4 stars

Dakota is a hired gun, who got that reputation because he was vain and didn't want to wear glasses, so he made a precision shot that was actually not what he was aiming for. He is hired by Bennie to find out who killed his family and then kill them. Dakota, who is a love 'em and leave 'em type of person and never forms attachments finds himself becoming invested in his chase, as all sorts of things start happening.
The blurb on the back of the book says "Dakota Taylor...a gunslinger in the Louis L'Amour tradition, but with one difference: he likes other men", and I would have to agree. Dakota has his own standards and morals, and looks out for himself. He doesn't shy away from trouble. In fact, trouble often seems to seek him out specifically, but he has his code and he sticks to it, no matter the cost to himself. If he says that he will do something, he does it. Dakota finds himself acquiring feelings for Bennie, which completely astounds him, as Dakota doesn't really do feelings. I liked the ending, as it seemed to stay in character with the ambiguity of Dakota and how he works, and at the end of the day, getting to go back to Bennie confident that he made the right choice, even if it might not have been what was wanted, made sense to me.

A true western with a randy gunslinger. Dakota Taylor is a legendary gunfighter hired by Bennie Colson to avenge the cold-blooded murders of his entire family.

Dakota meets some old friends (and lovers) along the way. He visits the saloon, the telegraph office, the train station all along investigating all the townspeople. But when he alone discovers the source for all the greed, he is transformed. And nothing with stop him from helping Bennie find his revenge.

Dakota never really identified himself as "gay"; he simply loves men, he explains. Bennie (Harvard educated) introduces him to the labels of the era for men who love men. And Dakota is damn proud of it. Strong gay role models except for the prissy, insipid Zeth.

Very well written and a great addition to my 'westerns with a twist' collection. ( )

I was very pleasantly surprised by the fantastic writing of "Cap Iversen" in Arson!.This may be a "gay western" but it is a real western story, not erotica in western clothes. I look forward to finding the remaining 2 novels in the Dakota Series.
If anyone can find any information about who Cap Iversen is that would be great. He or she is a great writer. Doing a Google search on Cap Iversen only brings up these 3 novels in the Dakota series so it must be a pen name. ( )

A Delightful Little Nugget of a Western:
As I was recently seeking out gay western titles for a project I was working on, I happened to stumble upon The Dakota Taylor series by Cap Iversen. To my pleasant surprise "Arson!" turned out to be a fine little gem. It has the plotting, formula and flair that would do Louis L'Amour proud. The only difference being, of course, that the heroic gunslinger is gay. It beautifully recreates the western paperback genre, with perhaps a little more spice. My only minor quibble is that the percentage of gay characters is a tad bit high - Dakota meets no less that 6 other gay men. But you can simply suspend your disbelief on that issue. After all, perhaps homosexuals weren't as repressed in the Wild West as they were in civilized society! But why quibble? It's simply an entertaining western joyride. Sadly, this series (created a whole decade before the Brokeback Mountain phenomenon) is now out of print. I would think Alyson books would have wanted to capitalize on the success of Brokeback Mountain and re-issue these titles, but alas you must seek them out from second-hand outlets. One final note: Who is Cap Iversen? A google search turns up nothing other than that he is the author of these three Dakota Taylor titles, and the back cover has no author description at all. I have a suspicion that "Cap Iversen" is nothing more than a pseudonym for a committee of ghost writers working for Alyson. I could be wrong, and if I am, please Cap Iversen, come out of hiding and write some more westerns! ( )