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Summary
Summary
Careful What You Bet
In Salt Springs, on the Fourth of July, a young man took a bet--and ended up broken, battered and fighting for his life. . .But Billy Piper didn't die. He just came back to haunt Salt Springs--with all the book learning he did during his convalescence, with all the love he had for a whore, with all the friendship he shared with an old cowboy who couldn't help see the difference between right and wrong. . .
In this extraordinary classic Western by award-winning Hollywood screenwriter William Blinn (Gunsmoke, Bonanza), the story of Billy Piper becomes a powerful tale of two men's undying friendship, of a murder and a fight for justice. . .With the town of Salt Springs buckling and booming under the flow of oil and the coming of a railroad, where one man's power and dark secret would tear Billy Piper apart--until he picked up a gun and changed everything forever. . .and Salt Springs would explode in violence and blood.
William Blinn is a screenwriter who helped bring the Western to American television audiences, with credits on Gunsmoke, The High Chaparrall, The Big Valley,Rawhide, and Bonanza. A two-time Emmy award winner, he has also been acclaimed for his writing for such TV movies as "Brian's Song" and "Roots." He also created the classic TV series The Rookies and Starsky and Hutch.
Reviews (1)
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Not, perhaps, since McMurtry's Lonesome Dove (1985) has a contemporary writer produced a western that feels so right. Blinn, who wrote for TV westerns when the genre was in its heyday (Rawhide, Bonanza, The Big Valley), tells the story of two friends: Wilbur, an aging cowhand, and the younger Billy, an impetuous youngster who thinks it would be a real good idea if he climbed up onto Black Iodine, an especially nasty horse, and stayed there for 10 seconds (the record being about 7). Well, the horse flips on him, smashing Billy into the ground and messing him up pretty bad. As he recovers from his injuries he'll always walk with a limp Billy changes, turns inwards, begins reading books and making plans for the future. Eventually, Billy encounters a situation that fills him with rage, and, to save his young friend from ruining his life, Wilbur does what he has to do: he shoulders Billy's load. Like McMurtry, Blinn (who also created the TV series Starsky and Hutch, which oddly enough explored some of this novel's themes) creates a vivid environment, in this case Wyoming circa 1870, and populates it with beautifully drawn characters. This novel's thoughtful and compassionate story will stay with you for a good long time. A joy to read.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist
