Thomas Cobb's second novel is a "thoughtful Western" (Publishers Weekly) based on the actual events of the Camp Grant massacre. The year is 1871, and a 17-year-old runaway named Ned Thorne has just joined Captain Robert Franklin at the Camp Grant outpost located at the edge of Arizona's Chiricahua mountains. When a nearby farmhouse is raided and a woman kidnapped by renegade Apaches, the men's mettle is severely tested as they confront the brutality of life in the West.
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"rather harsh, but probably true to the western frontier in AZ. very interesting coming of age story of 17 year old escaping unfortunate situation back east in the 1860s. he joins the army and is sent to Arizona territory. harsh army life." — Lorraine (4 out of 5 stars)
"rather harsh, but probably true to the western frontier in AZ. very interesting coming of age story of 17 year old escaping unfortunate situation back east in the 1860s. he joins the army and is sent to Arizona territory. harsh army life."
“The education to which Thomas Cobb’s eager young soldier is forced to submit combines such wisdom, pain, suspense, and nasty good humor that I simply couldn’t read this book fast enough. Of course I didn’t know what a ‘shavetail’ was when I began, but learning that was only part of the education I was treated to. Guilt and innocence, blood and tenderness—I can’t imagine any reader who could resist.”
“Readers will also find in Cobb’s second novel (after Crazy Heart) nicely wrought coming-of-age elements. Highly recommended.”
“Tender and action-packed.”
“Shavetail is the story of the futility of war, and is as immediate and brutal as daily news from Iraq or Afghanistan, although the year is 1871 and the place is southern Arizona and northern Mexico. Cobb presents the landscape, the characters, and the conflict with absolute authority, producing a magnificent story in the tradition of Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.”
" Set in 1870s Southwest, this book has language that puts you in the barren, sweltering mountains of New Mexico, where you can feel the anxiety and strength that permeates Ned Thorne's existence in the US Army. "
" Just starting this one. Really liked this book. It is somewhat different than what I usually read, but an excellent story. "
" Excellent, gritty tale of a regiment of United States Soldiers, led by two disgraced leaders. Trouble abounds in Arizona when 17 year old Ned joins up the group. I felt hot and dirty just reading it. "
" I've read the first quarter of this or so in ms, and I fully expect it to be a big book, in the tradition of Mcmurtry and McCarthy. "
" I've just realized how much I miss reading westerns. This story was gritty, violent, raw and well-written. Louis L'Amour on steroids. I think I need to find more by Thomas Cobb. "
Thomas Cobb was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Thinking more important things happened away from the desert he loved as a child, he left for bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles. However, when he finally returned, he saw the landscape anew and it became the setting for his writings. His novel Crazy Heart was turned into a hit movie. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife.
Tom Stechschulte (1948–2021) was an acclaimed narrator and winner of the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He had been a college athlete and business major when a friend dared him to audition for a play. He got the part and traded the locker room for the dressing room, eventually taking him to New York City and to recording audiobooks.
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