Phantom Gunman

Fargo #11

by John Benteen

Fargo got $25,000 to gun down Billy the Kid, though officially the pasty-faced killer had been dead for thirty years. Author John Benteen

160 pages, mass market paperback

First published April 1, 1971

About the author

Pseudonym used by Ben Haas.

Reviews

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one, Fargo is hired to kill Billy the Kid. But the book is set in 1910, meaning Billy had supposedly been dead for nearly thirty years.

A rich Texan with a grudge against Billy from decades ago has reason to believe the famous outlaw is still alive. Fargo travels to Lincoln County to find Billy and soon finds a tense situation. Memories of the Lincoln County War are still sharp among the residents there even after three decades and that war seems likely to begin again. If Fargo finds and kills Billy, that might be the spark that starts the bloodshed all over again.

The novel is an interesting one, with the mystery of whether Billy is still alive being resolves in a fascinating way. Fargo ends up siding with the underdogs when fighting breaks out again, leading to a pitched battle in the streets of Lincoln. Soon after, Fargo is locked in a deadly knife fight with a the leader of the opposition.

As is typical of the Fargo novels, this one is fast-paced, well-written and filled with exciting action set pieces.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did Billy the Kid really get shot by his friend Par Garrett? Was he a brutal killer and outlaw or maligned hero? Phantom Gunman tries to answer these questions and honestly comes across a bit hero worshipping of what was not a very nice guy in real life. Believe it or not, the Young Guns movies did a pretty good historical job with the details, and showed Billy in his real character.

But for a fun fantasy, this works pretty well. As a Fargo book goes, this one starts a bit slow, like Benteen wasn't exactly sure where to go at first, but it picks up about half way through and gets a lot more interesting.

And this book sets up a very interesting conflict in Fargo, the only time so far that he's had any kind of uncertainty or dislike for his work to this degree. And he gets hurt very badly, which is unusual for the series.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are all great, Fargo is a gun for hire but only for jobs he wants to do. He is not an assassin, but Selman has offered big money to kill a legend and that intrigues him. Seems Garrett didn't kill Billy the Kid 30 years before, the Kid is still alive and since there was still paper on him, killing him wouldn't put him at odds with the law. However when he heads to Lincoln County he finds he is on the wrong side of a new war and ends up working with Billy the Kid instead of against him and that's bad news to the other side.

Highly recommend all of these but this one is especially fun for fans of old west history with the alternative story for the Kid and the Lincoln Co. war.

[Michael D. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kid

Fargo is again involved at a long time assumption in history of William Bonney brought back to life by another adventure. Fargo meets the ghost that history had pronounced buried, giving himself and history that could or would have been true! Again proving that Fargo overcomes and wins again, delving into impossible odds and overcoming history! Succeeding in toughness and bravery, boldness, beyond what all could imagine! Guns blazing, ghost rising, another adventure as always succeeds in the end! Bentsen is amazing and very, very, prolific!

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly impressed with Haas AKA Benteen's ability to fulfill genre expectations with every entry yet produce a fresh plot almost every time. While not all equally strong, these have yet to get formulaic. This entry's romantic conquest storyline is less despicable than most.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fargo meets Billy The Kid, still alive thirty years later. Interesting, but not as much as I thought.