THE RIDERS OF HIGH ROCK BY LOUIS L'AMOUR

BANTEM BOOK
UK £5.99
THIS EDITION 2004
FIRST PUBLISHED AS BY TEX BURNS 1951


Hopalong Cassidy, Clarence Mulford's hero of the Bar 20 has been written over the years by several different hands. L'amour was responsible for this entry in the series originally written under the name of Tex Burns but now republished under the iconic L'amour by-line.

The book has a nice painted cover by Steve Assel which depicts far away snow capped mountains in a lush landscape which is dominated by the figure of Hopalong in the foreground. It's a lovely piece of artwork and I always think that's important. I even collect favourite books in differing editions if the cover art is different.

The book is typical L'amour and the reader is thrown immediately into the thick of the action as we pick up on, Red Conners injured as the book opens manages to escape a party of killers on his tail and hide away in a cave. We learn that he is a friend of Hopalong's and then Cassidy himself makes his enterance. And he's one ornery son-of-a-bitch who is as fast as lightening with a pair of Colts, a Winchester or a saddle rope for that matter.

I very much enjoyed this book and devoured it in one long delicious session. It's an all action exciting western they was they used to be.


LAMOUR AND HOPALONG - In the early 1950's actor, William Boyd took his version of the character from the big screen to television. Doubleday wanted more Hopalong novels to go with this new interest in the character but his creator, Clarance Mulford had been retired since 1941 and was not up to the ardous job of churning out more novels. And so at the author's request the job was given to the 42 year old Louis L'amour.

Saddled with the name Tex Burns, L'amour wrote four Cassidy novels which were originally published in the short lived Hopalong Cassidy's Western Magazine and in hardcover by Doubleday. However there was tension between Doubleday and L'amour since the publishers wanted the clean cut TV version of the hero while L'amour wanted to write the red headed, foul mouthed, hard-drinking cowhand from the original books.

The publisher's were paying the wages though and they got their way in the end and as a result L'amour refused to admit that he had written the four novels. Indeed this edition marks the first time that the books have been published under the L'amour name.

The L'amour Hopalong's are:
The Rustlers of West Fork
The Trail to Seven Pines
The Riders of High Rock
Trouble Shooter

(pictured left - Doubleday's ideal Hoppy as portrayed by William Boyd and below original creator, Clarance Mulford.