The gentle desperado vs The luck of Roaring Camp, and other sketches: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Westerns

Cover of The gentle desperado

The gentle desperado Frederick Faust · 1981 ★★★★☆ 3.8 195 pages · ≈ 3 h 37 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of The luck of Roaring Camp, and other sketches

The luck of Roaring Camp, and other sketches Bret Harte · 1870 ★★★★☆ 3.6 256 pages · ≈ 4 h 44 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.8 vs 3.6 — either is a safe pick by score.
The gentle desperado is the easier read (Moderate), The luck of Roaring Camp, and other sketches more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side