What do you think?
Rate this book
Cleve Trewe #1
Axle Bust Creek
From the acclaimed author of Ralph Compton's Prairie Fire, Kansas, the first in an action-packed new series starring Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe, a master gunfighter, horseman, and lawman who's looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of Axle Bust, Nevada...
From the battlefield of Shiloh to the prisoner camp at Slocum, former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has seen more than enough carnage for one lifetime. Now that the war is over he's found work as a peacekeeper and prospector--the perfect set of survival skills for a town like Axle Bust, Nevada, a place seething with danger.
Cleve's uncle staked a claim in Axle Bust only to lose it to a murderous con-man partnered with Duncan Conroy, owner of the Golden Fleece Mine and a man determined to build an empire by means fair and foul. The only person keeping Conroy in check is his sister Berenice, a freethinker whose scientific education benefits the family interests--even while catching Cleve's eye.
To reclaim his uncle's mine, and bring justice to a town under tyranny, Cleve finds himself turning the streets into a bullet-riddled battlefield. Conroy is about to learn there just isn't room for both men in a town like Axle Bust.
GOLD FEVER. BLOOD FEVER.
From the battlefield of Shiloh to the prisoner camp at Slocum, former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has seen more than enough carnage for one lifetime. Now that the war is over he's found work as a peacekeeper and prospector--the perfect set of survival skills for a town like Axle Bust, Nevada, a place seething with danger.
Cleve's uncle staked a claim in Axle Bust only to lose it to a murderous con-man partnered with Duncan Conroy, owner of the Golden Fleece Mine and a man determined to build an empire by means fair and foul. The only person keeping Conroy in check is his sister Berenice, a freethinker whose scientific education benefits the family interests--even while catching Cleve's eye.
To reclaim his uncle's mine, and bring justice to a town under tyranny, Cleve finds himself turning the streets into a bullet-riddled battlefield. Conroy is about to learn there just isn't room for both men in a town like Axle Bust.
GOLD FEVER. BLOOD FEVER.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published September 27, 2022
74 people are currently reading
625 people want to read
About the author
John Shirley
320 books464 followersJohn Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his newest novels STORMLAND and A SORCERER OF ATLANTIS.
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 20, 2022
My thanks to the author, John Shirley, and the publisher, Kensington Publishing Corp for my copy of this ebook, which I received through a Goodreads Giveaway. This is is a charming, old fashioned Western story, full of heroes, outlaws, stagecoach robberies, saloons, hangings, gold mines and romance. This was an easy, refreshing read.
November 13, 2022
I was surprised as I started to read a couple of the reviews of this novel that most of the readers of this book are Western readers who are new to John Shirley. I follow authors more than genre, and that is why I was here. This is not Shirley’s first Western he wrote an excellent historical novel Wyatt in Wichita, about the famous gunslinger Wyatt Earp. Seems like a history lesson might help here. With more than 80 books across genres ranging from Science Fiction, and horror to media tie-ins Shirley is a legend in more than one genre disciple. While William Gibson is normally the writer most associated with cyberpunk it is John Shirley that Gibson labeled patient zero of the genre. Check out his groundbreaking decades ahead of its time SF classic City Come A’Walkin’ if you don’t believe Willie.
While John Shirley also has many screenwriting credits from Star Trek Deep Space Nine to the Real Ghostbusters he is most famous for putting a Guitar in The Crow’s hands. As the initial screenwriter of The Crow, it was John Shirley that sold the goth, rock and roll vigilante to the industry when no one had heard of the IP. He has written Alien, Predator, John Constantine, and Batman novels. The years and experience of storytelling brought to this western novel is evident on the page.
Authors known for genre fiction have a history of writing historical novels that they consider some of their best work, and often they end up pleading with their readers to pay attention to these books. David Morrell a thriller writer known as the father of Rambo (First Blood) had this experience with the Last Reveille and F.Paul Wilson with Black Wind (However The Wilson novel fits into his mythos and doesn't feel like a departure to me). Joe Lansdale Crossed horror and western over with his Dead in the West early in his career but his Paradise Sky was a powerful intense historical western. John Shirley’s first historical Western has more in common with that Lansdale book. Both are excellent reads. Forget genre and fall into the hands of a master storyteller.
