Beautifully penned, this is a sensational yee-haa romp of a Wild West novel, which complements (by contrast) the writer's story of the East in 'The Kite-Rider'. The title says it all: the neo-villagers must gain a railroad station or their newly hewn community will die, like a mongoose bitten by a rattlesnake. Interest is maintained in this beef jerky-thin premise with impressive eccentrics such as The Swedish baker (who requires a wife to jam his donuts) and the academically-challenged schoolmistress (who wouldn't pass an Ofsted) . I'd hoped that the railroad company's prodigal son would be the central hero, but the inter-family feud wasn't really developed. What was, however, was the powerful sense of community spirit set against John Bull's destructively steely member which repeatedly lanced through their land and aspirations, a steam-spilling, horn-tooting embodiment of 'Progress'.

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