Book Description
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And maybe I ain't. Sinclair brushed the entire argument away into a thin mist of smoke. "Now, look here, Cold Feet, I'm about to go to sleep, and when I sleep, I sure sleep sound, taking it by and large. They's times when I don't more'n close one eye all night, and they's times when you'd have to pull my eyes open, one by one, to wake me up. Understand? I'm going to sleep the second way tonight. About eight hours of the soundest sleep you ever heard tell of." ... Read more

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Dust powdered his hat and clothes as Tex Calder trotted his horse north across the hills. His face was a sickly grey, and his black hair might have been an eighteenth century wig, so thoroughly was it disguised. It had been a long ride. Many a long mile wound back behind him, and still the cattle pony, with hanging head, stuck to its task. Now he was drawing out on a highland, and below him stretched the light yellow-green of the willows of the bottom land. He halted his pony and swung a leg over the horn of his saddle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Untamed - Enjoyable, Enigmatic, Classic Western
Whistlin' Dan Berry is undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic characters in Western fiction. With uncanny abilities he controls a wild stallion, appropriately named Satan, and a ferocious wolf dog, Black Bart. Naive and easy going, Berry proves absolutely unforgiving when physically assaulted by a feared, vicious outlaw, Jim Silent. Seemingly without any moderating emotions, Whistlin' Dan is relentless in his vengeful search for Silent and his outlaw gang.

The Untamed (1919), Max Brand's first western novel, was radically different from earlier, more realistic, classic works like James Fenimore Cooper's The Prairie, Owen Wister's The Virginian, and Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage. In The Untamed we readers learn little about the protagonist; his origin, his remarkable skills, and his animal-like instincts, remain shadowed in mystery.

We also have little idea where the story takes place. Brand's geography is vaguely familiar and yet is clearly fictional, even mythical. Harsh, unforgiving deserts and mountains markedly shape the character and code of his fictional ranchers, heroes, and outlaws. There is an accepted definition of honor, right, and wrong, but fundamentally, all must find ways to survive in this rugged environment.

Max Brand's westerns may not meet the criteria of great literature, but The Untamed is certainly good pulp fiction. Brand's enigmatic Whistlin' Dan Berry warrants your acquaintance.

My hard cover edition of The Untamed is a publication of the University of Nebraska Press. It includes a short, interesting introduction by William A. Bloodworth, Jr. He is the author of Max Brand (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993), a biographical examination of Brand's fascinating career.

Max Brand, the best known pseudonym of Frederick Faust, created more than 300 western novels.

One of the classics of the genre
Frederick Faust (a.k.a. Max Brand and eighteen other psuedonyms) wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote -- 30 million plus words in his career -- and just about everything he turned out is worth reading.And "TheUntamed" is one of his best.Forget "The Virginian" andZane Grey's pokey novels, "The Untamed" is the fictionalized westthat we know and love, where men and women were larger than life and strodeacross a fantasy world of death, lawlessness, and strange beauty.Afterreading this novel, pick any other Faust/Brand title and give it a try: Iguarantee you that you won't find a dud.

The Beginning of the Western Revolution
More than any other western novel, even more than the better known "Riders of the Purple Sage" and "The Virginian", "The Untamed" created the modern conception of the west as a violent world of fairy tale.Brand crafts an elegant melodrama of exaggerated life through his sociopathic hero, Whistlin' Dan Barry, and infuses his story with the violence and passion of Greek tragedy.This synthesis created the twentieth-century image of the old west.Brand, who would write over 300 novels in his career, writes with an ease and power that makes every page a joy. ... Read more

Book Description
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Trailin' tells of the sparks that fly when an Eastern dude, daring the most ruthless desperados of the rangeland in a quest for his father's killer, meets a woman of the West determined to save him from himself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Trailin' - Good Introduction to Max Brand's Mythical West
Richard Etulain, a history professor at University of New Mexico and editor of this 1994 University of Nebraska Press edition of Trailin' (1920), rightly cautions that not all readers will find Brand's pulp westerns entirely satisfactory. He does argue, however, that Trailin' - one of Brand's early westerns - warrants reading (and I agree) as it vividly illustrates Brand's almost magical, archetypal western that was so popular in the years before World War II.

