Nowhere, TX (Sundown Riders)

At first it works well, the uneasy peace between outlaws, citizens and the cowboys who work in the surrounding area. Eventually the peace becomes unease and then the violence erupts.

David Robbins provides us with a top notch tale here, tough, gritty and at times brutal. A story that dosen't contain a central character, rather revolves around the actions of many, both law abiding and not. Characters that'll have you urging them on, sharing their happiness and sorrows, or just plain despising them.
The events of the story weave together to build strongly to the final violent confrontation.

This book grabbed me from the opening sequence and from then on just begs not to be put down until you've finished it.

Very highly recommended, buy it now!


FIRST RATE READING OF WESTERN   March 11, 2004
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

David Robbins does a picture perfect job of recreating the old West and Terry Evans does a great job of giving it voice from the outlaws, cutthroats, and thieves to the outraged townspeople to our hero.

Nowhere, TX is precisely that - nowhere, a tiny town perched on the border between Texas and the Oklahoma Territory. Nowhere is also a way station for all running from the law and for those who simply want to make trouble.

Obviously, life isn't easy for any law abiding citizen when they're overrun by desperadoes who think there's no law they can't break and set out to prove it. But, enough is enough, the town folk want the killers and thieves out of their town.

The tale of how this is accomplished is a breakneck listen from start to finish.

- Gail Cooke


Nowhere, Tx Review   February 29, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

NOWHERE, TX - A Ralph Compton novel by David Robbins Genre: Western

This was a great book, one of the best stand alone Westerns (i.e. not a series) I've read IMHO. The way it was written was very effective and original, in fact I can't remember a book being written this way before. You had to judge people in the book by their actions, reactions or what they said or didn't say, You never got to know what the character's were thinking as no thought processes were detailed in the narrative i.e. there was never anything like "he thought", "she wondered" etc. It reminded me of watching a movie in some regards where you had to judge a character by what they did or said as you couldn't know what was in their minds.

The basic story revolves around the town of Nowhere which is on the cusp of the states Texas and Oklahoma but belongs to neither so it is in effect in "No Man's Land" and totally lawless as no state statutes apply there, A gang led by Black Jack Shelton take over the town gradually without the citizens noticing as the profit by the money the Outlaws are spending in the business, before they know it the town in a wild and lawless place. The story builds to a brutal and bloody outcome but I won't detail the whole story here as I don't want to ruin in for other readers. The whole pace of the book is very quick and I couldn't put the book down once I started it. The violence at times in the book is shocking as it comes totally out of the blue most of the time as you don't know what the character is thinking about before they trigger the violence, Billy Braden is a good example of this when he kills two innocent traveller's at the start of the book. What I also found interesting is that there isn't really a central hero figure in this book and this made it more life-like to me as there wasn't one good guy putting everything to right at the end of the tale.

This is a must read Western IMHO, fantastic.


Excellent Read   February 26, 2004
I read this on a Plane and it made the trip go by quickly. Could not put it down. David Robbins has done a great job once again.


A Must Read   February 23, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a must read for David Robbins fans and everyone else. I sat down to read a couple of chapters and ended up reading the whole book because I could not put it down. It had some unexpected events that literally take your breath away. Wonderfully crafted, don't miss it!