Review: A Rundown of The Gundowners
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 13, 2013
Jeff Mitton comes back from fighting in the Civil War to find that his sister, Lettie, is missing.  During his search for Lettie, he meets up with Steve Kibben, who is unknowingly searching for the same people that Jeff is searching for.  They set out on a quest of rescue, and revenge.Normally, I am not a big fan of western stories, which is odd, since I come from Zanesville Ohio, birth place of Zane Gray himself.  However, I have read a few of Zane Gray's books, and a friend of mine gave me this paperback to read.I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, considering my past experiences with westerns.  It was exciting, suspenseful, and had a fairly good portion of action to keep me interested.  I thought most of the characters were very fleshed out and believable, and were as relatable as someone could be that was alive during the Civil War.After reading this book, I see where the comparisons to Zane Gray come from.  While I will disagree that he is the "successor to Zane Gray", (because the Zanesville town charter states that I am not allowed to do so), I do think that Van Holt is a fantastic western writer, and I will definitely be reading more from him.