No Man's Guns by Elmore Leonard

Yee-haw.

Similar to Ray Bradbury, Elmore Leonard was an extremely prolific writer during his lifetime. He has over 30 novels to his name during a career spanning six decades! He is more well-known for his crime fiction, with many of his works being adapted into movies and television shows (Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Rum Punch and Justified to name a few). However, he started off writing Western short-stories for Pulp magazines during the 1950's, including this one, which first appeared in Western Story Roundup in 1955.

Elmore Leonard's concise and pared-down writing style is perfectly suited for short-stories. This is not Hemingway minimalism although he does subscribe to a certain level of brevity. Anything superfluous to the story which detracts from the narrative flow is discarded. He is very selective with his words, avoiding any extraneous details or descriptions. There is no fluff, no filler, no fancy prose. He uses simple and direct language, understanding that readers are likely going to skip over these nonessential details in search of the actual story. This is not to suggest that Leonard's writing is prosaic, reduced to simple entertainments--quite the opposite. The ability to construct a nuanced and compelling narrative within the constraints of the short-story form requires a great deal of creative skill.

No Man's Guns is not your typical action-packed Western adventure with cowboys and wild shootouts. In fact, not even a single gun is fired in the entire story. This is more of a psychological character study, examining the internal struggle of accepting death due to unfortunate circumstances. In a case of mistaken identity, an ex-soldier crosses paths with some bandits and rounded up by some hired guns for execution. Building intrigue through omission is quintessential Elmore Leonard. The brisk pacing creates a forward momentum, continually increasing the suspense with some unexpected twists and turns.