Raw Land

by Luke Short

A hard-riding adventurer returns home to settle down—and stirs up a heap of trouble—in this action-packed western from a master of the genre. After ten years of hard fighting and harder living, Will Danning is coming home to Yellow Jacket. His arrival is anything but celebrated, however—the last time he cast a shadow here, he wasn’t exactly walking the straight and narrow.   Danning has returned to buy the Pitchfork Ranch, where he used to work cattle that weren’t always legally his. For his neighbors, that’s cause for concern; Angus Case still remembers when his herds were ravaged. What’s more, Danning’s friends can’t understand why he’d want such a dried-up parcel of land. And Pres Milo, Case’s chief ramrod and enforcer, wants the land for himself—and will do anything to get it.   If Danning wants to keep what’s his, he’ll have to fight. And in a frontier town like Yellow Jacket, fighting often means dying . . .   A legend of western fiction, Luke Short blazed the trail for writers such as Louis L’Amour and Elmore Leonard. Raw Land is one of his grittiest and most authentic tales of frontier adventure.    

Genres: Westerns

229 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1940

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

[Mathew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic shoot-em up western, but with a deeper story about land grabbing and double crossing.

[Joe L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, easy read for anyone. No sex, excess violence or untoward situations in this western themed book. I first heard about this author from a YouTube video and thankful I gave him a try.

[Jeffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was wavering between 4 and 5 stars because I did not like the ending much. However, with the constant action, twists and turns I had to give it 5 because it kept me entertained and wanting to find out what would happen next. I know most will enjoy this book.

[and_she_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. I thought it was a pretty good story given it was so short.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read. I thought it was a pretty good story. it kept me entertained and wanting to find out what would happen next with a story about land grabbing and double crossing.

[Kevin Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps the only Western novel I've ever read. Picked it up because I loved the cover art (mine has an old pulp fiction-style cover. Turned out to be not only a fantastic Western but an excellent novel all around. Did a bit of research on Mr. Short (who I knew nothing about) and discovered he was a prolific author and screenwriter back in the day. Highly recommended.

[Vigneshh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good