Douglas Hirt

Set in the early boomtown mining days of the city, Cripple Creek centers on the noble adventures of young mining engineer Casey Daniels, a man both empowered and burdened by his principles. Daniels returns to Cripple Creek at the beginning of the book, determined to make his living there. Being of upstanding character, it doesn't take him long to run afoul of local corrupt mine owner Phillip LaFarge and all-around ne'er-do-well Oliver Sawyer, and the drama quickly becomes riveting. Sorting show more out his problems takes Daniels all around a locale salted with historical sites and peppered with real historical figures at their most interesting times. The work is meticulously researched and thoroughly detailed without ever becoming ponderous. In Cripple Creek, Hirt has given us a real treasure, a book that lets us for a short while breathe the air and rub elbows with the larger-than-life people in one of those fleeting and magical moments of history. show less

I waited a long time to get this book - nearly a decade from when I first saw it reviewed to when I actually found a copy of it. It was actually okay. Not great (turned out to be an action-adventure novel, and I don't like adventure novels) but okay. I did pick up the next one in the series but it turned out to be even more adventure-y and I wasn't able to finish that one.

Glad I read it. Glad I stopped in the middle of book two. No interest at all in book 3.

Western

Awesome series