I wasn't aware of the James Moffat and Don Ward paperbacks ...
I enjoyed Joseph West's GUNSMOKE tie-ins, though he made a few errors in his first one. Here's my review: Review I'm a big GUNSMOKE fan, I've watched 100s of episodes and all the TV movies. So I eagerly awaited this book -- and I wasn't disappointed. While there were a few unfortunate errors (as others here have pointed out) casual viewers of the show won't notice them or care. They didn't even bother James Arness, who wrote the introduction. West succeeded in his most important task, capturing the essence of the characters and the tone of the show. The Matt Dillon in this book is the Matt Dillon of the series...and even, I would argue, the Matt Dillon he became in the TV movie/sequels. Festus and Kitty were brought wonderfully to life on these pages, too (I missed Doc, who is absent in this story). Reading the book is like experiencing a typical episode of the show and I, for one, can't wait to read the sequels. West is a gifted writer and we're lucky that GUNSMOKE is in his very capable hands
Here's James Reasoner's excellent write-up on Joseph A. West's "lost" GUNSMOKE novel... https://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/2010/08/shootout-at-picture-rock-joseph-west.html
I am forever hoping that someday someone will write the novel when it all began. James Arness once commented that Matt Dillon was very young and well on his way to being an outlaw and rode with outlaw John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895). Dillon somehow found his way to Dodge City where events resulted in his being asked to be Deputy U.S. Marshall.
I wasn't aware of the James Moffat and Don Ward paperbacks ...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Joseph West's GUNSMOKE tie-ins, though he made a few errors in his first one. Here's my review:
Review I'm a big GUNSMOKE fan, I've watched 100s of episodes and all the TV movies. So I eagerly awaited this book -- and I wasn't disappointed. While there were a few unfortunate errors (as others here have pointed out) casual viewers of the show won't notice them or care. They didn't even bother James Arness, who wrote the introduction. West succeeded in his most important task, capturing the essence of the characters and the tone of the show. The Matt Dillon in this book is the Matt Dillon of the series...and even, I would argue, the Matt Dillon he became in the TV movie/sequels. Festus and Kitty were brought wonderfully to life on these pages, too (I missed Doc, who is absent in this story). Reading the book is like experiencing a typical episode of the show and I, for one, can't wait to read the sequels. West is a gifted writer and we're lucky that GUNSMOKE is in his very capable hands
Here's James Reasoner's excellent write-up on Joseph A. West's "lost" GUNSMOKE novel... https://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/2010/08/shootout-at-picture-rock-joseph-west.html
ReplyDeleteWe've just published a bio of William Conrad, by the way - the original Marshal Dillon!
ReplyDeleteI am forever hoping that someday someone will write the novel when it all began. James Arness once commented that Matt Dillon was very young and well on his way to being an outlaw and rode with outlaw John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895). Dillon somehow found his way to Dodge City where events resulted in his being asked to be Deputy U.S. Marshall.
ReplyDelete