Red Ripper

Any time that you read a Kerry Newcomb book, you have to be willing to completely push reality out of your mind. Although he writes historical novels, Newcomb is a fablist and a teller of tall tales, not an historian. Take the author's note, for example: "The Red Ripper is a work of fiction, and that's a fact. I have taken liberties with time and events where it suited the yarn. If you're writing a thesis on the Texas Revolution this probably isn't the research novel for you, unless your topic is tall tales, high courage, dangerous days, and a legendary hero." And the there's the opening page: "This is his story, just as he lived it. And what isn't true... ought to be." You can't read this opening and expect a fact based novel. Red Ripper is actually almost entirely fictional. The novel takes place from 1829 to 1836. The real William "Big Foot" Wallace didn't arrive in Texas until 1838. Almost nothing in the story is accurate, but that isn't the point. Newcomb probably saw that the Texas revolution was a great story, that Big Foot Wallace was a great character, and the two should be stuck together. So what if it isn't exactly true? What you do get is a big, crazy, Kerry Newcomb story. I've read three of his novels, and they all start the same way. An incredibly heroic young white man washes up on the shores of Spanish America, is betrayed, and spends the next couple of hundred pages exacting a bloody revenge and finding forbbiden love. His novels don't read as westerns so much as sword and sorcery novels with the sorcery replaced by the mythic West. If you replaced Big Foot Wallace's red hair and sombrero with dark hair and a loin cloth, this could be renamed Conan and the Alamo (Conan was also created by a Texan). Most of the other reviewers are right, but they are also wrong. It isn't accurate, but it is a ripping yarn, and that's all that it needs to be.

This is a book that was beautifully written and full of high action and adventure. A mixture of pirates and the likes of Davey Crockett - a mix that I never would have even thought about in a novel, but it is done with grace and a fast pace that it was hard to put down. I never usually read this kind of genre but let me tell you that if you don't either - you should!! The characters were so full and rich with the wonderfully-written scenery that you really felt like you were there. Now, I have to admit I only read this on a dare, and the more I got into it, the more I liked it because it had a different approach to the famous and legendary War of the Alamo. Plus I was raised right in San Antonio all my life until my early 20's, so I also kind of felt a kinship if you would to this novel. But believe me when I say that the heroe William Wallace is brought to such vivid life both as a great knife fighter, but also as a man filled with inner turmoil over his brothers death and a love that is forbidden. The love story is also very well told and not boring for us HE-MAN types. The pirate Mad Jack who saves our hero and teaches him the way of the knife is both engaging and very funny at times to read. The bad guys are very villanously written and a pure delight to read and hate. The action scenes were well written and plentiful as well as all the locations written about made you feel the heat, smoke, and flies buzzing around. I will definately add this fresh and exciting writer to my book-reading pleasure - as well as you should if you like well-rounded stories of high adventure, romance, and heros that are larger than life!

This was a wonderful book. I have known Kerry for about three years now and finally gotten around to reading one of his books. Hes just as impressive in person as his ability to portray and tell a story as if you were really there. I sure do have alot of catching up to do. This one has spoiled me. If you are interested in early Texas or American history then this book is for you.

Who said that Western fiction died with Louis L'Amour? This is a deftly plotted book centered around Texas' war of independence. The central character, William Wallace, is bigger than life, both literally and figuratively. All of the secondary characters, historical or fictional, are vividly portrayed. Best of all? The ending suggests at least one sequel. This is a fine summer read for folks like me, who, many years ago, was the only student in an English Masters' program who had the collected works of Zane Grey in his library. This book will find a well-deserved home next to Louis and Zane. Don't miss it!