THE BOLD WEST

Here are a novelette and two short stories, all Westerns. The Max Brand novelette, emotional and overblown, features a young woman on a ranch wondering about her father's past. Christopher Graybill attempts full characterizations and cannot bring them off; his male characters all sound false and buffoonish, especially their Western accents. In the Ray Hogan story, an aging lawman is forced to kill someone he particularly doesn't want to harm; the grim story is enhanced by Richard Rohan's gruff, authentic-sounding characterizations. "The Feminine Touch" is a comedy; the old duffer at the heart of the story is nicely portrayed by Christopher Walker. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 01]