Sun 29 Aug 2010
A Western Review by Dan Stumpf: HARRY WHITTINGTON – Desert Stake-Out.
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western Fiction[2] Comments
HARRY WHITTINGTON – Desert Stake-Out. Gold Medal s1123, paperback original; 1st printing, June 1961. Reprinted at least once by Gold Medal; plus: Avon, paperback, 1989.
Speaking of wasting a few hours enjoyably, Harry Whittington was a cut above the average paperback hack, and Desert Stake-Out is a cut above the average Whittington.
The story of a lone rider bent on vengeance thrown into uneasy alliance with three outlaws and a callow married couple reads like one of those marvelous Boetticher/Scott westerns of the period, and in fact, Stake-Out is dedicated to Harry Joe Brown, the producer of that series.
Whittington doesn’t break any new ground, but he plows the old fields affectionately enough to yield a crop. Hero Blade Merrick (I guess some folks don’t care what they name their kids) is appropriately terse and hard-bitten, the outlaws are well-realized characters who engage our sympathy even while terrorizing the good folks, and if the sexy heroine and her weakling husband seem a bit pat, they at least serve their function.
Whittington (at his best) had a way with tight writing and fast action, and he serves this up entertainingly.
August 29th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Dan
I have to agree about sticking anyone with the name Blade, but should point out Maverick is an old English name and there was a fairly well known Maverick family in Texas (no, not Brett, Bart, and Beau). There are still quite a few Mavericks around (in both senses). It’s not a common name, but you run into it in the Southwest and West more than you might expect.
Whittington wrote quite a few movie tie in titles, and I always thought his cinematic style lent itself to that. As you say he isn’t a great writer, but he is a highly capable one, and there is usually something a bit deeper than usual in his best books.
This one would have made a good Boetticher/Scott western.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:39 am
From Dan’s review, but not yet having read the book, I second the motion you made in your last sentence, David. It’s obviously what Whittington had in mind.