The Way Of The Coyote
In this novel, Kelton concludes his three-book saga of life in Texas at the end of the Civil War. As he tells the story of one-time Texas Ranger Rusty Shannon, Kelton also depicts the massive upheaval that took place as the South began to lose and the post-war politics, graft and misery that reconstruction left in its wake. In The Buckskin Line, Rusty was captured by Comanches, to be rescued later, but grew up never to know his parents. Badger Boy followed, with young Andy Pickard the one rescued in turn by Rusty. But growing up with the Comanches for too many years, as a teenager Andy has a lot of “coyote” still in him, and this final book in the trilogy revolves about his struggle to find a place in the world.
Kelton has a knack for vivid description, but the pacing is uneven. For starters, there’s a lot of background to be filled in. However, when Andy’s adventures begin, the pages rush by as quickly as they can be turned. And yet, as the outcome comes into sight, a sense of real anticipation is somehow lacking. With events as firmly under the author’s control as this, at book’s end, there’s just not enough left that most readers won’t have already foreseen or anticipated.
