Wanted: A Western Story Collection

I love Western movies and tv shows, but haven't always enjoyed Western novels (Lonesome Dove being an exception). This is a perfect book for someone who only occasionally reads Westerns. Like any short story compilation, there are gems and there are lumps of coal. Most of the stories are entertaining and all of them are short, so even the mediocre stories don't take long to read. My favorite is one of the longer stories involving Jess Williams, a fast shooting and wealthy bounty hunter who only goes after the worst of the bad guys. He gets involved in a dispute between a family of sheep farmers and a powerful cattleman. There are twists to the tale and some humor as well. Overall, the collection is a pleasant way to spend a couple hours of your time and if you don't read much Western fiction, these authors will likely be new to you, as they were to me.

Great stories by some great storytelling authors. A nice example of different writing styles that give readers a choice to find their favorite. All stories are well written, have happy endings, and no f words to be found. Western readers should enjoy this book.

After I finished "Hades" by Robert J Thomas I noticed at the end a description of this book. Since it had Thomas' Jess Williams character I knew I had to have it. Titled "The Shepherd" it begins with Tray Hansard coming up as Jess' next target. Hansard's confrontation with Jess ends the same way all of the other "no goods" that Jess is famous of sending on their way to the fires of down under. Much to the delight of JW followers, Jess will reunite with John Bodine & Frank Reedy in the town of Pelston as he is pulled into the middle of a fight between a sheep rancher & the local cattle rancher who is determined to get rid of him & his family.This story had to have been written after "Wildcat" because it refers to Jess' time with her. Therefore, it explains to me why the 49th book was a little later coming out. This book was an unexpected bonus.All of the other stories were very good & I particularly enjoyed the one with Lee & Brian transporting the mirror to their hotel. It was a bit different than the usual westerns & the ending left you hoping that there might be a sequel.This is an excellent way to spend some time in the old west & there was enough variety in each writer's technique to make each story interesting.I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys a really good western but doesn't want to spend time reading a long book.

I felt most of the stories were well done and several gave me the desire to read the whole series. For me the downfall of the collection was the last one. The story line was interesting and had potential, but I will not pursue more of that particular writer's work. There was no need for all of the base embellishments he felt necessary to include. I also understand this review may result in others “just having to read it“, kind of like when we see a "don't get on the grass" sign..........

These are well written and interesting stories. Each writer has a different style in putting his story together. All these authors know how to write to make you interested in the story and give you the basic story line to make a short story complete. Plus all the lead characters are a man’s man. Read and enjoy.

I liked all of the stories,the way each of the authors, although different wrote with flowing dialog and made their characters real. I would recommend all of these authors and their many books to anyone who enjoys western reading. Thanks to all the authors, its always appreciated and fun.

It’s impossible to assign stars to an anthology with so many authors. The reason I read this book is because I read everything by Bradshaw. His stories are fascinating. His style is spare, crisp, total enjoyment.

Easy reading short story collection. All the stories were good, which isn't the norm. Disappointed in the Best (Steve Dancy) story. I'd just read it. It was included in the book Jenny's Revenge. Welp, just have to move on to the Wanted II book to get my fix.

Plain, simple writing with some okay stories. Certainly not high or award winning literature, but good entertainment. Some stories are well written and quite good; a couple were harder to get into.

Excellent read. An introduction to a few western authors I've never read before. And a welcome return of some tried and true favourites. Full of sand, twisted plots and unique characters.

Good old fashioned stories of the West. Good guys win bad guys get shot. Very simple single thread stories. A delight to read but not if you are looking for complex plots.

Livre captivant on ne peut pas cesser de le lire avant la fin 👍

The stories themselves were quite entertaining however, while I understand they are meant to be"Short" stories... some of these are absurd!!! More conversation than story's!!! I was really quite disappointed with this collection.