From Publishers Weekly
Leonard's (
Get Shorty) 40th novel is a nearly flawless audio production. Initially, Howard's lackadaisical meter and reading style comes off as flat and unenthused. But as the flavor of the story steeps, his low-key, deliberate delivery sets the perfect pitch for Leonard's stripped down dialogue. His slow cowpoke pace leaves plenty of space for the nuance with which he breathes life into Leonard's characters. Everyone is tough, everyone is cool, and nearly all speak in clipped Hemingway-like sentences. However, Howard carefully assigns each character a specific voice, timber and speed, saving the most calm and cool for Carlos "Carl" Webster, the young, quick-drawing U.S. marshal hero of the tale. The only thing amiss with this package is the music that opens and closes each CD. This is a western tale of shootouts, cattle rustlers and bank robbers. The swanky, sultry jazz music with lilting sax better fits Chandler than L'Amour. Once past these spurious strains, however, the listener is in for a satisfying earful.
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--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
Arliss Howard offers a straightforward reading of Leonard's latest, a foray into the 1930s' Wild West. The hot kid of the title is a young U.S. marshal based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who wants to become the most famous lawman in America by nabbing gangsters--Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde. The gangsters, meanwhile, are striving to be number one on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. This is perfect territory for Leonard, who makes the most of the adventure. Howard adopts the tone of a movie western, reminiscent of John Wayne or John Ford. It's gritty and direct, and it works. The only difficulty is with the high number of quote attributions in Leonard's dialogue-driven book, some of which Howard reads in the voice of the speaker, rather than the narrator. It can be confusing. Otherwise, this is an entertaining listen. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
