing I don’t love about a man.”
“It’s against the law,” he said, dismally. “I’m afraid it always will be.”
I chuckled. “There ain’t no law west of the Mississippi.”
-
I held a Colt up to the flames. They flickered off the silver barrel and it immediately warmed in my hand. “This is my law. This is the only book I go by: law book or Good Book. The law hasn’t been able to jail me for killing men with this gun, and it’s this gun that’s going to keep them from jailing me for loving men. This is what you do about it, Junior. You fight back. And you die fighting. You’re going to learn how to use it before you go back east.”
-
Anyway wish me luck finding a copy of book 2 🤠
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2021
I have long searched for a book about gay cowboys and this is the first I’ve actually liked!!! It’s depiction of gay men is very decent (and downright sweet at times, I love how much Dakota loves men and loves being gay), rather than sacrificing character and story for just blatant hornyness (i mean that’s cool for erotica but I am *looking* for more than that).
It does have some flaws and inconsistencies. For example, Dakota laments how statistically another gay character will probably never find another queer man in his life, yet Dakota meets 5 different queer men throughout the book, all of whom practically swoon for him. And while his relationship with Ryder was more complex and interesting, he suffers from a case of “Insta-love” with Bennie, the apparent “endgame” of the first book.
In terms of the central plot, while the mystery was very intriguing in the first half the book loses its sense of rising tension in the second half, at least up until the very end. When the mystery is finally resolved it wasn’t all that satisfying either, but that may be a matter of a opinion. Without spoilers I will say that I found the sudden reintroduction of certain character(s) to be jarring, as I hardly remembered them.
All that said though, there is something very charming about this book! Something about the writing style really grabbed me and I found myself eager to read more at the end of every chapter. Dakota himself is just a Character, he’s a perfect hero, totally unrealistic and seemingly flawless (despite his own protests). By all accounts he SHOULD be a “Mary Sue”, but I just found him to be a very charming protagonist. The contrast between Dakota and Bennie’s personalities and backgrounds was also really neat as well. All things considered, I’d round up from a 3.5 cause I just had a lot of fun!
It does have some flaws and inconsistencies. For example, Dakota laments how statistically another gay character will probably never find another queer man in his life, yet Dakota meets 5 different queer men throughout the book, all of whom practically swoon for him. And while his relationship with Ryder was more complex and interesting, he suffers from a case of “Insta-love” with Bennie, the apparent “endgame” of the first book.
In terms of the central plot, while the mystery was very intriguing in the first half the book loses its sense of rising tension in the second half, at least up until the very end. When the mystery is finally resolved it wasn’t all that satisfying either, but that may be a matter of a opinion. Without spoilers I will say that I found the sudden reintroduction of certain character(s) to be jarring, as I hardly remembered them.
All that said though, there is something very charming about this book! Something about the writing style really grabbed me and I found myself eager to read more at the end of every chapter. Dakota himself is just a Character, he’s a perfect hero, totally unrealistic and seemingly flawless (despite his own protests). By all accounts he SHOULD be a “Mary Sue”, but I just found him to be a very charming protagonist. The contrast between Dakota and Bennie’s personalities and backgrounds was also really neat as well. All things considered, I’d round up from a 3.5 cause I just had a lot of fun!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2018
Reading Challenge 2018 - Book Riot: western. Dakota Taylor is a gunslinger for hire. He meets Bennie Colsen who hires him to get revenge on the men who killed his father and family in cold blood. Even though it is a western, it is also a mystery as Dakota attempts to discover who killed Bennie's family and burned down the family house. Bennie, a student at Harvard, is estranged from his family due to his secret. Dakota shares the same secret as they grow fond of each other. It is a typical cattle rancher versus sheep herder story, a fight over water, greed, intertwined with Indian mythology. Dakota gets revenge on the townsfolk for wronging Bennie, but does it for love, not for money. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
September 2, 2018
You'd think the idea of the "gay western" was so obvious, such books would be common, there would be plenty of choice when you fancied a romp with gay cowboys. Surprisingly, there's just not that many. (The genre is usually traced back to a novel I never read, but would if I ever found a copy -- Song of the Loon, Richard Amory, published 1966. That one was described as an "erotic saga," but how hot it was, you can only wonder, because it's now over 50 years old. It was also so popular, Amory was either invited or allowed (!) to do two sequels.)
