New BookAlert: Die For Her (Steele Raiders MC) by R.B. Hilliard; Modern Day Western Replaces Horses With Motorcycles, But Still Retains Old Western Values and Characters
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
PopSugar Reading Challenge: A Western
Spoilers: It's amazing when I come across several books with the same subjects and themes. It seems that "World Author Headquarters" often presents one person saying, "I am going to write about X." Then another author says, "Hold my beer" and vows to write a better one. I'm not accusing anyone of copying and plagiarism. Ideas float along in the air. Sometimes they hit more than one person and trends are born.
This year alone I have seen: Young people of color developing superhero and magical powers (Joshua N'Gon Last Prince of Alkebulahn by Anthony Hewitt, Djinn by Sang Kromah, Heck I will throw in last year's Sapphire and Planet Zero by Christina Blake), superheroes using their powers for mundane things not just saving lives (Joshua N'Gon, A Bounty With Strings by Markus' Matthews), fantasies which subvert light equalling good and dark equalling evil (The Other Magic by Derrick Smythe, The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie III, Empire Paladin Realm of Dead by M.S. Valdez), Children's books with an adult edge and sentimentality (The Voyages of Gethsarade by MG Claybrook, A Kite at the Edge of the World by Katy Grant), murders and kidnappings on island locations (Saint X by Alexis Schiatkin, On The Backs of Waves by Chiara Kelly), murder and kidnapping of young children (Saint X, On The Backs of Waves, Shove by Sarah Ciacia), the training of assassins (Blood of the Assassins by Bill Brewer, Loose Threads Cool Assasins by J.O. Quantaman), faerie creatures adjusting to the modern world (To Carry the Horn by Karen Meyers, Djinn), and books about the terrifying future-though that's not a surprise (The Girl Who Found The Sun by Matthew S. Cox, Pandemic Aftermath How Coronavirus Changes Global Society by Trond Undheim, Altered Helix by Stephanie Hansen).
Another trend we can add are books about motorcycles and motorcycle enthusiasts, including gangs and clubs. First, I reviewed Lawless Justice by Karina Kantas, a psychological thriller about a gang of female vigilantes who ride their bikes to take vengeance against abusive lovers and white supremacists. Then, I reviewed Sleeping Around in America Revisiting the Roadside Motel, Andrew Beattie's photographic travelogue about visiting America's strangest motels via motorcycle. The third book about the love affair with getting the motor running and heading out on the highway is Die For Her by R.B. Hilliard, the latest in her Steele Raiders MC series.
Think of the Steele Raiders as the male counterparts to Karina Kantas' Kittnz, though with slight differences in writing and characterization. Whereas, Kantas treated her Lawless Justice protagonists like a team of female superheroes, or specifically a team of female super-antiheroes, Die For Her seems to borrow from another, earlier genre.
Die For Her is reminiscent of a modern Western with motorcycles replacing horses, as the noble steeds of choice. You have the club of good men, particularly their stalwart good hearted but gruff leader who make their own laws and are none too shy about enforcing them. You have the gentle good-hearted lady (who believe it or not yes works at a school though, not a teacher, a counselor) who is in a whole heap of trouble with some sinister bad men and needs to be protected by the good men. There are the bad girls with hearts of gold, though they are biker's girlfriends, called Ol' Ladies, not hookers, who hang out and service the fellas. There are the clear bad men who make things worse by selling drugs and murdering eyewitnesses. There are also the ineffectual lawmen who exist in these books solely to hide behind their badges and get in the way of our good hearted noble gang of vigilantes.
This motorcycle club of mostly good men are the Steele Raiders, a club once headed by Grizz Steele. Well, Grizz has gone off to that motorcycle clubhouse in the sky and his role as club president has been taken over by his son, Arlan. In fact, Grizz's death has left a huge gaping hole in the club and has made them enemies with local drug dealers. Arlan is trying to hold onto his legacy of the Raiders but still has to deal with competition within the club members for leadership positions, fights with the Ol' Ladies for the attention of the men, and the disgust of his brother, Carver, a police officer.
Arlan is introduced by family friends to Luciana "Lulu" Ferina. A bit too quickly, the two become lovers. Three months later, Lulu visits a troubled student and witnesses a murder. She first goes to the police, but just as quickly sneaks away when she realizes that one of the assassins is a cop. So with no other alternative, she calls Arlan and hides out at the Raiders' clubhouse. While at the clubhouse, she gets to know more about Arlan, the Raiders, the Ol' Ladies, and their friends and enemies.
While Lawless Justice looks at its gang with equal parts admiration for their feminism and independence and criticism for their extremely violent natures, Die For Her is clearly on the side of the Raiders.
There isn't much gray area with their antagonists. The dealers are pure evil. The law enforcement are either corrupt or ineffectual. The Raiders are on the side of right and do their best to protect those they care about. Even if it means to commit bloody ends, particularly to characters, that as far as the book is concerned, deserve it.
I am not kidding when I compare Arlan Steele to a cowboy. He is like a character played by Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Kevin Costner, or Viggo Mortenson: a real manly man who doesn't speak much but when he does, it's important. He's not a toxic male, in that he has a sensitive side that is very protective of Lulu and others. But he would definitely be at home posing for a Harley or Marlboro ad.
While Hilliard shows praise to the Raiders, she does on occasion reveal a dark side to the life of one completely involved with the motorcycle clubs. Arlan's widowed mother despairs that for her late husband, the club was the most important thing in his life and it's members were above her in importance. She fears that the same thing will happen with her son as well.
There is also tremendous rivalry within and outside the gang. One member goes to great lengths to vie against another when Arlan declares him as vice president. Carver becomes a police officer partly to break away from the closeness shared between Grizz and Arlan in which he felt left out. One member turns traitor for the almighty dollar and and two others hide gambling and drug addictions to keep up with the fast life.
The female characters are unfortunately very undeveloped. They are either damsels in distress like Lulu, mothers, or biker girls. The Ol' Ladies and younger ones, called The Girls, appear to have very little to do but sleep with the male bikers, possibly get married, and gossip about Lulu, the new woman in their midst. They are the biker equivalent of rock and roll groupies, there to make the men feel good with little reason of their own. There is even a line where one of the Raiders dismisses the idea of female club members that are bikers, rather than just hangers-on. This Reader gets a hilarious delight imagining the Steele Raiders going up against the Kittnz of Karina Kantas' Lawless Justice. That would be a very interesting and entertaining battle of the sexes.
Despite the modern milieu and motorcycles, there is something old fashioned about Die For Her that many Readers will like. It conjures up a simple of time of good vs. evil, where the lines are clearly drawn and good people will do anything for the ones that they love and swear to protect.
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