Buchanan 18: The Name's Buchanan

by Jonas Ward

He was a tall son—taller than most men by a head, with a look of wildness in his battered, tough face. He was Tom Buchanan out of West Texas, who fought with joy and loved with gusto—who many times had gone to meet death without pause and with great good nature. This time he took on the whole of Agry County and the violent bandit clan that ran it. It was no fight of his—but a girl had been violated and a family’s honor tarnished. So Buchanan settled his gunbelt and flexed his great hands and went surging into battle like a one-man troop of cavalry. And, by God, in the end there was left even to burn in Agrytown. Under the pseudonym ‘Jonas Ward’, William Ard wrote six novels in the BUCHANAN western series, the last, Buchanan on the Prod, completed after his death on March 12 1960, by Robert Silverberg. The series was later continued by Brian Garfield and William R. Cox, and are all available through Piccadilly Publishing. William Ard was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 8 1922. After studying at Dartmouth College, he enlisted in the Marines. Released back into civilian life in his late twenties, he decided to devote himself to writing, and his first novel, The Perfect Frame, appeared in 1951. It marked the debut of his continuing character of Timothy Dane, a New York private investigator who would go on to appear in a further nine novels. In 1953, Ard moved to Clearwater, Florida, and it is here where he wrote most of his 30 novels. In 1959, he created two new characters, Danny Fontaine and Lou Largo (Largo was also a private investigator based in New York). Ard also completed two Lou Largo novels; the remainder were written by Lawrence Block and John Jakes.

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2020

About the author

A pseudonym used by William Ard. House name from 1960 to 1986.

In 1956, hardboiled writer William Ard turned his pen westward and introduced one of the genre’s most enduring characters: Thomas Buchanan, better known as just “Buchanan,” a drifter as likeable as he is deadly. The first novel in the series was called The Name’s Buchanan and appeared under the pseudonym “Jonas Ward.”

Only the first 6 books in the series were written by Ard, and the last, Buchanan on the Prod, was completed by Robert Silverberg.

After Ard's death in 1960 "Jonas Ward" became a house name. Brian Garfield did one and then William R. Cox took over the series and it continued until 1986.

Reviews

[L J Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining western actually written by William Ard, known for his crime noir classics.

[Paul Dellinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Good Start

I read this as the first in the Buchanan. The character seeems something of a precursor to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher...huge, strong, a wanderer, but in a western setting. Buchanan is also apparently irresistible to women. Here, he takes on a family in a feud with a Mexican rancher, although most of the villains end up killing one another. I also learned that “Jonas Ward” is a pseudonym for four authors, the first (and creator of this adventure) being William Ard who died too young. This is the inspiration for the Randolph Scott movie, “Buchanan Rides Alone,” which takes the male characters in very different directions and drops the female characters altogether.

[Tanya Sisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I read this 15 maybe 20 years ago. It is a fast, exciting book. If you enjoy westerns you will want to read.