The Gun Man Jackson Swagger
A Western
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Hunter, “a true master at the pinnacle of his craft” (Jack Carr), returns with a classic Western—gunfights, horses, saloons, and looming above, the ominous presence of the railroad—about a Civil War veteran investigating the dark reality of a prosperous ranch.
In the frying pan of a drought-scorched 1890s Southwest, an old man shows up at the region’s only prosperous spread, the Callahan ranch, seeking work. Jack is flinty, shrewd, tough, and a natural with a gun. As an incentive to be taken on at his age, he shows the foreman an uncanny skill with one of Mr. Winchester’s latest models. He knows a sharpshooter would be valuable to Colonel Callahan and head gun man Tom Voth.
But he has his own mission. Aware that a young cowboy on the ranch has died mysteriously, Jack begins to investigate. He soon realizes that the death and the source of the Callahan wealth are dangerously entwined and that many of the dark forces of the American West are at play on the ranch. Soon enough, it’s the season of the six-gun and its fastest shootist.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his energetic latest Swagger family novel (after Targeted), Pulitzer winner Hunter traces the sharpshooting dynasty back to 1897. Elderly Jack Swagger, his face "a net of fissures and gullies," arrives at Callahan Ranch in Arizona territory looking for work as a hired gun. He puts on an impressive enough display that Colonel Callahan offers him a job protecting grain and flour deliveries to a corrupt official in Mexico. First, though, the colonel relays a cautionary tale about a previous employee known as Teacher, whose noble refusal to let horses suffer during a shoot-out led to his death. From the outset, Hunter makes it clear that Jack's job search belies his ulterior motives, but author and character both keep their cards close to the vest. Meanwhile, Jack displays superb marksmanship while facing down foes including smuggler Joe Pye, Mexican army major Arau, and violent Frenchman Etienne d'Auclair. Hunter tends to favor ornate dialogue ("The ranch is America," the colonel says at one point. "It is large, splendid, and provides for the many. Indeed, some sins have been committed to keep it on keel. That is always so of large entities"), but he keeps tension high throughout, and readers with a thirst for bullets will be satiated. This is a solid yarn.
