THE PLAINS OF LARAMIE is another collection of old pulp Western stories reprinted for new audiences. Not being familiar at all with the writing of Lauran Paine, I had no idea what to expect. But I did see OPEN RANGE, which was based on his book, and that was one of those sleeper Westerns.
This rounds up two short stories and a novella, from which the title takes its name. The opening story, “Boothill’s Ferryman,” deals with a ferry owner who raises his prices, irking the townsfolk. But it also deals with the local sheriff, Jack Masters. For such a short story, it’s definitely packed with action that surpassed my expectations. It also has one of those great, unexpected endings that making reading Westerns a true joy.
The second story is “Vermilion Kid.” Now, long before we ever heard the term “police procedural shows,” Paine wrote a story that could have easily fit into that category, just set in the Old West. It’s about a shooting that is solved by procedures which we take for granted today. Both stories have a type of “love can conquer all” theme, even when things don’t turn out like a Hollywood ending.
Finally, the last and longest story is the titular one, dealing with family, revenge and a cache of missing money. It follows Frank Travis, who is hunted down by a mob-like posse. He takes out one of its members, who turns out to be a sheriff. But he also gets killed himself, which brings in his brother Parker, who is out to prove his sibling’s innocence and find the real culprits.
This story is full-on action with a fantastic ending, in the sense of how Parker gets his justice. I throughly enjoyed these three brief takes of the Old West. Now I’ll have to add Paine to my list of Western authors I should look out for more. My main problem with the book is the truly lame Photoshopped cover art. How about using the old pulp covers instead, with newly redesigned text? It would grab new readers who love the retro looks of other such books. —Bruce Grossman
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