Westeryear

The appeal of the 23 pieces here goes beyond the genre. With authors ranging from Max Brand to Loren D. Estleman, the tales are stolid, eerie, funny, bleak and moving. If some are sentimental (O. Henry's ``The Lonesome Road,'' Bill Pronzini's ``All the Long Years''), they have a firm center. Standout tales include Elmore Leonard's ``The Hard Way,'' about a young Mexican-American lawman's wrenching education in ``justice''; Harlan Ellison's ``The End of the Time of Leinard,'' a bleak look at ``progress''; Al Sarrantonio's ``Liberty,'' a short, devastating chiller; Marcia Muller's ``The Time of the Wolves,'' about the starkness of prairie life; Joe R. Laudsdale's ``Trains Not Taken,'' which deals with middleaged unhappiness; and Chad Oliver's ``One Night at Medicine Tail,'' featuring another middle-aged hero. Gorman's introduction and notes are brief and sensible. An important, entertaining collection. (Nov.)