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Wolf Breed: Western Novel
A mysterious stranger had suddenly appeared in a small town. The town was used to visitors but no one could foresee what kind of trouble this new guy had brought with him. Nothing portends danger than unannounced brooding men from distant lands!
"All sorts and conditions of men come to the North Woods; some because they want to, some because they have to. Some because they are drawn by the fine lure of adventure and the urge of the restless spirit, some because they are driven by that bloodhound which is the law. All types, all classes. And yet now, standing jauntily upon Père Marquette's threshold, was a type of which as yet the Settlement had had no knowledge. He was young and wore his black mustaches with all of the fierceness of youth. His boots were at once the finest and the smallest which MacLeod's had ever seen upon a man's feet. He wore gloves, and when in due time the hands came out of the gloves, they were little like a woman's and white and soft. He was a handsome young devil-of-a-fellow with all of the soft, graceful beauty of the far southland. His mouth, smiling now, was red lipped, his teeth a glistening white. Eyes very big, very black, very soft, very tender, smiling too. From the crown of his wide black hat to the tall heels of his dainty boots he was such a dandy as demanded more than a casual glance."
"All sorts and conditions of men come to the North Woods; some because they want to, some because they have to. Some because they are drawn by the fine lure of adventure and the urge of the restless spirit, some because they are driven by that bloodhound which is the law. All types, all classes. And yet now, standing jauntily upon Père Marquette's threshold, was a type of which as yet the Settlement had had no knowledge. He was young and wore his black mustaches with all of the fierceness of youth. His boots were at once the finest and the smallest which MacLeod's had ever seen upon a man's feet. He wore gloves, and when in due time the hands came out of the gloves, they were little like a woman's and white and soft. He was a handsome young devil-of-a-fellow with all of the soft, graceful beauty of the far southland. His mouth, smiling now, was red lipped, his teeth a glistening white. Eyes very big, very black, very soft, very tender, smiling too. From the crown of his wide black hat to the tall heels of his dainty boots he was such a dandy as demanded more than a casual glance."
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1916
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 24, 2018
On my Animal Names In The Title personal challenge list, this 1916 book by Jackson Gregory started off great but I am calling it quits before reaching the end.
I was expecting a Western. This is set in the Canadian North Woods. Not a problem, I just adjusted my mental images, and some lush writing certainly helped with that task. Here is Gregory's description of Spring in the North Woods:
"The air, always wine, was now a sparkling, bubbling, rare vintage champagne, dancing in the blood, making laughter in the heart and sweet tumult in the brain. It was the season of long, golden days, of clear, silver nights, of budding life everywhere."
Right away we meet some interesting characters, because everyone in the settlement is attending a 50th wedding anniversary party thrown by the storekeeper for himself and his wife. What matter if each year the date is a little different: they were married on the first day of Spring and that is the day they celebrate.
So here we are at the party, when in comes Ramon Garcia, who proves himself quite the man, even though he looks too 'dandy' for this neck of the woods. But is he the main character? Nope, he comes along later. No-Luck Drennen, monster of a man in both size and attitude. There is a huge fight between Drennen and Kootenai George, and then we begin to follow Drennen and never seem to hear about the other men again.
I was curious for awhile about this man, why he became who he was:
In many things he had grown to be more like a wild beast than a man. He had hunted with the human pack and he had found selfishness and jealousy and treachery on every hand. He came to look upon these as the essential characteristics of the human race. Even now that he was wounded he saw but one sordid motive of greed under the hesitant offers of help; even now he had been less like a wounded man than a stricken wolf. The wolf would have withdrawn to his hidden lair; he would have contented himself with scant food; he would have licked his wound clean and have waited for it to heal; he would have snapped and snarled at any intrusion, knowing the way of his fellows when they fall upon a wounded brother. So Drennen."
I was curious but I never did like the man. And I became less and less interested in the story as I went along. Somehow the steam just went out of the whole thing and left me bored with Drennen, his gold mine, the North Woods, and the woman with the odd name of Ygerne. After 16 of 25 chapters you would think I would feel compelled to go ahead and finish this puppy off, but after Drennan's health crisis (which was more than a little bit unbelievable to me in the first place) and his apparent foolishness regarding that gold mine, I just wanted out of the woods and away.
Jacksn Gregory wrote 'western and detective novels' according to wiki. When I started to feel less than pleased with this book, I thought I would try one more of his before striking him off my lists. But after a quick peek at a few others on his page at Project Gutenberg, I've decided that I've had more than enough of this author.
Oh, and that lush writing that was so captivating at first? It got tiresome as well the further along I got. But those first few chapters earned the book its second star, anyway.
I was expecting a Western. This is set in the Canadian North Woods. Not a problem, I just adjusted my mental images, and some lush writing certainly helped with that task. Here is Gregory's description of Spring in the North Woods:
"The air, always wine, was now a sparkling, bubbling, rare vintage champagne, dancing in the blood, making laughter in the heart and sweet tumult in the brain. It was the season of long, golden days, of clear, silver nights, of budding life everywhere."
Right away we meet some interesting characters, because everyone in the settlement is attending a 50th wedding anniversary party thrown by the storekeeper for himself and his wife. What matter if each year the date is a little different: they were married on the first day of Spring and that is the day they celebrate.
So here we are at the party, when in comes Ramon Garcia, who proves himself quite the man, even though he looks too 'dandy' for this neck of the woods. But is he the main character? Nope, he comes along later. No-Luck Drennen, monster of a man in both size and attitude. There is a huge fight between Drennen and Kootenai George, and then we begin to follow Drennen and never seem to hear about the other men again.
I was curious for awhile about this man, why he became who he was:
In many things he had grown to be more like a wild beast than a man. He had hunted with the human pack and he had found selfishness and jealousy and treachery on every hand. He came to look upon these as the essential characteristics of the human race. Even now that he was wounded he saw but one sordid motive of greed under the hesitant offers of help; even now he had been less like a wounded man than a stricken wolf. The wolf would have withdrawn to his hidden lair; he would have contented himself with scant food; he would have licked his wound clean and have waited for it to heal; he would have snapped and snarled at any intrusion, knowing the way of his fellows when they fall upon a wounded brother. So Drennen."
I was curious but I never did like the man. And I became less and less interested in the story as I went along. Somehow the steam just went out of the whole thing and left me bored with Drennen, his gold mine, the North Woods, and the woman with the odd name of Ygerne. After 16 of 25 chapters you would think I would feel compelled to go ahead and finish this puppy off, but after Drennan's health crisis (which was more than a little bit unbelievable to me in the first place) and his apparent foolishness regarding that gold mine, I just wanted out of the woods and away.
Jacksn Gregory wrote 'western and detective novels' according to wiki. When I started to feel less than pleased with this book, I thought I would try one more of his before striking him off my lists. But after a quick peek at a few others on his page at Project Gutenberg, I've decided that I've had more than enough of this author.
Oh, and that lush writing that was so captivating at first? It got tiresome as well the further along I got. But those first few chapters earned the book its second star, anyway.
August 7, 2017
Torn between a 3 or a 4, but you get two stories in one. Wolf Breed & Daughter of the Sun. Both are interesting and I think readers who haven't read this author should give him a try.
September 30, 2022
This story is ok ... But Unbelievable Fantasy!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews