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Borderline
Money is power in the wild west…
With more gold than either has ever seen, Dhu Walker and Ben Lacey are desperately scouting their way to Iowa, where Ben’s sister Katharine is fighting off creditors to keep hold of the family farm.
En route they happen upon a gang of outlaws, known as the Border Rats, holed up in Indian Territory after robbing a bank. Cherokee land is the ideal sanctuary for murderers and thieves like Newt Trainor.
The U.S. government forbids the tribes from arresting white men, and white lawmen rarely bother to do the job themselves.
When they meet, cordially at first, Trainer can smell the gold on Dhu and Ben, and he is determined to get his hands on it.
But Dhu Walker knows these parts; he’s part Cherokee himself. He calls on the aid of the toughest and smartest trackers the Cherokee Nation has to offer.
Together they must find a way to reclaim the gold and save Ben’s sister.
And if in the process they rid the West of a scourge like Newt Trainor and his Border Rats, it will be no one’s loss.
Praise for Robert J. Conley
“Conley portrays the rough and tumble frontier from the Indian point of view… Veteran novelist Conley works on three levels: murder mystery, frontier political potboiler, and the search for personal identity.” — Booklist
“Conley [is] in the ranks of such writers as… Louise Erdrich… and W.P. Kinsella as literary interpreters of the Indian experience.” — Sunday Journal-Star (Lincoln, NE)
“Conley [is] among the most productive and inventive of modem Western novelists” — Dale L. Walker, Rocky Mountain News
“Conley speaks with a clear Cherokee Indian voice to show how his tribe’s cultural characteristics have survived centuries of abrupt change to give readers an understanding of the fullness and humanity of the Cherokees as a people.” — The Cherokee Advocate
Robert J. Conley (1940-2014) was an acclaimed Cherokee author with over fifty books to his name, winning the Spur Award for Best Western Novel twice, as well as another Spur Award for a short story. He was also awarded the 2014 Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.
Pioneering Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We publish new and classic westerns by authors from the US and the UK.
With more gold than either has ever seen, Dhu Walker and Ben Lacey are desperately scouting their way to Iowa, where Ben’s sister Katharine is fighting off creditors to keep hold of the family farm.
En route they happen upon a gang of outlaws, known as the Border Rats, holed up in Indian Territory after robbing a bank. Cherokee land is the ideal sanctuary for murderers and thieves like Newt Trainor.
The U.S. government forbids the tribes from arresting white men, and white lawmen rarely bother to do the job themselves.
When they meet, cordially at first, Trainer can smell the gold on Dhu and Ben, and he is determined to get his hands on it.
But Dhu Walker knows these parts; he’s part Cherokee himself. He calls on the aid of the toughest and smartest trackers the Cherokee Nation has to offer.
Together they must find a way to reclaim the gold and save Ben’s sister.
And if in the process they rid the West of a scourge like Newt Trainor and his Border Rats, it will be no one’s loss.
Praise for Robert J. Conley
“Conley portrays the rough and tumble frontier from the Indian point of view… Veteran novelist Conley works on three levels: murder mystery, frontier political potboiler, and the search for personal identity.” — Booklist
“Conley [is] in the ranks of such writers as… Louise Erdrich… and W.P. Kinsella as literary interpreters of the Indian experience.” — Sunday Journal-Star (Lincoln, NE)
“Conley [is] among the most productive and inventive of modem Western novelists” — Dale L. Walker, Rocky Mountain News
“Conley speaks with a clear Cherokee Indian voice to show how his tribe’s cultural characteristics have survived centuries of abrupt change to give readers an understanding of the fullness and humanity of the Cherokees as a people.” — The Cherokee Advocate
Robert J. Conley (1940-2014) was an acclaimed Cherokee author with over fifty books to his name, winning the Spur Award for Best Western Novel twice, as well as another Spur Award for a short story. He was also awarded the 2014 Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.
Pioneering Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We publish new and classic westerns by authors from the US and the UK.
- GenresWesterns
137 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1993
10 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Robert J. Conley
81 books36 followersRobert J. Conley was a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 19, 2018
I find that few writers of traditional westerns that hit the bulls eye in almost every area: historical authenticity, characterization, plot, structure, pacing, writing. Even the best sometimes are wide of the mark in at least one area. To this accomplished list of writers who can routinely hit the target I should add Robert J. Conley. He has certainly done so in BORDER LINE.
The setting for BORDER LINE is a just a few years after the end of the Civil War. It is a time for reconciliation and new starts but also when memories and hard feelings are still very fresh. It can be difficult balancing act.
The characters are all plausible and three dimensional. Ben Lacey, one of the main characters, is a young man who left the farm to fight in the war and taken prisoner by the Confederates. After the war was over, he and some friends started a successful ranch in Texas. Ben, however, is still a little green in the ways of the world.
