Flintlock by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is nearly flawless. This is not a simple good guy vs. bad guy western. It’s a complex tale of many characters with many stories that lead to hard to expect conclusions.

The writing is way above average for a Johnstone Clan novel. Characters, what i feel is the Johnstone hallmark, are excellent in depiction. Considering how many are included, each is distinctly built. Most are written with more than a few views and develop during the novel. The settings are also very well described and flourishes of settings detailed throughout the narrative.

The author of this Johnstone book does stray from the normal Johnstone writings with a cross-dressing bar owner with an identity crisis. There’s also an odd writing of views of blacks and more than one character reacting as if the view of black people was different at that time, which it wasn’t. In other words, this is the first time I’ve seen political correctness creep into a Johnstone novel.

Another trouble I have with the book is another poorly executed cover. The Flintlock character is so well defined by height, mustache and flamboyant tattoo that the typical western hero model on the cover is obviously disconnected.

Still another issue is the extensive use of mysticism throughout the book. If the reader pays attention it all relates to other activity in the book. It’s a bit too subtle for an average reading. The worse part of it is that there are too many characters that claim mystic experiences. That was not out of the ordinary in the west at that time, though political correctness was. This was also a major change in a Johnstone Clan novel, a turn to science fiction.

All of my complaints are mostly superficial. The book otherwise is excellent and fulfilling.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of 10 points.

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