The Baron Brand

The Baron clan wring their hands over slavery, syphilis and ornery neighbors in antebellum Texas in this disappointing fourth installment in Sherman's Grass Kingdom series. Unlike The Baron Range, the previous action-packed entry, this one sinks to soap opera lows, with choppy, melodramatic plot lines precluding narrative momentum. Martin Baron, the tough patriarch of the million-acre Box B cattle ranch, has returned from Louisiana ready to regain control of the land from his wild son, Anson. The youth has acquitted himself well, but now is aimlessly roaming the range with his goofy saddle pal, Peebo, looking for a nasty longhorn bull. Martin is left to deal with his syphilitic and estranged wife, a blind orphan boy, a crazy and vengeful Mexican neighbor and a mysterious Frenchman with murder on his mind. Add pre-Civil War jitters over slavery and secession in Texas and Martin has his plate full. Then there's Mickey Bone, the mercurial Apache bad guy from the previous book, who reappears with just enough venom and practical know-how to pose a real threat. But despite these opportunities for shooting, fighting and confrontation, Sherman keeps the focus of Martin's conflict internal. The patriarch is tormented by guilt about his brutish behavior toward his wife, his feelings about slavery and the dilemma of which side to chose if Texas secedes from the Union. There's little action and less suspense, and the big buildup to a blazing showdown fizzles entirely, left to be resolved in the next installment of the hapless Barons' saga. (Feb.)