Wade Everett

Lu

Wade Everett's Fort Starke is a solid lesser Western of the pulpy Louis L'Amour breed. It doesn't do anything remarkable, but plot and character and so on are tidy enough to keep you interested for an evening or two. I was a bit disappointed that the siege of Fort Starke itself was less climactic than I had hoped for, but this is an unassuming piece of entertainment that hits its marks.

I enjoy novels about the US Cavalry and this one is very good. Lt. Jefferson Travis' first assignment is to keep the Indians, buffalo hunters, cattlemen and farmers from killing one another. He succeeds by using humour, directness and a no compromising policy. There are some funny moments.