Theodore V. Olsen (1932–1993)

Sam Ashby is one of the small ranch owners in the Two Troughs Basin running cattle on government land. When farmers start arriving to take up legal possession of their small holdings, the ranchers band together to force the new arrivals off their land. When some of the ranch crew start to resort to extremely violent tactics, especially against the Mexican settlers, Ashby steps in making enemies of the foreman and owner's son on the largest spread. Quickly things spiral out of control when show more Ashby's wife and best friend are murdered.

When Ashby can't find the killer, he takes to the bottle and only the intervention by local Sheriff McKeogh and a Mexican woman who is carrying her own anger to extreme save him. He learns to love again and believe in his fellow men and women.

My first Olsen novel and I hope not to be my last. Complex plot and interesting characters. show less

A rather humdrum offering, The Summer of the Drums by T.V. Olsen is set in 1832 during the Black Hawk War. Telling the story of one pioneer family that becomes involved in the conflict, I found it to be a rather formulaic and predictable story. The father thinks that the Sauk Indians have been mistreated and driven from their lands by greedy whites and wants no part of the war. They are attacked anyway and lose their oldest son in the fight. The youngest son wounds a young brave and they show more take him into their home and nurse him back to health. He turns out to be Black Hawk’s grandson, and the two young men forge a life-long bond.

Along with the predictable storyline, the characters were not well drawn. The bad guys were almost cartoons in their villainy and the good guys were just too noble and upright to be believable. Summer of the Drums was a quick and easy read but really had nothing to add to my knowledge of the Black Hawk War. show less

The Stalking Moon by T. V. Olsen is probably best known as a 1968 western film starring Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint. The story is of a retiring army scout who, on his last mission, helps to rescue a white woman from the Apaches. She has two children and she wants to bring them with her into the white world and although everyone knows how difficult this will, she will not allow herself to be separated from her children. The scout, Sam Vetch, admires her strength and courage and when he show more leaves to go to his remote ranch, she and her children accompany him.

Marriage isn’t easy for the two of them, but they work through many issues and are starting to realize that they have a strong bond when her Apache mate shows up wanting his children and revenge. The men play a cat and mouse game with each other, but there is never any doubt how this story will end.

I enjoyed The Stalking Moon as I was in the mood for something light and Westerns are, for me, often comfort reads. This was a fairly standard western, a fun read but with no real staying power. show less

This is a classic pulp fiction western, but better written and more entertaining than most.

Drifting loner arrives at a new location where two large ranchers are coexisting in an uneasy truce. At issue is public grazing land that one owner has long regarded as his exclusively. The loner hires on at one ranch, then meets the beautiful daughter of the rancher than has long held grazing rights in the public domain. A criminal element is working to prod the two ranchers into open warfare in show more order to take over both ranches in the aftermath. The loner is framed for the attempted murder of his boss and goes on the run.

Guess how it will all turn out.

This is a fun, quick, easy read. show less