A review by bergsteiger
The Shootist by Miles Hood Swarthout, Glendon Swarthout

3.0

Love the idea behind the book, even if the plot line is painfully predictable and prone to cliche. Criticisms aside, the book unfolds nicely, with a more measured look at the era of gunfighters than some of the pulp novels available in the genre. J.B. Books comes to the city of El Paso to find the one doctor he respects and discovers that he has advanced cancer and will die soon. His last several weeks of life and his growing infirmity are authentically captured by Mr. Swarthout and made for a good read. This was right at 3.5 stars and I had to round down for the simplistic nature of the plot line and limited character development. Still one of the better Westerns I've read though. Give it a try if you're interested in the genre.