Review: Proof that Cowboy fiction can still be fun and engaging
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2011
I recently enjoyed the first two volumes of Cash Laramie's adventures and actually stated in my review of the second one that there needs to be more Miles Gideon, so I was a happy bunny to receive this book. Unlike the Cash books this is a single story and the story centres around his partner Marshal Gideon Miles.For somebody my age it is easy to forget that there was ever a time when racial segregation existed in mainstream society. Hearing the main character regularly being ignored and dismissed as boy or negro takes a bit of getting used to. I do like the fact that his US Marshal badge allows him to overcome some of these barriers. It is not much, but at that time it must have been huge. I know it is fiction but I like the subtext that Gideon Miles is fighting for equality just by doing his job and upholding the law.Marshal Miles goes about things in a different manner than his partner Marshal Laramie. Where Cash is impulsive and believes in justice before the law, Gideon prefers not to have any judgement and to merely enact the law as he has been charged to do. I found this really interesting and added background to the dynamic between the two characters.There are plenty of hooks in this story, and I expect to see a lot more  stories about Gideon Miles. This is a good thing.This is a dirt cheap and enjoyable read. It is a little on the short side, or maybe I just enjoyed it so much that I lost track of time in the bath. Either way I read this in a single sitting and enjoyed it from start to finish.