Axle-Bust Creek is John Shirley’s first totally invented Western and in a good way it has a pulp western feeling. Shirley is a pioneer of punk rock and the most extreme of music and fiction. As hardcore as songs like his band Sado-nation got with songs like Johnny Paranoid his horror did the same. Novels like Cellars and Wetbones are fiction with teeth. His fiction however always has a sense of justice, perhaps the best examples are Demons (an environmental horror novel) or his Song called Youth trilogy which predicted the rise of the Tea party and MAGA in the 80s.
Given all that John is from the generation that had constant Westerns on TV, who read Western pulp novels and he always had a western story or two in his heart. Axle-Bust Creek is the first of a series this novel serves to set the table for his hero Cleve Trewe. A vet of the union comes west to Nevada to make a claim on a gold mine founded by his Uncle.
When he gets to the west he finds he is still dealing with trauma and has to deal with the corruption and violence that is common on the edge of civilization. Of course, various forces claim the mine, and Cleve finds various forms of injustice. It only makes sense when he starts to make things right in the western tradition he is made Sheriff.
Early in the novel, Shirley does a good job establishing the characters. Not just Cleve, but the seeds for a sidekick have well planted Leon a former confederate soldier who had been his prisoner. There are plenty of moments that feel traditional, like gun fights, and verbal stand-offs. Shirley plays with the language and tropes in a way that makes the novel feel comfy for fans of the genre.
The best example of this is a fantastic scene halfway through the book when Cleve is offered the job of Sheriff. The give and take is very traditional Western. It is a fantastic give-and-go of dialogue.
“You let me do it and I’ll do my damnedest for you. I’ll chase runaway pigs if you want me to. I’ll chase badmen into hell.”
It is later in the novel when Shirley brings in elements that are unique to his talents and a sense of justice comes into play. Outside of official law, the miners take one of Cleve’s prisoners nicknamed Scrap who they accused as a thief. This brings up Cleve’s haunted memories from the war when he saw a deserter hung. “Legally hung, according to military law, but it had never felt like Justice to Cleve.”
The description of the hangings are the moments when you most clearly show Shirley’s genre roots. The anger Cleve feels at seeing Scrap hung sets off the motion of the final act. It is where the novel really feels like a work by John Shirley. Also, the novel explores sexism and Racism towards Chinese immigrants and the women who end up in the brothels.
That is where the sense of Justice drives the narrative. I have a feeling that the next two books will go even deeper as Shirley has the set-up out of the way.
While John Shirley also has many screenwriting credits from Star Trek Deep Space Nine to the Real Ghostbusters he is most famous for putting a Guitar in The Crow’s hands. As the initial screenwriter of The Crow, it was John Shirley that sold the goth, rock and roll vigilante to the industry when no one had heard of the IP. He has written Alien, Predator, John Constantine, and Batman novels. The years and experience of storytelling brought to this western novel is evident on the page.
Authors known for genre fiction have a history of writing historical novels that they consider some of their best work, and often they end up pleading with their readers to pay attention to these books. David Morrell a thriller writer known as the father of Rambo (First Blood) had this experience with the Last Reveille and F.Paul Wilson with Black Wind (However The Wilson novel fits into his mythos and doesn't feel like a departure to me). Joe Lansdale Crossed horror and western over with his Dead in the West early in his career but his Paradise Sky was a powerful intense historical western. John Shirley’s first historical Western has more in common with that Lansdale book. Both are excellent reads. Forget genre and fall into the hands of a master storyteller.
Axle-Bust Creek is John Shirley’s first totally invented Western and in a good way it has a pulp western feeling. Shirley is a pioneer of punk rock and the most extreme of music and fiction. As hardcore as songs like his band Sado-nation got with songs like Johnny Paranoid his horror did the same. Novels like Cellars and Wetbones are fiction with teeth. His fiction however always has a sense of justice, perhaps the best examples are Demons (an environmental horror novel) or his Song called Youth trilogy which predicted the rise of the Tea party and MAGA in the 80s.
Given all that John is from the generation that had constant Westerns on TV, who read Western pulp novels and he always had a western story or two in his heart. Axle-Bust Creek is the first of a series this novel serves to set the table for his hero Cleve Trewe. A vet of the union comes west to Nevada to make a claim on a gold mine founded by his Uncle.
When he gets to the west he finds he is still dealing with trauma and has to deal with the corruption and violence that is common on the edge of civilization. Of course, various forces claim the mine, and Cleve finds various forms of injustice. It only makes sense when he starts to make things right in the western tradition he is made Sheriff.
