Jamie Hedges counted six riders and there should have been only one.
That was (is) the opening sentence of Edge: The Loner, in which George G. Gilman unleashed his psychopathic western anti-hero Edge onto the world.
Obviously inspired by the violence, the heat, the dust and the bloodshed that were the iconic and instantly recognisable features of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns – films that attracted millions of viewers to the cinema during the late sixties and early seventies – George G. Gilman (a pen-name for Terry Harknett) eschewed the puritanical and moralistic conventions of the generic and standardised cowboy stories that were the staple of the western genre and relocated them in brand-new violent territory. Before long the name Edge would become synonymous with the essential reading of any dedicated or ‘real’ fan of Western fiction.
Edge was billed ‘a new kind of western hero’. Later on in the series, he was billed ‘a man alone’. Gilman deliberately emphasised Edge’s loner status: the half-breed psychopath, the western outsider, the amoral existentialist. Initially the Edge novels were novels of pursuit, later they became a series of one-off Edge adventures, with each novel containing an extremely violent dénouement.
Here is a list of the ‘complete’ Edge series:
Edge #1: The Loner (1972)
Edge #2: Ten Thousand Dollars, American (1972)
Edge #3: Apache Death (1972)
Edge #4: Killer’s Breed (1972)
Edge #5: Blood On Silver (1973)
Edge #6: The Blue, The Grey And The Red (1973)
Edge #7: California Killing (1973)
Edge #8: Seven Out of Hell (1973)
Edge #9: Bloody Summer (1974)
Edge #10: Vengeance is Black (1974)
Edge #11: Sioux Uprising (1974)
Edge #12: The Biggest Bounty (1974)
Edge #13: A Town Called Hate (1975)
Edge #14: The Big Gold (1975)
Edge #15: Blood Run (1975)
Edge #16: The Final Shot (1975)
Edge #17: Vengeance Valley (1976)
Edge #18: Ten Tombstones to Texas (1976)
Edge #19: Ashes and Dust (1976)
Edge #20: Sullivan’s Law (1976)
Edge #21: Rhapsody in Red (1976)
Edge #22: Slaughter Road (1977)
Edge #23: Echoes of War (1977)
Edge #24: The Day Democracy Died (1978)
Edge #25: Violence Trail (1978)
Edge #26: Savage Dawn (1978)
Edge #27: Death Drive (1978)
Edge #28: Eve of Evil (1978)
Edge #29: The Living, the Dying and the Dead (1979)
Edge #30: Waiting for a Train (1979)
Edge #31: The Guilty Ones (1979)
Edge #32: The Frightened Gun (1979)
Edge #33: The Hated (1980)
Edge #34: A Ride in the Sun (1980)
Edge #35: Death Deal (1980)
Edge #36: Town on Trial (1981)
Edge #37: Vengeance at Ventura (1981)
Edge #38: Massacre Mission (1981)
Edge #39: The Prisoners (1982)
Edge #40: Montana Melodrama (1982)
Edge #41: The Killing Claim (1982)
Edge #42: Bloody Sunrise (1983)
Edge #43: Arapaho Revenge (1983)
Edge #44: The Blind Side (1984)
Edge #45: House on the Range (1984)
Edge #46: The Godforsaken (1984)
Edge #47: The Moving Cage (1984)
Edge #48: School for Slaughter (1985)
Edge #49: Revenge Ride (1985)
Edge #50: Shadow of the Gallows (1985)
Edge #51: A Time for Killing (1986)
Edge #52: Brutal Border (1986)
Edge #53: Hitting Paydirt (1986)
Edge #54: Backshot (1987)
Edge #55: Uneasy Riders (1987)
Edge #56: Doom Town, London (1987)
Edge #57: Dying is Forever (1987)
Edge #58: The Desperadoes (1988)
Edge #59: Terror Town (1988)
Edge #60: The Breed Woman (1989)
Edge #61: The Rifle (1989)
The Edge adventures finally stopped arriving on bookstore shelves in 1989. That was it. To all intents and purposes, the series, although it hadn’t been officially concluded, was over. There would be no more Edge novels.
All that’s left from those heady days of violent, but well-written westerns is a 61-book series of NEL paperbacks, 3 Edge/Steele novels, a George G. Gilman web-based fan site, and 6 e-books that continue Edge’s adventures after Edge: The Rifle (61).
