Review Roundup: Them’s Fightin’ Words

Wolf Creek Book 4: The Taylor County War
By Ford Fargo
Western Fictioneers, April 2012
$8.99 paperback, ISBN 1484086872
$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00CC5NLZM
172 pages

Having barely recovered from attacks by outlaws, Indians, and the Old West’s version of hit men, Wolf Creek, Kansas, now faces a new threat. A megalomaniac is determined to own the entire county; possibly the state. Equipped with a fortune and a gaping hole where his conscience should be, he’ll let nothing stand in the way of his ambition, including dinosaur bones, cantankerous elderly ranchers, the local law…and schoolchildren.

Since this is Wolf Creek, there will be blood.

Range wars are a time-honored staple of western novels, but in true Wolf Creek fashion, the dust-up at the heart of Book 4: The Taylor County War is anything but clichéd. In fact, the war itself is no more than a plot device on which to hang a title. Far more important than the cattle rustling and cold-blooded murders that occur during the scuffle are the effects on the ensemble cast. Several primary players return in this volume: schoolteacher Marcus Sublette, Sheriff G.W. Satterlee, Marshal Sam Gardner, cowboy Billy Below, and town doc Logan Munro. Drifting gunslinger Wesley Quaid (written by Matthew Pizzolato) makes his debut appearance.

Frank Miller, a schoolboy on the cusp on manhood, escapes the carnage visited upon his fellow students, and one hopes to see more of him in future volumes. Miller plans to be a lawman, and he bears all the earmarks of a fascinating future Wolf Creek star.

Billy Below (written by Chuck Tyrell) is the standout character this time. A running gag about the unfortunately located bullet wound he receives during the range war’s opening salvo injects no little humor into a dire situation. As each point-of-view character gives his take on events and stakes, another layer of the Wolf Creek onion is peeled away. Sublette, armed with a Confederate sharpshooter’s Whitworth, is not the mild-mannered educator he at first seems. Satterlee and Gardner, two sides of the same coin, might be enemies under different circumstances, but in Wolf Creek they casually accept what each sees as shortcomings in the other. Munro’s analytical mind presents him as something of a western Sherlock Holmes, and Quaid’s edgy detachment adds an outsider’s perspective…with bite.

Altogether, Book 4: The Taylor County War continues the Wolf Creek tradition in fine fashion. Action, intrigue, humor, and an incompletely resolved threat will leave readers champing at the bit for the next volume.


Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and a novelist in training. She received a review copy of Wolf Creek Book 4: The Taylor County War from the publisher. Her opinions are her own and are neither endorsed nor necessarily supported by Western Fictioneers or individual members of the organization.

Six Sentence Saturday - TWO OF A KIND - Matthew Pizzolato

TWO OF A KIND is a collection of ten Western short stories featuring the outlaw Wesley Quaid, the
assassin Sabrina and Texas Ranger Jud Nelson.  It contains a variety of stories, including the very first Wesley Quaid story, "Pack of Wolves."  Most of the stories are new works and a couple were originally published in BEAT to a PULP and FIRES ON THE PLAINS e-zines. There are themes of bullying, racism and disability.

Part 1 of the collection contains some older stories and Part 2 advances the Wesley Quaid and Sabrina story line after the events in the novella, OUTLAW.

Ranger Jud Nelson appears in the stories, "Vengeance Trail", "Gone But Not Forgotten," and "One Riot, One Ranger." The mysterious assassin Sabrina reveals some of her background in "Kill the Envious Moon."  Of course, the outlaw Wesley Quaid has several adventures of his own.

Book Blurb:

Wesley Quaid returns to Texas with the assassin, Sabrina, riding at his side. Will the deadly pair embark on a new outlaw career of will Ranger Jud Nelson catch up with them?

Here is an excerpt from the Wesley Quaid story, "Six-guns and Pitchforks."

     A passel of kids scattered, several of them darting in front of my horse. The animal pranced, but I got him under control with a firm hand.
     The crack of a fist on flesh drew my attention to two struggling boys.
     A strapping big man wearing overalls offered encouragement from under the awning in front of the mercantile. “Good punch, son. Hit him in the stomach!”
     The victim of the fight appeared to be several years younger than the larger boy and was making no attempt to fight back... continue reading

TWO OF A KIND is available on Amazon for just $0.99.

Leave a comment along with your contact info to be entered into a drawing for a free copy of TWO OF A KIND for the Kindle.

Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He writes Western fiction featuring his antihero character, Wesley Quaid, that can be found in his story collection, The Wanted Man and the novella Outlaw. 

Matthew is the editor and webmaster of The Western Online, a magazine dedicated to everything Western and can be contacted via his personal website or on Twitter @mattpizzolato. 

Six Sentence Saturday - OUTLAW

By Matthew Pizzolato

Blurb: The outlaw Wesley Quaid wants to put the past behind him and start his life anew in another place where no one has ever heard of him. When a mysterious woman he once knew resurfaces, Wesley discovers that a man can't run from his past anymore than he can run from the kind of man he has become.

The Setup: The following scene occurs after Wesley backs down a reputation hunting kid without resorting to gun play that would blow his cover.

       The scent of lilac perfume assailed my nostrils as a body tucked in close to mine next to the bar.
       “Howdy, Sugah.” The voice oozed of Southern refinement.
       I glanced at her and stared for a moment at her cleavage. “Well, hello there.”
       “Buy a lady a drink?”
       Her low-cut dark green dress left little to the imagination, and the color enhanced the green of her eyes. Long golden hair hung to her waist.
       “I figure it’s you who should buy me one.”
       She raised an eyebrow. “Is that a fact?”
       “Yes ma’am.” I tossed back a drink and grinned at her. “I could have shot the place up a few minutes ago, gotten blood all over your floor, and made quite a mess.”
       Her eyes crinkled at the corners while she waved for the bartender. 

I think that was a few more than six sentences, but I never was much good at counting.  If you're interested in reading more, here is the entire first chapter of OUTLAW or it can be found on Amazon.



Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He writes Western fiction featuring his antihero character, Wesley Quaid, that can be found in his story collection, The Wanted Man and the novella Outlaw.  
Matthew is the editor and webmaster of The Western Online, a magazine dedicated to everything Western and can be contacted via his personal website: 
www.matthew-pizzolato.com or on Twitter @mattpizzolato. 



One lucky commenter will win a free Kindle copy of Outlaw. Be sure to include your email address with your comment.