The sluice gates didn't exactly swing open on gay western novels. I've found it hard to track any more down before the 1990s. Then, you'll hunt down books by William H. Henderson, Michael Jensen, Ken Shakin and Cap Iversen -- remember, I'm talking about gay novels here, not the usual m/m erotica set against a backdrop culled from The High Chaparral or Gunsmoke. (Apologies to the m/m folks, but I find it hard to read erotic anything ... I end up skimming too much in search of a bit of solid story, which is a waste of your book-buying buck.)
I'm going to look at Cap Iversen today for several good reasons: he writes a very good novel without getting at all "arty;" his books are the absolute archetype of the Western novel with one exception ... the orientation of the heroes; and he wrote (yes!) a trilogy about a most appealing character called Dakota Taylor. If you're in the mood for a gay western, you've got something to sink your teeth into.
The trilogy began with Arson! and continued with Silver Saddles and Rattler! I have a copy of the first, read a borrowed copy of the second, was never able to get my hands on a copy of the third. I guess it's the Law of Diminishing Returns. The more you do, the less you get ... the less you sell, the less they print, and the harder these books get to find. Which further damages sales. Eventually numbers drop so low, the publisher decides to stop. What was billed as a series at the outset turns into a trilogy. Fair enough. Publishers know their business. I guess. *sigh*
I remember enjoying Silver Saddles a lot, but can't write a proper review because it's over fifteen years since I read it. Understandably, the details have slipped my mind.
However, I re-read Arson! just recently -- and I'd forgotten what a good book this is. It doesn't attempt to be "arty," there's noting reminiscent of Zane Grey here. It is exactly what it is: a Western adventure-romance. Where the guys fancy each other.
The story is your "right down the middle" Western plot: sheepmen on one side, cattlemen on the other, the little dusty town, the simmering heatwave, land rights, water rights, the gunfighter, the smoking Colt revolvers, the Native American shaman, the rattlers ... the works.
And Cap Iversen wove in the gay subplot with a very very subtle hand. This book is NOT erotica. (There's a lot of so-called "gay cowboy stories" out there, but when you get right down to it, it's just erotica about very young men getting down to brass tacks while wearing Stetsons and chaps ... till some other young dude rips 'em off; which is cool, if that's what you want. If you want a real, genuine Western, you'll look a long way...)
Iverson's characters are the real deal. The central character is obviously Dakota Taylor, a big, rough, tough gunslinger with a heart of gold, a lot of courage and a fancy for guys. His best bud is Ryder, who answers to the same description. The two have been in bed together for years, though they're not in love -- the bond is "merely" friendship with sensuality as a side order. Then Dakota meets a lad called Bennie Colsen, who's grown up gay on the ranch and has no idea what to do about it. He's highly educated, he's done his reading, knows what and who he is, but in that era, what did you do next? Dakota falls for Bennie like the proverbial load of bricks. Ryder is skeptical, especially when Dakota gets "suckered" into working for the young man, who's running (eep!) sheep, and up against the cattlemen. The plot thickens with a drought killing huge numbers of cattle ... everybody knows sheep can survive twenty times better in drought conditions than cattle ever will.
So, Dakota is working for Bennie while Ryder takes the skeptical high ground, and the cattlemen are losing stock; Dakota has fallen in love with his young boss ... suddenly the ranch goes up in flames. And it weren't no act of Nature. And now the plot thickens with a vengeance.
Arson! is a very good read. Iverson's "matter of fact" love scenes run mostly along the lines of, "we made love and then made a fresh pot of coffee," save for the first-time scene with Benny, which is not explicit, but specific, done with a feather touch seldom seen in contemporary fiction (this book came out in 1992). It's so nice to have a proper Western novel with the gay orientation. Like a deep breath of fresh air.
The book was published by Alyson Books and as far as I know, never reprinted. They also did those two follow-ups I mentioned, which make the Dakota trilogy. AG's rating: 5 outta 5 stars, gosh durnit, because I got a kick out of the mystery factor, the suspense and the real "MAn With No Name" ending sequence.
The sluice gates didn't exactly swing open on gay western novels. I've found it hard to track any more down before the 1990s. Then, you'll hunt down books by William H. Henderson, Michael Jensen, Ken Shakin and Cap Iversen -- remember, I'm talking about gay novels here, not the usual m/m erotica set against a backdrop culled from The High Chaparral or Gunsmoke. (Apologies to the m/m folks, but I find it hard to read erotic anything ... I end up skimming too much in search of a bit of solid story, which is a waste of your book-buying buck.)