The setting in Trailin' is vague and uncertain, and apparently this is typical of Max Brand's stories. We only know that it occurs somewhere in Brand's mythical west. (Contrastingly, Louis L'Amour's geography and landmarks were carefully researched.)

Brand's characters are nearly as mythical as his geography. The hero in Trailin', Anthony Bard, overcomes all obstacles to track the killer of his father across the open plains and mountains of the wild west. Bard's success is especially remarkable as he had no prior wilderness experience, having been raised in a wealthy setting in New York.

His cold, calculating adversary, Steve Nash, is a classic villain, one who even resorts to killing Bard's horse. The action-packed plot had some unexpected twists, but ultimately the ending seem contrived, revealing a secret that could have been disclosed much earlier.

Max Brand was one of the many pseudonyms of Frederick Schiller Faust, creator of more than 350 westerns in the 1920s and 1930s.

Today, classics like Shane, The Big Sky, The Virginian, Lonesome Dove, The Ox-Bow Incident, and Monte Walsh as well as L'Amour's popular fiction largely overshadow Brand's novels.Nonetheless, despite a notable lack of verisimilitude, Max Brand's action tales offer enjoyable, light reading for fans of westerns. ... Read more

Book Description
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The moment he rose out of the chair and faced them, Gainor had stopped short. He was quite capable of fast thinking, and now his glance flickered from Terry to the sheriff and back again. It was plain that he had shrewd suspicions as to the purpose behind that call. The sheriff was merely confused. He flushed as much as his tanned-leather skin permitted. As for Terry, the moment his glance fell on the sheriff he felt his muscles jump into hard ridges, and an almost uncontrollable desire to go at the throat of the other seized him. He quelled that desire and fought it back with a chill of fear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Enjoyable Yarn
I like Max Brand's stories over most other Western writers because he sidesteps page after page of monotonous action and substitutes the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters. As we get to know them we start to worry over their fate. If that is the kind of story you like, then, you are in luck here.

Torn between two worlds
Terry Hollis was the son of a notorious outlaw named Black Jack. His father was murdered and Terry was raised from infancy by the women who loved his father. The question throughout the book was whether young Hollis would go straight or follow in his father's footsteps.
This story is not as fast-paced as the others, but an element of tenseness carries throughout the story. It is a well-written and enjoyable character study.

Slow pacer
After having read ten or so of Max Brand's novels, I have true appreciation for his diverse work.However, I found "Black Jack" to be dull and monotonous.If a reader is looking for an entertaining read, "Black Jack" doesn't fit that need. ... Read more

Book Description
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With gusts of wind fanning it roughly, the flame rose fast. Harrigan made other journeys to the rotten stump and wrenched away great chunks of bark and wood. He came back and piled them on the fire. It towered high, the upper tongues twisting among the branches of the tree. They laid Kate Malone between the windbreak and the fire. In a short time her trembling ceased; she turned her face to the blaze and slept. ... Read more

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Partner, said Ronicky Doone, "if they are trying to keep her away from us they sure have the sense to keep her under cover for as long as two days. Ain't that right? It looks pretty bad for us, but I'm staying here for one solid week, anyway. It's just about our last chance, Bill. We've done our hunting pretty near as well as we could. If we don't land her this trip, I'm about ready to give up." ... Read more

Book Description
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"The west wind came over the Eagles, gathered purity from the evergreen slopes of the mountains, blew across the foothills and league wide fields, and came at length to the stallion with a touch of coolness and enchanting scents of far-off things. Just as his head went up, just as the breeze lifted mane and tail, Marianne Jordan halted her pony and drew in her breath with pleasure. For she had caught from the chestnut in the corral one flash of perfection and those far-seeing eyes called to mind the Arab belief." ... Read more

