Recently I suggested that an interesting idea would be to read three books from different eras and write on what was similar and different. Over the past couple of months I have been slowly reading my chosen three books. The first was a Ned Buntline story, "Hazel Eyes, Girl Trapper", the second was "Man from Padera" by Rory Calhoun and the most recent, "Blood Debt" by S. J. Stewart.
I enjoyed all three books. The stories were nicely plotted with interesting characters. The key for me was the execution of the plots and character development. I will tell you up front, I an partial to characters who are well developed and whose back story is told sparingly, yet competently.
The Buntline book, although written in the style of the 1800's was a fun story. I can see how his readers were enthralled with the stories he wrote. It kept me turning the pages, although I had an idea how the mystery was going to be resolved. The other thing I enjoyed about this story was the female of the title was not a simpering female. If anyone has a chance to read the story, it is worth it.
The Calhoun story, "Man from Padera", read like a screenplay, which doesn't surprise me as Calhoun was an actor/producer. A straight forward story with the standard hero and love interest. That is not saying it wasn't a fun read, but more a predicable read from the time period. This story was written during the hey day of the Western on screen and television and it shows.
The last book, Stewart's "Blood Debt", was a passing story, enjoyable to read, but not overly surprising. The characters however were nicely drawn and I enjoyed seeing how they would develop. The story had a sort of predicable meter, and an unsurprising ending. Written in the style of the time, not a much setting description, it could really have been anywhere. One felt that the descriptions were put in to add to the word count, but not necessarily be part of the story.
I think the biggest difference was the use of place to tell the story. The Buntline story used the setting almost like another character. The Calhoun story use setting as the reason for the story. Stewart's setting was almost an afterthought. All three stories were fun and a great exercise.
