CALL OF THE WILDE
An H. H. Lomax Western, Book 8
by
PRESTON LEWIS
Historical Fiction / Comic Western / Humor
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Pub date: March 17, 2023 – 352 pages
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Wild west hijinks continue in the eighth installment of the hysterical and historical adventures of an unlikely hero.
H.H. Lomax once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when, wrongfully accused of robbing a bank, he’s arrested and jailed in a town vying for a stop on the approaching Texas & Pacific Railroad.
When local officials can’t afford to pay for a trial, a harebrained scheme is concocted to get rid of Lomax without spending a red cent. But Lomax avoids the hairy situation, pulling off an escape with the aid of an unlikely accomplice and exacting a bit of revenge in the process.
His wandering spirit—and neck—intact, Lomax lands among the Mormons in Salt Lake City, where he encounters a long-lost relative in need of assistance and makes the acquaintance of none other than Irish poet and aesthete Oscar Wilde. And from there, it’s all downhill, folks!
Jumping from one bad situation to another in non-stop hilarious action, H.H. Lomax’s adventures will tickle your funny bone with genuine humor while satisfying your craving for western action adventure.
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When you pick up a book by Preston Lewis you know you’re in for a rollicking good time with the adventures of H.H. Lomax. I’ve read all the books in this series, and enjoyed them all. Lomax is funny and charming and has just enough of the tough cowboy in him that you know he’s going to get in and out of a number of fixes.
This story is no exception to that rule. Lomax gets out of Jail in Texas, escapes some bullets in Deadwood, and manages to escape a few other minor tough spots, accomplishing that with a mix of his wit, ingenuity, and courage.
One of the things I especially liked in this installment of the ongoing saga, was Lomax connecting with his sister, Lissa, in Utah and him getting to know her family and the children. This showed a tender side of Lomax that wasn’t always seem in previous books previous stories. Lissa allowed Lomax to tell some of his tall tales, or were they really true?, to the children as long as he added a moral to the story, which he did without complaining. This interaction with the members of the troupe, and all the children was a real special part of the story for me, and I was almost as sad as the children were to see him leave.
But adventures awaited!
Primarily, getting some money for the traveling actors who were losing because of the untimely arrival of Oscar Wilde to the theatre and bumping their opening for another week. The troupe manager had spend a few hundred dollars on advertising and posters, which were no good now. Money the traveling actors could ill afford to lose, so Lomax was having no part of that.
Which proves that while H.H. Lomax can face off with bandits and other ne’er-do-wells, a genuine good man lurks under the bravado.
The story is so funny in places it brings a chuckle, and the time our hero spends with Oscar Wilde has some of the greatest lines because Lomax doesn’t understand some of the ten-dollar words that Wilde uses. For instance, while Wilde is talking to the president of the Mormons, John Taylor, during a tour of Salt Lake City, Wilde rails against the Philistines being against art and beauty. Lomax thinks, “I decided I would like to meet this Phyllis Steen someday if she was such a thorn in his behind.”
Like Preston’s other books in the series, The Outlaw West of the Pecos, that I reviewed here in 2022, this novel is packed with enough fun to keep you happily reading until the end, and eager to see the next one in the series. The historical details and accuracy add another layer of enjoyment to the read that I highly recommend to folks who like a good Western starring a wonderful protagonist and laces with lots of humor.
Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of 46 novels and nonfiction works on the West. He is a past president of Western Writers of America.
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TWO WINNERS:
First Prize: Signed copies of Call of the Wilde & Outlaw West of the Pecos
Second Prize: Signed copy of Call of the Wilde
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 5/12/23)
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| 5/2/23 | The Plain-Spoken Pen | Review |
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| 5/6/23 | All the Ups and Downs | Excerpt |
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| 5/8/23 | Shelf Life Blog | Author Interview |
| 5/9/23 | Rox Burkey Blog | Review |
| 5/10/23 | Boys’ Mom Reads | Excerpt |
| 5/11/23 | The Clueless Gent | Review |
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Fabulous review, Maryann. I need a book that keeps me giggling with outrageous characters and antics. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you liked the review, Kristine and thanks for the affirmation. Preston sure does create some out-of-the-box characters. They remind me of the guys at the Mule-Barn Truck Stop that my friend, Slim Randles, writes about.
Nice review! I miss reading his books.
Thanks for stopping by, Chritena. His books are always such fun to read, and a perfect way to spend an afternoon.