Member Reviews
The setting is the Arizona desert where soldier Tom Skinner leads his cavalry troop against different marauders. Now he is after Jessup Henry a thrift and killer. Out looking for him while letting settlers know to head back to the fort he realizes about Vironika and her family. He has become taken with the beauty. Leaving his men he hopes he can arrive in time. A very good Western.
It's good news for readers when another author joins the western genre, there are few good western authors these days, so reading RIDE A FAST HORSE is almost like getting a birthday present. The book information says he is/was a real cowboy and it shows, especially in his love of horses. Tom Skinner is a member of a cavalry unit sent to stop an outlaw group that has been raiding any and every homestead they come across in Arizona Territory. The troop's commander has no idea how to locate, much less stop the outlaws, so Tom strikes off on a quest to save a homestead directly in the outlaws path.
Now comes the action........
Written so skillfully you'd feel the heat and dust, smell the horses and sweat, and hear the echoes of the battle. Remaining true to the era and still managing to give us one heck of ride while saving lives, Tom Skinner has joined my TBR list for good.
I believe fans of Louis L'Amour will enjoy this new western fiction release, Ride a Fast Horse. I liked it and am giving it four stars.
There’s outlaws and bushing settlers in Arizona and Lieutenant Skinner is sent to stop them in their tracks but since he knows the land way better then the person is doing the orders he takes his own route on the way he meets Veronica and her brothers in bed and starts to fall for her I love westerns and I thought this was a really good western and although there was a lot of technical talk and you can definitely tell a true cowboy wrote the story it doesn’t the track from the great storyline in the OMG moments you can only get from a good Western. I wish I had the words to write a great review to encourage anyone who reads this they should read the book but all I can do in plain English is say read the book if you love a great Western then you’ll love Ride A Fast Horse by Kevin Warren. As I said I love a good western and definitely love this one. I received this book from NetGalley and Kensington books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
"Ride a Fast Horse" by Kevin Warren is a great story set in the rim country of Arizona. For those familiar with the state there are a lot of places that will be familiar. The story is about a cavalry Captain Skinner and his troop. He seems to be a great leader and does not depend on strict discipline to get the men in his command to perform, in some cases beyond what seemed possible.
He, himself, was orphaned and raised by a compassionate but strict man who taught him how to lead others by being at the front. He is not comfortable with the nonsensical regulations in the Army, particularly the Colonel in charge of Ft. Verde. The colonel is a by the books no matter what other data should indicate otherwise. He is also one to hold a grudge.
Skinner and his small troop are tasked with trying to intercept a band of marauding criminals coming form New Mexico and probably heading to Mexico. The colonel orders the troop to head straight south to intercept where he thinks the band is going. What the colonel doesn't know and is not interested in learning is that the intercept point he mentions makes no sense given the geography of the area.
Skinner suspects that the criminals will head around the Mogollon Rim country to avoid the desert. But orders being orders he is obliged to follow them...or is he? There is a complicating factor--a young woman that he is sweet on and her family live in the rim country exactly where Sinner would go if he were trying to take the best route into Mexico.
So coming up with a plausible reason to make the detour east, he and the troop set out to intercept the criminals or at least warn the families in the area. There are lots of adventures that befall the troop and Captain Skinner as the engage the enemy and have a fight on their hands against a number more than twice their own.
Who comes out on top is the crux of the novel and a reader will have fun finding out if Skinner's guess was correct and how he is going to explain his deviation from orders. A reader will even find out where the title comes about.
This is a well-written and adventuresome story including leadership, love and loss. I enjoyed it a lot and definitely recommend to a western story lover.