All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone

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What to expect

All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone is the rollicking adventure story of Lincoln Smith, a young Texan living at the beginning of the twentieth century, who thinks of himself as the last true cowboy. He longs for the days of the Old West, when men like his father, a famous Texas Ranger, lived by the chivalric code. Lincoln finds himself hopelessly out of time and place in the fast-changing United States of the new century. When he gets his heart broken by a sweetheart who doesn’t appreciate his anachronistic tendencies, he does what any sensible young romantic would do: he joins the French Foreign Legion.

On his way to an ancient and exotic country at the edge of the Sahara, Lincoln encounters a number of curious characters and strange adventures, from a desert hermit who can slow up time to a battle with a crocodile cult that worships the god of death. He meets them all with his own charming brand of courage and resourcefulness.

Critics Review

  • “For those readers who love the rollicking adventure in Beau Geste and The Three Musketeers, and thrilled to the sound of hoofbeats crossing Romania in Teel James Glenn’s Cowboy in Carpathia—this book is for you!…This is an adventure truly worthy of Dumas, with its own Texas D’Artagnan and the multinational Three Musketeers…All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone is the kind of story we used to watch at the Saturday Morning Movies, one we hate to see end, and one we’d like to have return again and again in a series of sequels just as funny, exciting, and satisfying.”

    New York Journal of Books
  • “Epic adventure meets western cool. All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone swaggers its way from page to page with thrilling action, likable characters, and a galloped pacing. Jacobson has a master’s sense of storytelling, and he writes like he’s having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.”

    James Wade, author of All Things Left Wild
  • “How to read All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone: get comfortable, take a deep breath, open to page one, and let ’er rip. You’re off at a gallop on a grand adventure with the resourceful Lincoln Smith, who could give Allan Quatermain and Indiana Jones a run for their money. Smashing!”

    James R. Benn, author of The Red Horse and other Billy Boyle mysteries
  • “One of the most fun pieces of nostalgic escapism since Raiders of the Lost Ark…Jacobson has just the right touch for this story. He grounds the characters and setting in just enough reality to let the adventure sing. He also uses humor. injecting a sly, yet loving, self awareness. Lincoln realized much of western legend is myth, yet it’s the code that is worth something to believe in. It is that code that weaves through the sweep and romance of the adventure.

    All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone is much about storytelling and its importance as much as the story it tells. Like Michael Chabon or some of Joe Lansdale’s work, John Jacobson uses classic tropes to explore characters and beliefs. Times may have changed, but heroes are always needed. Lincoln Smith is a choice.”

    MysteryPeople
  • “Original, unique, adroitly crafted, and an inherently fascinating read featuring truly memorable characters, All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone deftly showcases the impressive literary storytelling talents of author John J. Jacobson.”

    Midwest Book Review
  • “Treasure, torture, crocodiles, snakes, dueling with curtain rods, and escaping bad guys via balloon are some of the rollicking adventures awaiting the reader who doesn’t mind suspending their disbelief at some of the characters’ exploits. As a wish-fulfillment adventure, it’s a fun ride.”

    Historical Novels Review

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