Rifle River

Buckskin #1

by Roy LeBeau

Book by LeBeau, Roy

Genres: Westerns

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

A pseudonym used by Mitchell Smith.

Reviews

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is way better than it has any right to be. Tagged as an "erotic Western" there are frankly only two sex scenes described in graphic detail, one a threesome in a bordello, the other a rape which occurs in a field. LeBeau (the pen name of the great scribe Mitchell Smith) has a faculty for describing sex, but it's the other details of this book that make it a pleasure to read. I'll admit I didn't do the math, but the ratio of gunfights to sex scenes comes out to something like three-to-one, which is convenient, since LeBeau is also adept at describing action with shooting irons. There is also, it must be said, a solid scene involving some old-fashioned pugilistic fisticuffs.

The basic plot is familiar to anyone who has read a Western before (or caught the tail end of one of the old creaky Western shows like "Bonanza" or "Gunsmoke" in reruns. Frank "Buckskin" Leslie is trying to go straight, give up the violence, whoring, and lawlessness of his past, and he decides to settle in a green valley, where he intends to raise livestock and live out the remainder of his days in relative piece and quiet. Some rival land baron, however (an English dandy) as well as a drunken rustler or two, won't let him be, and Buckskin finds himself regrettably being sucked back into the action, yet again.

I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the non nom-de-plume stuff that Smith wrote, especially "Stone City" one of the best books ever written on the subject of prisons, and a mystery on a par with Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose." Still, this was a fun, fast, and pulpy read that I would recommend to any man or woman who has no objection to being entertained for a few hours or so.

[Matt Kight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Buckskin novel and I'd heard some unusual commentary on it from the Paperback Warrior podcast so I was intrigued to read it myself. It was definitely different in that the protagonist was deeply flawed but this also made it more enjoyable for its novelty. I enjoyed the characters, the fighting & gunplay scenes, and the setting... but the steamy scenes seemed a little amateurish and should probably have been edited by someone a little better skilled in this area. Nevertheless, just a minor gripe and I'd still recommend it and will probably read more from this series.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying adult westerns as I have read none of the long running series. But found this 1st book with ease. “Lee” is a real scumbag both the violence and sex are equally as nasty and brutal as each other. The trash talking in the bedroom scenes he uses had me howling with laughter and would give Jamie Gillis a run for his money.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meanders a bit much (we get to see lots of ranch work and business transactions being done) and the plot is kind of just barely there, but the gunplay is brutal and you really come to care about the characters. If this had been tightened up a bit it would have made five stars from me.

[Terry Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite pulpy and honestly very well written the author is great at describing lands and scenery that I will never see.

[Charles Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rifle River by Roy LeBeau is a formula western about Frank Leslie, a man trying to get away from his hard-drinking, whoring, gun fighting past. He settles in a green valley to raise horses in peace and quiet, but too many people are determined to see that his life is anything but peaceful.
Billed as an erotic western, it only has a few sex scenes, admittedly pretty graphic, but it has enough gun fighting and fist fighting to satisfy the diehard western fan. The action scenes are models of the genre, and the characters fully fleshed – not the cardboard, cliché characters one usually finds in stories like this.
While it might be a bit too graphic for the faint of heart, or the prudish, it’s sure to please those who like their westerns realistic.