Dark Riders of Doom

Peter Dawson, born Jonathan Glidden, was the brother of Luke Short (Frederick Glidden), also an author of Westerns, and while not as prolific as his sib, he managed to turn out 16 novels and over 120 magazine-length fictions in his career. (37 books under his byline are currently available in various formats.) Leisure Books is happily making the latter available in paperback collections, of which this one includes Dawson's second ("Dark Riders of Doom") published tale, plus several bio-bibliographical notes by an uncredited editor that give some background into his pulp-mag career, including how he got his pen name (after a brand of whiskey one of his editors liked). The book also includes "Long Gone," one of the last Dawson shorts (1953) to appear in print, plus his 33rd ("Vengeance in Shadow Canon"), 34th ("The Hang-Tree Rebellion," 1938) and 60-plus-eth ("Lost Homestead," 1941). This may not be the best volume with which to begin your acquaintance with Dawson; even though most of its contents consist of mid- and late-career work, they don't seem as well-written as most of the other examples of his short fiction that I've read so far (see my reviews for Rattlesnake Mesa (Leisure Western), Angel Peak, Forgotten Destiny: A Western Trio (Center Point Western Complete (Large Print)), Ghost Brand of the Wishbones, and Claiming of the Deerfoot). Still, they're probably good examples of the pulp-magazine fiction of the '30's and onward, many of whose authors wanted to be better craftsmen but were forced by low pay rates and tight deadlines to curtail their ambitions and just try to turn out plausible, exciting tales. Like most of his fictions, both long and short, they tend to focus on a lone man facing incredible odds and succeeding by courage and quick thinking more than by guns or fists. "Vengeance" focuses on Ed Soule, who sets out to learn who cleaned the stock off his range and that of five of his neighbors; "Rebellion" on Bill Peace, who's nearly lynched for a murder he didn't commit and teams up with outlaw Al Sisson to uncover the truth; "Long Gone" on Ray Kindred, who redeems himself unexpectedly when he sides a beleaguered sheriff; "Riders" on Larry Scott, forced into outlawry, who turns detective when his former boss starts losing cattle; and "Homestead" on Red Knight, who has to get his trail herd across a blockaded river if he's going to save their lives. Though the writing often isn't up to Dawson's usual standards, his plots are still tight and his characters surprisingly well-drawn for the pulp venue. Not his best, but still worth your time.