Black Jack ★★★☆☆

 

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Title: Black Jack
Series: ----------
Author: Max Brand
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Western
Pages: 264
Words: 76K

Synopsis:

Black Jack, the notorious outlaw, is shot escaping a bank robbery by a young man hiding in the shadows. A woman sees it happen and her and her brother adopt Black Jack's infant son as the woman will never have children of her own. The brother claims that blood will tell and that the infant son will grow up into an outlaw.while the sister claims nuture will tell and raises the boy as her heir.

The boy's history is hidden from him and he is told he comes from a proud and ancient line. The brother and sister have a bet that the boy will or will not kill by his 25^th birthday and that is when he will become the woman's heir.

The brother, wanting the inheritance for himself, sends information anonymously to the boy letting him know of his true heritage. The boy loses it and strikes out on his own, determined to live the straight life. With everybody knowing his father, the boy is let go from honest work time and again. He ends up hooking up with an old familiar of his father's and the old gang.

The boy meets a girl but won't bend his neck to live straight. The girl meets with the boy's Aunt, reconciles them to each other and the brother is revealed as the scumsucker he is.

The End™

My Thoughts:

This was a bit longer than some of the other books by Brand and I must admit it felt longer. I didn't even bother with names in the synopsis because each character is the embodiment of a western stereotype rather than an actual character.

I definitely had to roll my eyes a couple of times when the boy thought about his father and how he had to “avenge” his death, even though the father died robbing a bank. It was a young man thinking about ideals and ideas without the experience necessary to temper those ideals into reality.

The brother and sister played well off of each other. She was the hardworking owner who made the ranch become prosperous while the brother was the spendthrift who blew through his inheritance and relied on his sister's benevolence to keep up his lavish lifestyle. How many times have we seen people who are family who are completely blinded to the faults that are obvious to everyone else? It's sad but man does it ring true to life.

My main issue is that the honorable ideals presented by Brand are not tempered by experience. I realize I've said that phrase twice in this review but it does bear repeating. I've been those youthful ideals. I've felt all the feelings, thought all the thoughts, so I know where Brand is writing from. However, such ideals are almost like iron, they have their flaws. What is needed is something to temper it and turn that iron into steel. I don't think Brand is ever going to produce steel :-/

★★★☆☆

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