Appreciation of 'Western' novels

[hitmouse]

I'm surprised that Cormac McCarthy hasn't been mentioned yet. I've only read The Road, which isn't really a western but gets close. I really dislike his prose style, which strikes me as pretentious, but he's certainly popular. His early books, especially Blood Meridian, get a lot of praise. And perhaps it's just the setting and the big issues, but I think there's a bit of Western in some of Steinbeck's books.

Blood Meridien is very good. All the Pretty Horses was the first McCarthy I read. Absolutely stunning as a Western novel and as literature in general.

 

[BAYLOR]

The OxBow Incident By Walter Van Tilburg Clark . a superb book . It made into a classic film staring Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan.

 

[David Brookes]

I suspect some of the distaste for 'western' literature comes from the fact that it has a reputation for pulpiness that even exceeds that in SFF. It may be that a lack of knowledge of fine western literature* affects the genres appreciation. Or it may be that folk simply don't like it, I'm not sure. I'm starting a thread on the Literary Fiction subforum for 'Literary Westerns', to discuss specific novels by Guthrie, McMurtry and others, so if you like particular literary westerns please come and comment there. If you don't, or if want to discuss the question of appreciating the genre or not, let me know what you think here.

I love Westerns, and I'd like to see more Western themes used in science fiction. I don't know if you've seen the amazing Firefly TV series, but it's the best literal space western I've seen for a long time, possibly ever.

If you're interested in Westerns I have just released "The Gun of Our Maker" on Amazon and Smashwords. If you have a second and want to check it out, searching the title will bring it up as the first match.

THE GUN OF OUR MAKER by DAVID BROOKES:

Minnesota, 1859: a man is executed for skimming from a silver mine to provide for his family.

Arizona, 1877: the sins of the father catch up with the son

Six weeks later: a man on horseback scales the forests of the Mogollon Rim. He is searching for Bill Hawken, a renowned gunsmith.

Vivian Culhane is far from a typical hero. Crippled by a childhood illness, he is weak, blind – yet unstoppable.

Together they will build an instrument of vengeance that will be known across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas – a revolver that produces red smoke, with a limited supply bullets and a thirst for justice.