Thursday, May 28, 2015

No Fools Gold / Jack Petersen


Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Genre: Action Adventure

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Jack Petersen lives with his wife, Margie, in southeastern Arizona. Having been privileged to get to know the rocky terrain of the western United States, and its assortment of unforgettable characters, memory asserts that exaggeration in a work of fiction sometimes seems a little tame.

Description:
Zeb Bartholomew has been mining gold in the Arizona desert for 40+ years. He’s a loner, well except for his trusty mule, Sally, but thoughts of quitting are foremost in his mind. He’s getting too old for the work and the long trek back to town, and so is Sally. But when a mining corporation comes to town and threatens his claim, Jeb determines to protect what is his.

Appraisal:

This isn’t a long story. I guess in today’s world of pigeon-holing, it’d be considered a novelette. I’d rather think of it as a well written piece of escapism. I finished No Fools Gold in two sittings, staying up way past my bedtime on both occasions. The story is simple and often told—old man uses his experience and wiles to outwit a modern corporation. But the writing style and the pacing pulled me along and turned the pages for me. If this were an audio book, I’d imagine Sam Elliott would be a good choice of voice.

Over two nights, I grew to love Zeb (although I doubt he’d like to hear me say that), and Sally, and the Widow Gray.

Format/Typo Issues:

A few typos but nothing that disturbed my enjoyment.

Rating: ***** Five stars

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