Review: Principles be damned.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2013
Black and white, right and wrong, honest or dishonest...are these principles nothing more than words, something to be touted as a virtue until they become inconvenient???  Apparently that's all they are for the writer and reviewers of this short story.  With the glowing five star reviews touting the historical accuracy of this one, I thought I'd give it a go...but now that I've finished...I'm "danged" disappointed.  It amazes me how people overlook the correct outcome for the convenient one.  This story is simply too filled with contradictions to be enjoyed...unless HEA is the only goal regardless of the path choosen to attain it.The author paints her strong, honest Marshal as a man of principles, one who sees only black and white, no gray areas can sway his beliefs.  Bravo!  A protagonist to look up to, right?  WRONG.  From the opening pages her hero is inconsistent in his actions.  Example: Does an honest gentleman, one who knows right from wrong, secretly watch a woman who is bathing in a river and then use coercion to try and force her to show more?  I think not.  Does that same "gentleman" laud his beliefs and then disregard them with barely a second thought?  Not in my world of right and wrong, yet that is exactly what takes place with this character.  What you have here is a bit of yesterday's fiction written with today's lack of conviction.  You know...the end justifies the means.  Well, I say BS!  What kind of woman is so smitten with looks and muscle that she can't recognize the contradictory actions of a man blowing his own horn to impress her?  Yes, I understand there is a sensitive issue which rears its ugly head as a sub-plot but...if the protagonist has beliefs and unshakable convictions, why is he not branded with the courage to stand up for them when he is tested?Here's the bottom line on this one...if you willingly compromise your character's supposed integrity for romance and his total belief system is discarded simply because it's convenient...why even paint him as a man with values and principles to begin with?  Well "Hell and damnation" that's the dangedest bunch of hypocrisy I've run across lately.Two stars for this "today's values" (or lack thereof) little western.