The Death Shot


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.2 stars; 15 reviews)

Long time since this hand hath penned a preface. Now only to say, that this romance, as originally published, was written when the author was suffering severe affliction, both physically and mentally—the result of a gun-wound that brought him as near to death as Darke’s bullet did Clancy.

It may be asked, Why under such strain was the tale written at all? A good reason could be given; but this, private and personal, need not, and should not be intruded on the public. Suffice it to say, that, dissatisfied with the execution of the work, the author has remodelled—almost rewritten it.

It is the same story; but, as he hopes and believes, better told.

Great Malvern, September, 1874. (16 hr 6 min)

Chapters

Prologue 8:28 Read by Larry Wilson
Two Sorts of Slave-Owners 8:12 Read by Larry Wilson
A Flat Refusal 10:39 Read by Deon Gines
A Forest Post-Office 11:27 Read by Deon Gines
Two Good Girls 6:43 Read by Jeremiah Sutherland
A Photograph in the Forest 11:22 Read by Jeremiah Sutherland
A Coon-Chase Interrupted 5:41 Read by Jeremiah Sutherland
Murder Without Remorse 10:48 Read by Mike Pelton
The Coon-Hunter Cautious 7:00 Read by Juliana
An Assassin in Retreat 8:36 Read by Deon Gines
The Eve of Departure 12:35 Read by Deon Gines
Under the Trysting Tree 10:28 Read by Deon Gines
The Wrong Man 8:59 Read by Deon Gines
The Coon-Hunter at Home 10:16 Read by Deon Gines
Why Comes He Not? 10:56 Read by Deon Gines
A Moonlight Moving 9:11 Read by Mike Pelton
What Has Become of Clancy? 15:24 Read by Mike Pelton
A Bullet Extracted 9:21 Read by Mike Pelton
'To the Sheriff' 12:23 Read by Mike Pelton
The Belle of 'Natchez' 15:06 Read by Mike Pelton
Saved by a Sister 8:20 Read by Mike Pelton
Seized by Spectral Arms 7:02 Read by THBosc
Up and Down 7:02 Read by THBosc
The Sleep of the Assassin 10:12 Read by THBosc
The Coon-Hunter Conscience Striken 7:44 Read by THBosc
An Unceremonious Search 10:22 Read by John
Tell-Tale Tracks 10:09 Read by John
Additional Evidence 7:32 Read by John
'To the Jail!' 13:57 Read by John
A Scheme of Colonisation 10:48 Read by John
News From Natchez 11:14 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Spectres in the Street 13:53 Read by Jules Hawryluk
The 'Choctaw Chief' 20:06 Read by Jules Hawryluk
The Murderer Unmasked 8:25 Read by Eli Beratore
'Will You be One of Us?' 14:49 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Ghost Going its Rounds 17:06 Read by Jules Hawryluk
'She is True--Still True!' 12:14 Read by Jules Hawryluk
The Home of the Hunted Slave 12:30 Read by John
An Excursion by Canoe 16:02 Read by John
Is it a Corpse? 19:16 Read by Jules Hawryluk
'Across the Sabine' 8:09 Read by Bill Boerst
A Repentant Sinner 14:00 Read by Bill Boerst
The Prairie Caravan 11:20 Read by Keir
The Hand of God 13:09 Read by Keir
A Cloud on the Cliffs 9:06 Read by Keir
A Suspicious Surveillance 19:06 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Suspected Servant 16:43 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Opposite Emblems 13:30 Read by Deon Gines
A Blank Day 12:07 Read by Deon Gines
Waiting the Word 7:30 Read by Deon Gines
An Uncanny Skulker 14:29 Read by THBosc
Locked In 12:14 Read by THBosc
Massacre Without Mercy 7:24 Read by THBosc
A Horrid Spectacle 11:02 Read by THBosc
Riding Double 4:37 Read by THBosc
Tired Travellers 8:08 Read by THBosc
Spectral Equestrians 11:56 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Planning a Capture 11:15 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Across the Ford 10:45 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Foiled Ambuscade 9:09 Read by Deon Gines
'The Live-Oak' 11:30 Read by Deon Gines
A Ruffian Triumphant 12:42 Read by Jules Hawryluk
'Help! Help!' 18:38 Read by Jules Hawryluk
An Oath to be Kept 11:36 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Wild Farewell 11:57 Read by Jules Hawryluk
For the Rendezvous 10:40 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Scouting Party 8:10 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Straying Traveller 13:38 Read by Tom Penn
'Brasfort' 10:35 Read by Tom Penn
Shadows Behind 10:01 Read by Tom Penn
Surrounded and Disarmed 11:24 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Pathless Plain 8:45 Read by Jules Hawryluk
The Prairie Stocks 17:33 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Helpless and Hopeless 7:15 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Coyote Creek 14:25 Read by Jules Hawryluk
A Transformation 11:51 Read by Jules Hawryluk
Mestizo and Mulatto 6:40 Read by Tom Penn
A Strayed Traveller 6:32 Read by Tom Penn
Hours of Agony 6:18 Read by Tom Penn
An Unexpected Visitor 10:23 Read by Tom Penn
A Resurrectionist 10:51 Read by Tom Penn
The Voice of Vengeance 6:59 Read by Tom Penn
A Man Nearly Mad 9:12 Read by Tom Penn
At Length the 'Dead Shot' 9:25 Read by Tom Penn
The Scout's Report 8:48 Read by Tom Penn
A Change of Programme 7:44 Read by Tom Penn
Alone With the Dead 8:33 Read by Tom Penn
Hostile Cohorts 16:00 Read by Tom Penn

