Found in a bargain bin, Thomas Cobb's SHAVETAIL (2008) had me from page one. It's that good, really! Set in Arizona territory of 1871, it follows the fortunes of 17 year-old Ned Thorne (the title character), who has fled his parental home in Connecticut for perceived crimes, enlisted in the army in Baltimore, trained in Missouri and ends up at tiny Camp Ramsey, where he is rudely initiated by a brutal veteran mule driver. The emphasis shifts between Ned and the two officers of the unit, both of whom have been posted there in disgrace after running afoul of General Crook. A patrol discovers settlers at a nearby ranch have been murdered by a renegade Apache band, and a woman has been taken. The unit goes in pursuit to rescue the woman, and they end up in Mexico. I'm leaving a lot out here, but young Ned does a lot of growing up here, as people die in some numbers and, as a crack marksman, he becomes a key member of his unit, as they face nearly invisible Apache marauders and hostile Mexican irregulars. Cobb, who grew up in the Tucson area, has done extensive research, but it is the gritty, sometimes comical dialogue that makes this so damn good. Ned's tentmate, the illiterate Jarbal Birdwood, is just barely a half wit, but displays a touching loyalty to Ned. And there is a similar closeness between the two officers, friends since West Point.

Thomas Cobb gained considerable game when his 1987 debut novel, CRAZY HEART, was adapted to the screen (twenty years later), and Jeff Bridges wint the best actor Oscar for most portrayal of a washed up country singer. I wanna read that one too. This book? It's a flat out terrific read. Loved it!

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

Shavetail by Thomas Cobb is a character study of three men who serve at the remote outpost of Camp Ramsey in southern Arizona in the year 1871. Ned Thorne is a young, seventeen year old runaway, and as a new recruit he is ill prepared for life in the army. Both Captain Robert Franklin and Lieutenant Tony Austin are veterans whose posting here is perceived as a punishment from General Crook for past mistakes. Franklin is desperate for redemption, while the more introspective Austin ponders life and nature.

Although the local Chiricahua Apaches are staying peaceful, another band, fleeing from a betrayal, have attacked a small ranch, and it is believed that a woman has been taken. A patrol is formed and sets out to ascertain where these Apache are, as a full rescue mission cannot be undertaken until they have the permission of General Crook. The tension mounts as time passes and this permission is not forthcoming. Eventually, something happens to goad the troopers of Camp Ramsey into heading out into the unforgiving desert to save this woman.

Shavetail is far from an action driven western. This is a thoughtful, descriptive piece of writing that is far more character-driven than plot-driven. The landscape of southern Arizona is realistically painted, and we can smell the juniper and mesquite, feel the burning sun and sense the dust clogging the pores. The hard life of a soldier is laid out for us to examine and Cobb does not shy away from showing the base nature of men.

Both the subject matter and the writing brought Robert Olmstead’s Far Bright Star to mind with both authors being particularly strong with the dialogue. Swinging from harsh realism to the poetically beautiful, Shavetail was an absorbing read that I will long remember. ( )

Not very good story. Well written but just a bit dumb in my opinion. All the characters were about 25 degrees off center and story line goes nowhere. Sorry -- I wanted to like it. ( )

Not a revenant of the "western" genre, but an example of its offspring -- the "historical novel" set in the American west. A coming-of-age novel, recirculating a number of standard themes: Indian captivity, dishonored army officers seeking redemption, etc. These are offset by some original touches: an officer struggling with clinical depression, an isolated ranch wife addicted to pica, and simmering homophilia amongst the troops. The characters do a fair amount of writing of their own (letters home, diaries, journals), and I think Cobb has captured well the somewhat stilted language used by people of that era in their correspondence, as opposed to their spoken language, which he also renders effectively. However, he is not at his best describing action; it's often difficult for the reader to achieve a clear picture of the various ambushes, flash floods, treacherous mountain crossings, etc. Overall, a worthy effort, though. ( )