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Dan Barry #2
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A weak- eyed doctor takes on an unusual case. An old man and his daughter are dying because their beloved Dan keeps away from their ranch. His mild voice and manner control wild large black pets: beautiful stallion Satan, and wolf-dog Bart. When provoked, his eyes are dangerous and his gunshots are dead-on. Whenever he hears wild geese honk, he has to move on.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1919
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255 people want to read
About the author
Max Brand
1,827 books136 followersFrederick Schiller Faust (see also Frederick Faust), aka Frank Austin, George Owen Baxter, Walter C. Butler, George Challis, Evin Evan, Evan Evans, Frederick Faust, John Frederick, Frederick Frost, David Manning, Peter Henry Morland, Lee Bolt, Peter Dawson, Martin Dexter, Dennis Lawson, M.B., Hugh Owen, Nicholas Silver
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 15, 2023
Jan 15, 2023, 3pm ~~ I know I read this book nine years ago, the proof is under the dotted line below. but except for the first paragraph, I did not remember any of it while I read. Which is okay, it is more fun to think 'Oh, I wonder what will happen next?' than to think 'Oh yeah, this is where this that or the other happens.'
The Night Horseman is the second of four Dan Barry titles. The first, The Untamed, was published in 1919. According to wiki, this book came out in 1920, with number 3 (The Seventh Man) appearing in 1921 and the series finale Dan Barry's Daughter in 1923.
In this book, six months have passed since the end of The Untamed. The first person we meet is a new character, Randall Byrne, a twenty-seven year old suffering from having 'a hundred and twenty horsepower brain and a runabout body' according to the physician Byrne visits when he suffers a collapse. And no wonder. Byrne is a medical doctor, a doctor of philosophy, an anthropologist who had studied in Greek and Latin at age 12. In other words, he thought about life but he didn't really live it.
Until the collapse and his trip to the West. Specifically to Elkhead, the town closest to the ranch of old Joe Cumberland and his daughter Kate, and once the home of Dan Barry. Dr. Byrne meets Kate when she rides to town hoping to find the local doc and take him to see her father, who has been suffering for about six months from a strange nervous disorder. Since the local doctor is gone, she convinces Byrne to go to the ranch with her.
Dr. Byrne finds old Cumberland in a state of near death, keeping himself alive by sheer will power. He is waiting for something; does not want to die until....what could he be waiting for?!
This book was more complex than The Untamed. Certain things were hinted at in that story, but here the eerieness is brought out more, especially after Dr. Byrne attempts to explain what Dan represents, no, what he IS.
And what is that? A were-wolf, as some think? A wild man, some sort of missing link or superhuman throwback to a less civilized time? Or maybe a symbol of Nature itself? This story is dramatic and slightly over the top in places, but very gripping and I began to wonder even more about Dan Barry.
So I am off to #3 to see what happens next!
Jan 15, 2023, 1145am ~~ Just finished this and will come back to add some thoughts here as soon as I sort them out a bit.
Jan 11, 2023, 10pm ~~ I just finished The Untamed, the first of the Dan Barry books. Now it is time to see how much I remember about this one from my reading of it nine years ago. (Hint ~~ not a bit at the moment, but once I get going, it might come back to me!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original review from June 2014
I've heard of Max Brand all my life but never read any of his books until recently....now I can't get enough of them. This one was intense and un-put-downable!!
The Night Horseman is the second of four Dan Barry titles. The first, The Untamed, was published in 1919. According to wiki, this book came out in 1920, with number 3 (The Seventh Man) appearing in 1921 and the series finale Dan Barry's Daughter in 1923.
In this book, six months have passed since the end of The Untamed. The first person we meet is a new character, Randall Byrne, a twenty-seven year old suffering from having 'a hundred and twenty horsepower brain and a runabout body' according to the physician Byrne visits when he suffers a collapse. And no wonder. Byrne is a medical doctor, a doctor of philosophy, an anthropologist who had studied in Greek and Latin at age 12. In other words, he thought about life but he didn't really live it.
