Night Hawk: A Western Story

by Stephen Overholser

Hiring on a kid known only as Night Hawk to tackle the chores no one else wants to do on the Circle L Ranch, the ranch boss senses something special in the kid in spite of his ornery nature.

Genres: Westerns

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kathy KS]

Not quite a traditional western, but close enough for fans of the genre. Fans of mysteries might also find this one of interest, since readers can try to work out who actually murdered another character. And historical fiction fans might like it's take on ranch life in northern Colorado, without all the turf wars and gunfights. Yes, there are some fights, both verbal and physical, as well as a murder, but not much in the way of gruesome details.

So, I liked much of the above plot lines. My main negative is that this is one of the few books I've read in a long time where I just never could warm up to the title character. He's just plain irritating for most of the time; it's possible that makes the book more realistic in some ways, since he's a teenage homeless orphan (?) with no manners, no filter, and seems to have a continual chip on his shoulder.

[Dana Elder]

In the best western tradition

Except for the occasional ink smear, this tale was very good. The plot was credible and the characters well developed.

[Brittany]

I've never read a western before, but I decided to give Night Hawk a try after our Reader's Advisory textbook described it as a character-driven Western. I generally enjoy most character-driven novels, so I picked this one up.

Night Hawk is a coming-of-age story set on a nineteenth-century Colorado ranch called Circle L. It tells the story of a scrawny kid who was booted off the train in Coalton, Colorado. Everyone thinks the kid is trouble. But Ty, the ramrod of the Circle L ranch, decides to hire the kid and take him under his wing. The kid refused to provide his real name, so he comes to be known as "Night Hawk."

The kid is aggressive and argumentative, and he has a foul mouth.Ty doesn't give up on him, though - he keeps giving him chance after chance. When the sheriff receives notice that a young man is wanted for murder, everyone immediately suspects the kid.

While Westerns are not my favorite genre, I do think Western readers will enjoy this well-written novel. It has a lot of characteristics fans of the genre look for - descriptions of the land and terrain and the difficulties of the harsh landscape, a strong sense of time and place, and spare dialogue rich in jargon. Even those who typically don't like Westerns may enjoy this character-centered coming-of-age tale.

[Jessica]

I was in the mood for something not too serious, which means I turn to a western. This book is enjoyable enough and I find the writing style suitable for the genre of book. Like many westerns, the characters are not deep and the beauty of the story comes from the excitement on the range and the spirit of freedom found in the west. Not fantastic, not bad either. I gave it three, but it may be more of a two and a half star book; but I am also a bit of a literature snob.