tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024708439940556234.post7909547394628027290..comments2024-03-15T02:42:58.854-04:00Comments on The Hat Rack: Larry D. Sweazy - The Rattlesnake SeasonNathaniel Katzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852939663324751332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024708439940556234.post-69584573207249222872012-06-25T17:25:26.524-04:002012-06-25T17:25:26.524-04:00Two dimensional absolutism was indeed a huge part ...Two dimensional absolutism was indeed a huge part of my problem with The Rattlesnake Season. I've been meaning to read something by Leonard for a while but somehow never noticed he did Westerns. I'll pick up one of those Roundups of his, or something by one of the authors you mentioned, at some point. And thanks for commenting!Nathaniel Katzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12852939663324751332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024708439940556234.post-44819779606881627552012-06-24T19:38:13.267-04:002012-06-24T19:38:13.267-04:00Hey Nathaniel, I love westerns, so I'm hesitan...Hey Nathaniel, I love westerns, so I'm hesitant to say this, but I wouldn't use any western published in the last seven years that wasn't written by McMurtry to introduce anybody to the genre. <br /><br />There's a big tendency towards two dimensional absolutism (heroes and stories in the black hat/white hat mold) in modern day western writers, at least the ones I've tried to read (and if anybody can point me in the direction of somebody who isn't, I'd appreciate it). Many writers try to relive the golden era of western television. I'm a fan of The Lone Ranger and Paladin and all that, but when I pick up a book I like a little more ambiguity, a little more meat on the bones. <br /><br />That said, may I humbly suggest that it sounds like you'd do better to read something by Elmore Leonard? There are a couple paperback collections of his western work that are worth a read - I think they're called Western Roundups. They collect his best endeavors, like Hombre and Valdez Is Coming, but some lesser known gems like Forty Lashes Less One as well. <br /><br />Richard Matheson's Journal Of The Gun Years or The Secret Memoire of Wild Bill Hickock are first class, though if you read one, don't bother with the other as they're essentially the same (I read Hickock first). His collection By The Gun is very good.<br /><br />A couple really great one off's I'd recommend are The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark and The Shootist by Glen Swarthout. True Grit by Charles Portis is amazing. I'm also fond of Forrest Carter's two Josey Wales novels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com