Adult western book series
The Longarm books were a series of western novels featuring the character of Custis Long, who is nicknamed Longarm, a U.S. Deputy Marshal based in Denver, Colorado in the 1880s. The series was written by "Tabor Evans", a house pseudonym used by a number of authors at Jove Books. Lou Cameron helped create the character and wrote a number of the early books in the series. The first book was published in 1978 and new ones were added at a rate of approximately one a month through 2015. In addition to the regular series, there was a series of "giant editions" which were longer novels.
The Longarm series was a mainstay of the "adult western" genre which arose in the 1970s. These books are distinguished from classical westerns by the inclusion of more explicit sex and violence. In addition to Cameron, other authors known to have written books in the series include Melvin Marshall, Will C. Knott, Frank Roderus, Chet Cunningham, J. Lee Butts, Gary McCarthy, James Reasoner, Jeffrey M. Wallmann, Peter Brandvold and Harry Whittington.
List of Longarm novels
Giant editions
- 1. Longarm and the Lone Star Legend (1982)—Fred Feldman
- 2. Longarm and the Lone Star Vengeance (1983)
- 3. Longarm and the Lone Star Bounty (1984)
- 4. Longarm and the Lone Star Rescue (1985)
- 5. Longarm and the Lone Star Deliverance (1985)
- 6. Longarm and the Lone Star Showdown (1986)
- 7. Longarm and the Lone Star Mission (1987)
- 8. Longarm and the Lone Star Frame (1988)
- 9. Longarm and the Lone Star Rustlers (1989)
- 10. Longarm and the Lone Star Captive (1991)
- 12. Longarm and the San Joaquin War (1992)
- 13. Longarm and the Navaho Drums (1993)
- 14. Longarm on the Santee Killing Grounds (1994)
- 15. Longarm and the Unwritten Law (1995)
- 16. Longarm and the Lusty Lady (1996)
- 17. Longarm and the Calgary Kid (1998)—Lou Cameron
- 18. Longarm and the Danish Dames (1999)
- 19. Longarm and the Blue-Eyed Squaw (2000)
- 20. Longarm and the Hangman's Daughter (2001)—Lou Cameron
- 21. Longarm and the Contrary Cowgirls (2002)—Lou Cameron
- 22. Longarm and the Deadly Dead Man (2003)—Lou Cameron
- 23. Longarm and the Bartered Brides (2004)—Lou Cameron
- 24. Longarm and the Undercover Mountie (2005)
- 25. Longarm and the Outlaw Empress (2006)—James Reasoner
- 26. Longarm and the Golden Eagle Shoot-Out (2007)—James Reasoner
- 27. Longarm and the Valley of Skulls (2008)—James Reasoner
- 28. Longarm and the Lone Star Trackdown (2009)—James Reasoner
- 29. Longarm and the Railroad War (2010)—James Reasoner
- 30. Longarm and the Ambush at Holy Defiance (2013)—Peter Brandvold
Note: there is no 11th book in this series.
- Double editions
These editions reprint two of the earlier books in the series in a single volume
- Deputy U.S. Marshall (2008) reprints Longarm and Longarm on the Border
- Longarm of the Law (2008) reprints Longarm and the Avenging Angels and Longarm and the Wendigo
- Frontier Justice (2011) reprints Longarm in the Indian Nation and Longarm and the Loggers
- Legend with a Six-Gun (2012) reprints Longarm and the High Graders and Longarm and the Nesters
TV movie
In 1988, a TV movie titled Longarm was made, loosely based on the novels. The TV movie was intended to serve as a pilot for a series, but the series was not picked up.[1]
References
- ^ Alvin H. Marill, Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders (2011), p. 118.