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The Whip
Robbery and murder. They were the order of the day on the Midland Stage east of Salt Lake, until Will Gannon signed on. There wasn't any law for a hundred miles--so Gannon made it himself. But when he hanged a man with his own hands, the girl who loved him "You're no better than a hired killer for Midland. You'll kill, and kill again--till someone kills you. Why should I stay and watch it happen?"
- GenresWesterns
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
21 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Luke Short
128 books36 followersLuke Short (real name Frederick Dilley Glidden) was a popular Western writer.
Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.
Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of newspapers before becoming a trapper in Canada then later moved to New Mexico to be an archeologist's assistant.
After reading Western pulp magazines and trying to escape unemployment he started writing Western fiction. He sold his first short story and novel in 1935 under the pen name of Luke Short (which was also the name of a famous gunslinger in the Old West, though it's unclear if he was aware of that when he assumed the pen name.)
After publishing over a dozen novels in the 1930s, he started writing for films in the 40s. In 1948 alone four Luke Short novels appeared as movies. Some of his memorable film credits includes Ramrod (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948). He continued to write novels, despite increasing trouble with his eyes, until his death in 1975. His ashes are buried in Aspen, Colorado, his home at the time of his death.
Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.
Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of newspapers before becoming a trapper in Canada then later moved to New Mexico to be an archeologist's assistant.
After reading Western pulp magazines and trying to escape unemployment he started writing Western fiction. He sold his first short story and novel in 1935 under the pen name of Luke Short (which was also the name of a famous gunslinger in the Old West, though it's unclear if he was aware of that when he assumed the pen name.)
After publishing over a dozen novels in the 1930s, he started writing for films in the 40s. In 1948 alone four Luke Short novels appeared as movies. Some of his memorable film credits includes Ramrod (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948). He continued to write novels, despite increasing trouble with his eyes, until his death in 1975. His ashes are buried in Aspen, Colorado, his home at the time of his death.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 29, 2011
I borrowed this from a friend because I recently watched André de Toth's excellent 1947 western
Ramrod
, which was based on a novel by Luke Short, an author whom I'd never read before.
The Whip, which was originally published in 1957 as Doom Cliff (both are good titles, but for different reasons), was a lot like the film Ramrod, and even though this is the only Luke Short novel I've read, I think I have a pretty good handle on his themes.
Every male character in The Whip is either unreliable and selfish or vicious and evil. Everyone, that is, but the protagonist, Will Gannon.
Gannon is hired by the Midland Stage Company to bring order to the chaotic line, which runs east of Salt Lake City and into Colorado. The Midland has drunken drivers, enormous piles of undelivered mail, lazy station agents, totally erratic arrival times, and workers who are owed back pay. It's controlled by the division agent, Lou Maydet, who runs it as a sideline to his numerous illegal operations.
After a passenger is murdered and robbed in his hotel room, Gannon smells an inside job, and takes to restoring order with threats, intimidation, and bullets.
Gannon's fatal flaws are his anger and his inflexibility. These work for him when he's whipping lazy drivers and station agents into shape, but when he and Maydet begin fighting a war of attrition, it leads to several killings (including a cold-blooded hanging carried out by Gannon and his sidekick, who's guilted into doing it by Gannon).
Throughout the narrative, Short asks the reader to consider whether order is worth the violence necessary to achieve it. In this way, The Whip is the story of the taming of the West in miniature, which I liked. But in the last few paragraphs, everything works out more neatly for Will Gannon than it has any right to, which is why I deducted a star.
The Whip, which was originally published in 1957 as Doom Cliff (both are good titles, but for different reasons), was a lot like the film Ramrod, and even though this is the only Luke Short novel I've read, I think I have a pretty good handle on his themes.
Every male character in The Whip is either unreliable and selfish or vicious and evil. Everyone, that is, but the protagonist, Will Gannon.
Gannon is hired by the Midland Stage Company to bring order to the chaotic line, which runs east of Salt Lake City and into Colorado. The Midland has drunken drivers, enormous piles of undelivered mail, lazy station agents, totally erratic arrival times, and workers who are owed back pay. It's controlled by the division agent, Lou Maydet, who runs it as a sideline to his numerous illegal operations.
After a passenger is murdered and robbed in his hotel room, Gannon smells an inside job, and takes to restoring order with threats, intimidation, and bullets.
