Forrest W. Schultz
Southside Book Reviews
“Victoria Wilcox makes it very clear that the West for Doc Holliday did NOT have the connotations associated with the famous exhortation “Go West, Young Man!”. Now there were, to be sure, lots of exciting and interesting things involved — the kind depicted in cowboy movies — but there were also tragic events aplenty, both those which caused Doc to escape to the West and those which produced the further degradation of his life after he became a Western denizen. This tragedy, in fact, is the theme of the first two books of her trilogy: how Doc went from good to bad, then from bad to worse. But, lest you become discouraged after reading the first two books, the author’s website www.victoriawilcoxbooks.com hints that redemption will be found in the third book, The Last Decision, which is scheduled to be published in May 2015. And her website also provides information showing how her books and the activities of the Holliday House and other nearby historical associations are rekindling an interest in Doc Holliday in the Atlanta area, particularly on the Southside.
Gone West begins with Doc’s arrival in the West and the succeeding events which led to his meeting Wyatt Earp and the relationship that developed between the two. Like the first book, this one is an excellent read and is based on prodigious historical research. I highly commend the author and I highly recommend reading this book.”
