I'd say this OK, something worth reading if you love Westerns. It's decently written, well above the pulp style of a Louis L'Amour, but not exactly literature. I do like the whimsey of a Western with allusions to Cervantes and Shakespeare.

This is the story of the (mis)adventures of Tal Jones (Silk) and Ronald Smythe (Shakespeare aka "Hairy"). It's set in the American West around 1830, in the territory of the Crow and Cheyenne Native American tribes. Silk is just sixteen and on his own since his father deserted him. He rescues Shakespeare from a grizzly stalking him and they become friends and partners. I do appreciate in a Western the attempt at a light touch, but Shakespeare is just too stupid to live, and for me their escapades lost their humor when it resulted in the killing and scalping of a Cheyenne whose horse they steal to impress a woman.

There are also two fascinating historical characters depicted, who'd each be worthy of a novel of their own. There's James Pierson Beckworth, a Virginia-born "mulatto" who had become a Crow chief, and Pine Leaf--a woman warrior of the Crow. I do like how Native Americans are depicted in this novel. Too often I cringe at literary depictions of them--they tend to be depicted either as animalistic brutes, or stiff and noble mystics, while here they do come across as people.

Somehow though, this just isn't strong enough in the story or writing for me to really want to recommend to a friend, keep on my bookshelf, or look up more by this author. Although it did hold me to the end--it's a short, quick read, so someone more enamored of the Western genre may find it engaging. ( )