Western Annotation (The Gunsmith #363: The Death List by J. R. Roberts)

A NOTE: This is easily one of the worst books I have read in my life, so while this annotation is not a typical one (scholarly and formal), I hope that people who read this annotation find my inserted critiques of this book to be somewhat humorous.

GENERAL DETAILS

• Title: The Gunsmith: The Death List #363
• Author: J. R. Roberts
• Published: February 28th, 2012
• Publisher: Penguin Random House/Berkley
• Length: 192 pages
• Series or Stand-alone: #363 in an ongoing series
• Genre: Western
• Geographical Setting: Various locations throughout the Old West
• Time Period: Old West 

BOOK SUMMARY

Clint Adams is an ex-lawman who is known throughout the Old West for his adventures...and women. This is, until he is handed a list of 10 people who will die, and supposedly in the order in which they will die. Naturally, Clint Adams is instructed to not tell anyone about this list. 

The names on the list appear to have no connection, and in addition, these people span a large geographic area of the Old West. As the story unfolds, so does Clint's curiosity about this mysterious killer, along with this killer's connection to such a motley crew of people.

CONNECTIONS TO THE WESTERN GENRE (AND CRITIQUES)

• This book, although almost completely void of any landscape descriptions, does take place in the Old West. It is my understanding, however, that many other western books do feature more lush descriptions of America's former landscape
• While women are included in the book, they are seldom truly important to the plot and usually only serve as temporary love interests (i.e. one-night stands), mother figures, and damsels in distress to the main character, Clint Adams. Unfortunately, this is a hallmark of a typical adult (i.e. sex-filled) western
• Even though the plot of this particular book is fairly involved (multiple murders throughout multiple states) there is a significant lack of character development, to the point where this book feels more like a summary of a book than an immersive experience
• Like many westerns, this book is a part of a much larger series, which will appeal to fans of the genre
• The plot of this book is primarily delivered through quick and stilted dialogue, which means that Clint Adams is a very serious man of few words 

KEYWORDS AND THEMES 

• Fast-paced
• Old West
• Sexism
• Romance 
• Murder
• Detectives
• Horses
• Suspense
• Saloons
• Booze 
• Outlaws
• Crime
• Chauvinism 

READ-ALIKES (FICTION)

Here is a list of other popular western authors that is alphabetized by last name:

• Robert Harvey
• William W. Johnstone
• Ron Schwab
• Robert Vaughan
• Frank Wheeler

READ-ALIKES (NON-FICTION)

All of these books are about the Old West from a historical perspective. The first two books, in particular, focus upon American expansion/settler colonialism from a Native American point of view, which is often completely disregarded in the overwhelmingly chauvinistic western genre.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (1970)

Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne (2011)

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides (2001)