Radiant Apples
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Nat Love has had enough adventures for ten men. From son of a former slave, to buffalo soldier, to gun hand, to Marshal for Hanging Judge Parker.
Now, entering old age, he’s a train porter. A job he’s happy to have, but not exactly the cream of his life. And then an unlikely train robbery and a moment of bravery gives him an opportunity to relive his past and perhaps redeem his wayward son. He’s still got the skills, but he’s also older and stiffer, and a little less certain.
He’ll need his old pal, Choctaw, to help him track down the murderous Radiant Apple Gang, so named for the odd, glowing cheeks of the two brothers who lead it. They’re not exactly the James Gang, but then again, Nat and Choctaw aren’t exactly in their prime, even if they do have an automobile and an expense account.
From the train tracks and cotton fields of East Texas, to the Oklahoma hills and a corrupt town, they’ll end up in a desperate struggle for survival that includes gun play, an outlaw, who though dreadfully wounded, doesn’t seem capable of dying, to a man gagging on dirty underpants. They’ll need the right hat, the right guns, and plenty of rest. The biggest question is can Nat and his companion, Chocktaw, survive bullets and lumbago, and come out on top.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This highly entertaining quickie is less outrageous than usual for Lansdale (Hot in December); set in the early 1900s, it's a straightforward narrative centered on Nat Love, an important figure in African American history who was a Buffalo Soldier, a U.S. Marshal, a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show—and, as this tale begins, a Pullman car porter on the Cotton Belt Line. His sedate routine is broken when the Radiant Apple Gang attempts a train robbery—and Nat recognizes one of their number as his prodigal son, Rufus. Hired by the railroad to look into the crime, Nat enlists his tracker friend Choctaw and sets off after the outlaws for the sake of justice, money, a chance to reconnect with his son, and the pleasure of being away from civilization and the constant climate of racial prejudice. Nat enjoys the chase but realizes his "time as a manhunter was coming to an end" as "criminals had all turned to banking, politics and preaching." Indeed, the Radiant Apple gang are a scruffy bunch, dangerous only for their brutality and possession of automatic weapons—which make the final showdown in Hootie Hoot, Okla., breathtakingly gory. This characteristically droll, tough-minded yarn is sure to please Lansdale's fans.