Gannon's fatal flaws are his anger and his inflexibility. These work for him when he's whipping lazy drivers and station agents into shape, but when he and Maydet begin fighting a war of attrition, it leads to several killings (including a cold-blooded hanging carried out by Gannon and his sidekick, who's guilted into doing it by Gannon).
Throughout the narrative, Short asks the reader to consider whether order is worth the violence necessary to achieve it. In this way, The Whip is the story of the taming of the West in miniature, which I liked. But in the last few paragraphs, everything works out more neatly for Will Gannon than it has any right to, which is why I deducted a star.
September 16, 2020
I have been really impressed/surprised by Luke Short's books—I'd been under the impression they were pulp-style Westerns, but they're much, much more intelligent and well-researched than that. My third read so far, and in spite of some pretty rough action scenes, no quick-draw-gun-duel-in-the-street yet. The only reason I gave this one three stars is that it's a bit heavy and gloomy as a story, though interesting.
June 5, 2022
Although I classified this as a romance, it isn't a romantic boy-meets-girl story. It's a struggle between law and order, evil versus good, complacency versus strife. Through all this it touches on the resistance of the everyday person to do something that will change the status quo, even when and sometimes particularly when the status quo is bad.
In this short novel written in the 1950s we view a seamless timeline presented over several weeks, of people who struggle to survive in an unwelcoming place. We also see the way past events have changes people, particularly our hero Will Gannon. If this was a modern story it would include a great deal more on the backstory of Will, although we get enough to see that his has not been a happy life.
Recommended for those who love westerns, or maybe just want something a little different.
In this short novel written in the 1950s we view a seamless timeline presented over several weeks, of people who struggle to survive in an unwelcoming place. We also see the way past events have changes people, particularly our hero Will Gannon. If this was a modern story it would include a great deal more on the backstory of Will, although we get enough to see that his has not been a happy life.
Recommended for those who love westerns, or maybe just want something a little different.
November 6, 2021
A very solid western from one of the best. In this one a man, Gannon, running from his memories finds he is wanted to run a stageline. This line has fallen into disrepute, full of killers and crooks, Gannon seems to be the man to be able to fix it. No matter what happens or how many men he has to kill, he will fix the line or die trying.
There is of course a romantic interest and its played really well. Though I have to admit that I was wishing for a different outcome at the end, but it's a 50s western so probably was no other choice. However for a 50s western the romance was nicely done.
Highly recommend, don't think I've read a bad Short novel yet.
There is of course a romantic interest and its played really well. Though I have to admit that I was wishing for a different outcome at the end, but it's a 50s western so probably was no other choice. However for a 50s western the romance was nicely done.
Highly recommend, don't think I've read a bad Short novel yet.
December 6, 2024
I’ve read numerous books by Luke Short. This one would have made a very good, though very violent movie in today’s film industry. One of the reasons I prefer books. A fairly short read, the characters are well fleshed out and the story line is engaging. It’s fairly obvious what roles the people will have as you come across them. How they will all fit together is not quite as clear. The author has several better books that are more well known but I liked this one and recommend it.
October 11, 2013
Pretty good western tale by a very good western writer, Luke Short. This was written in the late 1950s, far into his thirty-year career, so there are times when you can hear the typewriter clacking and the ending, as one other reviewer has said, is too neat. Even so, the plot is good and his sense of characters and their psychology is sharp. And Short's eye for gritty detail is simply amazing. He never lets the reader forget the Old West in reality a *very* hard place to live for everyone, even the so-called strong. Sometimes, after reading one of his books, I wonder why anyone ever went out there.
October 5, 2018
A Luke Short Western/Stage Coaches/Way Stops/Murde
LA has penned a western about a man who works as a Director of a stage coach line but who is constantly ignored when he presents problems. He quits and while traveling he drives a stage after the driver becomes incapacitated. He delivers the mail and passengers on time and seeks a new job. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
LA has penned a western about a man who works as a Director of a stage coach line but who is constantly ignored when he presents problems. He quits and while traveling he drives a stage after the driver becomes incapacitated. He delivers the mail and passengers on time and seeks a new job. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
September 23, 2023
Had low expectations given it was 50 cents at a bargain book store. I figured it'd be a silly cheesy western and a bit of a laugh, but was actually well written. Compelling story, good characters, great western.
November 21, 2011
Pretty good western as stageline division superintendent must get operation running properly while clearing out a group of outlaws.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews