Across the Rio Colorado

Sundown Riders #2

by Ralph Compton

Across rivers of blood and plains of tears, he led a wagon train toward a country fighting to be born. . .Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the tough-as-leather men who first blazed the way into the untamed frontier.Texas! For the pioneers who streamed out of Missouri it was a land of dreams and freedom. Veteran wagon boss Chance McQuade, a man deadly with a pistol and Sharps, had signed on to take a hundred families there. But the man who hired McQuade was joining the wagon train, and turning it into a brawling, rolling city of sin and violence. Now, on the hard drive West, McQuade faces Kiowa, lightening storms, and killers behind his back-all to reach a promised land that's erupting into war.

Genres: Westerns

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 1997

About the author

Ralph Compton (April 11, 1934—September 16, 1998) was an American writer of western fiction.

A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton began his writing career with a notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was chosen as a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" bestowed upon the "Best Debut Novel". He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. In the last decade of his life, he authored more than two dozen novels, some of which made it onto the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.

Ralph Compton died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 64. Since his passing, Signet Books has continued the author's legacy, releasing new novels, written by authors such as Joseph A. West and David Robbins, under Compton's byline.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ralphc...

Reviews

[HornFan2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically a re-read, plucked out of my library, have always liked Ralph Compton's writing, have read but a handful of his books, published before his death, decided to reread them and leave reviews for them.

The setting of 'Across the Rio Colorado' is set in St. Louis, Missouri the start of a trail drive put together by a man, who plans on starting a town along the Rio Colorado, in the Republic of Texas, using Mexican land grants and travels through Indian Territory.

It's a clean read, although the author Ralph Compton's not afraid to get dirt and grit on his hands, it enables him to make it more realistic, keeps it believable even, has a few unexpected twist and turns that make the story even better, got the classic good verse evil theme and feel this was one where he could have written a sequel or a series based on just Chance and Creeker.

He puts you in the pages your scouting along with Chance and later Creeker, your riding on a wagon box as outlaws, the Kiowa and Comanche tribes attack the wagon train, being the savior for Sam Houston and his Army in Texas and to know more you'll have to read 'Across the Rio Colorado'.

It's an entertaining read, written in the similar style of two legends being Jory Sherman and Elmer Kelton, yet it stands on it's own and well worth if you haven't yet too give Ralph Compton a try.

Especially with his books being released by Berkley right now. Also glad to see that they are bring back the Ralph Compton Western books. Like the Johnstone books, it's done through an agreement with his estate and the publisher, but with his they give writing credit to the author, which is a good thing, great to discover a new author and weed out ones writing wise that you don't like.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. I enjoyed the story. A real "shoot-em-upper". A couple of things in the medical part I object to as too far in the future for this story, but did not interfere in the story. A good amount of Texas history in the story. I enjoyed it.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is definitely a mediocre book. It's plot is perhaps the best part of the book, with a story that follows a group of settlers as they leave from St. Louis and head towards the Rio Colorado in Texas. Along the way the settlers have to face dishonest land grant holders, belligerant outlaws, and fierce native peoples like the Comanche and the Kiowa. The weakest part of this book is the characterization. The main character, Chance MacQuade, is so good it's boring. He's always protecting people, completely honest, completely fair, and always staging daring rescues. He never seems to have moments of true doubt or shadiness. How realistic is this? A good character should change in some substantial way throughout the novel, or some of the characters should change. None of them really does. It's a predictable novel since all the people are good or bad and a reader just knows that they will stay that way. There are a few surprises in the plot, with unexpected deaths, and this helps the novel move along a bit. However, this novel is only o.k. I was impatient to finish it.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Texas Bound

There are always some bad guys in that big a bunch
Of people and many times they do get straight.