Spine # 541
“She had never seen a man like this before, not even on the brawling river rafts that she’d sometimes watched going down the Ohio, or in the savage canebrake settlements where Jeff had taken her on two of his hunting trips. He was naked above the waist, a nakedness hidden and yet made more unmistakable by the tangled mat of hair that covered his chest, belly, arms, and shoulders. He had the face of a devil, unshaven, his hair a wild tumult of spiky points and he eyes red-rimmed. The grease-stained, filthy trousers that hung loosely from his hips were ripped and torn, their tattered legs tucked into books slimy with the mud of the swamp.”
Hommer Hatten, Horsemen from Hell
Melissa McCutcheon is searching for her husband, Jeff, who is a fugitive from the law. Her journey turns dangerous when she steps off a steamboat in a backwater town in Arkansas. Believing that she’s some kind of city girl easy mark, it’s not long before a few river rat locals inflict violence on this newcomer. At least they try to do their best.
Coming to her rescue is a group of Indians lead by a half-bred named Mallonee. He’s a tough cuss southern gentlemen, quick with a knife and a gun. After freeing Melissa from near-certain doom, she rides with them on the hunt for Jeff and the man who double-crossed Mallonee way back when.
On their way north, they get bushwhacked by a band of cutthroats hired by Mallonee’s past partner. There’s one survivor who is able to flee. Melissa, sure as heck, recognizes the man as her husband.
Jeff rides back to his boss with a warning about the group of Indians who are out for revenge and blood. These riders will be coming soon and both Melissa and Mallonee are looking to settle old scores.
Outside of the first chapter, this book is awful. There are too many characters, many of whom are dull. Also, about halfway through the plot puts violence on the back burner and emphasizes a tangled love story so sappy that it’s worthy of passing like sands through the hour glass.
But, god damn, it’s called Horsemen from Hell and has terrific cover art by Frank McCarthy. What the hell?
This book, for better or for worse, is a perfect example of what Fawcett Gold Medal, and other pulp publishers, did very well: they put out a turd of a book polished up beautifully by a kickass cover and title. You’d like to think that every paperback will live up to the promised punch of the artwork on the front. I hate to break it to you, that is far from a guarantee.
There was a sage who once said something about a box of chocolates and never knowing what you’re gonna get. That sums up the experience of reading seventy year old fiction book published for the masses. Now, I personally enjoy the chance of getting a dud. But, that’s easy for me to say as I love Gold Medal paperbacks and don’t mind grinding through a 120 page drudgery. Plus, I generally go in with low expectations. I mean, lets face it, this isn’t a blog about the NYRB Classics series or a discourse on how well the Library of America is doing with their author selections.
Now, I’ll say that I’ve been presently surprised by some of the misleading covers. The most recent example would be The Captain Must Die by Robert Colby. The Gold Medal cover features a bunch of raggedy-assed soldiers in a foxhole with bombs exploded all around. You’d think that book would have been war pulp about fragging an officer. It’s not. Instead, it’s about a few former servicemen who are looking to get revenge on their commanding officer. The war might be over, but their battle is just beginning. That one gave me a lot of unexpected joy.
If you’re reading this and didn’t enjoy the experience of discovering that a pulp paperback’s plot had almost nothing to do with its titillating or tantalizing cover, I feel for you. But, you might as well chock it up to clever mid-century marketing.
At the very least, the book will look great on a shelf.
C.D. Baxter’s Quick Review of Horsemen from Hell
Story – Boring and Irritating
Cover Eye Candy – Excellent