The Old West Meets Space

There are westerns – novels set in the American Old West, typically between 1865 and 1900. Then there are science fiction novels, with classics of the genre being technology-oriented and set in the far future. It is possible to combine the two, though attempts often seem forced and artificial, using a western plot in science fiction or adding SF elements in a western.

Colt Ostergaard: A Man With A Gun, by Rick Cutler, is both a western and a science fiction novel. It is also a superior example of both genres.

The novel is set on the frontier planet of Fenris. It is low-population, with an economy largely based on ranching, farming and mining, with a clan-based society. Recently it won independence from Alpha Lympos in a bitterly fought war. Its scars are still healing. One man displaced by the war’s aftereffects is Colt Ostergaard.

Ostergaard lives by a code. He has never cheated at cards, never shot a man who did not deserve it, and never been with a woman who did not want him. He is a man of his word, which, once given, is kept. Even when keeping his word comes with a price. Yet he is an outcast because of his actions in the war (refusing to massacre Alphie POWs) and getting crosswise with the Saint Joseph Foundation (which has placed a bounty on him).

This is the formula of the classic western. An honorable man displaced by war (the Civil War, most often, in westerns) wandering in search of the peace he knows he will never find. Yet it is very much science fiction. Fenris is a frontier, but a frontier of the future. Ostergaard rides a six-legged yima, a mount bioengineered for Fenris. Wagons are solar-powered. It is part of a spacefaring society. The technology introduced by future science is as integral to the plot as the western elements. Ultimately, technology is what makes Ostergard dangerous to be around and alienates him from those he loves.

This is a novel formed by combing previously-published short stories with original work to produce a powerful story arc. Combined, they yield an episodic novel that builds to a forceful conclusion.

Colt Ostergaard: A Man With A Gun appears on the surface as a simple adventure tale. It can be enjoyed as such. Yet it is deeply nuanced and explores profound questions about what it means to be a man who follows an honorable path.

“Colt Ostergaard: A Man With A Gun,” Rick Cutler, Raconteur Press, April 2026, 424 pages, $15.99 (Paperback), $5.99 (E-book)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.