Call it Western redemption. With my critically acclaimed novel, The Wanderer and the New West, I wanted to modernize a classic genre that’s high on action and adventure, but which has largely been stuck in the Old West.
It occurred to me that the Wild West is all about lawlessness and the absence of government — the very opposite of the kind of dystopian fiction I’d written before about totalitarian governments. And yet, couldn’t that be a kind of dystopia, too? With American gun violence increasing and continued calls for reduced government, this seemed like a startlingly current subject.
But while my novel aims to reinvent the Western, it owes a lot to the classics. If you’re interested in exploring the genre, here are a few books that influenced mine.
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
A short but very sweet tale of an expert gunslinger who learns he has cancer and decides he wants to end things on his own terms. The vultures fly in to take advantage of him, but J.B. Books stays strong.
Gripping from start to finish — I read it in about a week! Great characterizations and exciting action. Look out for the rather surgical descriptions of what a bullet can do to the body!
This book really gave me confidence that the Western genre can be much more than Cowboys vs. Indians.
Valdez is Coming by Elmore Leonard
A gang of bandits beats up Roberto Valdez and leaves the constable for dead. But Valdez survives…and seeks bloody revenge!
I loved how compact and straightforward this Western was. It’s got everything you want from the genre — a character seeking justice, a power-mad cowboy, gun fights and chases through the desert.
My only complaint is that the love story is a bit thin and not so compelling. Overall, this is a blast and a good choice if you’re just getting into the genre.
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
Riders, rustlers, gun fights and runaway cattle — it’s all here. A legendary gunslinger must save a fetching rancher from having to marry a Mormon elder against her will.
The duels are riveting and I love the awe with which characters revere the dangerous gunslinger, Lassiter (who happens to be the inspiration for the name of the gun that the Wanderer carries in my novel).
The book does drag a bit in the middle, but there’s no denying its status as a classic.
And now, a Dystopian Western!
The Wanderer and the New West reinvents the Western novel with a dystopian outlook on a possible America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their ground. Click the cover below to read a free sample!
In the near future, the government leaves it to the American people to protect their own communities from the threat of mass shooters and motorcycle gangs. When a marksman known as the Wanderer opens war against injustice in the state of Arizona, his violent actions attract the attention of journalist Rosa Veras, writer of a subversive blog about America’s return to the Wild West.
As Rosa tracks the movements of the Wanderer, she exposes the new American folk hero’s past sins and quest for redemption. But after making waves with a blog post connecting the nation’s top gun manufacturer with its most violent gang, the reporter finds her life in danger and the Wanderer at her door. Rosa realizes she must join forces with the vigilante gunman if she is to live long enough to tell his story.
Available now in paperback and eBook!
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[…] If you like this, make sure you check out Swarthout’s The Shootist and other westerns on my list of favorites that inspired my novel, The Wanderer and the New […]