Pioneering in the Old West usually depicts images of horses, gunfights, wild characters, outlaws and sheriffs, cowboys and Indians, and dusty saloons, amongst other iconic memories gleaned from stereotypical Hollywood Westerns. Fear of the Gun brings to life the story of a normal family in its quest to settle and develop a sheep farm in the Southwest. We follow a boy as he transitions from loving brother to hard-working son, to become a savvy city-dweller while observing the surrounding phenomena of his time.
Zachary’s character develops slowly, carefully, and believably. His experiences on the sheep farm with his older brother, mother, father, and dog clearly influence his own growth without being overly obvious. His strong mother instils a respect for book-learning. We learn that his father is away a lot of the time, but is a well-recognized scout before, during, and after the Civil War. Together they build a growing sheep farm at a crossroads of the trail to California. This is a rural family with outside influences to reflect the events of the time.
Tragedy strikes. The family mourns and grows. Zachary harbours deep questions about himself that shade the background of his adolescence and young adulthood.
Mr. Gerts writes with passion. His characters unfold logically and rationally. Though not terribly complex, they are entirely credible. They bring the reader into their world and make the reader question what will happen next. The book is very readable. I read it straight through over a week. It’s one of those books that make the reader happy to have read another section, and happy to pick it up again when the day is done.
The author is known for his attention to detail. Even in the Google age of Internet Research, one wonders how and where the technical details of New Mexico and Arizona’s early pioneer trails, or shepherding, or the life of a stagecoach outpost come from. These historical facts give the tale a credence that allow the various characters to continue their personal growth and development.
At 500 pages, it is a lengthy book. I wondered a few times where the story was going. For some inexplicable reason, however, I was able to easily return to the book with pleasure. And I am happy to have done so, for the ending ties the various characters and plots and themes together into a neat package that makes me think – even after a few weeks of reflection – that this was a great book.