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Bull sighed. "I ain't got much time, partner," he said. Approaching the door, he examined it wistfully. "But, maybe, they's another way." He drew back a little, raised his right leg, and smashed the heavy cowhide boot against the door. The wood split from top to bottom, and Bull's leg was driven on through the aperture. He paused to wrench the fragments of the door from lock and hinges and then beckoned to Pete Reeve. "Look for your gun in here, Reeve." ... Read more

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Not till you'd promised to stick by him. I told him that myself, but he said that you're young and that he'd teach you to like this life whether you wanted to or not. Me speaking personally, I agree with Black Gandil: This is the worst fool thing that dad has ever done. What do we want with you--in Hal's place! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Riders of the Silences by Max Brand (Frederick Faust)
Description from the dust jacket:

Pierre le Rouge had come down from the far north to avenge his dying father, who had been fatally wounded by the terrible McGurk.But before Pierre could meet the invincible gunman, he was the victim of an accident.He would have died, buried in a snowdrift, if Jim Boone had not found him.Boone's son had just been killed in a train robbery, and despite the protests of the other outlaws, Boone made Pierre a member of his gang, replacement for his dead son.And so Pierre rode with the wild marauders, all skilled gunfighters, including Boone's wild young daughter.At last the scene was set for the showdown between Pierre and McGurk, but even when it had taken place and a wounded McGurk left the range, the blood feud had not been settled.One of them had to be destroyed.Max Brand is at his gripping best in this story about a band of reckless, hard-riding killers who swept through the shadows of a terrified range.
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Book Description
Frederick Schiller Faust is not a name many readers recognize, but who does not know the name "Max Brand?" How many avid readers of Max Brand's western classics are familiar with the 19 other pseudonyms used by Faust? Or that the author of Destry Rides Again penned the Doctor Kildare series? Or that Faust worked as a screenwriter, often without credit, on numerous Hollywood films? Or that Faust thought of himself as a poet, writing prose, as he put it, to "pay the bills?" Or that, to pay the bills, he constantly strove to surpass his record of some 20,000 publishable words a day--and that he sold 99 percent of the fiction he wrote? Or that, some 22 years after his death, new collections of his writings are being published, with enough publishable material remaining to fill an estimated 100 additional volumes? Frederick Schiller Faust was a physically large man with enormous appetites, yet he suffered most of his life from an enlarged heart. In World War I, he went to Canada to enlist, but, frustrated by the slow pace of getting overseas, he deserted twice. By the time the United States entered World War II, Faust was overage and the only way he could see combat was to go as a correspondent. On the night of May 11, 1944, Faust was killed by a mortar shell fragment while accompanying a nighttime attack on a German strongpoint in Italy. According to one report, his last words were "Those other wounded boys need help more than I do. Take them!" The Max Brand Companion is the essential guide to one of the most popular writers of the 20th century as well as a major American author. The Companion serves to tell readers and researchers about the man as well as the author, charts the history of his work and its derivations, and presents works by Faust himself which are indicative of the scope and range of his imagination. Contributors include family members, associates, and some of the leading writers on western fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Ultimate Guide For Any Fan Of The Great Max Brand
When I picked up this book I was new to the fiction of Max Brand and wanted to know more about this genius. Brand's (Frederick Faust's) accomplishments are still legendary in the world of the written word and this volume gives you a fascinating, comprehensive overview of the man and his work. Amongst personal letters and bios and the recollections of people who knew and worked with Faust, there is, I believe, a complete list of the man's incredible output. If you think Brand (Faust) was just a western writer, guess again. He wrote in just about every genre of fiction and did it with distinction. And the fact that millions all over the world are still reading his work 60 years after his tragic death in combat during World War Two is a testament to his talent. For the long-time fan the book is a must but for the new reader like myself it provides a great introduction to one of the greatest writers of all time. Well worth the purchase price. A priceless guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a star is born
this book is so amazing i felt it necessary to only give it one star.because one star, that is to say, the first star i see tonight...is much more important than a lot of stars.if you don't know where i'm going withthis then obviously you have not read the book and i can't be bothered withyou anyway ... Read more