(Welcome to Day Two of the Memorial Day Weekend Event at Jimbo’s Awesome Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews. Today we honor Ian McMurtrie, AKA Lawdog, owner of Raconteur Press and publisher of Space Cowboy’s 404: Cow Not Found, along with a bunch of other stuff.
McMurtie served eight years as a member of the US Army and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He started out as a Small Arms/Towed Artillery repairer and then cross-trained into Cavalry Scout and Chemical Operations Specialist. That last one is some scary stuff. He got to play with the Bushmaster chain cannon and the TOW rocket. Despite all of that, McMurtrie states that he would advise youngsters headed into the military to avoid combat MOS’s and get something that would translate into a civilian career.
McMurtrie is as yet unmarried, but has a Very Patient Significant Other named Rita and “Task Force Chiweenie”; two dachshund mixes.)
I gotta be honest here: I had the impression that McMurtrie had edited this. I guess that’s what I get for thinking. Then again, he owns the company so I guess I’m still reviewing his work. And I’m glad I did. Space Cowboys 404: Cow Not Found was a lot of fun. And, while I’m out here honoring veterans, lemme just toss out there that my maternal grandfather was an Air Force vet and he loved Westerns. I’d like to think that, out there somewhere Grandpa knows I reviewed a cowboy book and he’s smiling. A man can dream, right?
I don’t often review anthologies, but Space Cowboys 404: Cow Not Found is my favorite so far. The book was long enough to be worth the price and short enough to keep it fun. I’ll be picking up more of these, I think. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve GOT some in my inbox. I might just have to take a look once the month’s over.
So what were the stories like? I’m glad you asked, even if you made me ask for you because you think I should have to do all the work around here.
The first story, “Little Lost CAU” by Matthias Gilliam takes the cowboy theme seriously. The dudes are looking for a lost Collection Automation Unit (CAU) when one comes up missing at the end of the shift. That’ll happen when signals get lost in the middle of the asteroid belt. The boss wants to know where the thing is. The one guy wants to know why he’s still alive. Things get hinky. There is some frontier justice. It’s a good time.
The second story “Lode Claim Blues” by Spearman Burke (I’m guessing THAT’S a penname. Also, everybody wave at the Marine in the anthology. I always like it when I can honor more than one veteran in a single review because lazy. ) combines some legal maneuvering with a bit of totally badassery. There’s a corporate interest tryin’ to muscle in on the honest prospectors and things get ugly. I love it when things get ugly. And hey, the story takes place on an asteroid. There’s just something about the Old West in deep space. This one was fun.
Up third is “The Forever Mug of Joe at Bitsy’s Saloon” by Danith McPherson This one struck a weird chord with me. At its heart its a story about a gutsy man, a scandalous woman and some germs to be be prospected. There’s some suspense and a wee bit of angst. I liked the story but there was a bit in there about how prospectors didn’t survive many trips out before their luck ran out. Maybe it’s just because it’s Memorial Day Weekend, but this one had a vibe somewhat similar to a bomber crew and its odds of making it home.
Next comes “The Guns of Liberty” by Medron Pride. DOOOOOOOOODD!!! It’s the Six Million Dollar Man meets the new sheriff in town, maybe with a little Wolverine tossed in and a Star Fighter for Git and Shiggles. And maybe the Showdown at the OK Corral, but no Doc Holiday. This is a pure short story but Pride could make a universe out of it and I’d read the whole series. Star Trek was the original Space Western and this story is a willing successor to that heritage even if it feels a bit more Firefly in spots; Great story, wouldn’t mind seeing more it. There’s no pretty floral bonnet though.
“Cowboy Dreams” by Becky R. Jones was a fun one. It’s a story about a boy who grows up on a planet with no animals and no plants around but who wants to be a cowboy; if he can get out of working in the Food Labs. What could be better than being like the guys in those cowboy shows, right?
“Milo Wolfkiller and the Red Terror” by John D. Martin has probably the most Old West feel to it. It basically boils down to a rebellious kid, some wolves, a couple head of cattle and a pack of wolves. This one is kind worrisome if you’re a parent but it moves and it’s believable. I liked it. The father in this one is a real man too. He sticks to his word even when he must’ve been tempted no to. I respect the guy.
“The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same” by David Weaver is the story of a cow escape. I always hate it when I leave the force field off, don’t you? This one has a bit of dry humor to it, with just a dash of sarcasm. I like the way Weaver manage to make everything feel familiar while tossing in just enough weird geological features to make the whole story feel like it was on an alien world. That’s some serious worldbuilding to pull of in a short. Good stuff.
“High Noon on the Red Planet” by Seth Taylor is a range war story that takes place on a colonized Mars with a bit of terraforming to go with it. Toss in a good old fashioned shoot out and you’ve got some serious action. There’s a lot of this with story that just resonates with a guy whose last name is McCoy and is a direct descendant of the feud. Oh, and I’m Scottish on my mother’s side so the whole highlander vs lowlander thing? Yup, I feel that too. This was my favorite story of the anthology.
“Death and Dying in Feral Canyon” by Rick Cutler has a Clint Eastwood feel to it. Only it’s nine million year old Clint Eastwood from Gran Turino crossed with Clint Eastwood from Dirty Harry and just a touch of Alec Guinness from Star Wars. Throw in a dash of range war once again and you’ve got an entertaining short that, while I really enjoyed it, would probably have been better as a novel. That’s not meant as an insult to Cutler. I mean, I just told an author I wish I could’ve read more of his work. So hopefully, at some point he writes some more.
This is the first Raconteur Press anthology I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. I love the fact that they picked such an easy to relate to theme and the stories they picked were all fast paced and entertaining. Lawdog has something going here and I’ve been told that Raconteur pays their authors really well for their short stories. That’s good because that means that we’ll be treated to more of these in the future/
Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Rounds from a .45/70.
Space Cowboys 404: Cow Not Found
Kortnee Bryan, ed
Raconteur Press, 2023
Space Cowboys 404: Cow Not Found is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
Appreciate the good review. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for such a glowing review. I am glad you enjoyed my little story and all the other great ones in this book.