Return of the Ranger
Having been a fan of Jeff Crawford’s character, Walsh Ritter, for a while now, I was intrigued to discover he’d released a new series. This one detailing the exploits of another character who sounds as if he might be worth getting to know.
So, who is Noah Weyland?
Let’s find out. . .
*****
The past was exactly where he wanted it to be… in the past. He had worked hard to leave behind most all he had known. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had been; it was simply a period in his life he had lived through and up until now had been successful in forgetting about. Those had been the wilder days when men like him had been needed. But times and opinions change, so he had been asked to move along.
For thirty years after that, he had put all of his energies into building a successful cattle ranch. He had wanted his sons to make it their dream too, but they’d had their own paths to follow. Now it was just him and his wife, Elise. They were growing old, and a boredom was settling in. Everything was just fine with their lives and that was the problem. There just weren’t any surprises anymore, until Sheriff Rhoden came riding into the yard.
Elise was more than concerned when she saw the sheriff ride away and her husband begin buckling on the gun rig that he hadn’t worn in years, since he was a Ranger. But nothing could make him go back to that way of life, nothing aside from the attempted murder of their son, the burning of their son’s house, and the taking of their son’s wife. Former Ranger Noah Weyland would fasten on his gun again without question for that.
Across the barren landscape of South Texas, Noah raced to bring his daughter-in-law back alive, while his wife and his other two boys watched and waited to see if their family member lived or died. In an abandoned and mostly forgotten village near the border, a man from Noah’s past waited. He had not forgotten how Noah had been when he had been a Ranger, and he was going to ensure that Noah never forgot again. He had waited too long for the return of the Ranger.
*****
Yes, Noah Weyland is a man with a past best left untouched.
However, it would appear someone is determined to dig over old bones to catch his attention. And when they do, Noah’s family suffers greatly.
A situation that simply can’t be ignored. A challenge that must be answered.
The trouble is, to answer that challenge, Noah must cast of the air of civility he has worn for thirty years and become the beast of old. And that beast was a creature of focused brutality and cold, hard justice.
What follows in a brooding, wound of a story that builds in tension and menace until the inevitable faceoff. And what I enjoyed about it the most, is the sprinkling of reality Crawford sprinkles through the pages of the narrative. For no matter how mean and nasty a person might be in his youth, age tempers a man. It robs him of vigor. Of dignity. Of the ability to answer strength with strength.
Oh, he might talk the talk. But is he still capable of walking the walk?
Find out in a dark and briskly paced tale that will have you rooting for the good/bad guy as much as you wonder how the hell he will survive. Don’t miss it!
So, who is Noah Weyland?
Let’s find out. . .
*****
The past was exactly where he wanted it to be… in the past. He had worked hard to leave behind most all he had known. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had been; it was simply a period in his life he had lived through and up until now had been successful in forgetting about. Those had been the wilder days when men like him had been needed. But times and opinions change, so he had been asked to move along.
For thirty years after that, he had put all of his energies into building a successful cattle ranch. He had wanted his sons to make it their dream too, but they’d had their own paths to follow. Now it was just him and his wife, Elise. They were growing old, and a boredom was settling in. Everything was just fine with their lives and that was the problem. There just weren’t any surprises anymore, until Sheriff Rhoden came riding into the yard.
Elise was more than concerned when she saw the sheriff ride away and her husband begin buckling on the gun rig that he hadn’t worn in years, since he was a Ranger. But nothing could make him go back to that way of life, nothing aside from the attempted murder of their son, the burning of their son’s house, and the taking of their son’s wife. Former Ranger Noah Weyland would fasten on his gun again without question for that.
Across the barren landscape of South Texas, Noah raced to bring his daughter-in-law back alive, while his wife and his other two boys watched and waited to see if their family member lived or died. In an abandoned and mostly forgotten village near the border, a man from Noah’s past waited. He had not forgotten how Noah had been when he had been a Ranger, and he was going to ensure that Noah never forgot again. He had waited too long for the return of the Ranger.
*****
Yes, Noah Weyland is a man with a past best left untouched.
However, it would appear someone is determined to dig over old bones to catch his attention. And when they do, Noah’s family suffers greatly.
A situation that simply can’t be ignored. A challenge that must be answered.
The trouble is, to answer that challenge, Noah must cast of the air of civility he has worn for thirty years and become the beast of old. And that beast was a creature of focused brutality and cold, hard justice.
What follows in a brooding, wound of a story that builds in tension and menace until the inevitable faceoff. And what I enjoyed about it the most, is the sprinkling of reality Crawford sprinkles through the pages of the narrative. For no matter how mean and nasty a person might be in his youth, age tempers a man. It robs him of vigor. Of dignity. Of the ability to answer strength with strength.
Oh, he might talk the talk. But is he still capable of walking the walk?
Find out in a dark and briskly paced tale that will have you rooting for the good/bad guy as much as you wonder how the hell he will survive. Don’t miss it!
No comments:
Post a Comment