Helpful Score: 1
Love this book. Was a huge fan of the HBO series, and when that went off air I was left wanting more. Saw this in a bookstore, picked it up, took a chance. Very good book!
If you're a fan of the fantastic HBO series "Deadwood", you'll want to pick up this really entertaining book. David Milch, the series' creator and producer cites Dexter's novel as one of the main sources for his show. Swearingen, Seth Bullock, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill are all here, along with a number of other characters not prominently featured in the show but just as interesting. An entertaining and educational read.
Great read whether you like historical fiction or not. Love a story where I really like the characters. The authentic language was enjoyable and not hard to understand that the HBO version.
The back of the book suggests this is one of the best Westerns ever written. I concur (and I loved Lonesome Dove). Bill Hickok dying of syphilis with his best companion, Charley Utter keeping watch but missing the main event. Calamity Jane, a hard drinking, soft-hearted woman with a knack for healing the sick. Agnes Lake, reserved, elegant, and a tightrope walker. Malcolm Nash, preaching the gospel of a dead man's envisioned Bible. Pete Dexter deftly weaves the tales of these individuals (and more) into a tightly crafted, beautifully written fictional history of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Makes me want to travel there someday to see if I can find traces of these wonderful characters.
Bill Hickok dying of syphilis with his best companion, Charley Utter keeping watch but missing the main event. Calamity Jane, a hard drinking, soft-hearted woman with a knack for healing the sick. Agnes Lake, reserved, elegant, and a tightrope walker. Malcolm Nash, preaching the gospel of a dead man's envisioned Bible. Pete Dexter deftly weaves the tales of these individuals (and more) into a tightly crafted, beautifully written fictional history of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota.
Oversized PB - Wild Bill Hickok coming to Deadwood . . .
Deadwood is one of the best "Westerns" written because it is dead on describing the mythical figures and the era of the early West, written by one of America's best writers...strong stuff!
