New to our western section is Michael Zimmer's The Rusted Sun. The book takes on the subject of range wars in the American West, particular with this book, New Mexico. With Zimmer, however, it isn't just a tale of ranchers shooting ranchers over a piece or two of ground. The Rusted Sun deals with many interwoven tales, all headed toward a common conclusion.
Zimmer is excellent at working through the mechanizations of many themes, and then getting them to meet before you turn the final page. He doesn't write to deceive his audience, but at the same time, he keeps secrets under wraps until the end. There are plenty of clues along the way that have you guessing one way or another how the story might end; however, it isn't until the final pages that you have the picture painted, and with Zimmer, I have yet to be unhappy with his conclusions.
I also enjoy how Zimmer develops characters. With The Rusted Sun, he creates a "bad guy" so distasteful, you want to read ahead to make sure that he gets shot before the story ends. I'd say that's pretty good when you are wanting to off the baddy as much as the lead character does.
The Rusted Sun is a page-turner and zips along at an action-filled pace. Set aside a good amount of time to read it because you will want to keep going to the end.
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