Heller with a Gun

Heller with a Gun was just Louis L'Amour's 11th novel. It was originally published in April 1955 by Fawcett Gold Medal (#478) with a cover by Walter Baumhofer. It was reprinted again by Gold Medal in 1958 (#728) with the same cover art, and then the publisher reprinted a 1960 edition with a movie cover to pair with the simultaneous film adaptation, Heller in Pink Tights. The book has been reprinted countless times through the years, but my favorite might be Ron Lesser's 1966 painted cover featuring Steve Holland (Gold Medal #k1731). 

Oddly, there is no one named Heller in the novel. My guess is that the book may have been titled “Hell with a Gun”, and the publisher changed the title at the last minute. It isn't clear to me, and I was unable to locate an answer online. Instead of a hero named Heller, readers are introduced to a quiet, fast-draw Civil War veteran named King Mabry. After the war, Mabry attempted to find an honest living with a rope and saddle. However, due to his quick hands and steady aim, his skill set became attractive to ranchers defending their brand from rustlers. Mabry doesn't want the gun life, but his reputation leads him into more and more trouble. 

As the book begins, readers meet Mabry in the dead of winter. The frosty snow is piled high, and the frigid temperature is 40 below. Mabry is on the move to deliver cash back to a rancher. Yet, from some off-page history, an assassin is lying in wait to shoot Mabry down. None of that history is important as Mabry shoots the assassin and then carries him to an outpost to lie up and heal. 

At the outpost, Mabry collides with the novel's central plot. A traveling entertainment troupe that needs passage to Wyoming. The problem lies in unfamiliar trails, the intense weather, and the fact that the group includes three women – this is the 1800s and women are considered fragile. The group's leader, Tom Healy, hires a bad man named Barker (every Barker in westerns is a villain) to lead them on this perilous journey. The problem is that Barker and a couple of his companions plan to lead the group into the wilderness to be robbed. That's where Mabry comes in. He stealthily follows the group, anticipating Barker's plan.

This is an odd L'Amour book. The novel's first half is impressive, mostly with the survival yarn aspect of the plot – dead of winter, snowfall, wilderness, and the impending heist. There are a number of side stories introduced that enhance the isolation. One is Barker's hired assassin hunting Mabry, an enticing side quest that ends too quickly. Another is the trio of women fortified in the wagon while shooting at Barker and his men. This is a home invasion sort of trope that was just thrilling. However, just when things are cooking, the second half descends into this strange love story as Mabry pines over one of the traveling actresses, a bland character named Janice. There is also a younger woman named Dodie who is equally pining for Mabry. This romantic angle is the basis of the film adaptation.

The novel's third act is brimming over with lightning-fast action that becomes cinematic in presentation. Sioux renegade warriors are attacking Mabry and Healy, the inevitable showdown between Mabry and Barker, and a cat-and-mouse chase through the forest and wilderness hideaway. If L'Amour could have spruced up the book's second half, then Heller with a Gun would be a bona fide classic. Somehow, he just slipped up in the middle, which pushes this western a little further down on the author's must-read list. 

Get Heller with a Gun HERE.