Longarm and the Ghost of Black Mesa

by Tabor Evans

Marshal Custis Long is in chilling pursuit of an axe murderer, and whichever way this showdown storms in, he's damn sure sending the white-faced phantom back to the hell he came from.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515143529
• ISBN13: 9780515143522
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Jove Books
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

"You've been declared expendable,superfluous. You're a dead man,and just too stupid to know it."

There have been many writers who have written these Lomgarm novels under the name of Tabor Evans.They are very different in their writing styles and the author of this particular episode is very different from any of the others I have read. This writer's style hit me immediately with his excessive use of descriptive adjectives. This was particularly the case at the beginning. Here's a little example from page 13; "Longarm's head snapped away from the conversation.He looked like a man who'd just been slapped with an open palm made of red-hot flesh-forged iron.A wave of pent-up,bitter-tasting bile,anger,and disgust swept through his entire being.His weathered neck reddened,and he jerked his tightly buttoned collar open for relief from the sudden upsurge of heat flowing toward his ears.All of a sudden he felt a discomfort from the soles of his feet to the roots of his hair.A murderous fury,generated from the intensity of long-suppressed feelings,swept through blood that bubbled,then instantaneously went to a lethal,skin-singeing,man-killing boil." At this point,I'd almost had all I could stand of this kind of writing; but I hung in and once the author got into the story ,he cut back on this endless descriptive writing and got to some great action,excellent story development and created some real engaging characters.However; whenever the storyline changed direction or whatever,the author would revert to the descriptive style.;until he once again got back to the story. I was left with the thought that this is a real talanted ,but maybe a somewhat frustrated writer who would prefer to be writing poetry or some other gendre;but to hold body and soul together ,writes other things just to survive.So,despite what I have said,I still found it a great read. Once again,I am obligated to make some comments on the cover's artwork. There were three exceptionally imaginative characters in the story.Kate Thorne,"Spook" Lomax,and Orpheus Nightshade,any one of which should have graced the cover and would have been excellent. Then,maybe a s scene from the Four Deuces Saloon rather than a church with grave markers alongside,which was not even mentioned in the story.Likewise there is no relationship to the photo on the cover of the fellow in shirt,tie and jacket.A much better effort from the "Art Department" would be a great improvement. Once again,this is a writer with a very different style,who developed real unique characters and built them into a fast-action sroryline and one I hope writes more in the series. How can one not like ; "Longarm shook his friend's hand.A faint smile spread over his face as he said,'Trust me,Billy. From the moment you told me he was a hauntin' the area again,I never entertained the slightest intention of bringing him back alive. He's already dead--he just don't know it yet'"