Until the collapse and his trip to the West. Specifically to Elkhead, the town closest to the ranch of old Joe Cumberland and his daughter Kate, and once the home of Dan Barry. Dr. Byrne meets Kate when she rides to town hoping to find the local doc and take him to see her father, who has been suffering for about six months from a strange nervous disorder. Since the local doctor is gone, she convinces Byrne to go to the ranch with her.
Dr. Byrne finds old Cumberland in a state of near death, keeping himself alive by sheer will power. He is waiting for something; does not want to die until....what could he be waiting for?!
This book was more complex than The Untamed. Certain things were hinted at in that story, but here the eerieness is brought out more, especially after Dr. Byrne attempts to explain what Dan represents, no, what he IS.
And what is that? A were-wolf, as some think? A wild man, some sort of missing link or superhuman throwback to a less civilized time? Or maybe a symbol of Nature itself? This story is dramatic and slightly over the top in places, but very gripping and I began to wonder even more about Dan Barry.
So I am off to #3 to see what happens next!
Jan 15, 2023, 1145am ~~ Just finished this and will come back to add some thoughts here as soon as I sort them out a bit.
Jan 11, 2023, 10pm ~~ I just finished The Untamed, the first of the Dan Barry books. Now it is time to see how much I remember about this one from my reading of it nine years ago. (Hint ~~ not a bit at the moment, but once I get going, it might come back to me!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original review from June 2014
I've heard of Max Brand all my life but never read any of his books until recently....now I can't get enough of them. This one was intense and un-put-downable!!
November 19, 2022
The continuing adventures of Whistling Dan Barry, the otherworldly hero of Max Brand's first three Western novels. We get closer to understanding some of the mysteries surrounding Barry in this yarn. He is more in tune with the animal world than with humans, and his loyalties to his black horse Satan and his black wolf-dog Black Bart are stronger than to his potential girlfriend, surrogate father, and best friend.
This novel also introduces the word "California" as a verb. Here are the passages from the book:
Then, later in the book, after the aforementioned Mac Strann fends off an attack from Black Bart and nearly strangles him with his bare hands:
I still don't know what it means, but it doesn't sound like getting "California'd" would be much fun.
This novel also introduces the word "California" as a verb. Here are the passages from the book:
"I never heard of Mac Strann," said Barry.
"You never heard of Mac Strann?" echoed the other.
"But I'd like to meet him," said Barry.
The deputy marshal blinked his eyes rapidly, as though he needed to clear his vision.
"Son," he said hoarsely. "I c'n see you're game. But don't make a fall play. If Mac Strann gets you, he'll California you like a yearling. You won't have no chance."
Then, later in the book, after the aforementioned Mac Strann fends off an attack from Black Bart and nearly strangles him with his bare hands:
"My friend," said the ex-undertaker in his careful manner, "I seen a man once California a husky two-year old -- which nobody said could be done, and I've seen some other things, but I've never seen anything to touch the way you handled Black Bart. D'you know anything about that dog?"
I still don't know what it means, but it doesn't sound like getting "California'd" would be much fun.
June 4, 2021
Sequel to Whistelin' Dan where decisions are made and judgement delivered. Good character development and dialogue. To be continued.
September 4, 2016
"The story of a man, a horse, and a dog. What is the story?"
Not the one you might expect from such an early Western, that's for sure. Nor are the man, the horse, or the dog exactly as you would expect. The man is more animal than man, the horse more human than horse, the dog more wolf than dog.
'Whistling Dan' Barry is one strange dude. Slender framed, softly spoken and with apologetic eyes, he lives alone under the stars and follows the wild geese, uninterested in other people unless they cross his path.
Jerry and Mac Strann are two mean brothers he crosses paths with when the former takes a fancy to Satan, the peerless black horse which he alone can ride. Then the latter messes with his dog, Black Bart.
Like I said, 'Whistling Dan' is one weird hombre. Is he completely feral? Is he a werewolf? Is he an unexplainable force of nature, like the wind he whistles into? Doctor Byrne, an intelligent but weak man of science whose contrast to Barry is one of the stories strongpoints, calls him an 'atavism.'
