Journal of the Gun Years - by Richard Matheson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Originally published in 1991 by M. Evans and Company"--T.p. verso.

Book Synopsis

Back East, they told tall tales about Marshall Clay Halser, the fearless Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the Wild West. But the truth, as revealed in his private journals, is even more compelling.

A callow youth in search of excitement, Halser travels to the raucous cow towns of the frontier, where his steady nerve and ready trigger finger soon mark him as a gunfighter to be reckoned with. As both an outlaw and a lawman, he carves out a legendary career. But fame proves to be the one enemy he can never outdraw-and a curse that haunts him to the bitter end . . . .

Review Quotes

"The best novel I read last year." --Stephen King

"The best western of the season!" --Booklist

"The author gives his story a credibility and honesty unusual in the genre." --Publishers Weekly

"Breathtaking . . . first-rate . . . impossible to put down. Mr. Matheson has done something remarkable: with a single novel he has placed himself in the front rank of Western novelists." --Richard S. Wheeler, author of Virgin River

"A novel filled with remarkable surprises . . . a fine and unique book." --Ed Gorman, author of Sleeping Dogs

"A remarkable western novel. It strips the romanticism from the old West, but retains the blood-and-guts violence, as well as the high excitement of the frontier. Clay Halser's journals are the stuff of myth." --Norman Zollinger, author of The Road to Santa Fe

"Journal of the Gun Years is a three carat diamond. Read and enjoy it without delay." --Max Evans, author of For the Love of Horses

"Some of the best damn writing Matheson's done in his spectacular career." --Loren D. Estleman, author of Gas City

About the Author

Richard Matheson (1926-2013) was The New York Times bestselling author of I Am Legend, Hell House, Somewhere in Time, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Now You See It..., and What Dreams May Come, among others. He was named a Grand Master of Horror by the World Horror Convention, and received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has also won the Edgar, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards. In 2010, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. In addition to his novels Matheson wrote several screenplays for movies and TV, including several Twilight Zone episodes.