This was an excellent western by the author of "Death Wish" (another great read). Very suspenseful, had me hooked from the first page, all the way to the end. ( )

I don’t typically read western novels – films are my preferred medium for that particular genre – so I’ll admit up front that the only reason I picked up The Last Hard Men because of Brian Garfield’s non-western works such as Death Wish and Hopscotch.

The Last Hard Men (which is actually a 1976 reissue of the 1971 novel Gundown) has two standard western themes running through it. On the surface, The Last Hard Men is a good old fashioned revenge story, as half-Indian convict Zach Provo breaking out of prison - accompanied by a rag-tag group of hardened desperadoes – with the sole intention of delivering bloody, prolonged vengeance to the man who killed his wife and imprisoned him for 37 years, the now ex-Sherrif Max Burgade.

The novel’s Lawmen versus Outlaws revenge story, however, plays out against the backdrop of the even larger conflict of the Old West vs. the New West. Burgade an aging retired lawman, and Provo, a decades-old escaped convict, both represent the “Last Hard Men” of the title, rugged frontiersmen whose extensive knowledge of western terrain is quickly becoming irrelevant in the face of advancing technology. As in other westerns signifying the slow death of the Old West, knowledge of the rapidly diminishing way of life of the older frontiersmen proves to be an asset to Provo’s plans, which leaves the aging lawman Burgade as the only man truly capable of bringing Provo to justice… frontier style.

The Last Hard Men has everything one expects from a decent western, including a plethora of colorful characters and the occasional lesson on tracking or outdoor survival. Garfield is always a solid read, whether it’s western justice or inner-city vigilantism, and The Last Hard Men is no exception. ( )

I'm unsure whether Elmore Leonard or Brian Garfield writes the better Westerns, but The Last Hard men is fondly remembered. Set in1911, we have a vengeful convict getting back at his original captor the only way he knows how. But we can't have that, can we? Good character study, and very hard-boiled.
Read twice. ( )