Here's Barry when his old running mate Buck - soon to be an enemy after an unusual incident - meets up with him to bring him home to the adopted father and jilted bride he walked out on some months ago (and in a previous book):
"I s'pose you're bustin' to find out the news about the folks," he said dryly, at last.
The other sat with his hands loosely clasped in his lap. His wide eyes looked far away, and there was about his lips that looseness, that lack of compression, which one sees so often in children. He might have sat, in that posture, for the statue of thoughtlessness.
"What folks?" he asked at last.
Max Brand has a reputation as a writer of literary Westerns. He was a contemporary of Zane Grey and I know that many consider him to have been the better writer. I have read a few of Grey's books, I liked them, but none had a quality of prose or depth of character to rival The Night Horseman.
This was good, strong, atmospheric stuff, though I did have a couple of reservations. Firstly, I really think it would have helped if i had read that first book the series first, just to make some more sense of the hero. Secondly, Brand robbed us of the fitting climax the plot demanded.
The next time i read a western though, it's going to be another by Brand. If not that soon, then soon after that for sure.
I ever get around to reading the first book in the series I may well revisit my rating of this installment too.
Not the one you might expect from such an early Western, that's for sure. Nor are the man, the horse, or the dog exactly as you would expect. The man is more animal than man, the horse more human than horse, the dog more wolf than dog.
'Whistling Dan' Barry is one strange dude. Slender framed, softly spoken and with apologetic eyes, he lives alone under the stars and follows the wild geese, uninterested in other people unless they cross his path.
Jerry and Mac Strann are two mean brothers he crosses paths with when the former takes a fancy to Satan, the peerless black horse which he alone can ride. Then the latter messes with his dog, Black Bart.
Like I said, 'Whistling Dan' is one weird hombre. Is he completely feral? Is he a werewolf? Is he an unexplainable force of nature, like the wind he whistles into? Doctor Byrne, an intelligent but weak man of science whose contrast to Barry is one of the stories strongpoints, calls him an 'atavism.'
Here's Barry when his old running mate Buck - soon to be an enemy after an unusual incident - meets up with him to bring him home to the adopted father and jilted bride he walked out on some months ago (and in a previous book):
"I s'pose you're bustin' to find out the news about the folks," he said dryly, at last.
The other sat with his hands loosely clasped in his lap. His wide eyes looked far away, and there was about his lips that looseness, that lack of compression, which one sees so often in children. He might have sat, in that posture, for the statue of thoughtlessness.
"What folks?" he asked at last.
Max Brand has a reputation as a writer of literary Westerns. He was a contemporary of Zane Grey and I know that many consider him to have been the better writer. I have read a few of Grey's books, I liked them, but none had a quality of prose or depth of character to rival The Night Horseman.
This was good, strong, atmospheric stuff, though I did have a couple of reservations. Firstly, I really think it would have helped if i had read that first book the series first, just to make some more sense of the hero. Secondly, Brand robbed us of the fitting climax the plot demanded.
The next time i read a western though, it's going to be another by Brand. If not that soon, then soon after that for sure.
I ever get around to reading the first book in the series I may well revisit my rating of this installment too.
May 3, 2015
Like we say in France "it does not break three leg to a duck"....th story drowned itself after a while. nothing really happened and the end...guess I was already sleeping like a log at the time I was reading those last pages...or felt like I was
So I won't try it again except if I'm plagued by insomnia
So I won't try it again except if I'm plagued by insomnia
February 26, 2017
This was a really unusual western. It's an old book I bought at the Wallowa library sale. It was written in 1920. I liked it but it sure wasn't what I was expecting. I think the night horseman was "death". The book reminded me a lot of the Brad Pitt movie, "Meet Joe Black". I would love to discuss this book with someone. If anyone would like to read it I'll mail it to you just for postage fees.
July 2, 2018
What an Author l
This man must have a Bibliography in his head! Outstanding job. This story is fabulous,and one of the really good ones I have read. I have no doubt he is a great guy!
