RIDERS OF THE RANGE

In 1949 the BBC made a serious attempt to bring a British western series to radio. This was the brainchild of Charles Chilton was would be instumental in creating 90 episodes spread over six series that ran from 1949 to 1953.
Using actual documents and diaries of the time Charles Chilton created a real world for Jeff Arnold (Paul Carpenter), the old timer Luke (Charles Irwin) and the daughter of the owner of the 6T6 Ranch, Mary,(Corrine Carr)and the dog 'Rustler' to inhabit.
The series covered the opening of the Chisholm Trail and the building of the Atcheson,Topeka and Santa Fe and the Union Pacific Railroads. Real characters turned up like Billy The Kid and Jesse James.
As a jazz musician himself, Charles Chilton knew the value of music and the series contained musical interludes.
In 1950 the Eagle comic approached the BBC for permission to create a comic strip version of 'Riders Of The Range'. Charles Chilton became involved with the stories for the strips and remained with there until the early sixties.
During the years of involvement with this series Charles Chilton became something of an authority on the history of the west. In 1961 he published a book called 'The Book Of The West' that won him the 1963 Western Heritage Award For Juvenile Books.
Unfortunately, none of the radio episodes exist today but I heard most of them when I was a child.
When the radio series of 'Riders Of The Range' ended in September 1953 Charles Chilton already had something new to take its place. He would take us forward to November, 1965 with a new hero, Jet Morgan, who would take us on a 'Journey Into Space'.

BUZZARD POINT by Caleb Rand

After shooting his best friend Jesse Tripp is forced to go on the run.
Two years later Jesse escapes from an irate husband and climbs aboard a cattle truck. Events that set him on a reluctant return to his home in Wickett, Texas.
Here he learns that his father is dead and that he has a son by one of the servants. His brother has taken over the ranch which has grown in size and married Jesse's girlfriend Holly.
Jesse has to weigh up whether to find out what lay behind his father's death or just move on. However the law, in the shape of a devious sheriff Turgoose, makes his mind up for him.
Through all the twists and turns of this story where not all is as it seems Jesse Tripp comes close to death before unravelling family secrets.

Caleb Rand has written yet another good page turner full of characters and a plot that keeps the reader hooked.
Buzzard Point is published by Robert Hale's Black Horse Western brand and is due for publication on 30th June.

WESTERN NEWS

DEATH OF JAMES ARNESS

For many years James Arness thrilled western fans as Marshal Matt Dillon in the series 'Gunsmoke'. Sadly, on the 3rd June at the age of 88.
He will never be forgotten.


PHIL COLLINS AT THE ALAMO

Yes, the Genesis singer/drummer is rumoured to be writing about the Battle Of The Alamo. He says that he has a connection to this part of Texas as he has been told that in a former life he was a Texan courier who survived the massacre.
Well, I don't know if that last bit is true but I seem to recall that in the movie the Texan courier was played by a singer - Frankie Avalon.

GLOBAL E-BOOK AWARDS

'Tis the season for Award ceremonies and the latest appears to be the Global e-Book Awards sponsored by Dan Poynter.
Though there seems to be a problem - there is no category for westerns.
Charles Whipple (aka Western writer Chuck Tyrrell) approached one of the men in charge, Joseph Dowdy, who said that no one had thought of a category but that he would go and talk to Dan about it. And, of course, there would have to be a panel of judges.
As long as there are companies committed to bringing the western out in e-book form like George G. Gilman's 'Edge:The Loner' and Chuck Tyrell's 'The Snake Den'; and Robert Hale who have re-published four Black Horse Western titles in e-book form - then there should be support for this category.
So check out http://awardsforebooks.com and help make a case for the western.

L.A.NOIRE

If ever there was an arguement for getting a games console then this is a good one.
L.A.Noire is set in Los Angeles in 1947 - and a lot of work has been done to re-create the downtown area of the Los Angeles of the period.

