Man from Two Rivers

by Luke Short

PAPERBACK

Genres: Westerns

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 1974

About the author

Luke 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.

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good western of a man returning to Two Rivers (state is never mentioned) to regain his ranch which was stolen from him by a landgrabber. He joins with other individuals whose land was stolen and they begin a range war with the landgrabber. Lots of action, very short (122 pages) and sweet. Before L'Amour came along Short was the top western writer. Many of his books were made into movies with "Blood On The Moon" (1948) starring Robert Mitchum as probably the best adaptation. This
was one of the last books published by Short who died the next year. Recommended to western fans.

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very original, very formulaic and derivative, but it was moderately entertaining. This western does not have either the beautifully evocative writing or intense action of a Louis L'Amour western, but it was passable entertainment. I might read another Luke Short western, but as a writer I feel he pales in comparison to L'Amour, who really was the master of the genre.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Luke Short Western/A Crooked Banker and A Man of Conviction

LS has penned western where a man and woman working together to better their lives. The man wants to return to a ranch that was taken from him under false information. The woman owns boarding house and helps the man and keeps him from being killed. The two have the help of Two Indian friends in fighting the crooked banker.....This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

This book will get your adrenaline flowing. I think the only time I put this down was to cook a meal, lol.

[Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've only read one other book by Luke Short (Frederick Glidden) and quite enjoyed it. This one...not so much. Which is really bizarre to me why this particular piece got such a high rating.

Let's start with plausibility. The plot is a shambles. Essentially, at every turn, the main character (Hobe) has a plan, he executes and voila, we have a great outcome. Doesn't matter how unlikely the plan is (twice Hobe, explains to crooked sheriffs how they were wrong and the crooked sheriffs say "yup, you're right). At one point, Hobe even says to himself "This is too easy". Amen, brother, amen.

Then there are the characters. Whereas, I felt that in Ramrod the author tried to flesh out the characters and avoid staid archetypes, in this book the character development was limited and often devolved into those archetypes he has clearly demonstrated he can avoid. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters and really couldn't have cared less who won out in the range war.

Ultimately, while somewhat entertaining, this piece was a disappointment. I am looking forward to trying another Luke Short book as a tie-breaker on my opinion of him :) So I wouldn't start here with either westerns or Luke Short and have to recommend you leave this one on the shelf.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe closer to a 3.5, is a solid short novel but far from a favorite from Short. Its a typical tale of evil banker who owns everything just about, who is running off the small rancher anyway he can to get their land. He mainly does this by having a large crew who goes in and scare the small timers off, however one of these small timers shoots back and makes a plan to fight fire with fire by getting a crew together of the banker's victims.

Recommend, never read a bad Short novel, it is very typical but is written well and keeps your interest throughout.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good western…short but good.