When I was a youngster, like all young men, I was infatuated by the story and lifestyle of the cowboy and the open plains of the wild west. I remember the sharpness of The Rifleman with Chuck Connors, the strength and personality of Clint Walker as Cheyenne, and the dark brooding quality and humour that James Drury instilled in the role of The Virginian with his ever present and helpful pardner Trampus. I loved reading the graphic novels of Zane Grey, and the world best selling authors J T Edson and Louis L'Amour. "That Damned Coyote Hill" brings to life the smells and sounds of the good old wild west; the lone stranger entering town (seeking out the murderers of a young girl) the townsfolk equally friendly and suspicious, and the dry arid landscape that forms the backdrop to a story bristling with tension and the ever constant fear of violent, instant death! If we add to this mix an element of horror, the rather odd appearance of the residences of Coyote Hill, with their elongated fangs, and the ferocious large coyotes...an ever present terror ready to rip a man's throat out and devour his bloodied remains...then we have a first class short story for the discerning lover of the western who enjoys just a dash of horror :)
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