Review: Good set of old-fashioned stories
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 12, 2012
Bertha Muzzy Bower is the the author of the novels and stories in this fabulous set. (Bower used her initials so male readers would not be put off by the knowledge that these were written by a woman; such were the times.)By way of comparison, there is another Bower collection available in the Kindle Store, this by Halcyon selling for $1.99. One of the book titles listed in that Halcyon set ("The Happy Family") consists of nine short stories, so that set actually provides, not 35 tales as advertised, but 43, the one additional Halcyon short story (not in the Megapack) being "The Lonesome Trail." So Halcyon advertises 35 but actually provides 43 stories for two dollars, and this Megapack advertises and provides 42 stories for one dollar. You make the call.The westerns themselves tend to be prairie-life and romance types, not dissimilar to many by Zane Grey. In that same manner, they strongly reflect the times in which they were written as well as the period in which they are set (these being the same in many cases). That is to say many of them are set in the (then) contemporary west of the early decades of the 20th century rather than what we might call the "old" west of the mid-to-late 19th century (though some of her tales ARE set back then). So expect a blend of cowboys, cattle, automobiles, telephones and "moving-picture companies," a mix of old and new not unlike what you'd see in old Gene Autry movies.As to be expected in any set this large, some are great, some are good and more than a few fall short of the mark, but they are all entertaining. To get this many for a mere dollar is mind-boggling. If you like old-style (1920's era) westerns, this set is a must.