This man must have a Bibliography in his head! Outstanding job. This story is fabulous,and one of the really good ones I have read. I have no doubt he is a great guy!
November 1, 2013
I liked it, but it was not as good as "Untamed". A little slow at times.
I plan on reading the other 2 in the Dan Barry series.
I plan on reading the other 2 in the Dan Barry series.
March 19, 2023
The second volume in the 'Dan Barry' series, and I enjoyed this one more than the first. Max Brand's Westerns are strange: they seem like pulp Westerns on the surface, but they have supernatural elements and (perhaps more to the point) elements derived from Greek mythology underneath.
In this book, he makes no secret of his affection for the Classical writers. He invents a doctor who is a scholar and who is absolutely comfortable in the world of the Greek myths, who is able to begin to perceive that he is living in a myth himself, set in the West. As always, Dan Barry is a strange haunting character, mild and gentle at certain times, malign and extremely dangerous at others, though he almost meets his match here in the shape of gigantic Mac Strann, another elemental force of Nature.
I feel sure that Max Brand was also strongly influenced by Jack London. His novels always feature animals who seem more sapient than we generally reckon them to be. A curious book, quite unlike most Westerns despite its pulp elements.
In this book, he makes no secret of his affection for the Classical writers. He invents a doctor who is a scholar and who is absolutely comfortable in the world of the Greek myths, who is able to begin to perceive that he is living in a myth himself, set in the West. As always, Dan Barry is a strange haunting character, mild and gentle at certain times, malign and extremely dangerous at others, though he almost meets his match here in the shape of gigantic Mac Strann, another elemental force of Nature.
I feel sure that Max Brand was also strongly influenced by Jack London. His novels always feature animals who seem more sapient than we generally reckon them to be. A curious book, quite unlike most Westerns despite its pulp elements.
August 11, 2018
I liked this about 1/2 star less than the first in the series about Whistlin' Dan (The Untamed). He is the total nature man, with the strength and cunning of a panther. He and his horse and wolf-dog communicate with one another marvelously, but he sure doesn't know how to relate to people well, even though he has a soft heart in some situations. Tough and mean cowboys (who don't know Dan) tend to pick on him and make fun of him because of his small stature and quiet attitude most of the time. But when they cross a certain line with him, he is regular tornado. In this volume, most of the story revolves around Jerry, who Dan shot in a fair fight, and Jerry's older, meaner, nearly crazy brother Max, who stalks Dan across many chapters to get revenge for the shooting. The third and last book of the series is "The Seventh Man.") I listened to this book as a free download from LibriVox.org (by an excellent reader). First published in 1919
January 27, 2020
Is Moby Dick a story about a whale? Don Quixote about windmills? And does Max Brand write "westerns"? As much as Tolstoy writes love stories. The short answer is no. The longer, they all write about what it means to be human. In the sheer beauty of language stark and complex as the high desert, in the raw soul stirring sound of the migrating geese is laid bare the essence of the conflict between the wildness of the heart and the safety of settling. Abandon yourself to the whistled tune and the wild "hunt".
November 6, 2021
1920. Max Brand's first noveland one of the first in the genre of Westerns along with Zane Gray. Has everything a Western needs: a unbeatable stallion, other horses, a semi-tamed wolf, a young lady "purtier than any filly", unbounded plains, hills, and mountains, untamed skies and weather, and of course--desperados. Thoroughly enjoyed. Had not read any of his books before. In opposition, I did not care for Zane Gray's Riders of the Purple Sage as much--tedious, and hard to finish. A great start for someone who wants to make a start with older vintage Westerns.
July 25, 2021
Entertaining listening 🎧
Due to eye issues and damage from shingles so Alexa reads to me. I find it like being at the movies.
Another will written romantic thriller western adventure by Max Brand with interesting will developed characters. The story line is about relationships, growing up, gunfights, and coming to deal with life. I would recommend to reads of westerns. Enjoy the adventure of reading 2021
Due to eye issues and damage from shingles so Alexa reads to me. I find it like being at the movies.
