Flint's Truth

Sam Flint #2

by Richard S. Wheeler

Frontier journalist Sam Flint knows there is a story of corruption and greed in his small town of Oro Blanco, but he may not be able to print it before the big mining bosses run him out of town, or worse

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

431 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

There are other authors with this name. One writes Marine Corps history. Another, Civil War history. Another writes in the political sciences.

Richard S. (Shaw) Wheeler was born in Milwaukee in 1935 and grew up in nearby Wauwatosa.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of three novels in Richard Wheeler’s series about frontier newspaper editor/publisher Sam Flint (after Flint's Gift). Each of the three novels finds Sam setting up his press in a different frontier town and so this is largely a stand-alone novel. There are vague references to his previous fledgling newspapers but nothing that would require you to read the first book in order to appreciate this one.

The summer of 1870 finds Flint deciding to setup shop in a small New Mexico mining town called Oro Blanco. His first step is to scope out the town and he quickly meets the prominent citizens, including those who would cause him fits in the near future. The town marshal, a bully named Crawford and the man who really has the power there, Mason Weed represent all that is wrong with the human race: greed, racism, and abuse of power. These men and their friends have secrets.

Many readers often turn to westerns or frontier fiction when looking for a nice story where you can pretty much count on the good guys taking down the bad guys. This novel began comfortably along what I thought would be that path but the tale grew darker as I progressed. The worst part of human nature was winning the battle and events got worse and worse for Flint and his allies. And then just when I thought we had hit bottom, tragedy struck. Until that moment I hadn’t realized just how much I had come to care for the characters in this novel. That event led to fundamental changes in the characters and the novel became a much “deeper” story.

So my hat is off to Richard Wheeler for dealing with some basic ugly human nature issues and how one person can make a difference if he stands by his ideals through one set back after another. There is one more Flint novel to come and I look forward to reading it with great anticipation.

[Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Wheeler carries the western story genre to the very stars. This is another of his thoughtful books that are studies in character. The characters Wheeler creates are memorable, complex, and vivid.

Sam Flint is an independent itinerants newspaper editor who packs his press and his love for the truth with him to every new town where he establishes his paper and changes lives.

Upon his arrival in Oro Blanco, New Mexico, Flint detects a wrongness in the town. Racism is a way of life, for one thing. Original Mexican settlers are relegated to one side of the town. Sam deliberately sets up his office on the Mexican side of town to prove his independence. White leaders, who prove to be corrupt in so many ways, dispose Flint’s independence and his determination to print the truth wherever it takes him.

I loved this book, and while it is darker than usual, and while there is a pivotal tragedy that changes so many things, I enjoyed it immensely.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

near Silver City, NM - in the mines; interesting familiarity with family member having been in newspaper business plus engineers in mines near Silver City.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number two in Richard Wheeler’s series of novels about frontier newspaper editor Sam Flint, this is an unusually dark tale for the author. There are moments of harsh realism in the first one, Flint’s Gift, but Wheeler creates a mining community in his second novel so merciless that readers can be tempted to lose faith in the West of honest men and deeds they turn to the western story to reaffirm.

Plot. It’s the summer of 1870, and itinerant editor Flint picks a New Mexico gold mining town, Oro Blanco, to set up shop. He quickly meets the man who will become his nemesis, the town marshal, Crawford. The marshal is not just the law. He is a brutal bully who uses his authority to physically dominate and punish anyone who crosses him. . .

Read my review at my blog.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good western of crusading newspaper editor in small, corrupt town. The only problem is that Wheeler has a habit of killing some of his more interesting good characters. If not for that, I would have given it a 5-star rating.