AVENGING ANGELS - SOLOMON'S MINE

 

AVENGING ANGELS – Solomon’s Mine

By Chuck Dixon writing as A. W. Hart

Wolfpack Publishing

340 pgs

For those who came in late, Wolfpack is a pulp-paperback outfit publishing some of the finest western books on the market today. Much like the old pulp mags of the past, the editors at Wolfpack whip up a series concept, create the characters that will be featured and then assign it a house pen-name. In this case, A.W. Hart’s Avenging Angel is a series of adventures featuring brother and sister Reno and Sarah Bass. After their entire family was gunned down by outlaws, the siblings hunted them down and claimed their vengeance. That mission completed, both realized that had developed a rather grisly talent for hunting and killing and so logically accepted their new careers as bounty hunters.

In “Solomon’s Mine,” the pair head for the Nevada and a town called Mollie Wells where they hope to collect the thousand dollar reward for one Butcher Holt. As they travel, they gather information on their target and learn Holt is recruiting a small army of gunfighters, Indians and half-breed killers in order to steal a hidden silver mine being operated by a group of freed slaves. At the end of the civil war, a Jewish landowner named Solomon had migrated west with his former slaves whom he had given their freedom. When they discovered the silver vein deep in the rocky hills, Solomon cautioned his people that its location must be kept hidden. After his death, the small community of blacks continued to maintain their seclusion only sending out a single rider once a month to purchase supplies.

After several years of failed attempts to find the mine, Holt’s patience expired and Reno and Sarah arrive in town within days of Holt’s departure with is gang of cutthroats. He is determined find the enclave and claim the riches for himself, even if it means killing every man, woman and child who get in his way. All of which makes Reno and Sarah’s job a whole lot harder.

A gifted writer with a background in comics, Dixon’s writing is always cinematic. He paints both people and settings with sharp, clear phrases and his plot never lets up for a second. Westerns should always be about good versus evil, hard men and women and tons of gunplay. In “Solomon’s Mine” Dixon delivers on all count. This is a whopping fun read. Saddle up, partners and don’t miss it.