I enjoyed reading the Edge series of books very much and I was sorry to see the series come to an untimely (and unexplained) end. Each novel was very fast-paced, and all of them were written in a style that mixed violence, sex, black humour and the western landscape in a compelling way.
George G. Gilman (Terry Harknett)
It would, of course, be wonderful if George G. Gilman were to write a final Edge adventure, tying up all the loose ends and providing a fitting conclusion to his stories and a fitting end to his charismatic anti-hero.
Note: If you are interested in reading the further adventures of Edge in 6 e-books written by George G. Gilman, click on the link below:
George G. Gilman’s Edge - A New Kind of Western Hero
© R J Dent (2009)
Tags: Edge, Edge is a man alone, Edge westerns, George G. Gilman, George G. Gilman fiction, George G. Gilman's Edge, R J Dent, Terry Harknett, Terry Harknett's fiction
November 25, 2008 at 12:05 am |
Make It Into A Film Please………. A good violent western, based on the ‘Edge’ series of books. I was reading these when they first came out in ‘72. Would make Clint Eastwood’s ‘man with no name’ films very tame in comparison.
December 25, 2008 at 10:39 am |
yes about time we had a good western again, but who could play the part of edge? viggo mortensen might do a good job.
December 28, 2008 at 5:20 am |
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS SERIES AS A FILM!
February 15, 2009 at 11:39 am |
yo, rjdent – great article on Gilman
March 11, 2009 at 7:45 am |
I started reading Edge in 1972 whilst at sea in the navy. A lot more realistic after a diet of Louis L’amour !! I particularly loved the one-liners at the end of each chapter, followed by a really great one at the end of the novel. I came home from sea after no 29, so I have some catching up. Thanks for the memories. Mick.
March 13, 2009 at 7:08 pm |
Folk might be interested to know that there are 6 unpublished EDGE books on the GGG Message Board that continue his adventures after #61 in the original series, great reads as usual. The link to the site is:-
http://gggandpcs.proboards33.com/index.cgi
Enjoy.
John
March 13, 2009 at 8:14 pm |
And three titles have been missed from the series list, namely the books that saw Edge team up with one of George G. Gilman’s other western characters; Adam Steele. These books continue storylines from the main series.
The books are:
Edge meets Steele: Two of a Kind (read after Edge 34)
Edge meets Steele: Matching Pair (read after Edge 40)
Edge meets Steele: Double Action (read after Edge 46)
Edge also appears in Jubal Cade #6: The Burning Man.
July 8, 2009 at 4:55 pm |
Looking for copies of Edge: The Rifle and Uneasy Riders, think they’re #s 61 and 55, respectively. stevech1321@yahoo.com
July 17, 2009 at 10:37 pm |
it’d be the perfect western movie series…. i’ve been reading edge since 1972… i would have to say in the movie climate now, someone who might do a good job would be mark wahlberg.. he’s maturing and i think he might be mean enough to pull it off.
July 20, 2009 at 5:50 pm |
Interesting material. Where do you find such topics? I will look at this site again.
September 7, 2009 at 2:26 am |
Just one left to collect, Uneasy riders #55…anybody have any ideas where I can find one?
October 14, 2009 at 3:08 am |
I’ve enjoyed this series since I started reading them in 1980. I also agree, that a movie should be made based on the Edge character. Would be a great movie. This is the most awesome series ever done.
October 14, 2009 at 3:30 am |
Some of these titles that are listed aren’t correct:
Edge #2 is “Ten Grand”
Edge #6 is “Red River”
Edge #12 is “Death’s Bounty”
Edge #13 is “The Hated”
Edge #14: “Tigers Gold”
Edge #15: “Paradise Loses”
Edge #18: “Ten Tombstones”
Edge #24: “Slaughterday”
Edge#30: “Towering Nightmare”
Edge #33: “Red Fury”
October 14, 2009 at 4:24 am |
Still looking for #55….Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!….This is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to collect….after reading #61, we definitely need to see a #62.
October 14, 2009 at 4:28 am |
I think the characters Henry Fonda played in some of his westerns would have made a great Edge, or maybe Charles Bronson, just not tall enough… Today, not sure, maybe Sam Elliott or an older, dark haired Ben Affleck.
November 6, 2009 at 4:12 pm |
For anyone wanting to chat to Terry Harknett, aka George G gilman and also some other authors then go to the following web address and become a member of the forum.
November 6, 2009 at 4:13 pm |
I might add that the web address which I speak of is linked to my name ‘Glyn’