When one desperately needs a respite from this bloody and clichd, mad, mad world, Randles' novel Sun Dog Days" is 'it.' He takes us into a desert country with space to see, feel, absorb a chunk of earth, a beauty and solace all its own. "Buck, who was a cowboy and packer in his youth . . . now has a good job as a magazine editor, a loving wife and children and believes he is happy. Then . . . Smokey, his oldest and closest friend from his outdoor youth, lures him away for one last run at the wild horses before they are forever gone. Buck is terribly torn, because he may lose all this safety of family and regular paydays for what at best can only be described as 'an adventure.' "Buck can't resist. Like most of us wish we could, he gives in to a desire, to something incomplete in his blood, his genes. As the two friends of the earth and smooth worn leather prepare for the chase and experience of the great desert, many wonderful things of nature in the raw and in the nature of mankind are revealed--to everyone. The camaraderie of the two men in these moments of freedom is filled with quick wit and earthy insight."--Max Evans