An OK debut. His sequels are better, but this one sets the stage for the ongoing storyline. My interest lagged in the middle of the story, perhaps the book is a tad too long? ( )

Christopher Marlowe “Kit” Cobb is a Chicago reporter who goes to Veracuz to report on the Mexican civil war. As part of his investigation he ends up chasing German agent Friedrich von Mensinger, which leads him to Pancho Villa’s camp and his side of the revolution.

The story has potential to be exciting and a true western adventure but the author uses long sentences and a slow narrative style which makes it bland and uninviting. Christopher Cobb is torn between his journalistic duties, which take him deep into the Mexican civil war and Pancho Villa’s campaign and his long distance correspondence with his mother, so the story feels a bit disrupted in places. The storyline between the German spy and his intrusion in the Villista side of the revolution was interesting but the author managed to make it a small part of the overall plot and I felt it needed more explanation and development.

I probably would not recommend the novel as I found it a bit bland and slow going but it has good reviews from other readers so I’m sure it will be enjoyable for other people. ( )

The Hot Country – Great Historical Adventure

The Hot Country by Robert Olen Butler is another Christopher Marlow Cobb “thriller” which according to The Washington Post is ‘A thinking person’s historical thriller’ and part of the literary thriller genre. Never have literary thrillers actually been that thrilling and the same can be said of The Hot Country. If this is a thriller then I am up for the Noble Prize in Literature next year. This is a good historical adventure which in places is stodgy but in others a gloriously written adventure.

Christopher Marlow Cobb is a war journalist who is in Vera Cruz, Mexico it is 1914 and Europe is teetering on the edge of war when a German boat drops anchor in the bay not far from a couple of American frigates. It is not the invading American’s that stir Cobb’s curiosity but a German official who comes a shore and is hidden away in the German consulate. Why would a German be interested in Mexico when the storm clouds are gathering over Europe?

To find out more Cobb has to assume the identity of a German so that he able to follow the German to his destination without raising attention to himself. He knows that the German must be heading out to meet the Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa but what will he be offering, arms or money possibly both? While on the train journey the service is held up by Villa’s bandits who rob the train and Cobb is taken with them when he bumbs in to a double agent he knows.

He manages to earn Pancho Villa’s trust, finds out the German’s plans and decides to get back to America as quickly as possible to write the story of his life. Somehow the story gets spiked but means Cobb has to return Mexico and meet with Villa.

This is an old fashioned adventure story based on historical fact with everything you expect, blood, lust, money and the US of A coming to the rescue. Well written the prose flows on the pages sometimes it over elaborates but that is my personal opinion. This is a good book for all those that enjoy a historical adventure but it is not a thriller. It is still a pleasure to read, even if you cannot overlook the fact that the Americans are the heroes and revolutionary leaders are backwards fools and the Germans are not much better. At times the imagery this book invokes had me thinking of John Wayne and other western heroes of the silver screen. ( )

The Hot Country Robert Olen Butler

I loved this book!! From the opening sentences I was transported to the era of the Beats and when Tallahassee Slim was introduced I was walking alongside Kerouac again!
Clearly this is the work of an experienced writer who knows how to work and please his audience. I note that Mr. Butler is a Pulitzer Prize winner so he must be good!! And for me, he is.
If you like your swashes being buckled then this is the book for you. Page turning skirmishes of credible violence. But it wasn’t just blood and thunder there was an elegance to the form and style of the prose and the development of the characters that was simply so satisfying to read. It is an intelligent adventure story with enough diversity within the core of the story to keep attention and interest alert. In fact there is so much in the book that works alongside the basic tale. A treatise on relationships at several levels from filial, to lust, to love, to loyalty, to compassion.
My fear for a novel such as this is that it may be overlook as just an historical tale of intrigue and war but it has so much more depth than that. Thank you to Mr Butler for writing this and as always thank you to Real Readers for allowing me to possess it! ( )

It's a western! Make of that what you like. ( )