I'm going to look at Cap Iversen today for several good reasons: he writes a very good novel without getting at all "arty;" his books are the absolute archetype of the Western novel with one exception ... the orientation of the heroes; and he wrote (yes!) a trilogy about a most appealing character called Dakota Taylor. If you're in the mood for a gay western, you've got something to sink your teeth into.
The trilogy began with Arson! and continued with Silver Saddles and Rattler! I have a copy of the first, read a borrowed copy of the second, was never able to get my hands on a copy of the third. I guess it's the Law of Diminishing Returns. The more you do, the less you get ... the less you sell, the less they print, and the harder these books get to find. Which further damages sales. Eventually numbers drop so low, the publisher decides to stop. What was billed as a series at the outset turns into a trilogy. Fair enough. Publishers know their business. I guess. *sigh*
I remember enjoying Silver Saddles a lot, but can't write a proper review because it's over fifteen years since I read it. Understandably, the details have slipped my mind.
However, I re-read Arson! just recently -- and I'd forgotten what a good book this is. It doesn't attempt to be "arty," there's noting reminiscent of Zane Grey here. It is exactly what it is: a Western adventure-romance. Where the guys fancy each other.
The story is your "right down the middle" Western plot: sheepmen on one side, cattlemen on the other, the little dusty town, the simmering heatwave, land rights, water rights, the gunfighter, the smoking Colt revolvers, the Native American shaman, the rattlers ... the works.
And Cap Iversen wove in the gay subplot with a very very subtle hand. This book is NOT erotica. (There's a lot of so-called "gay cowboy stories" out there, but when you get right down to it, it's just erotica about very young men getting down to brass tacks while wearing Stetsons and chaps ... till some other young dude rips 'em off; which is cool, if that's what you want. If you want a real, genuine Western, you'll look a long way...)
Iverson's characters are the real deal. The central character is obviously Dakota Taylor, a big, rough, tough gunslinger with a heart of gold, a lot of courage and a fancy for guys. His best bud is Ryder, who answers to the same description. The two have been in bed together for years, though they're not in love -- the bond is "merely" friendship with sensuality as a side order. Then Dakota meets a lad called Bennie Colsen, who's grown up gay on the ranch and has no idea what to do about it. He's highly educated, he's done his reading, knows what and who he is, but in that era, what did you do next? Dakota falls for Bennie like the proverbial load of bricks. Ryder is skeptical, especially when Dakota gets "suckered" into working for the young man, who's running (eep!) sheep, and up against the cattlemen. The plot thickens with a drought killing huge numbers of cattle ... everybody knows sheep can survive twenty times better in drought conditions than cattle ever will.
So, Dakota is working for Bennie while Ryder takes the skeptical high ground, and the cattlemen are losing stock; Dakota has fallen in love with his young boss ... suddenly the ranch goes up in flames. And it weren't no act of Nature. And now the plot thickens with a vengeance.
Arson! is a very good read. Iverson's "matter of fact" love scenes run mostly along the lines of, "we made love and then made a fresh pot of coffee," save for the first-time scene with Benny, which is not explicit, but specific, done with a feather touch seldom seen in contemporary fiction (this book came out in 1992). It's so nice to have a proper Western novel with the gay orientation. Like a deep breath of fresh air.
The book was published by Alyson Books and as far as I know, never reprinted. They also did those two follow-ups I mentioned, which make the Dakota trilogy. AG's rating: 5 outta 5 stars, gosh durnit, because I got a kick out of the mystery factor, the suspense and the real "MAn With No Name" ending sequence.
April 17, 2012
Dakota is a gunfighter. It's what he does but it's also who he is. He has a man in every town and he answers to no-one. Then he meets Bennie whose entire family has just been murdered. He wants to hire Dakota to kill the men responsible. When he offers Dakota a ridiculous amount of money, Dakota reluctantly agrees to take on the job.
This story is a mixture of western, mystery and romance. The romance is pretty non-explicit and some readers may be put off by the fact that Dakota It would have been nice to get Bennie's POV occasionally especially with regards to his developing relationship with Dakota.
I wish the next two books in the series were available as ebooks. I would love to know what happens to Dakota and Bennie next and also what happens next time Dakota runs into Ryder!
This story is a mixture of western, mystery and romance. The romance is pretty non-explicit and some readers may be put off by the fact that Dakota It would have been nice to get Bennie's POV occasionally especially with regards to his developing relationship with Dakota.
I wish the next two books in the series were available as ebooks. I would love to know what happens to Dakota and Bennie next and also what happens next time Dakota runs into Ryder!
