The Best Western Stories of Wayne D. Overholser — Bill Pronzini

From the pulp magazines devoted to stories of the Wild West emerged a few genuine craftsmen with a deep understanding of human nature: Wayne D. Overholser, author of more than 100 novels and 400 stories, was one of these writers.

Overholser's stories fulfill the require­ments of the Western genre� -- plenty of fast action; characters alone facing incredible odds; right invariably triumph­ing over wrong, law and order over chaos and anarchy; a good man winning the right woman. Stephen Overholser in his Introduction to his father's stories points out that the stories were written after �"a great deal of research into the history of the West. Thus he gave his stories historical backgrounds or at least im­bued them with historical realities.” He could also draw upon his own mem­ories, because he had grown up knowing many true pioneers. Stephen Overhol­ser also notes that unlike many pulp writers, Wayne D. Overholser �"envi­sioned his stories through the eyes of his characters.”