Luke Short (1908–1975)

Originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, Luke Short’s psychologically complex tale of a man standing alone in a bitter range war is one of the greatest westerns ever penned. Made into an underrated film with Rod Cameron in the role of Will Ballard, it made it into the Top 25 Westerns of all-time in a poll of the Western Writers of America, coming in at #16. Since Short has two in there, I might move it up to #10 where Vengeance Valley sits, but you could just as easily make the show more case that one of Short’s other Westerns could fill either spot. He was just that good.

The former newspaperman from Illinois also spent some time as a trapper in Canada during the very early 1930s. Times were so lean he tried his hand at pulp western writing. But by 1938 he was being published in Collier’s, and three years later his novel, Blood On the Moon (Gunman’s Chance) was serialized in The Saturday Evening Post. That noir western would eventually be filmed, like a lot of his popular books, but Short has somehow fallen out of vogue, and out of print, in our day. Perhaps it is the darker shadings to some of his stories, or the complex subtleties of plot. But there will be no doubt after reading Ride the Man Down, or any of his fine novels, that he was one of the best Western novelists of all time.

Will Ballard is the foreman for Hatchet, a spread everyone wants to move in on once Phil Evarts is dead. His brother has taken over responsibility for the 70 thousand acres of Hatchet land, but everyone knows he’ll be reasonable about giving some of it up. It is Will Ballard that Bide Mariner will have to worry about. Things quickly shape up into a range war as Ballard seems to be the lone man fighting to hang on, even against the owner. While this sounds typical, it is anything but, due to the complex underpinnings and masterfully hued personalities. A contrast is slowly drawn between Celia Evarts, and the schoolteacher, Lottie, whom Will is set to marry. The shadings revealed in their characters as things escalate is deftly painted by Short with a light stroke, until no doubt is left as to who they are. The romantic entanglements of Will and Celia are given a rich and mature depth, making both the people and the situation real. There are no picnics or buggy rides here, simply two people gradually realizing through circumstance just how much they were meant for one another.

The range war story itself is exciting, filled with action and danger. An act of vengeance by Will when Evart’s brother is killed, will prove the catalyst for everyone to pick a side. Which side is picked will reveal the character of each man and woman involved. Will brings things to a head by a clever strategy placing anyone encroaching on their range on the wrong side of the law. But hatred and jealousy will prove to be stronger motives than land in the end. Those motives lead to one final deadly confrontation in this fabulous Western, which was made into a very underrated film starring Rod Cameron. Short balances a rich and mature narrative with all the traditional elements that make a Western exciting, and fun to read. Low-key, gritty, this is one of the finest novels about a range war ever penned. show less

This novel has all that I look for in a Western Pulp story. The consummate tough cowboy rides into town with a specific job in mind then a slaughter occurs, and the hero finds he’s all knotted up in the middle of something else. There’s a nasty set piece involving stampeding cows and a cliff, there are a few gunbattles, and the villain is smart and has the hero on the ropes for most of the novel even when the hero thinks he is closing in on him. There are a few twists and lots of show more backstabbing involved.
Otherwise, the book was a quick read, and I was never bored. However, there was a single instance of a casual racist phrase near the beginning. Fortunately, I did not run into any other instances in the narrative. Unfortunately, this is to be expected in a lot of Western Pulp written in the 1930s. Despite this, the narrative moves at a decent pace, the landscape is present though not romanticized to the level that I typically prefer, and the characters are clearly defined and make intelligent choices based on what they know at the time. The two romances in the book are somewhat believable, one more than the other, but not too much time was committed to either in favor of the action and scheming. I don’t come to these for romance, so I think that’s a plus.
I liked this book and would recommend this to anyone looking for classic Western Pulp. I am looking forward to reading Luke Short’s other works that wait patiently on my shelves. show less

This short western by Luke Short was made into the 1948 movie called Blood on the Moon starring Robert Mitchum. The story is of Jim Garry, a lone drifter who is summoned to the small town Sun Dust to help an old friend. He soon comes to the realization that he is actually on the wrong side in this range war by uncovering the plot to defraud a local rancher, John Lufton, out of his money. He also meets John Lufton’s attractive and tomboyish daughter, Amy.

A Gunman’s Chance was a fun, short show more read that is chock full of western cliches and action. A loner who has to make the decision between right and wrong even if it means turning on someone he thought was a friend. A headstrong woman who is able to lead her man to the path of redemption. The story unfolds against a backdrop of cattle herds, range-lands and gun fights.

I often turn to Westerns for pure escapism and I have learned to rely on Luke Short to deliver the goods. This has been the book that I have carried with me to recent doctor and dentist waiting rooms and it was perfect for that. show less

Trumpets West! By Luke Short was an good old-fashioned western with crooked Indian Agents, Apaches who jump the reservation and an honest lieutenant who is willing to go against the fort Commander who is a wrong’un. Hardly surprising that it reads like a 1950’s western movie, as Luke Short was responsible for many of the scripts that those westerns were based on.

This was a short book, more of a novella size, but packed with story as Lieutenant Hanna comes against his own Commander and show more the Indian Agent who are selling the beef supplied to the Indians for their own profit. Before Hanna can prove this, a group of Indians leave the reservation and go on a rampage. He is assigned the task of tracking them down. When the battle starts, Hanna leads the charge, but when he sends for reinforcements, they are nowhere to be found. The Commander has set him up for failure and perhaps even death.

I am a fan of western stories, finding them great escape reading and Trumpets West was a great way to spend an afternoon. show less