Bullets in the Sun

Amid much of the dross of the western pulps of the 1920s and '30s, some clever books appeared, like this re-issue by Horton (1889%E2%80%931943), a reformed sports writer who made a name for himself with westerns built on suspense and smart plots. This complex hayburner is set in the Wyoming territory and loaded with gamblers, gunmen, saloons, booze, and bad behavior. In the town of Sunrise, a hotbed of lawlessness, Big Tom Lester owns the blood-soaked Red Arrow Saloon. Handsome gambler Dan Farlin is deadly with cards and a pistol, but deep in debt and ready to retire. Outlaw Ed Lawson is planning a bank robbery, and needs Farlin to pull it off. Sheriff Mills's announcement that a notorious gunfighter named Bovert is coming to town, and he's to be left alone, puzzles the criminals and sidelines their plans. A young cowboy named Jim Bond arrives, and everyone assumes he's Bovert; Bond's words and actions don't help, nor does his romance with Farlin's teenage daughter, Gladys. False identities, attempted murder, betrayal, fancy gunplay, and corny pulp romance ("I need a friend... a man friend... on my side") add to the fun. There are so many double-crosses that bullets will fly in everyone's direction in this showdown. (Sept.)