Book Review: Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson

I admit that I love westerns. I know that western books and movie aren't exactly in these days (though I do know there are several new western flicks either out or on the way that might juice up the genre) but, then again, I'm rarely in. To be completely honest, I claim to be a big fan but I haven't extensively explored the genre. I've seen several Eastwood spaghetti westerns and I've read a handful of books but those barely scratch the surface of the Western. I'm working on changing that. I recently watched The Magnificent Seven for the first time (excellent, by the way) and I'm reading a huge 500+ page collection of Jonah Hex comics.

Anyway, I did recently read Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson. I enjoyed it, of course (if I don't enjoy something, I have no qualms about putting it down). I had previously read some of Matheson's western work and this book definitely felt similar to The Gunfight. In fact, some of it was very similar but it didn't feel repetitive. I haven't bothered to look to see which book came first but that really doesn't matter.

Journal of the Gun Years follows the life of a young man as he finds himself growing into a gunfighter both feared and famous. It's interesting to see his rise to fame, his astonishment at his own fame, and how it all changes him. Yes, there's plenty of action but it's never really the focal point. It's almost a coming-of-age kind of story. It just happens that the coming-of-age involves a lot of gun play, some feudin', and a lot of fussin'. Good stuff.

Go for the head,
RB