December 3, 2010
What a nice surprise. Arson! is a wonderful "old school" story. Plenty of action, love, suspense, and drama, all told without the aid of explicit sex scenes. Not that I don't enjoy a good man on man sex scene, because I do, but Arson! forgoes the erotica and I didn't even miss it. It's a strong story that held my interest and had me cheering for the protagonist, Dakota, and hoping that he'd make it to the end. If you like good old fashion storytelling then you'll love Arson!
April 28, 2015
Brilliant. Loved it.
July 23, 2023
An easy read with a surprisingly compelling mystery at the heart of it. Don't know why it's so hard to find good (or even bad!) gay cowboy stuff that isn't straight up porn. This may be the only thing other than Brokeback, and even that's just a novella. Definitely wanna see where this goes 👀 thankfully managed to find the other two books in the series for a reasonable price but it wasn't easy.
September 25, 2021
Hidden gem! I was surprised in how invested I became in the story. It's definitely a little corny and goofy but that's part of the charm of westerns. I do think the ending was pretty unsatisfying, but I guess that could just be my lust for blood talking.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2019
If you're looking for classic-feeling western pulp but you want it to be gay, this might be the book for you.
November 16, 2015
4.5 of 5 stars – Wonderful Traditional Old-Time Western … But Gay, Yay.
I hadn't read a good gay western set in the old wild west in quite a while, and I got totally into this trilogy. The author has a great name for a writer of westerns, yet I have no idea who he is (I assume it's a pen name; but I couldn't find any author bios on the books or internet). So I don't know if he'd mind me saying that he reminded me of a gay Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, or Larry McMurtry, some of my favorite western authors. Iverson's books are similar with all three of high quality, and this first one was an exciting start and the best one in what has become a favorite western series of mine.
In this debut, the mystery itself was pretty decent, not too complicated but not immediately solvable, with several potential suspects. Although I wasn't as surprised by who was ultimately the culprit as the MC (Dakota) was, I can understand that, as he said, his instincts were muddled somewhat by his desires for Junior. And I liked that Dakota didn't remain the same; there was a definite growth in the character, morality and maturity in him, as well as in a few other key secondaries. So even with the supporting cast I got a good feel for who they were. In fact, they contributed to making this one the most engaging of the three books because of the emotional and sexual tension that realistically built up between Dakota and three other guys, and it had me wondering and looking forward to how they might figure in in the future.
I also liked this for the same reasons I liked each in the series. First off, for those interested, it worked well as a standalone, with its own self-contained story, while also introducing and developing the character and life of the MC, his lovers and other supporting characters in a way that created a foundation arcing across the trilogy. Interestingly, as I often say about even single books, even this first one actually read like there was an earlier book, only because it referred at times to Dakota's life leading up to this book. And it was done well so that I better understood Dakota's motivations and added depth to his character. Then at the end, not to take away from its working as a standalone, it did leave one loose end unresolved that left me wondering what would happen next. So a good lead-in to the next book.
Second, it was a nice, short, easy read, with a good, well-paced plot and character development. I enjoyed the walk back in time to the old west, and Iverson's down home style described it vividly - the early 1870's Arizona setting, the town and people, their culture and clothes, the land and climate. Although there were some stereotypical elements, like being the fastest draw in the West, I liked the mix and clash of different cultures, especially including some "Indian" culture, as well as the culture at the time regarding gay men. Even the men's attraction to each other (both physical and emotional) and lovemaking (mostly off camera) sounded like the old west.
Third, Iverson also developed nicely the whole set of characters. Of course there was more on the MC, with Iverson really getting into the life and mindset of a trail-hardened gunslinger. This was effectively facilitated by the first-person POV, allowing for things to be said and described in the voice and thoughts of the gunslinger in a way that put me in that time and place. Dakota was an old west version of a street smart, people-savvy tough guy who was good with a gun, and I grew to like him for all his skills, heart and humanness. His common sense form of justice was appealing, and his way of sizing things up reminded me of a saying from an old TV show: "no brag, just fact,"
Who Cap is may be a mystery, but rest assured his legacy lives on with this enjoyable trilogy. I was impressed with the level of quality that Iverson brought to this debut in the series, and I look forward to the next one.
I hadn't read a good gay western set in the old wild west in quite a while, and I got totally into this trilogy. The author has a great name for a writer of westerns, yet I have no idea who he is (I assume it's a pen name; but I couldn't find any author bios on the books or internet). So I don't know if he'd mind me saying that he reminded me of a gay Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, or Larry McMurtry, some of my favorite western authors. Iverson's books are similar with all three of high quality, and this first one was an exciting start and the best one in what has become a favorite western series of mine.
