Review: The Wild Wild West by a brilliant brilliant author
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2014
It is hard for me to believe that such a magnificent author has escaped me for so long: I read at least a book per day and I am getting very very old... It only shows you that we should never judge the books by the genre. Typically I never put much faith in the literary qualities of books on Billy the Kid or the Texas Rangers. How wrong I was!Without Mercy is delightfully crafted. On the surface, it is the story of the revenge of a Texas Ranger on people who tried to humiliate him before they left him for dead.  On the way, you are first repulsed by the man (a killer, a drunk, a gambler), and then you slowly change your mind as you understand him better. The hero is changing too, in many subtle ways. The psychology is impeccable, but it comes all in impressionist brushes, it does not change the rhythm of the action.One of the things I like best is the way the hero and the women he meets understand each other. I used to think that desire is always obvious to both partners before any exchange of words, but very few authors use their knowledge of silent communication. The last author I read who knew how to describe these sudden and deep understandings was Jorge Semprun (for instance in The Second Death of Ramon Mercader) and before that....Stendhal (The Red and the Black). It is really rare.As for the general tone and quality of content, it reminds me of one of my favorite mystery writers: John D. MacDonald.Masterson (Kjell Hallbing) was born in 1934, one generation later than MacDonald (1916).This book could easily turn into a great movie: the book is already very visual.  I just hope it won't lose any of the author's wit and depth.