WESTERN NOVELS—FARGO: HELL ON WHEELS

WESTERN NOVELS

FARGO: HELL ON WHEELS

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY TIM DEFOREST 

This tale has the lowest body count of any Fargo novel I've read so far. Gee-whiz, Neal Fargo only kills three people before the end! Though, to be fair, he does cripple or severely beat up several others.

Despite having less overt violence than most Fargo novels, it's another strong story. Fargo is hired to help a small railroad that is being sabotaged by a larger competitor. He realizes he can't single-handedly guard miles of track, so he instead decides to take the battle to the bad guys, beginning a sabotage campaign against the big company. He takes care to make sure no one innocent is hurt while blowing up water towers, bridges and spurs.

Along the way, he survives a couple of attempts to kill him and eventually faces off against a fast-draw artist who heads up security for the bad guys. The novel concludes with a desperate hand-to-hand fight against the main bad guy while aboard a train that's racing towards a head-on collision with another train. Though the overall body count is unusually low for a Fargo novel, good storytelling and the intensity of that final fight on the train still make this one another winner in the series...

WESTERN NOVELS—BANDOLERO

WESTERN NOVELS

BANDOLERO

JOHN BENTEEN 

REVIEWED BY TIM DEFOREST 

This one starts with even more of a bang than most of the action-packed Fargo novels usually do. We find Neil Fargo fighting for Pancho Villa, manning a Lewis machine gun as he fights a one-man rear guard action against the Federales. 

Once the Lewis runs out of ammo, the ensuing running fight is used to remind us of each of Fargo's usual personal weapons. It's a fun twist on the usual formula, in which Fargo's personal weapons are inventoried for us while he inspects them before heading out on a job. That opening fight leads into a succession of unusual situations. 

Fargo is accused of treachery and sentenced by Villa to die by firing squad. After this situation is resolved in a bizarre but satisfying manner, Fargo finds himself on a secret mission. 

The Great War is raging in Europe. To prevent the United States from joining in, the Germans are manipulating a faction of the Mexican army to start a war with the U.S.  To stop this, Fargo has to make a dangerous journey back across northern Mexico, with an uncooperative and possibly treacherous woman for company. 

Violence, captures, and escapes follow. In one intense chapter, Fargo finds himself buried in the ground in an upright position, with only his head exposed inside a corral. A very ill-tempered stallion also occupies that corral. It's all great stuff. 

I think the character twists involving the woman are predictable, but the fast-paced action never lets up. This is yet another winner in the Fargo series.

WESTERN NOVELS—FARGO: SHOTGUN MAN

WESTERN NOVELS

FARGO: SHOTGUN MAN

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY TIM DEFOREST 

Fargo is hired by Teddy Roosevelt to lead a scientific expedition down the largely unexplored Colorado River. 

Why hire Fargo for such a job? He's a mercenary, not a scientist. He's needed because the land around the Colorado is owlhoot territory—the last refuge for gunmen and outlaws who are running from the ever-encroaching civilization.  In fact, one expedition has already vanished. A warrior like Fargo is needed to get this latest one through. Benteen builds a superb story off this premise. 

The book is full of great characters (both good guys and bad guys), fast-paced action and a few sharp plot twists. And Benteen's descriptions of the expedition boats running the rapids of the river are breathtaking. He succeeds in making the river itself a character in the story. The way the climax plays out is unexpected and powerful. 

This is a top-notch Fargo book from start to finish.

WESTERN NOVELS—KILLING SPREE

WESTERN NOVELS

KILLING SPREE

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY 

TIM DEFOREST 

Killing Spree is arguably one of the most intense novels in the series, filled with brutal non-stop action from start to finish. 

Fargo has invested money in a gold mine and that investment is paying off--until four sadistic outlaws/brothers kill the prospector, kidnap his daughter and leave Fargo for dead. 

However, Fargo isn't quite dead, but he is alone in a ghost town, with his weapons and his boots taken. He's tightly tied up with rawhide and beaten badly enough to leave him with broken ribs and nearly no strength. 

But, then again...well, this is Fargo. Giving up isn't an option.  Driven perhaps more by pure hatred than by a desire to rescue the girl, he figures out a way to get free from the rawhide. 

Then, armed only with a lance made from a broomstick and a nail, carrying a few old whiskey bottles filled with water and meat taken from a coyote he beat to death with a piece of wood, Fargo sets out to kill the four brothers.

 

The brothers have separated, so Fargo eventually encounters each of them separately. Between these encounters, Fargo endures desert heat, pain from his injuries and--at one point--a sandstorm. 

Benteen adds ambiance to the book by spending just a page or two to give the brothers enough of a history (each fathered by a different wife of an apostate Mormon) to give them some uniqueness. 

He also gives each of Fargo's encounters with one of the brothers its own uniqueness, both in setting (a desert camp--a saloon--a ranchhouse--and a camp of Mexican revolutionaries) and in the weapons used. 

These include that broomstick/lance Fargo initially carries, then having him move up to pistols, dynamite, and finally a machine gun and a half-dozen hand grenades. 

Essentially, Fargo has access to more advanced weapons with each encounter, as well as gradually re-acquiring his personal weapons from the bad guys. 

From the moment Fargo is left for dead to when he finally rescues the girl, the story never stops to breath and effortlessly carries us along with it. It may be my favorite of the series.

WESTERN NOVELS—FARGO: PHANTOM GUNMAN

WESTERN NOVELS

FARGO 

PHANTOM GUNMAN

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY

TIM DEFOREST

In this one, Fargo is hired to kill Billy the Kid. But the book is set in 1910, meaning Billy had supposedly been dead for nearly thirty years...A rich Texan with a grudge against Billy from decades ago has reason to believe the famous outlaw is still alive. Fargo travels to Lincoln County to find Billy and soon finds a tense situation. 

Memories of the Lincoln County War are still sharp among the residents there even after three decades and that war seems likely to begin again. If Fargo finds and kills Billy, that might be the spark that starts the bloodshed all over again. 

The novel is an interesting one, with the mystery of whether Billy is still alive being resolves in a fascinating way. Fargo ends up siding with the underdogs when fighting breaks out again, leading to a pitched battle in the streets of Lincoln. Soon after, Fargo is locked in a deadly knife fight with a the leader of the opposition. 

As is typical of the Fargo novels, this one is fast-paced, well-written and filled with exciting action set pieces.