In this debut, the mystery itself was pretty decent, not too complicated but not immediately solvable, with several potential suspects. Although I wasn't as surprised by who was ultimately the culprit as the MC (Dakota) was, I can understand that, as he said, his instincts were muddled somewhat by his desires for Junior. And I liked that Dakota didn't remain the same; there was a definite growth in the character, morality and maturity in him, as well as in a few other key secondaries. So even with the supporting cast I got a good feel for who they were. In fact, they contributed to making this one the most engaging of the three books because of the emotional and sexual tension that realistically built up between Dakota and three other guys, and it had me wondering and looking forward to how they might figure in in the future.
I also liked this for the same reasons I liked each in the series. First off, for those interested, it worked well as a standalone, with its own self-contained story, while also introducing and developing the character and life of the MC, his lovers and other supporting characters in a way that created a foundation arcing across the trilogy. Interestingly, as I often say about even single books, even this first one actually read like there was an earlier book, only because it referred at times to Dakota's life leading up to this book. And it was done well so that I better understood Dakota's motivations and added depth to his character. Then at the end, not to take away from its working as a standalone, it did leave one loose end unresolved that left me wondering what would happen next. So a good lead-in to the next book.
Second, it was a nice, short, easy read, with a good, well-paced plot and character development. I enjoyed the walk back in time to the old west, and Iverson's down home style described it vividly - the early 1870's Arizona setting, the town and people, their culture and clothes, the land and climate. Although there were some stereotypical elements, like being the fastest draw in the West, I liked the mix and clash of different cultures, especially including some "Indian" culture, as well as the culture at the time regarding gay men. Even the men's attraction to each other (both physical and emotional) and lovemaking (mostly off camera) sounded like the old west.
Third, Iverson also developed nicely the whole set of characters. Of course there was more on the MC, with Iverson really getting into the life and mindset of a trail-hardened gunslinger. This was effectively facilitated by the first-person POV, allowing for things to be said and described in the voice and thoughts of the gunslinger in a way that put me in that time and place. Dakota was an old west version of a street smart, people-savvy tough guy who was good with a gun, and I grew to like him for all his skills, heart and humanness. His common sense form of justice was appealing, and his way of sizing things up reminded me of a saying from an old TV show: "no brag, just fact,"
Who Cap is may be a mystery, but rest assured his legacy lives on with this enjoyable trilogy. I was impressed with the level of quality that Iverson brought to this debut in the series, and I look forward to the next one.
May 7, 2023
I was bereft when I finished this one. And absurdly pleased to discover it’s the first in a series. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Then I’ve always been a sucker for Westerns, due to a childhood spent watching the movies and TV series back when the genre was far more popular.
A novel in the fine tradition of masters of the Western Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour. Although originating in the 90s it’s a classic, written with obvious love and affection. I read the book on a decidedly cool French campsite, by the sea so I could hear surf and smell brine, but I was instantly transported to the heat and dust of 19th century Arizona, so dry it hurts to swallow, with the scent of sage in the air. Magic.
Dakota Taylor is a gunslinger, a legend in his time, aged 30, tall and slender with brown wavy hair and a moustache. Despite the name he’s from San Francisco, which gives a quick clue as to his sexual orientation. Yup, this boy’s got an eye for manflesh that’s established on page one so we know where we are. Dakota likes to bed down with men. Says he’s never met one he wouldn’t climb down off his horse for. It’s no big deal to him, and that’s really refreshing; no shame or guilt. He knows that what he does would get him hanged in more ‘civilised’ society but this is the Wild West where the only law comes courtesy of Sam Colt. No one’s putting Dakota in gaol: ‘You fight back. And you die fighting.’
There’s a deliciously teasing will they/won’t they? romance between Dakota and handsome young rawhide Benjamin (Bennie) Colsen who employs the gunfighter to seek vengeance for a great wrong done to his family. Bernie is a sheep farmer. Now if you know anything about the history of the American West you know that spells trouble with a capital T. Dakota hates sheep. But Dakota is drawn to Bernie with an irresistible urge, so against the grain Dakota turns shepherd. It must be love!
There’s enough plot to keep you guessing right to the very end in a tangled tale concerning greed, water rights, attitudes towards Native Americans, family relationships, love won and love lost, and the search for justice. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. You simply have to read it, and, like me, fall madly in love with tough but vulnerable macho man with the heart of gold, Dakota Taylor. Clint, eat your heart out- a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, eh?