Early in the novel, Shirley does a good job establishing the characters. Not just Cleve, but the seeds for a sidekick have well planted Leon a former confederate soldier who had been his prisoner. There are plenty of moments that feel traditional, like gun fights, and verbal stand-offs. Shirley plays with the language and tropes in a way that makes the novel feel comfy for fans of the genre.
The best example of this is a fantastic scene halfway through the book when Cleve is offered the job of Sheriff. The give and take is very traditional Western. It is a fantastic give-and-go of dialogue.
“You let me do it and I’ll do my damnedest for you. I’ll chase runaway pigs if you want me to. I’ll chase badmen into hell.”
It is later in the novel when Shirley brings in elements that are unique to his talents and a sense of justice comes into play. Outside of official law, the miners take one of Cleve’s prisoners nicknamed Scrap who they accused as a thief. This brings up Cleve’s haunted memories from the war when he saw a deserter hung. “Legally hung, according to military law, but it had never felt like Justice to Cleve.”
The description of the hangings are the moments when you most clearly show Shirley’s genre roots. The anger Cleve feels at seeing Scrap hung sets off the motion of the final act. It is where the novel really feels like a work by John Shirley. Also, the novel explores sexism and Racism towards Chinese immigrants and the women who end up in the brothels.
That is where the sense of Justice drives the narrative. I have a feeling that the next two books will go even deeper as Shirley has the set-up out of the way.
June 12, 2022
John Shirley's Axle Bust Creek (Pinnacle Books 2022), Book 1 in the Cleve Trewe Westerns, takes place in Axle Bust Creek, a Nevada mining town with few amenities beyond bars, stables, and itinerant miners. There is no legitimate law though the locals and the miners set up vigilante justice courts to maintain some semblance of justice. It is here that former Union officer Cleve Trewe's uncle was almost killed trying to defend his gold mine from claim jumpers. Cleve decides it is his familial duty to get the mine back for his Uncle. Cleve has the legal documents showing him as owner but the swindlers have done a good job of making his documents look questionable enough to muddy his claim. To complicate matters, the claim jumper is a weak man with a beautiful and brilliant sister who seems to know little about the illegalities of her brother. Cleve is falling for her and doesn’t want their fragile relationship to be destroyed.
Claim jumpers, lawless towns, bad guys taking advantage of good guys, boy falls for beautiful girl--lots of common plot lines. What makes this excellent--5/5--is the pacing, the Old West atmosphere, and the well-built characters readers can't fail to like. A good read. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
Claim jumpers, lawless towns, bad guys taking advantage of good guys, boy falls for beautiful girl--lots of common plot lines. What makes this excellent--5/5--is the pacing, the Old West atmosphere, and the well-built characters readers can't fail to like. A good read. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
July 30, 2022
Axle Bust Creek by John Shirley is a really good western.
I was familiar with John Shirley from some of his horror work and from his movie and television work, and was curious to see how he handled a western. Very well it turns out. There are nods to certain western tropes but over all it is more a story about people set in the wild west.
Cleveland Trewe is an interesting protagonist who has a lot of those western hero characteristics but they play off well with the supporting cast, in particular Leon and Berry, who keep the story fairly well grounded.
This is the first in a new series so it will be interesting to see how it progresses especially after the ending.
Thanks to #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks, and John Shirley for the ARC of #AxleBustCreek.
I was familiar with John Shirley from some of his horror work and from his movie and television work, and was curious to see how he handled a western. Very well it turns out. There are nods to certain western tropes but over all it is more a story about people set in the wild west.
Cleveland Trewe is an interesting protagonist who has a lot of those western hero characteristics but they play off well with the supporting cast, in particular Leon and Berry, who keep the story fairly well grounded.
This is the first in a new series so it will be interesting to see how it progresses especially after the ending.
Thanks to #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks, and John Shirley for the ARC of #AxleBustCreek.
September 29, 2022
My first read, from the author John Shirley, 'Axle Bust Creek" is an entertaining story, a little long in the tooth at spots telling the story, has several likable characters and the first of a new series.
I was surprised that I would enjoy this one. Since the setting is a gold mining town, in Axle Bust, Nevada, it's rough, clever con-men, a greedy mine owner and definitely will keep reading author John Shirley. Noticed he writes in different genres, will check them out and give them a try if it looks interesting.
I don't want too give anything away. Since if your a Western reader, you'll want to read this one and will just mention a few things regarding the characters.
Cleve Trewe, came to Axle Bust due to an attack on his Uncle, he's a Civil War Veteran, was a Major in the Union Army, tough. smart and one not to under estimate.
