Tinhorn's Daughter
by L. Ron Hubbard
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Pub. Date: October 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1592123438
Running Time: 123 minutes
Buy Link: Audio, Paperback, Kindle

Review:
 
While audiobooks have been around for decades, I didn't really start listening to these types of books until I was introduced to the Stories from the Golden Age series from Galaxy Press. This series features the short stories from the 1930s and 1940s by author L. Ron Hubbard. Galaxy Press has been adapting these stories into audiobooks for a whole new generation to enjoy. The stories are also being released on Kindle and paperbacks.

The western audiobook Tinhorn's Daughter was released just a few a months back and features the voices of Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), Corey Burton, R.F Daley, Jim Meskimen (who also directs) and Tait Ruppert. The two-disc audiobook also features the short story When Gilhooly Was In Flower.

Tinhorn's Daughter first appeared in the December 1937 issue of Western Romances and centers on a man named Sunset Maloney, who is trying to fight back against the cruel land-stealer Slim Trotwood in the Big Sky country of Montana. While Slim may look like just another gambler, he has been stealing the Puma Pass lan from the homeowners. Sunset is known for his fast shooting  and he plans on taking Slim down that is until he meets the tinhorn's daughter, Betsy. Now blinded by love for his enemy's daughter, his trail for justice will be a lot harder than he thought it would be.

Gunman's Tally
by L. Ron Hubbard
Studio: Galaxy Press
Release Date: March 21, 2013
ISBN: 978-1592122752
Pages: 120
ASIN: 978-1592123780
Running Time: 125 minutes
Buy Links: Audiobook, Paperback

Review:

Besides from listening to a a few children audiobooks on cassettes when I was a kid, I have never been a fan of audiobooks until I started reviewing titles from Stories from the Golden Age, which are short stories that were written in the '30s and '40s by L. Ron Hubbard. With a banquet of 153 stories, Galaxy Press has been releasing these titles onto audiobooks and paperbacks for a new generation of readers.

Recently, I received both the audiobook and paperback of Gunman's Tally, a western short story that was originally published in the November 1937 issue of All Western Magazine. This title also includes an additional title, Ruin At Rio Piedras. The audiobook is directed by Jim Meskiman and features the voice-actors of Shane Johnson, R.F. Daley, Christina Huntington, Jim Meskimen, Phil Proctor, Enn Reitel, Josh R. Thompson and Michael Yurchak.

Gunman's Tally centers on Easy Bill Gates, the landowner of the Las Pinas ranch who has a gentle heart. He had never succumbed to violence until his brother was murdered by the outlaw Fanner Marsten. He tracked down Fanner and struck him down. Little did he know that Fanner was one of the fastest gun in the west, so now Bill has a reputation as a gunslinger.

George Barton is the villain of this story and he wants to claim Las Pinas as his own. He is afraid of Easy Bill Gates, so he hires the fastest and meanest gunslinger to either run Bill off of his land or kill him in the process, but Bill won't give up his land without a fight.

Gun Boss of Thumbleweed
by L. Ron Hubbard
Director: Jim Meskimen
Voice Cast: Luke Baybak, Corey Burton, R.F. Daley, Jim Meskimen, Tamra Meskimen, Taylor Meskimen, Rick Pasqualone, Josh R. Thompson, Michael Yurchak.
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Pub. Date: June 23, 2013
Retail: $12.95
ASIN: 978-1592123841
Running Time: 2 hours 13 minutes
Buy Link: Audiobook, Paperback

Review:

Many people know that L. Ron Hubbard was the author of Battlefield Earth and the founder of the Church of Scientology, but he also wrote countless short stores that were published in "pup magazines" during the 1930s and 1940s. Galaxy Press has been releasing these short stories on audiobooks and paperbacks for a new generation of readers.

Gun Boss of Thumbleweed was originally published in the April 1949 issue of Thrilling Western, but it is now the main feature, as well as the title of the Galaxy Press's audiobook that was released last summer. The story centers on a gunslinger named Mart Kincaid, who is blackmailed into threatening locals to leave their land by the evil taskmaster, Gar Malone - a man who knows a bit too much about Mart's brother. Mart does attempt to do as Malone instructed, but he has a change of heart when he meets Drake and his daughter, Sally, whom own the land on the Singing Canyon. Mart decides that he has had enough of Malone's wickedness and fights against him and his hired guns.

The second story is Blood On His Spurs, which first appeared in the September 1949 issue of Thrilling Western. The tale centers on two men, Iron Jaw Bates and Larry McClean, who have been life long enemies. The two must put aside their differences to stop a group of deadly cattle rustlers.

Besides from AMC's Hell On Wheels, the western genre is almost extinct on television. There use to be dozens of western novels being published monthly, but now there are only a few. Luckily for western readers, Galaxy Press is releasing all of L. Ron Hubbard's short stories from the 1930s and 1940s as audiobooks and paperbacks; giving a new generation a chance to read his works, which includes several western adventures.

Under the Diehard Brand was originally published in the March 1938 issue of Western Aces and centers on a  young trail-hand, Lee Thompson, who journeys from Texas to Montana to search for his father, Diehard Thompson.

Diehard is the sheriff of Wolf River, but time has caught up with him and he is not capable of handling the town's troublemakers anymore. He hadn't seen his son, Lee, in over fifteen years, so when Lee arrives in town, he doesn't recognize the boy.

Cattle King for a Day
Director: Jim Meskimen
Voice Cast: Michael Yurchak, Corey Burton, R.F. Daley, Jim Meskimen, PhilProcter and
Studio: Galaxy Press
Release Date: September 21, 2010
ISBN: 978-1592123650
Running Time: 2 hours 4 minutes
Buy Link: Audiobook, Paperback

Review:

Step back in time with the Stories from the Golden Age series, featuring classic tales of adventure, mystery and thrill rides from the 1930s and 1940s, all written by the late author L. Ron Hubbard. Galaxy Press is releasing all over Hubbard's short stories (over 150 tales) to paperback and audiobooks.

Originally published in the March 1937 issue of All Western Magazine is the exciting western Cattle King for a Day. This tale centers on the cowboy Chinook Shannon, who heads out for Arizona after learning of his grandfather's sudden death. He plans on running his grandfather's cattle ranch Slash S, which he inherited upon his grandfather's death, but he is in for a huge surprise when he learns that the ranch has less than 24 hours before it is foreclosed. To make matters worse, all the cattle on the land have died. To get the answers of who or whom has put his grandfather's ranch in jeopardy, Chinook heads into town, but there are three road agents blocking his path. With time running out, Chinook is in a race against time to find his grandfather's murderer and save the Slash S cattle ranch.

For an added bonus, there is one additional western tale, titled Come And Get It, which first appeared in the October 1938 issue of All Western Magazine. The story centers on Bill Norton stepping off of the train at Wolf Junction, Wyoming and is excited to take over the Bar N, which was left to him by his late father, whom was supposedly killed by a wild horse, but Bill is shocked to learn that the bank left Red Mike Doherty as the trustee of the ranch. With nowhere else to go, Bill settles as second cook at the ranch, biding his time until he can find out who is really responsible for his father's death.