Wanted: A Western Story Collection (The Western Writers Group)

Wanted: A Western Story Collection
The Western Writers Group
Solstice Publishing
Fiction, Anthology/Western
*** (Okay)

DESCRIPTION: A boy is trapped after encountering an enraged grizzly... a bounty hunter intervenes when a crooked cattleman bullies a family of sheepherders... a retired Pinkerton agent and his daughter run into trouble while buying horses... a pair of ex-outlaws find trouble on the trail while trying to go straight... These and other stories of the Wild West are compiled in this anthology.

REVIEW: It was cheap, and I need to explore outside my usual reading comfort zones/genres every so often, so I gave it a try. Like most anthologies in my experience, the results are mixed. Most of the tales here are part of larger series; the degree to which these adventures stand alone varies greatly by author. Likewise, my reaction - from interested page-turning to eye-rolls and barely-suppressed groans at hackneyed stereotypes - varied greatly by author. Though these are written by modern Western writers, a few felt so stale I'd have pegged them as relics from half a century ago. (I suppose this may be one of the attractions of the genre, but not for me.) I enjoyed two or three of these, actively disliked a couple, and the rest fell into a bland middle that already fades in my memory. It makes a decent sampler if one is looking for a new Western author to follow, though.

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