Review: "Morgan's Revenge" by Matt Weston

 

Morgan’s Revenge by Matt Weston Paperback Library, 1971   reviewed by Mike Baker   Morgan the Drifter is an eye patch wearing, former Harvard graduate and Virginia lawyer, veteran of the American Civil War, having fought for them that weren’t traitors, and who’s income comes from revenue from a ranch his Daddy left him and his brother. Mostly, Morgan drifts. He’s been traveling lately, with his Arabian steed named Samut, along the Big Horn Mountains where he starts finding burned out homesteads, ranches and trading posts whose residents are left murdered and mutilated presumably at the hands of the local Northern Shoshone bands. He buries all the dead he finds and then heads to the local fort where his former Civil War commander Captain Bradley is stationed. Bradley is off on patrol so Morgan heads out to find him which he does, Bradley being nearly dead with an arrow in his back, his last words being, “They weren’t Shoshone. They were white men”. Morgan swears revenge. And this is where booked loses its f’ing mind. Morgan finds an actual Shoshone band to confirm the arrow that killed his friend weren’t bona-fide Shoshone. He befriends the Shoshone chief with the very old Sacajawea, who speaks white man real good, translating the rest of the Indians speak cigar store Indian. You know what I mean. That heapem big trouble for brown man. How! Also, this is where we meet the buxom and willing Mountain Lamb, who they propose will guide Morgan to the fake Shoshone because a capable Shoshone warrior wouldn’t have tits. I believe I mentioned she was buxom. But wait, there’s more… Remember how in You Only Live Twice they turn tall, anglo hawk faced and hairy Bond into an Asian man by giving him a haircut and dying his skin yellow? Yup. They full on dye Morgan’s skin, give him a mohawk haircut and an Indian name which translates to “Big Guy”. Also, because the book was written for a 1970’s American male, he has to shave constantly. Anyhow… He and Mountain Hussy head off to find the fake Shoshone, get vengeance for the fake Indian depredations and mash. Discretely. And get them some bloody vengeance. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. The writing is good enough. It’s a ridiculous premise but not distractingly ridiculous. There’s an actual relationship between Big Guy and Mountain Slut. The violence is mostly the hand-to-hand variety because Big Guy is an Indian and wouldn’t have a gun, I guess. The book doesn’t really say. It even has a decent, if predictable, twist. It’s 70’s action with a Little Big Man meets James Bond thang. I give Morgan’s Revenge 3 out of 10 boobs and half an arterial spray.

Matt Weston has the sound of a nom de plume, but it is a mystery to us at the blog who was behind the name. At least one other western appeared as by Matt Weston; 1970’s Morgan, which was the first book of the two-book series featuring the eye-patch wearing Morgan the Drifter.