Sunday 13 July 2008

The Funeral of Tanner Moody

as by various writers
Leisure Books, July 2004

This was a book I’d been eagerly awaiting the publiction of. Was the wait worth it? Definately.

The Funeral of Tanner Moody is a collaboration of stories from nine different authors. Tanner Moody has passed on and many people gather for his wake, many with tales to tell about the life of Tanner Moody.

Robert Randisi cleverly links the stories by using a reporter. A newspaper man who wants to tell the life of Tanner Moody. And not just any reporter either but a man famous in his own right, Bat Masterson. Other real people appear in some of the links and tales, my favourite being the inclusion of Jack London.

The stand out stories for me are those by Peter Brandvold and Kerry Newcomb. I wondered why? Decided that the only reason must be that I prefer stories written in the third person. I also liked how James Reasoner and L. J. Washburn linked their stories by more than just Tanner Moody.

Excellent book, find it, buy it, read it now!

Me? I’m hoping there will be another along these lines soon.

2 comments:

Mister Roy said...

Wouldn't want to miss this one, so I've obeyed your command and bought a copy. havem't read any John Jakes since his 'Brak the Barbarian' stories in the 70s...

Mister Roy said...

An enjoyable book, with very different types of stories adding up to a picture (or rather legend) of a man's life. The different styles from the various authors/narrators keep things interesting. I particularly liked Jory Sherman's grim, blistering tragedy - and learned something about Plato into the bargain.