A novel in the fine tradition of masters of the Western Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour. Although originating in the 90s it’s a classic, written with obvious love and affection. I read the book on a decidedly cool French campsite, by the sea so I could hear surf and smell brine, but I was instantly transported to the heat and dust of 19th century Arizona, so dry it hurts to swallow, with the scent of sage in the air. Magic.
Dakota Taylor is a gunslinger, a legend in his time, aged 30, tall and slender with brown wavy hair and a moustache. Despite the name he’s from San Francisco, which gives a quick clue as to his sexual orientation. Yup, this boy’s got an eye for manflesh that’s established on page one so we know where we are. Dakota likes to bed down with men. Says he’s never met one he wouldn’t climb down off his horse for. It’s no big deal to him, and that’s really refreshing; no shame or guilt. He knows that what he does would get him hanged in more ‘civilised’ society but this is the Wild West where the only law comes courtesy of Sam Colt. No one’s putting Dakota in gaol: ‘You fight back. And you die fighting.’
There’s a deliciously teasing will they/won’t they? romance between Dakota and handsome young rawhide Benjamin (Bennie) Colsen who employs the gunfighter to seek vengeance for a great wrong done to his family. Bernie is a sheep farmer. Now if you know anything about the history of the American West you know that spells trouble with a capital T. Dakota hates sheep. But Dakota is drawn to Bernie with an irresistible urge, so against the grain Dakota turns shepherd. It must be love!
There’s enough plot to keep you guessing right to the very end in a tangled tale concerning greed, water rights, attitudes towards Native Americans, family relationships, love won and love lost, and the search for justice. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. You simply have to read it, and, like me, fall madly in love with tough but vulnerable macho man with the heart of gold, Dakota Taylor. Clint, eat your heart out- a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, eh?
April 28, 2013
This is the story of Dakota Taylor, gunslinger for hire, and Benny Colson, owner of a sheep ranch in cattle country. He inherited the ranch when vigilantes burned out his entire family. He's hired Dakota to find the men responsible and kill them.
This is a long and interesting mystery set in the old west. There's no explicit sex, though one scene toward the end was partially described. But, those who avoid books with sex scenes should still be okay with this one. Actually, for a long time, I was really unsure whether the primary MCs were Dakota and Benny or Dakota and Ryder, a fellow gunslinger from Dakota's past who's been hired by Benny's arch-nemesis.
Though I liked the story and the mystery, it wouldn't be my personal choice as a favorite and frankly, I'm not sure why. Maybe because I couldn't warm to Dakota, maybe because he did some bed-hopping even while supposedly longing for Benny. But if you're a fan of old westerns and mysteries, try this one, you'll probably really like it.
This is a long and interesting mystery set in the old west. There's no explicit sex, though one scene toward the end was partially described. But, those who avoid books with sex scenes should still be okay with this one. Actually, for a long time, I was really unsure whether the primary MCs were Dakota and Benny or Dakota and Ryder, a fellow gunslinger from Dakota's past who's been hired by Benny's arch-nemesis.
Though I liked the story and the mystery, it wouldn't be my personal choice as a favorite and frankly, I'm not sure why. Maybe because I couldn't warm to Dakota, maybe because he did some bed-hopping even while supposedly longing for Benny. But if you're a fan of old westerns and mysteries, try this one, you'll probably really like it.
June 26, 2011
Wow, great western! The plot was mysterious and drawn so well you really wanted to know who did it, and why they did it! This plotted story shows us, the real side or human race. Once again we see how ugly people are, their greed is larger then innocent life. Really well written book. I could imagine it all. Relationship between Dakota and Bennie was genuine and developed slow with time. There was no graphic description between sex scenes, we know it happened and that's all. I didn't really mind it, but some sure do! I HIGHLY recommend this story!!!
May 10, 2014
Cap Iverson and the obvious inclusion of gay men in the west...finally made the reality of man to man relationships true to history.
Iverson's three books....just made me want to know where is Cap Iverson now....and has he created other fiction under a different pen.
Iverson's three books....just made me want to know where is Cap Iverson now....and has he created other fiction under a different pen.
June 20, 2013
highly recommended
January 20, 2013
Rich in language and images, crafted by a professional. A timeless classic!
February 22, 2013
I love a good western, and Arson! is a surprisinly a great one. The book is a good mystery wrapped in a love story between men. Pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.
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