Reviews

Storyline was good, author's style is bad


(2 stars)

Set in the South much before Texas became a state. Two men love the same woman. One, honorable but poor; the other, rich but wicked. The woman makes the right choice and lets him know in a letter, but the evil suitor intercepts the letter and shoots her beloved, telling him that the woman actually loves him. The murderer flees, but still wants the woman.... The main plot line was good, but the author tried to use as many big words and as much description as he could. The book would have been better with a lot of this cut out - the book could have been 1/3 shorter without all that fluff. The characters were somewhat believable, except for what came out of their mouths. What frontier backwoodsman talks about "surrendering to Morpheus" when talking about going to sleep, or says, "Don't have any dubiousness about us" when telling someone not to worry? Some of the vocabulary of the slaves was also unbelievable and grandiose. The readers were for the most part good. Kudos especially to deongines, Mike Pelton, THBosc, John, and Tom Penn for their readings. Chapters 57 and 64 have major technical issues: the sounds are cut off, some words being cut off, subtle sounds like H and TH being altogether lost. Did the reader use way too much noise removal, or perhaps a noise cancelling microphone in a loud setting? It was hard to understand and very distracting.

GREAT ADVENTURE STORY.


(5 stars)

WOWEEEEE. WHAT A LONG BOOK, WHERE DO THESE WRITERS GET THESE IDEAS. LOVED IT. STILL WISH A MALE CHARACTER BOOK WAS READ BY A MALE, WHY CANNOT ONE READER READ A WHOLE BOOK. ONE NEVER KNOWS WHEN A VOICE WILL CHANGE. ARE THESE READERS TESTED, NOT THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS ONE I MIGHT SAY, I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE THIS ONE AND GOT CRANKY WHEN THE PHONE RANG, ONCE I TURNED IT OFF INSTEAD OF DOWN AND IT TOOK ME AGES TO FIND IT AGAIN.


(4 stars)

Some of the narrators were horrible to listen to. —The story is mostly action: hunting, gun fights, climbing trees, chases on horseback, stabbing with bloody knives, kidnapping...


(5 stars)

good story. the jules hawerlyk recordings are unbearably monotonous. almost made me quit the book but the story is worth it.


(3.5 stars)

Great story. Terrible reading . Nearly unbearable in some cases. Reader from Mississauga Ontario especially.