Fool's Gold

By: pdmac

Narrated by: Steve Wannall

US Marshal Mason Sadler has a great hustle going on with the vivacious and lovely Belle Dubois, the madam of the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. She keeps the outlaws occupied until he conveniently shows up to arrest them after which she and Mason split the reward.

Their business arrangement is going rather well until the wealthy inventor and archaeologist Henry Mitchell decides to make a play for Belle's attention and affection. After all, he's single while Mason is stuck in a marriage to a woman who prefers laudanum to marital bliss. But does Henry really desire Belle or is his interest a deflection from his true intentions, for gold from the Seven Cities of Cibola has been discovered in the mining hills of Tombstone. Two men desperately want to keep the discovery a secret -- Caleb, the old miner who found the treasure, and Henry who has spent the past several years hunting for it. Unfortunately for Caleb, Henry has no qualms about using whatever means necessary to take what he wants, even if it means murder and kidnapping. Regrettably for Belle, she eventually gets in the way. With the help of two Chiricahua machinists, Mason sets out to stop Henry's escape and rescue Belle. But everyone has failed to take into consideration two dead conquistadors who are not quite ready to part with the gold.

©2017 Paul Diuglas McKittrick (P)2017 Paul Douglas McKittrick

Mystery/thriller with a western flavor.

They’re calling this a steampunk western because it includes several steam-powered vehicles and/or inventions, which a few of the characters were utilizing. In fact this is a wonderfully written mystery/thriller with a western flavor. As you progress into the story more twists and turns are made known. I was quite impressed as I found the story getting better and more interesting as I dove deeper into the tale. The writing is excellent and cleverly done. The characters are likable and interesting and so well fleshed out that not a lot of background was necessary. Narration by Steve Wannall was excellent as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will look for more from pdmac. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

FOOLS GOLD

This is not my typical genre. I started not to listen to this because of the Si-Fi, Steampunk part. I wanted to try something different. It is a good book. If you like this type of book I think you'll love this. Marshall Mason is the main character. Things going on in this kept me interested. Also it's new storylines that I normally don't listen to. Steve Wannall does a good job narrating this book. If my review is any help will you please click on the helpful link below. Thank you.

Enjoyable read.

My first read from author P.D. Mac. I love a good mystery and I love Steampunk. This book has both. I don't restrict my reading to any particular genre. Instead, I'm a sucker for anything with memorable characters & a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat until the end. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. Narrator Steven Wannalls talented narration added greatly to the enjoyment of the book.
(RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018)

Treat for Steampunk fans

Would you recommend Fool's Gold to your friends? Why or why not?

None of my friends are into steampunk, so recommending this book to them won't do any good. But for those who love steampunk and/or western classics, this book might work well.I myself am very new to this genre, having read only one book ("Steampunk is dead") a few weeks ago. That book was of LitRPG genre actually, but based on a steampunk world. This book is pure steampunk genre and hence more geared towards fans of that genre.

Did Steve Wannall do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, most of the characters had distinct voice and were easy to differentiate. Only a couple of sequences were unclear and needed relisten.

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook for free from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Interesting and entertaining alternative history/western/steam punk story

I thought the overall premise of the book was great. The main character has some internal struggles that were quite different than you run of the mill hero book.
Most of characters seem to the same as any western you've read, cantankerous prospectors, bartenders, and outlaws. The addition of the steampunk characters and theme really helps this story stand apart from the others.
I enjoyed listening and will be looking for the other books in this series.