My friend Larry Paschelke, whom you know as the patron for my access to the early run of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, has offered his take on this modern-day epic. Thanks Larry!
From the cover of the book (using the original cover of the April
1949 Dime Western pulp magazine) to the final two pages
presenting the interesting and important “About the Author”
essay, this book is a good addition to the list of novels involving
the mix of real and fictional characters.
The time and site is
1813 in the Mississippi Territory, with the ongoing Creek War raging.
Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Red Eagle and the great horse Arrow
are among the real, while a supporting cast of fictional
characters—including a huge dog, Samson—fit together well. A
separate type of character is the “demon” referred to in the
title.
The book was
published in both trade paperback and hardback, and while it might
take some extra effort to track down the hardback, as a book
collector I have gone for it. Besides, the little additional cost may
help Lewis and his wife Irene to occasionally get off their usual
diet of bear-grease and buffalo chips. Also, I heard there something
called an eBook edition, but it is probably just a figment of
someone’s imagination. I know Davy Crockett got along without such
a thing, so I guess I can, too.
After finishing the
book I would definitely recommend the reader the peruse the two
Afterwords: The “Historical Note” is where Lewis outlines his mix
of real and fictional characters and events. He seems to have done a
good job of it.
The second Afterword
is “About the Author,” where Lewis admits being under a life-long
spell of Davy Crockett and lists some of the Davy “stuff” he’s
collected over the years. I think this is an important part of his
ability to write the book so well. I must admit that I have known him
for over 40 years as both a friend and collector. Just recently he
told me there were two songs he would want played at his funeral. I
would hope they would play all fifty-some versions of “The Ballad
of Davy Crockett” that he mentions in this Afterword, if only to
drown out his other chosen song, “Louie, Louie.” But don’t hold
that against him while you’re going out to get this book!
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