Gunsmoke (#1): 6blood, Bullets, and Buckskin

I loved this book and read it in one night. Thats not surprising to anyone that knows me because I love Gunsmoke very much. I didnt like the fact that Mr. West refers to Matt Dillon as City Marshal I think it takes away from his character strength. And the fact Doc wasnt involved very much. I'm okay with the relationship Mr. West began with between Matt and Kitty because he had to start somewhere and explained it well in the first few chapters of the book. And all Gunsmoke fans completely understand and felt the love Matt and Kitty shared.

This is simply a terrific western that works both as nostalgia for fans of Gunsmoke and stands on its own as a great read in the genre. Joseph A. West has given us not only a trip down memory lane, but a fine and atmospheric novel of the west. It is a fast read with humor, excitement, and characters most of us are already familiar with and quite fond of. It is no wonder that Matt Dillion himself, James Arness, writes the forward to this fun book. Making Matt Dillon the town Marshall of Dodge City rather than a United States Marshall ensures that most of the stories in the series will be centered in the place we came to know and love over the years. This is not one of those sketchy books just written to cash in on a good thing, however. West has an ear for dialog and captures the way people talked to each other out west, as well as capturing the characteristics of all the characters. You can cut the atmosphere created by West with a knife in the first entry of Gunsmoke. Whether Matt is lighting an oil lamp or sending Festus out to walk Texas Street and make his rounds, it all rings true. You can almost feel the rain on Dillon's yellow slicker as he rides long into the night after killers. You can sense the real danger also as hard men converge on Dodge for a war in which Matt may have to choose a side. The relationship between Matt and Kitty which was implied the last few seasons of the show is fleshed out here. It is an unspoken truth that Matt and Kitty belong to each other and will be together one day when Dodge no longer needs the firm hand of a good man with a fast gun. It may need more than that as a young man named Sean Tyree shows up with legendary gunfighter and gambler Logan St. Claire to settle a score with Cage Stucker and his father Clint. As cowboys from the cattle drives arrive in Dodge, so does one deadly friend of St. Clair's after another when he is murdered. But it is young Sean Tyree who will settle the score and set up a confrontation the town, and Matt may not survive. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book. This is a top-notch example of why we read westerns. Everything that is good about them is here. This one is written so well you hate it when it is over. Doc is out of town but Festus and Miss Kitty are here, and just as in the television series, Matt Dillon looms larger than life over the city of Dodge. If you haven't picked up a western adventure in some time, and want to see what you might be missing, this is a sure bet to entertain you as only a tale of Gunsmoke could. Just let Marshall Dillon take care of Johnny Lomax and the rest and enjoy the wind from the Arkansas River while you read this rousing tale of Gunsmoke!

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 essense 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.

This is a good book based on the tv series Gunsmoke. It is very interesting and is more wild than seen on tv. Though, it is obvious that Joseph A. West isn't too familiar with the show. He turned Matt into a city Marshal instead of a United States Marshal, it is also mentioned that Chester Goode was a former deputy, which he was not, and then he has Festus reading, we all know that Festus was illiterate, but other than these few mistakes it is a good story.

If you like Gunsmoke, you'll enjoy this novel. If you don't like Gunsmoke, you still may like it. In the introduction to "Blood, Bullets, And Buckskin", James Arness speaks of an early Gunsmoke episode dubbed "Hack Prine". Dillon meets an old gun fighting friend, Hack Prine, whose gun is hired by a local. Dillon and Prine celebrate their reunion. They are good friends talking over old times. Prine, though, soon runs afoul of the law. He kills a low life whose death is deserved, and doesn't understand Dillon's objection. It's a clear case of murder. Dillon has sworn to uphold the law and Prine has sworn he will not go to jail. Two old friends, constrained by their vows, face each other on Front Street in a classic old west show down. Neither wants to fight, but both must. The melancholy pathos of Gunsmoke is epitomized when, knowing one will be dead in a few seconds, the friends Dillon and Prine say goodbye to each other. They draw and Prine is killed. When congratulated by a spectator, Dillon ignores the complement and turns and walks towards the Marshal's office. This manly shroud of death and duty was a staple of television's early Gunsmokes and, before that, Gunsmoke on the radio. The first adult western stayed in television's top ratings for 20 years. I was elated to see this wonderful reality recreated in Joseph W. West's first Gunsmoke novel. We are able to feel again Dillon's sense of brooding dedication to duty. Dodge City is described in a raw reality not allowed in early television. Kitty's occupation is no longer hedged. She is a Madame of soiled doves. If like me, you enjoy the pathos of the old west, you are in for a treat. PS: Despite my enthusiasm, I have, some small nits to pick. Before West's novels, there were three written pulp novels penned by Gary McCarthy. Do not waste your time with them. I choked my way through the first one and gave up. Like McCarthy, West needs to familiarize himself with Gunsmoke. McCarthy made the inexcusable mistake of having Festus read. All Gunsmoke fans know Festus is illiterate. West also makes errors distracting to a diehard Gunsmoke fan. Dillon calls Chester his deputy. Chester only worked for Dillon and was never deputized. West also has Dillon in the role of town marshal. Matt Dillon on television and radio was a United States marshal appointed to the frontier by the US War Department. In the novel, Dillon calls his horse "Buck". Mr. West probably did some research on this, but applied it without historical texture. Dillon was never a friend of his horse, like Roy Rogers or Gene Autry. The co-creater of Gunsmoke, John Meston, disdained such fantasy cowboys for kiddies and said "I spit in their milk!" Dillon never called Buck by name on television's Gunsmoke. Festus, who referred to his mule Ruth in almost every other episode, called Dillon's horse by name - once.