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Reviewed: Apr 15, 2008

Gospel of the Gun by Sean Chandler
Branded Black Publishing, May 2008
352 Pages, Paperback, $15.95
ISBN: 0974691356
Genre: Fiction

RAW Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

A mix of religious theology and western lore.

As a child I watched the Saturday westerns with wide-eyed fascination.  It was years later when I realized the cowboys were not men of color. Sean Chandler gives us an inviting, yet raucous account of a different cowboy.  

GOSPEL OF THE GUN revives the old west, as it takes readers to a time when law and order were struggling to be known, religion was preached by outlaws, and six-guns ruled.  This story lets readers share the trail with ebony-skinned, Jeremiah Irons, the thirteenth member of a gang of twelve outlaws called 'The Disciples'.

Someone has robbed the gang's strong box, and for some reason Jeremiah is accused.  He is confronted by the leader, and Jeremiah shoots him.  Knowing his life is not worth a hangman's noose, Jeremiah flees Tombstone, Arizona.  As he journeys to Wewoka, Oklahoma, Indian Territory he is befriended by a gifted minister.  Jeremiah's life takes an abrupt and unlikely turn, from riding the outlaw trail with only a good horse and two inscribed pistols, he
finds himself posing as a man of the cloth.  Jeremiah begins to understand who he is, and that maybe there is a purpose to his life.  But this is the Wild West and few inhabitants really ride off into the sunset; Jeremiah is still a hunted man. Too soon his recent past catches up with him; Jeremiah knows the gang will not be denied, and no one is safe.  Will he again become an outlaw on the run, or will a good woman, trusting townsfolk, and his gift of
preaching remind him he is no longer Judas, the outlaw legend? 

With vivid writing, Sean Chandler brings back images of the undisciplined actions of the worst breed of outlaws, a new kind of religion to the frontier, and the drama that can only exist between a man and a woman. If you've enjoyed reading tales of the old west, filled with overt lawlessness and rugged romance, GOSPEL OF THE GUN is a book well worth reading.  Told in a passive voice, Chandler exposes real characters, an engaging plot, heart thumping action and an ending that promises more.

Reviewed by aNN Brown, RAWSISTAZ.com
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aNN is a Computer Systems Analyst who resides in Newport News, VA. She is an avid and eclectic reader and enjoys sharing her views on authors and books.

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