The Red Ripper, The - Hardcover

Newcomb, Kerry; Newcomb

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312205759 ISBN 13: 9780312205751

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1999

Synopsis

In his quest for vengeance after his brother's death, William Wallace and his deadly knives end up in Texas, where he finds himself enmeshed in both a personal and political battle for independence that culminates at the Alamo.

About this title

About the Author

Kerry Newcomb was born in Milford, Connecticut but had the good fortune to be raised in Texas. He has served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and taught at the St. Labre Mission School on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Mr. Newcomb has written plays, film scripts, commercials, liturgical dramas and over thirty novels under both his own name and a variety of pseudonyms. He lives with his family in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Reviews

The ornery, pugnacious and legendary William "Bigfoot" Wallace, a sometime Texas Ranger and full-time knife-fighter, strides through early 19th-century Texas history in this rangy, fast-moving historical novel. WallaceA"Bigfoot" to his friends, "The Red Ripper" to his many enemiesAcarves his way across Mexico and Texas, armed with a pair of big knives (he dubs them "Old Butch" and "Bonechucker") and assisted by an old pirate called Mad Jack. Juan Diego Guadiz, a homicidal Mexican army officer, and his cold-blooded sister, Paloma, have murdered Bigfoot's only brother. Seeking revenge, Bigfoot slices up soldiers, Indians, bandits and anybody else who gets in the way of his cutlery. So far, so violentAbut there's a war on, too. It's 1836, and Texas is trying to slice itself right out of Mexico. Bigfoot gets swept up in the conflict, fighting for the Lone Star Republic, and swept off his feet by the beautiful and mysterious Esperanza, who's married to one of Bigfoot's best friends. Though Bigfoot embraces Texas independence, his real nature tells him that "whiskey and sex were as good a reason as any to start a revolution." Bolstered by tequila and hoping to skewer Guadiz, Bigfoot finds himself inside the Alamo. But rather than dying with Davey Crockett, Bigfoot escapes, carries a message to Sam Houston and helps the heroic Anglos win the Battle of San Jacinto. Even that patriotic victory, though, cannot still Bigfoot's wanderlustAmuch less his passion for Esperanza. Newcomb (Call Down Thunder) clearly enjoys retelling, and amending, the historical Bigfoot's adventures, explaining that "what isn't true, ought to be." Readers entertained by the action-filled plot, the broad-brush sagebrush scenes and the romance of the Texas Republic will probably not object. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Headed for Mexico, William Wallace has nothing on his mind but sharing a happy future with his brother, Samuel. Then their storm-struck ship founders and sinks, and Samuel is murdered moments after the raging sea spits them up on the beach, where they are greeted by vicious young Don Diego Guadiz, his venomous twin sister, Paloma, and a squad of dragoons. Rescued by Captain Mad Jack Flambeau, a retired pirate known as the Butcher of Barbados because of his knife-fighting skills, Wallace quickly masters the killing blades and swears to avenge his brother's death. Making a host of "Texican" friends and with Mad Jack in tow, Wallace soon finds himself deeply committed to Texas' struggle for independence. He barely misses being caught at the Alamo during Santa Ana's attack and puts an early end to Don Diego's career as Mad Jack sends Paloma to her reward. Despite few surprises, readers are rewarded with an entertaining tale of high adventure and low villains. Budd Arthur

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312205759
• ISBN 13: 9780312205751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 271