Magic Lance: Mystery & Adventure in the New West
Book Details
Author(s)
Hal Simmons
Publisher
Clear Light Pub
ISBN / ASIN
157416094X
ISBN-13
9781574160949
Availability
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Marketplace
United States 🇺🇸
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Description
Set in the dramatically picturesque Western mining country, Magic Lance is a novel of intrigue, romance, suspense and personal transformation. Hal Simmons weaves together the parallel tales of his two protagonists, the Indian Lucky Joe, operator of the Magic Lance Casino, and the small-time rancher Lance Burnett, as they each follow mutually exclusive visions that lead to unforeseen and violent consequences that can in the end only be resolved with the help of the other. ,
Following the guidance and inspiration of the Grey Piñon tribal War Chief El Segundo, Lucky Joe leads a movement to purchase vast quantities of ranchland with the goal of establishing a Native American state. Magic Lance Casino profits provide the needed cash, for, as Lucky Joe says, the casinos make so much money it is not counted, only weighed. Ranchers and politicians alike become alarmed and threaten to control this usurpation by curtailing the Indian gaming compacts or opening the entire state to gambling. Politicians, environmentalists, wealthy ranchers and even fellow tribal members suspicious of the motives of the land-grabbers become involved in an often-sinister web of ultimately deadly intrigue that comes to a head with the passing of the tribal governor and the resulting power vacuum. As the situation becomes more entangled, Lucky Joe s stress level intensifies and he begins to find solace in his tribe s old ways of the spirits. But is it too late?
Lance Burnett has two major problems, money and women. Trying to make a living as an independent rancher, he is constantly one step ahead of foreclosure with no hope in sight. His beautiful wife Jan, a city girl bored on the ranch and tired of the struggle, leaves for town and her previous job as a first grade teacher. Lance tries to please her by supporting an arrangement of staying with her on weekends and alone at the ranch during the week, which ultimately leaves him vulnerable to the sensually exciting Lighting McClain, the manager of the adjoining ranch belonging to multi-millionaire Big Bob McCoy. The Grey Piñon tribe wants Lance s ranch in particular, because it contains the sacred resting area of their great ancestral leader. McCoy also covets the land, especially since the Indians are buying up all the other surrounding ranches. Lance, of course, refuses to sell, still holding to his dream of being a small independent rancher. The volatile mix of greed and passion create a pattern of intrigue and violence, compounded by the sudden revelation that the land may contain an old mine with a rich vein of silver, marked by the mysterious Three V symbol for which the ranch was named.
Lance and Lucky Joe find their stories moving towards each other s, and towards events no one could have foreseen. Events unfold at a breathtaking pace toward conclusions no one can predict. Strange small plot twists and uncertainties keep the reader guessing while enjoying this suspenseful and engrossing novel of the modern West.
Following the guidance and inspiration of the Grey Piñon tribal War Chief El Segundo, Lucky Joe leads a movement to purchase vast quantities of ranchland with the goal of establishing a Native American state. Magic Lance Casino profits provide the needed cash, for, as Lucky Joe says, the casinos make so much money it is not counted, only weighed. Ranchers and politicians alike become alarmed and threaten to control this usurpation by curtailing the Indian gaming compacts or opening the entire state to gambling. Politicians, environmentalists, wealthy ranchers and even fellow tribal members suspicious of the motives of the land-grabbers become involved in an often-sinister web of ultimately deadly intrigue that comes to a head with the passing of the tribal governor and the resulting power vacuum. As the situation becomes more entangled, Lucky Joe s stress level intensifies and he begins to find solace in his tribe s old ways of the spirits. But is it too late?
Lance Burnett has two major problems, money and women. Trying to make a living as an independent rancher, he is constantly one step ahead of foreclosure with no hope in sight. His beautiful wife Jan, a city girl bored on the ranch and tired of the struggle, leaves for town and her previous job as a first grade teacher. Lance tries to please her by supporting an arrangement of staying with her on weekends and alone at the ranch during the week, which ultimately leaves him vulnerable to the sensually exciting Lighting McClain, the manager of the adjoining ranch belonging to multi-millionaire Big Bob McCoy. The Grey Piñon tribe wants Lance s ranch in particular, because it contains the sacred resting area of their great ancestral leader. McCoy also covets the land, especially since the Indians are buying up all the other surrounding ranches. Lance, of course, refuses to sell, still holding to his dream of being a small independent rancher. The volatile mix of greed and passion create a pattern of intrigue and violence, compounded by the sudden revelation that the land may contain an old mine with a rich vein of silver, marked by the mysterious Three V symbol for which the ranch was named.
Lance and Lucky Joe find their stories moving towards each other s, and towards events no one could have foreseen. Events unfold at a breathtaking pace toward conclusions no one can predict. Strange small plot twists and uncertainties keep the reader guessing while enjoying this suspenseful and engrossing novel of the modern West.
