Wandering Star

Apparently hoping to latch on to McMurtry's Lonesome Dove readership, Yount's first novel captures the flavor of the West but fails to reach beyond the superficial. Set in the mythic town of High Plains, Texas, in 1910, the story revolves around the simultaneous arrival of idealistic newspaper editor Sam Adams and Brother Nicholas, a Prohibitionist preacher hell-bent on expanding his congregation before the arrival of Halley's Comet--and, along with it, the apocalypse he predicts will destroy the world. Local 12-year-old Tom Greer narrates, with Yount wringing some fine moments from the boy's torn loyalties--to Adams, who offers him an apprenticeship, and to his prudish, widowed mother, who falls under the spell of Brother Nicholas. Although Adams's idealism is a bit overblown, Yount effectively sketches a man juggling a failing marriage, a heated battle with a corrupt rival newspaper and the growing influence of the teetotalers. The author's background as an archivist for the University of Texas informs his colorful, authentic style, but he wastes numerous opportunities to get beneath the skin of his characters, and the climax, a feverish revival meeting on the eve of what Brother Nicholas calls ``The End,'' only compounds the problem with its happily-ever-after resolution. Style over substance isn't necessarily a bad thing in historical fiction, but Yount's tale could use some literary depth as well. (May)