As most Archive readers know the eBook edition of Edge the Loner by George G. Gilman features an introduction from myself.
A dream come true because I'm a huge fan of the series, used to read them by torchlight beneath the blankets when I was a kid. I grew up with the books and was infatuated with the character of Edge. There was something about these surreal, stylish and blackly comic books that appealed to me. Of course the series was written with adults in mind, but the books had a kind of coolness that appealed to teenagers. Edge was like a darker version of Eastwood's Man with no Name but over the series he evolved into something quite unique in western fiction.
Years later when I became a western writer myself I grew friendly with Edge author George G Gilman or as he is known Terry Harknett. He's a very modest man and doesn't really understand the continued appeal of his creation, but the fact is that even though the western has been in a slump for decades the character of Edge hasn't - true there are no new books but copies of the old paperbacks are highly sought after and often sell for large sums of money. There is a thriving internet group devoted to the character and his creator and articles on the character are always popping up on blogs. Edge has that coolness you see that makes him timeless. He has that...er, edge.
One thing led to another and before I knew it I had talked Terry into starting to release the books in the new eBook format. We've already got the first one out there from Solstice Publishing and available for the Kindle and all other formats. And this April we should be announcing plans for the second book in the series to make its digital debut.
In the meantime here's a freebie Edge.
Below I have scanned in a complete Edge short story - The Quiet Gun by George G. Gilman, with all permissions of course, that was originally published in the short lived Western Magazine way back in 1980. These are good quality scans and there should be no problem reading them. Click on any of the images and a larger version will open in your browser.
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