Duncan Conroy runs a mine for his father, he's shady, crooked but it adds a unique element to how different his sister Berenice a widow, she's a freethinker does scientific things for the education benefits, it helps her the family interests and mixes some romance when she catches Cleve’s eye.
Just a note for other reads, I tried to read 'Axle Bust Creek', as if I was the fictional character Cleve Trewe and it made reading it, that must better. Done want to give too much away, but this one is my favorite Western read for 2022 and a worthy contender for the prestiges Spur Award.
Thanks to netgalley and Kensington fr the advance ARC copy and I also purchased a ebook copy to support the author John Shirley and will add him to my favorite author list.
I was surprised that I would enjoy this one. Since the setting is a gold mining town, in Axle Bust, Nevada, it's rough, clever con-men, a greedy mine owner and definitely will keep reading author John Shirley. Noticed he writes in different genres, will check them out and give them a try if it looks interesting.
I don't want too give anything away. Since if your a Western reader, you'll want to read this one and will just mention a few things regarding the characters.
Cleve Trewe, came to Axle Bust due to an attack on his Uncle, he's a Civil War Veteran, was a Major in the Union Army, tough. smart and one not to under estimate.
Duncan Conroy runs a mine for his father, he's shady, crooked but it adds a unique element to how different his sister Berenice a widow, she's a freethinker does scientific things for the education benefits, it helps her the family interests and mixes some romance when she catches Cleve’s eye.
Just a note for other reads, I tried to read 'Axle Bust Creek', as if I was the fictional character Cleve Trewe and it made reading it, that must better. Done want to give too much away, but this one is my favorite Western read for 2022 and a worthy contender for the prestiges Spur Award.
Thanks to netgalley and Kensington fr the advance ARC copy and I also purchased a ebook copy to support the author John Shirley and will add him to my favorite author list.
June 23, 2025
Grabbed this book at an Ollie’s near me for $2.99 I figured for the price and a new series why not give it a shot. Beyond glad that I did so, the way the book is written, the plot, the characters, the ending all very fulfilling. I was not only surprised but amazed by the way it played out; as soon as I finished I made sure to order the next book of the series as well. I’ll be honest I’m a gamer as well as a reader so the best comparison for this book is somewhat of Red Dead Redemption, which if you’re not familiar that too is an amazing story (google it and you’ll see what I mean). Give it a shot and you’ll love it, it’s definitely worth whatever price you find it, I just got lucky!
July 11, 2022
Really enjoyed this book by John Shirley. Have read Shirley before, but only in the horror genre. It is good to now know that he can write great stories in different genres. I became really involved in the characters and the plot (pacing). Can't wait for the next in this series. #AxleBustCreek #NetGalley
October 20, 2022
A solid, classic western oater kicks off this new Cleve Trewe series from John Shirley and Pinnacle Books.
When Trewe’s uncle’s interest in a gold mine is threatened, the straight-shooting war hero tackles the challenge in Axel Bust, Nevada, and picks up some new friends, a new calling, a new romance, and some serious enemies along the trail. Great characters, action, and plotting by a storied master.
This cowboy’s second sojourn is scheduled for Summer 2023: Gunmetal Mountain.
When Trewe’s uncle’s interest in a gold mine is threatened, the straight-shooting war hero tackles the challenge in Axel Bust, Nevada, and picks up some new friends, a new calling, a new romance, and some serious enemies along the trail. Great characters, action, and plotting by a storied master.
This cowboy’s second sojourn is scheduled for Summer 2023: Gunmetal Mountain.
February 7, 2023
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 0f 5
Axle Bust Creek is a new mining town in Nevada. Towns such as this don't usually have law enforcement until the lawlessness gets out of hand.
Cleve Trewe is a former Union officer who feels it's his family duty to help his uncle (who was almost killed defending his gold mine from claim jumpers). Although Cleve's got the legitimate paperwork to prove his rightful ownership of the mine, he finds that the crooks have done a good jump of casting doubts on their documents and claim.
Most people in town know that there is need for law, and Cleve puts his name forward and is selected to be the town sheriff. He takes the job seriously (not just as a position to take back the mine) and defends a prisoner from hanging by a lynch mob (having some PTSD from when he saw a war deserter hung).
Complications arise in his pursuit of the rightful mine ownership when Cleve starts to fall for the sister of the leader behind the claim jumping. Cleve is confident that she's innocent in the affair and has no knowledge of what her brother is doing.