The creators are Rockstar, the company behind Grand Theft Auto series and Red Dead Redemption. This time it is the Australian branch, Team Bondi, behind this game that has a true sense of period.
There are excerpts from radio programmes of the day that include Jack Benny at his best. A soundtrack that boasts Lionel Hampton, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington and a 'Pistol Packin' Mama' from Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters - there has to be a sountrack album.
This is the noir of Bogart, Cagney and Robinson with a dash of Greenstreet and Lorre neatly packaged for a modern audience in the same way that they did with 'Red Dead Redemption'.
Storyline is simple - through a graphic back story you get the feeling that Patrolman Cole Phelps has issues resulting from his actions in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War and lies behind his reasons for joining the L.A.P.D.
Starting as a patrolman the idea is that Phelps climbs the ladder until he becomes a fully fledged detective. This is done via police chases and shootouts that are not as groanworthy as you would think. There is, also, the investigative procedure. This is puzzle solving at its best for crimes have to be solved to make progress.

This is by far the longest game that I have encountered - three discs compared to the usually one - such is the complex nature of both the storylines and the side quests.
This is not a game for kids - not those looking to shoot everything in sight or demolish vehicles and pedestrians in their path. This is very much the game for grown ups or for those who can take the time to think things through.
I would like to see this as another success for Rockstar but I do have reservations based more on the modern trend towards violent online gaming.

THE WIDOW MAKER by Lance Howard

Published 1997 - Black Horse Western.

This was the second Black Horse Western that I read.
The Widow Maker is Brace Carrigan, a one eyed outlaw who leads a gang of women. The toothless Shale, the big Bertha, Mexican triplets April, May and June with the bookish Calamity Annie with her mousy look and wire framed glasses make up the gang and they all lack a love of men.
And that is what the gang leaves behind - widows. But all this dates back to Carrigan's childhood and a bullying father who killed Brace's mother. Even when his life is threatened by a woman he cannot bring himself to kill her.
And that threat is real.
For, after being wounded in a gold robbery, he kills the doctor who tends to his wound. This leaves his Chinese 'partner', Sarah, alone with her grief.
The gang has become the target of bounty hunter Steve Matthews. This is his last hunt as he intends to find himself some land and marry a girl called Elena.
On the trail he becomes aware of a crow and the half breed hunter wonders if he has a spirit guide. This as he is attacked and wounded by a bunch of renegade Indians.
With approaching delerium and following the spirit guide he reaches Sarah's home. As she tends Steve's wounds he drifts into a spirit world where nothing seems to make sense.
It is only when he recovers that he and Sarah join together to bring an end to the Widow Gang.

Like all good books it is not just figuring that you know the ending but the journey to get there. Lance Howard brings his characters to life. Although there can be some empathy with Brace Carrigan's childhood there is no sympathy for the man he has become.
And Steve coming to terms with strange dreams and their meaning rings true. Though I could not help but think that, maybe, there was a tip of the hat to the comic book hero 'The Crow'.
Even so 'The Widow Maker' is a very good read both for those who want to read their first western and for those looking for a starter by this author.

Lance Howard has written 30 westerns and in the last four months has had another four novels accepted for publication.

OPEN RANGE - The Return

The OPEN RANGE blog is back in business. It has kicked off with Matthew Reilly's 'Scarecrow' and Robin Douglas-Home's 'Hot For Certainties'.

Open Range is where forgotten as well as new books can be found along with music and films.

Broken Trails will remain western rooted

THE SHIP INN, LEVINGTON, SUFFOLK

Now I'm not putting myself up as a food critic but I have to admit that The Ship Inn provided my wife and I with a smashing meal at lunchtime today.
We had pan fried rainbow trout with creamy, buttery mashed potato and spinach.
Evidently, the menu changes from time to time but on the evidence anyone who stops off here are in for a treat.
The thatched roofed inn dates back to the 13th Century and has a wonderful warm atmosphere.
The Ship Inn is just outside of Ipswich and off the A1156.