Hellfire Canyon

An interesting story of Jacob Gamble and how he became an outlaw at thirteen when he was taken in by Alf Bolin, the meanest, most ruthless, vilest outlaw in all Missouri, or anyway as the tale is told many years later by Jacob Gamble to a newspaper reporter. The War Between the States, South against North, Rebel against Yankee; sometimes reading of those times, one wonders how one nation can turn upon itself so completely. Caught in the Kansas/Missouri border warfare, Jacob Gamble and his mother, their house burned by Yankees after they are forced to give aid to guerrilla fighters, set out on foot to walk the many miles to where their husband/father is imprisoned. They fail in that endeavor, but do get another man released and they're on the road again. Eventually, they met up with Bolin and his gang of cutthroats and Jacob becomes a part of his gang. But Jacob isn't rotten all the way through, or is he? A good read, I found myself reading late into the night to see what would happen next. Eunice Boeve, author of Ride a Shadowed Trail

Hellfire Canyon is the story of Jacob Gamble: outlaw, renegade and general trouble-maker. He is the archetypal western outlaw, with one exception: He is likable, and rather than the antagonist, he is the hero. The novel begins when three men trample into young Jacob's farmhouse and demand breakfast from his mother. They are confederate soldiers with a platoon of blue bellies hot on their trail. This is the catalyst that shapes Jacob's life--the Union soldiers burn down his home, and he discovers his father is in lockup scheduled to be hanged. Jacob and his mother set out to save his father, but instead find themselves crossing Missouri in the company of a stranger, facing cutthroats, soldiers, the coming winter, and finally forced induction into the gang of the notorious killer Alf Bolin. Hellfire Canyon is not the typical. There is violence and even gun play, but there is more--a yearning and understanding of history, legend, and even folklore. Gamble is an admitted liar, killer and thief, but he--the story is written in first person--portrays himself never as a victim, but as a survivor. Interestingly, in the opening pages of the novel he casts doubt on everything that is to come: And I won't tell the truth. Instead, I will spin the tale that is expected--that I was forced by circumstances at the tender age of thirteen to become the youngest member of the Bolin gang. Hellfire Canyon is a campfire story. It is raw, tender, and fresh, but we are left knowing it isn't the real story. It is the story the witness--Jacob Gamble--wants us to know, or perhaps more accurately thinks we want to know. It is more folklore and legend than anything else, and I loved every word. Ben Boulden Gravetapping: a thing for books