Like many readers, I'm most familiar with author john Shirley through his sci-fi and horror work and I really did expect to find some cross-over, but Shirley shows his versatility here with a straight-up Western which draws on a few familiar tropes (ie: Civil War vet; chosen to be the law in a lawless town; falling for the sister of the 'villain'; standing up to a mob to protect a prisoner; etc).
The book is the first in a series, named for our hero, Cleve Trewe so it should go without saying that the reader's 'liking' of Trewe is important. Fortunately Shirley portrays Trewe as a lawful, good man without being a pushover. If I have one complaint, however, it's that our hero doesn't seem to have to work too hard at any time in the book - any challenge or obstacle is met and dealt with pretty easily.
I recognize that the market for Western fiction isn't particularly large, but for those of us who do enjoy a Western now and then, it's really nice to have a publisher putting out some new works
Looking for a good book? Axle Bust Creek by John Shirley is the first book in a new Western series that promises to follow a morally upright, new-on-the-job sheriff in a mining town out West.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Axle Bust Creek is a new mining town in Nevada. Towns such as this don't usually have law enforcement until the lawlessness gets out of hand.
Cleve Trewe is a former Union officer who feels it's his family duty to help his uncle (who was almost killed defending his gold mine from claim jumpers). Although Cleve's got the legitimate paperwork to prove his rightful ownership of the mine, he finds that the crooks have done a good jump of casting doubts on their documents and claim.
Most people in town know that there is need for law, and Cleve puts his name forward and is selected to be the town sheriff. He takes the job seriously (not just as a position to take back the mine) and defends a prisoner from hanging by a lynch mob (having some PTSD from when he saw a war deserter hung).
Complications arise in his pursuit of the rightful mine ownership when Cleve starts to fall for the sister of the leader behind the claim jumping. Cleve is confident that she's innocent in the affair and has no knowledge of what her brother is doing.
Like many readers, I'm most familiar with author john Shirley through his sci-fi and horror work and I really did expect to find some cross-over, but Shirley shows his versatility here with a straight-up Western which draws on a few familiar tropes (ie: Civil War vet; chosen to be the law in a lawless town; falling for the sister of the 'villain'; standing up to a mob to protect a prisoner; etc).
The book is the first in a series, named for our hero, Cleve Trewe so it should go without saying that the reader's 'liking' of Trewe is important. Fortunately Shirley portrays Trewe as a lawful, good man without being a pushover. If I have one complaint, however, it's that our hero doesn't seem to have to work too hard at any time in the book - any challenge or obstacle is met and dealt with pretty easily.
I recognize that the market for Western fiction isn't particularly large, but for those of us who do enjoy a Western now and then, it's really nice to have a publisher putting out some new works
Looking for a good book? Axle Bust Creek by John Shirley is the first book in a new Western series that promises to follow a morally upright, new-on-the-job sheriff in a mining town out West.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2022
Major Cleveland True is on his way to axle bust creek when he sees to swindlers trying to sell a salted mine to an X soldier he knew in the Civil War. After proving his point and saving his new buddy Leon $1000 in the little gun play they finally make it to axle bust. Here Cleave will make new friends confront old enemies and find a new reason to smile. This is a great western and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. As far as westerns go I would put this in my top three definitely. Cleveland is the meaning of morals and integrity and like a real man he defends those weaker and more vulnerable and I think Barry was the perfect woman for him. They have so many great characters in this book and I hope to see them in future books. I was given this book by Nick Galli and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own. #NETGALLY,, #Western, #John Shirley
April 6, 2023
I'm a big fan of John Shirley's cyberpunk (A Song Called Youth trilogy), horror (Demons; Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories), thriller (Everything Is Broken), and sci-fi (Halo series, Crawlers) work and was surprised but not greatly so of his foray into the western genre. The author knows how to spin a good tale and pepper it with plenty of interesting characters. Refreshing too that this book is relatively free of cynicism and gratuitously repulsive subject matter...I'm not necessarily railing against either of the two, but in a straight-ahead genre like this, I like the well-honed aesthetic of simple storytelling. It doesn't ascend to the top of the list of best authors (like Grey or Leonard) but is definitely well placed among the good ones...as far as Shirley's writing chops go, he always entertains!
October 13, 2023
I failed to make it through another book by Shirley and then saw he writes all over the genre map so I picked up this very-reconstructed Western, which has strong parts for ethnic Chinese characters and women, science and all the rest, except for a weirdly anti-union plotline, or at least plotter.
