Max Brand (1) (1892–1944)

Destry Rides Again by Max Brand was originally published in 1930 and unfortunately, it hasn’t aged well as there were far too many racial slurs to be comfortable with the read. Another thing that threw me off is that the excellent 1939 western comedy film of the same title has absolutely no connection to the story. The film company wisely just used the title and discarded the written story.

The basic plot of the book is Harrison Destry’s quest for revenge against the 12 jurors who allowed their personal feelings to affect their judgment and wrongfully convict Destry for a robbery. After serving six years Destry is released and comes back to town with plans to get even with anyone who had a hand in sending him away. Destry is not a very likeable person, he thinks he is superior to everyone and was a bully when he was younger. The one person he should be going after is the one that originally set him up to be charged of the robbery and now, pretends friendship but continues to plot against him.

Destry Rides Again could have been a western classic but unfortunately the author delivers his story with some rather clunky writing, unbelievable action and as mentioned above, far to many racial slurs. I would strongly advise anyone to skip the book and watch the 1939 film instead.… (more)

We are introduced to the Sleeper as a young man who has little ambition as he rides a train box car across the South West. Another fellow traveler tells him they are passing the home pf Trots Enderby, a killer who possesses a magic gun. Sleeper leaps from the train to meet Trots and steal the gun which leads to many adventures.

One adventure includes stealing the famous race horse, Ironwood, from a gang leader named Parmenter. The method used to steal the horse seems incredible, but it makes for some great reading.

I find Brand's novels are sometimes a bit of a chore to read, but this one keeps moving along at a good paces with unusual characters and over the top action. Recommended.… (more)

This story has a copyright date of 1933 so it is 90 years old as I read it. It is also the 7th book in a series featuring Jim Silver. I have not read any of the prior books in the series so I may have been at a slight disadvantage in understanding who Jim Silver and his stallion Parade are. Here he has been on the trail of two outlaws for a very long time. However the story begins before we meet Jim Silver, as it opens with a timberwolf who is a giant of his kind and is notorious in the area he lives. He has a $2000 bounty on his head and feeds at will on the ranch livestock in the valley below the mountain range he frequents. He has a very large reputation and has been named Frosty. A trapper has come a thousand miles to trap him and after six months he has failed to get him. The story begins with Frosty more or less telling us about things. Then we switch to the trapper, Bill Gary, who has laid a careful set of traps for Frosty. And it works. And in the words of Bill Gary, he got Frosty and Frosty got him.

There are many parts to the story that are quickly laid out with this beginning and the rest of the novel deals with some nasty bad guys, and a couple good guys. I got a kick out of the parts of the story told by Frosty. One chapter opens like this: "She was tall. She was beautiful. She moved with a light and delicate grace. There was bright humor and good nature in her eyes. And Frosty loved her the moment he set eyes on her in the moonlight of that glade." So begins the part of the story where Frosty finds his mate.

There are good descriptions of the people and the land in this western and I found it to be a good read.… (more)