Stuart Brannon's Final Shot--A Finished Family Project

The first chapter of Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot by Stephen Bly peaks interest. The prologue mentioned Seaside, Oregon—an interesting setting for the legendary Stuart Brannon—a man that drove cattle all over South America and managed to bring a thousand Mexican beef into the Arizona Territory all by his lonesome.

  

Bly started Brannon’s Final Shot before he died, June 9, 2011. His wife and sons finished the project. They kept the legendary Stuart Brannon in and out of many a fracas, avoiding the dime novel author, Hawthorne Miller and added a bit of romance. I’m sad this is the last of the Brannon series.

If you haven’t read Stephen Bly’s books, check out Stephen Bly online. In the meantime, read a bit of the first chapter and smile. Every character from beginning to end takes you back to the old west. 

CHAPTER ONE

Sunday afternoon, June 11, 1905

south of Portland

“I thought you was dead.” The words rumbled out of some deep, dark pit of tales told at late night campfires and smoky saloons. Thick drops of dirty sweat careened down the bearded man’s face. A ripped-in-shreds shirt sleeve exposed a long, jagged old scar on his left arm. Bloodshot brown eyes glared into the future as if forecasting bad news. Very bad news.

“A common mistake.”