This was fine. I haven't read a lot of Westerns, but this book was very violent, with lots of deaths by gunfight. Maybe it stands out because part of the novel's "work" is to acknowledge the violence of the form, but boy, it adds up.
I wasn't totally captivated, but I liked it so much more than the other book, which I think was just a fault of my picking the wrong book. This was competent and completely doesn't embarrass itself or its readers.
This was fine. I haven't read a lot of Westerns, but this book was very violent, with lots of deaths by gunfight. Maybe it stands out because part of the novel's "work" is to acknowledge the violence of the form, but boy, it adds up.
I wasn't totally captivated, but I liked it so much more than the other book, which I think was just a fault of my picking the wrong book. This was competent and completely doesn't embarrass itself or its readers.
January 31, 2023
This story is well-written and obviously well-researched. I think of it as an "intellectual novel" of the Old West (not cliched), with the action-packed gun-fights and conflicts of the era coupled with well-developed, educated and experienced characters. It is spiced with humor, good descriptions of the setting, and a sweet romance with a self-educated woman of science and worldly views. I enjoyed this book and would read the next one in the series.
June 19, 2023
Not a very entertaining book at all. I wanted to quit but I forced myself to keep reading, hoping it would get better, but it never did. The characters who were miners and "cowboys" talked like they were all educated at Oxford of something and the plot was very, very predictable. Cleve Trewe,the main character, is not very likeable and difficult to relate to and his romantic interest is not the most believable character either. If you like westerns, which I do, skip this one.
March 13, 2025
The first book in the Cleve Trewe western series. Cleve Trewe promises to be an excellent character to keep readers happy, but then John Shirley has been writing westerns under the Ralph Compton brand for several years so he knows wht a good western should be. It's so hard to find a western series that builds a community and characters into a complete picture of the era and it's challenges. I'm looking forward to reading many more Cleve Trewe books.
September 22, 2022
Former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has drifted around since the war. Now he finds himself in Axle Bust Nevada looking for the man who stole his Uncle's gold mine. Here he will settle for awhile become Deputy Sheriff, catch bad guys, and find love. Good book.
August 16, 2023
A Good Read Indeed
This was an action packed story from beginning to end. I enjoyed the fact that the characters spoke the way they did in the 1800’s, the descriptions of their dress and hair and mustaches, and what they read. I can’t wait for Cleve’s next adventure.
This was an action packed story from beginning to end. I enjoyed the fact that the characters spoke the way they did in the 1800’s, the descriptions of their dress and hair and mustaches, and what they read. I can’t wait for Cleve’s next adventure.
September 13, 2023
I’m definitely not a regular reader of westerns. And I know of Shirley from the sci-fi and horror genres, but I really enjoyed this book. He definitely knows how to create tension and create an engaging story. I’ll definitely read the sequel.
December 30, 2022
I took a step out of my comfort zone and read this book. I really liked it and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I’ll be looking for more well written westerns in 2023
August 11, 2023
Good Start.
Great story. Loved the style of writing, and the interspersed science. Did remind me a bit of Ralph Compton. Look forward to more reads.
Great story. Loved the style of writing, and the interspersed science. Did remind me a bit of Ralph Compton. Look forward to more reads.
August 13, 2023
excellent read!
Convincing writing style that puts you there next to the main character. I enjoyed the descriptive details of the time period, well done!
Convincing writing style that puts you there next to the main character. I enjoyed the descriptive details of the time period, well done!
March 27, 2025
I don’t usually read westerns, but this one was fun. Reminded me of growing up watching Gunsmoke and The Rifleman.
September 14, 2025
personally I think the story and writing aren't exactly noteworthy or profound but this book was overall an enjoyable and feel-good read
cleve is bisexual
cleve is bisexual
October 14, 2025
This book absolutely got me into reading cowboy books. From, romance, to mysteries, a friendship that the world needs to read about. I recommend this book!
June 21, 2024
I don't read a lot, and wanted an easy read. That's not what I found. The writer felt it necessary to impress us with language that didn't fit the story. I thought that being a western, would make it simple to read. I kept having to re-read whole paragraphs to keep up with the story. For a while, i wasted time looking up words that served no purpose. Finally I just blew past them, just to finish the book. I like to try to get everything when I read. Not a favorite, I won't be following this author.
August 27, 2023
So well written. I loved this book. Cleve is such a great and lovable character. I enjoyed the way everyone spoke with such propriety. Well done and a very original western.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews