Review: (Re) introducing Morgan Kane, Texas Ranger
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 23, 2013
I found this to be an entertaining and enjoyable read. It is a relatively short novel and goes quickly. The character of Morgan Kane is compelling - he is a flawed gunslinger now serving as a Texas Ranger, with passions of gambling, women, and drinking. The story in Without Mercy picks up Kane early in his Texas Ranger days, and after losing his full stake in a poker game, Kane is ambushed, shot, and left to die in the desert. It has all been a set-up by the brother of a criminal that Kane had recently killed. The story continues as Kane struggles to survive and recover, and then hunt down and confront the men (and one woman) who set him up and tried to kill him.The Morgan Kane series of Western Adventure novels is being re-introduced to American readers, and the Kindle version of "Without Mercy" is both the first book in the series, and one of the first to be available in Kindle format.The novels were written by author Louis Masterson (pseudonym of Norwegian writer Kjell Hallbing) beginning in 1966, and a total of 83 books in the series have been written. They have been the best-selling novels in Norway, and gained great popularity in the UK and other countries as well, but the books were not distributed in the U.S. until 2011. This edition of Without Mercy is being distributed by the new publisher for the series, who has plans to offer more of the novels here as well as develop movies featuring Kane.The Kindle production of this book has some flaws. The breaks and shifts in narrative that take place within chapters of the book are presented continuously and without any indication, causing some confusion at certain points in the story. I've contacted the publisher to make sure that they're aware of the problem, and hopefully they will correct it in future Kindle editions (it should be a very easy thing to remedy).After enjoying this book, I am interested in exploring more in the Kane series. However, at the present time, none of the other novels are available in Kindle. Articles on the internet explain that eight titles have been published electronically, however for some reason they are not available here on Amazon. I'll update this review if and when they do become available, to provide links to the following novels.The publisher provided me with a complimentary copy of this novel.