Review: Old West In A New Century
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2011
I was glad when UNDER OUTLAW FLAGS became available for Kindle. It had been out of print for years and trying to trace down James Reasoners' old books, far too many, would be a full time job.This one was a fun read what with it's mix-up of old west and The great War.It's the story of the Tacker gang and their adventures in Europe during the first world war.It's 1917 and the wild west is fading, though not completely gone. Caught trying to rob a bank in Reno, the boys are given a choice: twenty years in prison or enlist to fight the Boche in Europe. The united States had just entered the fray and the race was on to provide troops.The members of the gang were Roy and Jace Tacker, Big Boy Guiness, Aaron Gault, and Drew Matthews. The narrator of the story is Matthews, telling the tale from old age to a young reporter.The story covers their training and eventual deployment to Europe. Two, Jace and Aaron, become aviators, the rest cavalry.I had a great time trying to catch all the references(likely missed at least a few). The author mixes his fictional characters with real life folks of the time(Black Jack Pershing and Frank Luke) and other fictional characters(it brought a grin to my face when the boys had a passing encounter with two fliers named Wentworth and Allard).I thoroughly enjoyed this one.