DEADWOOD, DAKOTA TERRITORIES, 1876: Legendary gunman Wild Bill Hickcock and his friend Charlie Utter have come to the Black Hills town of Deadwood fresh from Cheyenne, fleeing an ungrateful populace. Bill, aging and sick but still able to best any man in a fair gunfight, just wants to be left alone to drink and play cards. But in this town of played-out miners, bounty hunters, upstairs girls, Chinese immigrants, and various other entrepeneurs and miscreants, he finds himself pursued by a vicious sheriff, a perverse whore man bent on revenge, and a besotted Calamity Jane. Fueled by liquor, sex, and violence, this is the real wild west, unlike anything portrayed in the dime novels that first told its story.
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From Library Journal
In 1876 William "[Buffalo] Bill" [Hickok] and Charley Utter rode into Deadwood, a hellish frontier settlement in the Black Hills. Bill died there, victim of a possibly demented assassin. Fortunately, this is mostly the story of his constant companion, Charley, a man of sapient insight and, though less famous than his friend, of extensive and varied experience. Charley, Bill, their acquaintance the Bottle Fiend, and later Bill's widow Agnes and mourner Calamity Jane saw some remarkable things in Deadwood and raised considerable Cain. By turns heroic, ludicrous, vicious, pathetic, and infuriating, the exotic citizens of Deadwood grab the reader's interest immediately and never let go. Highly recommended for its deadpan, offbeat, credible frontier anarchy. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“If you want to call Deadwood a Western, you might as well call The House of Mirth chick lit. Dexter looked at the dark, twisted, ridiculous doings of Bill Hickok and company, said to himself, ‘I recognize that!’ and gave us a world-class entertainment.” —Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections
“Unpredictable, hyperbolic and, page after page, uproarious; a joshing book written in high spirits and a raw appreciation of the past.” --The New York Times Book Review
“Splendid. . . . Rumor put straight. . . . A carefully researched knitting of events into their most dazzling fabric.” --The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Deadwood may well be the best western ever written.” —The Washington Post Book World
"What deepens and darkens [Dexter's] writing, so that art is the precise word to describe it, is a powerful understanding that character rules, that we live with our weaknesses and die of our strengths." --Time
"Dexter is a master of colloquial poetry, of moods revealed through gestures and settings." --Playboy
"One of the greatest American writers... a storyteller who cuts straight to the nerve." --Scott L. Turow
"Dexter's strongest suit is his exquisite understanding of the finely meshed engines of greed, appetite, and interest." --The New York Times Book Review
"Great, eccentric characters....Dexter's writing is a living thing." --USA Today
“Unpredictable, hyperbolic and, page after page, uproarious; a joshing book written in high spirits and a raw appreciation of the past.” --The New York Times Book Review
“Splendid. . . . Rumor put straight. . . . A carefully researched knitting of events into their most dazzling fabric.” --The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Deadwood may well be the best western ever written.” —The Washington Post Book World
"What deepens and darkens [Dexter's] writing, so that art is the precise word to describe it, is a powerful understanding that character rules, that we live with our weaknesses and die of our strengths." --Time
"Dexter is a master of colloquial poetry, of moods revealed through gestures and settings." --Playboy
"One of the greatest American writers... a storyteller who cuts straight to the nerve." --Scott L. Turow
"Dexter's strongest suit is his exquisite understanding of the finely meshed engines of greed, appetite, and interest." --The New York Times Book Review
"Great, eccentric characters....Dexter's writing is a living thing." --USA Today
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Booked4Life
Format:Hardcover
I read this book after becoming interested in Deadwood via HBO's series of that name. Since Deadwood is a real place, and since both the book and the television series are based on the real place, many of the characters are common to both. They do not, however, have much more in common besides their names and some shared historic events. Pete Dexter is a fine writer, and in Deadwood he has written a particularly fine novel. Much of the novel centers on the relationship between Wild Bill and his friend Charlie Utter. Other characters whose stories are explored include Charlie's friend, the soft-brained, Bottle Fiend, Wild Bill's widow Agnes Lake, Sheriff Seth Bullock and his partner Sol Star, a beautiful and tragic Chinese singer and prostitute named China Doll, and the always surprising Calamity Jane. Well worth reading, whether or not you like Deadwood, the TV series.
By Lauren B. Davis
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Dexter's ability to marry character and language is delightful. He is one of those rare writers who can portray deep emotion without slipping into the sentimental. Yes, the book might be subtitled, "Camp Crusty" due to profanity and sexual content, but it's also extremely funny and full of compassion. Highly recommended.
By R. Nooney
Format:Paperback
A great book. It gives such a human dimension to Wild Bill--his blindness at dawn or dusk, his troublesome prostate problems, and his obscession with pink gin. His murder is not the true focus of the book. It is his character, and that of his assassin and Calamidy Jane. It was really good to visit the man behind the myth. In his last days at the No.10 saloon. A very well written book.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pin Drop
... How come the Wild West is so ...calm in this novel, you ask? Simple. Dexter chooses Charlie Utter as the central character, Bill Hickok's stoic, aloof partner, and it is he... Read more
Published on May 14 2001 by vanishingpoint
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rich Characters, Colorful Dialogue, Very Entertaining Book
Dexter makes an 1870's frontier mining town come alive. His cast of hapless and miscreant characters are a hoot. You'll certainly enjoy your visit to Deadwood!
Published on Mar 31 2001 by Charles Hawkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pete Dexter's Best?
If you're a fan of Pete Dexter you've no doubt read everything the man has written. However, if you are unfamiliar with this superb writer and in dire need of something with more... Read more
Published on May 23 2000 by "dcardoza13"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reading!
Pete Dexter's Deadwood is by far one of the best westerns on the market! In fine style he not only tells an interesting story but tells it in an entertaining manner as well. Read more
Published on April 22 2000 by kregg Jorgenson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great read
This is writing at its best. Dexter deals with the time, place and people in a most convincing way. Great characters and a splendid piece of story telling.
Published on Dec 10 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
interesting
I started the book and had trouble with the context of the wild west and the characters in the beginning. Read more
Published on July 1 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
You need not like Westerns to love this book
Peter Dexter's western Deadwood is a work of American Literature that stands up on its own. Calling it a 'western' unfairly limits the scope of its appeal. Read more
Published on Jun 19 1998 by nickpai@hotmail.com
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining tale of the old frontier!
Reminiscent of "Lonesome Dove", Deadwood takes you back to the late 19th century, in the lawless west, and brings such historical characters like Wild Bill Hickok and... Read more
Published on July 20 1997
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