Wild about the West

‘The Lone Ranger” returned to the silver screen this month in Hollywood's adaptation starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

Donald and Kiefer Sutherland are reportedly filming a Western about a father and son this summer.

These are just two examples of the most recent resurgence of interest in the genre. It's not just movies, either. Several new Western fictions are available at the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

Published for the first time in hardcover and unedited is Louis L'Amour's “Rider of Lost Creek.” West magazine originally debuted an edited form of this story in 1947 but now readers can revel in the full tale of “fastest gun in the West” Lance Kilkenny's involvement in an impending range war and serial bushwackings. As only the celebrated author can do, L'Amour builds an exciting plot, characters, romance, and works in a little mystery as well.

When the Amish meets the Wild West in “A Cowboy at Heart” it's as if the immovable encounters the irresistible. In 1886 Kansas, Jesse Montgomery is wounded in a range war and falls for Katie Miller, an Amish widow, as she nurses him back to health. Could the two possibly be more different? This is a soft, sweet Western; it would fit into a hybrid Western-romance genre.

On the opposite end of the genre is Ralph Cotton's “Lookout Hill.” Graphic violence abounds in this yarn of thievery, murder and mayhem. Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack tracks villains “Hot Aces” Siebert and Bobby Bellibar into Old Mexico where the trail grows even more dangerous when the outlaws turn on each other. Not recommended for the faint of heart or squeamish reader.

Spur Award-winning author Johnny Boggs offers “Summer of the Star” in a captivating format. Written in the guise of a memoir, his main character Carter MacRae recalls his life and love during the summer of 1873. Driving up the Chisholm Trail, crossing the Red River, and wooing his sweetheart Estrella (Star) O'Sullivan constitute much of his adventure that season. This western shines bright among new selections at Cedar Rapids Public Library.

Another excellent choice is “Rio Tinto” by Michael Zimmer. Former gunslinger Wil Chama has reformed and now works as a wagoner for Red Devil Salt Works. However, his boss tries to draw on his previous skills for an armed confrontation over access to salt deposits. Leaving is not an option, so what will he do? Zimmer frames his story within an interview for a Federal Writers Project, which lends an air of reality to the fiction.

Melia Tatman is a librarian at Cedar Rapids Public Library.