Riders of Deathwater Valley
Art Pendragon, owner of the Keystone Ranch, faces problems from every quarter. Outlaws have graduated from rustling his neighbor’s cattle to kidnapping his wife and murdering his men. Closer to home, his long-time friend Link Lochlin has more than friendly feelings for his wife Gwen, and Gwen seems inclined to return these feelings. The solutions to his problems lie in the outlaw’s heavily fortified Gorre Valley.
If you’ve been waiting for the Arthurian legend redressed in Western wear, this is the book for you. The readers of Mr. Work’s earlier Keystone Ranch books will welcome the continuation of this tale. Those who have not acquired a taste for King Arthur in cowboy clothing may be unsettled by the contradictions between the two genres. We expect our Western heroes to be decisive; their wives are faithful and their friends are loyal. Art Pendragon makes decision with Hamlet-like deliberation. Gwen wavers in her wifely devotion. Link gives barely a second thought to Art as he nurtures his love for his friend’s wife. Readers who prefer their Westerns straight up may be jarred when they discover evil dwarfs, spell-binding streams and prophetic dreams in the mountains and valleys of nineteenth-century America.
