A Tale Of Two Gunmen

Guest post by Matthew Ilseman

Two men meet in a Mexican prison. One is Ross Starkey a gunslinger who had been working for a revolutionary. The other is The Tascosa Kid an outlaw. Together they escape the prison, flee the Mexican cavalry and Apache Indians, and survive the desert to reach America. There they find a range war brewing.

Now He is Legend is a paperback Western by Gordon D. Shirreffs. I first heard of Shirreffs on this site and picked up a few of his books at used bookstores. The first I read was Hell’s Forty Acres which while entertaining and readable was not spectacular. Now He is Legend is better stuff.

It is not on the same level as Lonesome Dove or Blood Meridian but it a solid story. I have found the Western genre to be perhaps one of the most consistent in terms of basic storytelling values. Akira Kurosawa, the director of samurai films heavily influenced by John Ford’s Westerns, spoke of a “grammar” having been developed in them. That might explain it. That or I just have soft spot for the genre.

The beginning and the end are particularly well written. The escape from Mexico is thrilling. The sequence leading up the range war is competently done. It sets up the characters and their motivations.

The range war that is the basis for the majority of the plot is more than a little based on the Lincoln County War with the Tascosa Kid playing the part of Billy the Kid. Tascosa wants to help ranch owner Fitzgerald who has helped him in the past. Starkey, for his part, is tired of violence and wants to settle down. These three characters are the best depicted in the book. The Kid has strong but warped loyalty to Fitzgerald. Starkey has an understandable desire to settle down. Fitzgerald, a true gentleman from Ireland, earns the respect of both.

There is also Maureen, Fitzgerald’s sister, who is Starkey’s love interest. She is not as well drawn unfortunately nor is their relationship convincing. It is a plot point, not a romance for the ages.

The major relationship of the book is between Starkey and the Kid. From the time they escape Mexico they develop a grudging friendship of sorts, but they also butt heads. It evolves over time as the Kid becomes more and more unbalanced until the end of the story.

The Kid is a folk hero. As the range war escalates, he becomes something of living legend. However, from Starkey’s (and the reader’s) viewpoint he becomes less and less human. By the end of the novel, he becomes an antagonist that Starkey must confront.

The climax of the novel is particularly well done as Starkey and the Kid hunt each other in an abandoned village in the New Mexico mountains.

The thing about the novel is it is good but I could not help but think it could have been better. The plot is strong and you are entertained particularly at the end, but there is a lack of flair in the prose. There’s a certain level of tragedy to the ending but it comes of as muted.

If my opinion seems ambivalent, it’s not. It is a good book and worthwhile read. Weirdly, the plot might have worked better as a movie if you had strong actors for Starkey and the Tascosa Kid. The climax would make a great set piece. As it is, I do not regret reading it but part of me wanted something more. Still, I’d recommend the book.