Journal of the Gun Years

by Richard Matheson

Book Overview

Back East, they told tall tales about Marshall Clay Halser, the fearless Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the Wild West. But the truth, as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765362260
• ISBN13: 9780765362261
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Living and Dying By The Gun!

My admiration for Richard Matheson kicked up a notch when I came across JOURNAL OF THE GUN YEARS in the Western section of B & N. I had no idea Matheson dabbled in the western genre but, after reading this tightly-crafted, gripping account of a legendary shootist, I say "More power to him." JOURNAL OF THE GUN YEARS is a winner, actually a Spur Award winner for Best Western novel published in 1991. Matheson's novel traces the fictional life and times - and crimes - of Clay Halser, a directionless farm boy with a talent for shooting. After serving in the Civil War, he drifts westward into a career as a desperado-turned-lawman before meeting his inevitable fate. Though Matheson's novel tells the story of one man's checkered career, it is equally a cautionary tale on fame and the cost it extracts from that individual. The media transforms Halser into a storied, larger-than-life character, an image that eventually overwhelms the man. By the end of this affecting novel, the "great gunfighter" has been lionized and feted but is empty, lonely and scared with nary a true friend in sight. Matheson does a wonderful job of channeling the Old West. Halser seems an amalgam of Hickok, Wyatt Earp with a little Billy the Kid thrown in. One of Halser's best friends seems a Doc Holliday doppelganger and so on. JOURNAL OF THE GUN YEARS is exciting, gritty and poignant; all in all, a great read. Recommended. .

So you dont like westerns?

Well, I'm not a fan of westerns but I am a fan of Richard Matheson so I gave this a try and I think it is one of his best. It is a streamlined novel, it moves along very quickly and manages to be deeply affecting by the end. It is mostly told from the the first person, via a 'record' by the main character Clay Halser, who goes from being a young naive boy to a legendary gunfighter. He finds the excitement he was seeking out West but it's not all he imagined. There is a lot to admire about this novel and yeah, I think someone said it, this would make a great movie.

Reputation is a double-edged sword

I found this book to be one of the best-written character studies of the gunfighter/lawman on the western frontier. It just doesn't retell the stock tall-tales and legends- it shows the reality of what living a life of constant danger in dangerous places does to a person. The book's protagonist, Clay Halser, is a fictional character, but readers will recognize in his exploits a combination of Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, and Wyatt Earp. But primarily, Halser is based on Hickok's life. Indeed, Hickok as a character and contemporary shows up repeatedly in the story, which gives it a bit of a surreal edge at times. One of my favorite scenes is Hickok and Halser meeting in a bar room late in their respective careers. Wild Bill tells Halser of his belief in spiritualism and of talking with the dead- an experience that Halser has also shared but tried to dismiss as the effects of drink. Don't expect any overt heroism in this story. Halser is presented as pretty much a victim of circumstances that got caught up in a violent environment that was almost completely out of his control. Yet, since was also an adrenaline junkie, who just couldn't stay on the farm after his experiences in the Civil War, he also eagerly sought out "exciting places"- at first. You see, at first Halser was the sort of man of action who didn't even think of death or danger when threatened- he just automatically reacted. Later on, largely as a result of keeping the journal that this story is based on, he started to reflect on his actions and mortality after the fact. At the height of his legend he simply became numb- he was a walking killing machine doing what was "expected" of him. In his later years, he lived in a state of constant anticipation and frayed nerves. That's a lesson that jumps out at you- a man's nerves will only stand so much in a lifetime- and when they are finally shot you NEVER get your old composure completely back. This is also an excellent study of 19th century law enforcement. If the right person was caught and punished for a crime it was almost an accident. All that was important was catching somebody (anybody) and hanging (often literally) the crime on them. The average western lawman was often recruited from the criminal element to protect the rich and well connected from people very much like himself. As City Marshall, Halser kept the drunken and violent of his side of the "dead line"- and the decent people didn't even want him or his family on the other side of that line. Otherwise Halser saw to it that no one got too out of hand in the business establishments (usually saloons and whorehouses) on his side of the line- and collected a share of the profits to do so. That's another thing that jumps out at you about Hauser- he never really seemed to have much of a sense of, or pride in, protecting the weak and innocent or upholding justice. It was just a job, or an opportunity to relieve boredom by buffaloing and outdrawing other violent men. It was a

Smooth genre hopping

Richard Mattheson is arguably best known for his novel(la) I AM LEGEND, a classic horror novel which much has been written about by fans, critics, and peers. I bring this up because some authors write in a genre very well and experiment or cross over to another genre and even if the story is as strong are not as successful in their second writing category. Even master Stephen King's Dark Tower series where he moves easily from his renown horror tales to dark fantasy isn't as critically or popularly acclaimed as his other books. Mattheson moved his horrific prose into an old west setting gracefully and smoothly. He uses the same economy of words to tell the story of Marshall Halser, who not much of a plot spoiler to add gets shot in opening chapters.The narrotor is Halser not from beyond the grave per se but in the form of his journals in the hands of a friend and journalist who wishes to publicize them to seperate myth from man. As I said Mattheson is spare in his writing not using five pages of details where one will do, instead he writes a tight plot making this a quick fun read.Incidentally it won the 1991 Spur award so my praise of his genre transition is a little redundant hehehe.

Why Haven't More People Read This Great Book?

While browsing through the bookstore, my eye caught this blurb on the cover of this novel. "The best novel I read last year." The quote is from Stephen King, no less. When I saw that the author was Richard Matheson, I was very surprised since I primarily know Matheson as a writer of horror. Westerns have not been an element of my previous reading history but I decided to give it a try. God, was I glad that I did! I now rate this novel as one of my top three all time favorites. Matheson's approach is to take the traditional story of the life of a gunslinger in the old West and look at it from the inside out. The novel takes the form of a journal written by Clay Hauser from his beginning as a frightened soldier in the Cival War to his inevitable destiny in a small mining town. From outlaw to lawman (and sometimes back again) during this ten year period, Matheson does a wonderful job in depicting the deterioration of a potentially great man. I felt genuinely sad at the end of this powerful novel. I've been recommending this novel throughout the Internet whenever I get the chance. I think that it's time that people began to realize that the modern Western is a 'new' genre filled with interesting writing and stories. I would have thought that people would have been more influenced by the success of Lonesome Dove. (Another of my top three favorites, by the way.) C'MON, people, get on the ball and stop being afraid to explore new avenues of literature. Because that's exactly what this novel is, Great Literature!!