Review: VAN HOLT IS A FINE STORY TELLER!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
Van Holt is no stranger to gun-slinging, action-packed and excitement-filled western fiction. In a career that has seen just three to four full circles of years he has authored over thirty-five hardcore westerns, slugging his creative mind to imagine how life was lived in the real western world, and put them to paper the way they were meant to be written. The old west comes alive through his books, pumping a rush of excitement into the reader’s blood as the old west rides again.Frank Graben is a loner. He had no friends but enemies were crawling everywhere. His companions are the flat-crowned black hat he wore, a double -breasted black shirt, black trousers and his Smith & Wesson .44 Russian pistols in tied-down holsters. People kept their distance and those who venture closer were usually looking for trouble, and they usually found it. And a beardless boy still in his teens who was in the company of four others older friends paid the ultimate price when he ventured close enough. But the boy happened to be Tobe Unger’s kid brother.In this fast-paced action The Revenge of Tom Graben, Van Holt tells the story of two brother Frank  and Tom Graben as boys were growing up back in Missouri, but had gone their separate ways after their parents died and the farm was sold. They had not seen or heard from each other in years. But a quirk turn of events brought them together, as Frank lay dying. Yet the last face he saw was that of his brother Tom who was two years older. Tobe Unger’s men got to him before his brother could. Now it is up to Tom avenge Frank’s death.The characterization, plot twists and landscapes are really good. Van Holt has established himself as one of the most masterful contemporary writers of the western genre. The editing has considerably improved but it still lacks much finesse. I feel that the author can do with the help of some good editor which will distinctly shape up the book. Despite its flaws, The Revenge of Tom Graben was a fun read.