THADD TURNER'S THE HARD RIDE

James Butler Hickok often serves as a tragic figure of the Old West. Trapped in a life of violence and celebrity he at times pursued, Wild Bill found himself relying on it to survive, and it would lead to his death with a poetic irony. Thadd Turner looks at those themes through the style of a paperback yarn in The Hard Ride.

The prologue gets the attention of those of us with a passing familiarity of Hickok's life and especially death. His friend, Californian Joe, informs the Laramie deputy sheriff that the men responsible for Wild Bill's murder, not just Jack McCall, are in town. Joe has brought Hickok compadres Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane and they mean to take care of business. The two men finish their drinks, put on their guns, and step outside for justice.

The book then jumps back into the past and drops us into a harrowing chase with Hickok and Joe being pursued by a Kiowa party. They narrowly make it to the fort to safety. It becomes the last straw for Hickok and he tells Joe and Lt. Colonel George Custer that he is pursuing the safer job as a lawman. The next few chapters follow those exploits, often with Joe backing him up, earning his reputation.

While, serving in Abilene he falls for trick shooter and equestrian, Agnes Lake. However, she won't marry him until he puts down his guns. After a failed attempt at performing in Buffalo Bill's New York stage show, he hears of gold being discovered in Deadwood and takes off with Joe to prospect.

Turner depicts a man struggling with his nature and the life it has led him to. He yearns to quit violence, but it is what he is good at. Turner depicts his actions in the shoot outs as deliberate and smooth, instinctively knowing where to swing the barrel next. Much focus is placed on his romance with Agnes. He desperately wants a life with her, but when faced with Deadwood's lawlessness he's pulled by a sense of duty and to do what he was built for.

However, this doesn't have the dour tone many of the later retellings have executed, Thad Turner mainly works as a filmmaker and his story started out as an award winning screenplay. This is apparent in the way his seemingly episodic story has a structure that provides a forward momentum, The action passages convey exciting and visceral moments as well as a sense of immediacy. The dialogue has a smooth back and forth, punctuating the right dramatic moments. However, unlike many screenwriters turned novelists, he often implements all the senses beyond sight and sound. This allows for a rousing take on Hiscok's life.

In the last moment of the book, Joe and several other friends of Hickok walk away from a hanging smiling at their memories of Wild Bill. It proves to be a moment that reflects Thadd Turner's approach in his fun and fast paced account. He gives us a Hickock as a man of action and an engaging and entertaining friend., bold in his feelings, particularly when it comes to loyalty and love. Even with death over his shoulder, he pursues the life ahead of him.