His partner and friend is Dhu Walker. He is a half-Cherokee Indian who is more knowledgeable and better educated than Ben. He is in many ways the most interesting character. Through him Conley shows much about the Cherokee culture in the Indian Territory during and after the war.
The plot has an interesting variation: While Ben and Dhu face a group of “bad men,” it is just a subplot. The main plot involves Ben, with Dhu’s help, returning to where he was raised to help save the farm and his sister, the only other family member who has survived the war.
It is these combinations of plots, subplots, emphasis on Dhu and Cherokee culture, and interplay between characters that add depth and interest to the story.
The pacing, as one might expect, is fast and forward moving.
The writing is also solid. There is this exchange, for example, about relations between Indians and white men:
“It’s pretty bad,” said Dhu. “It seems like each new treaty is worse than the last one.”
“Well, what can you do about it?” asked Ben.
“Nothing,” said Ballard. “The time is long past when we could go to war against the United States. All we can do now is just take it.”
Ben felt a little bit guilty. It was, after all, his government that was doing these things to the Cherokees. It occurred to him for the first time that perhaps Dhu had good reason for being so short with him at times, that Dhu Walker and any other Cherokee had good reason to hate the United States government and the white people that it represented. But Dhu was half white himself. Ben felt confused…
Later in the evening Ben found himself alone in the house with Dhu…
“What?” said Dhu.
“Do you hate me?”
Dhu laughed, and Ben felt his face flush.
“What kind of a fool question is that?” said Dhu. “Why would I hate you? You’re my partner. Would I have a man for a partner if I hated him? … I don’t hate anyone...”
Ben thought that he hadn’t heard Dhu talk so much in all the years they had been together, and when Dhu finally quit, Ben wasn’t quite sure what he had said. And he still felt guilty.
(This story was originally published in mass market paperback in 1993 by Pocket Books. It may now be out of print. I am posting this in case somebody makes it available again.)
The setting for BORDER LINE is a just a few years after the end of the Civil War. It is a time for reconciliation and new starts but also when memories and hard feelings are still very fresh. It can be difficult balancing act.
The characters are all plausible and three dimensional. Ben Lacey, one of the main characters, is a young man who left the farm to fight in the war and taken prisoner by the Confederates. After the war was over, he and some friends started a successful ranch in Texas. Ben, however, is still a little green in the ways of the world.
His partner and friend is Dhu Walker. He is a half-Cherokee Indian who is more knowledgeable and better educated than Ben. He is in many ways the most interesting character. Through him Conley shows much about the Cherokee culture in the Indian Territory during and after the war.
The plot has an interesting variation: While Ben and Dhu face a group of “bad men,” it is just a subplot. The main plot involves Ben, with Dhu’s help, returning to where he was raised to help save the farm and his sister, the only other family member who has survived the war.
It is these combinations of plots, subplots, emphasis on Dhu and Cherokee culture, and interplay between characters that add depth and interest to the story.
The pacing, as one might expect, is fast and forward moving.
The writing is also solid. There is this exchange, for example, about relations between Indians and white men:
“It’s pretty bad,” said Dhu. “It seems like each new treaty is worse than the last one.”
“Well, what can you do about it?” asked Ben.
“Nothing,” said Ballard. “The time is long past when we could go to war against the United States. All we can do now is just take it.”
Ben felt a little bit guilty. It was, after all, his government that was doing these things to the Cherokees. It occurred to him for the first time that perhaps Dhu had good reason for being so short with him at times, that Dhu Walker and any other Cherokee had good reason to hate the United States government and the white people that it represented. But Dhu was half white himself. Ben felt confused…
Later in the evening Ben found himself alone in the house with Dhu…
“What?” said Dhu.
“Do you hate me?”
Dhu laughed, and Ben felt his face flush.
“What kind of a fool question is that?” said Dhu. “Why would I hate you? You’re my partner. Would I have a man for a partner if I hated him? … I don’t hate anyone...”
Ben thought that he hadn’t heard Dhu talk so much in all the years they had been together, and when Dhu finally quit, Ben wasn’t quite sure what he had said. And he still felt guilty.
(This story was originally published in mass market paperback in 1993 by Pocket Books. It may now be out of print. I am posting this in case somebody makes it available again.)
July 31, 2021
I picked up this novel fully expecting a run-of-the-mill cheap Western and was thoroughly delighted to be proven wrong. The masterful weaving of multiple characters and storylines kept the narrative flowing, and I appreciated the incorporation of Cherokee culture and history. A gem of a read.
March 4, 2016
This book is published by Pioneering Press
November 7, 2016
Border Line
The best thing about this book was it ended. There was nothing interesting about it and was way too long.
The best thing about this book was it ended. There was nothing interesting about it and was way too long.
March 31, 2017
Very nice story. Had some excited parts, and funny parts. There wasn't much romance in it, but that's ok it was lengthy and well written.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews