SethLynch

Unlike many other Laramie and Miles tales, this one doesn’t focus on the bringing back of an outlaw. Cash Laramie is sent out to protect a woman who’s running for mayor. Turns out it’s the same woman Cash had had to protect once before when she was campaigning for votes for women.We get some of Cash’s back-story here – during that first meeting he kills his first bad-guy and looses his virginity to the widow woman he’s protecting. The hero of the tale is the widow woman herself. A strong independent woman who is perhaps forced along the road she has taken be circumstance. We also have a very interesting bad-guy (although that might not be exactly what they are). This is a Cash Laramie tale with Gideon Miles making a timely appearance.We’ve seen racial prejudice against Gideon Miles in these tales before. This time it’s misogyny’s turn. Where Miles has been able to face down the racists the victim here, the widow woman, finds herself in serious peril. At first it’s pure ignorance driving the men on. Later it goes further, the prejudice is used as an excuse. We find out as the story goes along that there is something more sinister at the heart of the trouble. It’s sad to say that women are still treated in this backwards way in some parts of the world. Sad also that victims of racial prejudice don’t have Gideon Miles’ ability to defend themselves.I’ve been trying not to give anything away but this is a very exciting tale – with a bitter-sweet ending. David Cranmer has made some seriously good choices in loaning out his characters. Despite having placed them in different hands – and each author producing very different tales – they maintain a consistency of both atmosphere and character. These books could have been written by the same person while benefitting from the Third Mind William Burroughs used to talk about – the something else you get when two people work on a project, something which neither of them bring to it directly.This book (as of March 2012) is selling for 77p on Amazon UK. In fact you could get the 2 volumes plus the three stand alones for less than £5. You could lose £5 on your way home and not feel too bad about. A bit miffed but it’s not the end of the world. Lose £5 on these tales and you get back than £5 worth of writing– you’re quids in, go buy!