Review: Great descriptions. Great characters. Great fight scenes
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2013
Louis Masterson's Morgan Kane: Without Mercy is traditional Western adventure with Texas rangers, gunslingers, farmers protecting their daughters, railway tracks crossing the wide open spaces, violence, deception and romance. First in the series, it introduces a complex character through immediate action, avoiding long descriptions and backstories. The method works well. Readers are immediately pulled into the mystery of why and how Kane gets cheated at cards. We follow him onto the train and wonder at the beautiful woman who sits near him. We watch as fear proves a powerful force, even for a fearsome ranger, and Kane is immediately real--not invincible, not all-wise, not without flaws, and not even overly handsome.A novel where the hero overcomes serious adversity, where options narrow and the path not taken is definitely alluring, Without Mercy has the fast violent action of a 60s TV series, nicely balanced with scenes of beauty and temptation. The women fall for Kane, and so will readers--it's a quick fun read that takes you back to a time when heroes' superpowers were a steady aim and a healthy recovery from pain.Disclosure: I received a free copy from the publisher with a request for my honest review.