West Texas War -- Gary Lovisi

It's next to impossible to find a U.S. publisher doing hardback westerns these days, but over in England, Robert Hale, Ltd., is still publishing its Black Horse line. And that's where Gary Lovisi's West Texas War first appeared. Luckily for us, Ramble House has reprinted it here in the U.S.

I've known Gary Lovisi since he started publishing Paperback Parade, one of the premier zines for paperback collectors and certainly the longest-running. He also publishes Hardboiled, novels by luminaries like Richard A. Lupoff, and other things. And he writes. I first became acquainted with his crime fiction, but he's now doing western stories for a number of anthologies. Some of those stories are reprinted here as a bonus feature. So how can you go wrong?

You can't, really. West Texas War is a hard-charging, powder-burning western that will satisfy traditional western fans, but it has some great twists of its own. I won't reveal them, but let's just say that you have your warring ranchers, your Texas Rangers, and a love story to boot. Check it out, and when you do, don't pass up reading shorts like "Old Aunt Sin" and "After the Great War." And the others, too. Check 'em out.

And if you don't believe me, take a look at James Reasoner's blog. He's always ahead of me on this stuff.