cover image The Tacketts

The Tacketts

Lyn Nofziger. Jameson Books (IL), $10.95 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-915463-85-5

With a nod to Louis L'Amour, Nofziger serves up simple fun in his fifth spoof of the Old West (Tackett and the Indian, etc.) as a herd of B-movie characters shoot up the scenery and say ""dang"" too much. Former press secretary to Ronald Reagan during his California governorship, a former White House aide and newspaperman, Nofziger now spins western yarns where the bad guys really do wear black hats. This is a typical tale of the outnumbered heroes and heroines battling the evil-smelling and murderous band of owlhoots who try to take over a town by stealing everything in sight, including the land. Nofziger adds his own bit of irony and sarcasm, however, by slipping in a feminist theme, offering characters named Orey O'Cooksie, Chris Whitman and Hacken Sackett (both of New Jersey), and providing a hangout called the Gay Cowboy Saloon. Del Tackett and his Pa, Ben Bill Tackett, are a couple of fun-loving cowboys who can't say no when a friend, Annie Laurie, asks them for help in saving her saloon from an illegal takeover by Sam Websterby, the blowhard leader of the bad posse. Del and Annie Laurie are old friends, but Del's fianc e Esme is furious that he's putting off their wedding to help a damsel in distress. The town of Shalak Springs, N.M., is the battleground as Del and his Pa, aided by a couple of handy saddle pals, a wild female gunslinger and a passel of gun-toting hookers shoot it out with Websterby and his gunslicks. Fortunately, plenty of bushwhacking, head bashing and stabbing keep the action moving through dusty clouds of corny dialogue and silly humor--plus a clever whiff of political parody. (Jan.)