June on the Range 2025 Wrap Up

It is July 2nd, 2025 as I write this and while a tad late, I just finished my fourth and final book for this year's June on the Range reading event.

For my last novel, I chose Showdown at Sunset by Harry Sinclair Drago. This was a random pick from the stack, but one I selected based on two things: the length of the novel (a mere 150 pages) and the kickass cover by acclaimed artist, Robert K. Abbett (known by many for his Tarzan, Barsoom, and Pellucidar covers).

Strangely, despite its 150 pages, this one took me longer to get through than the others I read last month and at one point, I even considered "DNRing" it in favor of something else, but I stubbornly stuck with it to the end and I'm not too upset with myself for doing that.

It's not that it's a bad book, it's just that it took a long while to figure out exactly who the main character was(!) and where the story was actually going. Heck, the villains (plural) are mostly faceless and completely devoid of character. We really only know of their villainy through their actions, not through their interactions.

The back cover blurb of this November, 1958 Permabooks edition states: 

"When Clay Roberts put on the sheriff's badge, he swore to wipe out lawlessness. If that meant kidnapping Yancey Krebs from the neighboring county it was all right with him... if he could get away with it."

Roberts doesn't actually become sheriff until at least halfway through the book and his plan to kidnap a character from a neighboring county isn't even suggested until page 121 of this slim, 150-page novel!

Prior to this, we spend a lot of the time meandering around the area, introducing lots of new characters and seemingly random plot complications, and upping the stakes as we suddenly find ourselves racing toward the big finish which includes the eponymous sunset showdown of the book's title.

Harry Drago wrote several western novels, non-fiction books, and a number of silent serials and feature films. In many ways, there are structural elements of this book that read like a screenplay with quick asides presented without any noticeable break in the text and events resolved within a single sentence!

Ultimately, while the pacing is fast, somehow the entire thing drags. I don't have any additional books by Drago in my collection, but I am intrigued enough to want to check out some of his other work, especially some of his non-fiction like the Steamboaters: From the Early Side-Wheelers to the Big Packets published in 1967.

Showdown at Sunset gets two sheriff badges out of five from me. ★★

Next up, it's time for Rocket Summer 2025! Strap yourselves down and prepare for blast off! 🚀