Another will written romantic thriller western adventure by Max Brand with interesting will developed characters. The story line is about relationships, growing up, gunfights, and coming to deal with life. I would recommend to reads of westerns. Enjoy the adventure of reading 2021
May 5, 2022
Had some enjoyable moments, but they were all lost to me with the main character not feeling like someone you could get any consistency from. The lure of him being this wild and untamed kind of character is drowned out by other characters overhyping him, and him having actual good friends in his life that he has no regard for whatsoever. It would be far more enjoyable if he just didn't have any close/loyal friends, because then I could enjoy that being a part of his character.
July 13, 2017
It was way too wordy and boody. The character of Dan Barry was just weird. Was he supposed to be walking around in a daze? What was I supposed to feel for him? I have the impression of a character like Don Knotts who everyone loves and fears.
September 1, 2020
Strange
I've read a lot of max brand. That was the strangest ever. He must have been high when he wrote this one. Almost like he had a collaborator.
I've read a lot of max brand. That was the strangest ever. He must have been high when he wrote this one. Almost like he had a collaborator.
January 3, 2021
Usually like most western but not so imuch this time really weird stop half way.
March 12, 2021
Whistlin' Dan Barry is a dark figure. I can't get enough of him. Can't wait to complete the trilogy.
July 18, 2022
By now I think I know what to expect from a Max Brand western: Eerie atmosphere, character study, high quality writting and unique storytelling style. Dan Barry his a strange character with an aura of uneasyness around him that is well portray by the author. The Night Horseman is a very good adventure tale that does not rely on high action set pieces or gory details to carry the story, but rather on complex characters study, litteracy quality and solid strotytelling. I'm happy with the follow-up to The Untamed and I will gladly read the next Dan Barry adventure.
March 22, 2023
The Night Horseman
A deep boiled western adventure that sticks up to time. I loved it. Max Brand is a genius of the western genre of stories.
A deep boiled western adventure that sticks up to time. I loved it. Max Brand is a genius of the western genre of stories.
December 19, 2023
Another good book about Whistling Dan Barry and a must read for any western lover.
February 23, 2024
I stopped about a third of the way in the book, I just could not get into it. I can not say that it was a bad book again, just one I cannot get into.
October 10, 2016
#2 in the Man, a horse and a dog. Good read.
February 17, 2019
Starts with and uses partial viewpoint from weak-eyed Mr Magoo cartoon relief doctor who takes case of "old" rancher Dad and "young" daughter, whose spirits are draining magically waiting for Dan. We shift out to the gunman with dead-on shot, whose mild voice and manner tames big black wild wolf dog "Black Bart" and beautiful stallion "Satan" - Dan, not Bull of previous book.
Somehow wild geese honk magic, forcing Dan to move on.
Somehow wild geese honk magic, forcing Dan to move on.
October 29, 2015
This book started with a lot of what I call flowery language meaning words that are mostly fancy, (insouciance) being one of them, and I was considering not finishing the book but I did. I did enjoy the book as obvious in my rating because it did have a lot of classic western action. Someone else wrote that it had a werewolf but it was a youngster who was probably raised in the wild for part of their earlier life but taken in by Joe Cumberland and raised as his own. The child's name was Barry and he did have wild instincts for sure and if there was a protagonist it was him. There were a few antagonist.
September 6, 2016
Don't remember what attracted me to Max Brand save that he is another author of stories of the American West. The book in question imbues the reader with a sense of foreboding and unknown menace heightened by the fact that it is left undefined as the book begins. As much psychological thriller as cowboy western.
There is non of the overt romantic interaction that characterizes other writers here. There are lengthy descriptions and side-plots that divert us from the story at hand. It all ends with the inevitable showdown.
There is non of the overt romantic interaction that characterizes other writers here. There are lengthy descriptions and side-plots that divert us from the story at hand. It all ends with the inevitable showdown.
January 14, 2010
primal, elemental, essential western.
September 17, 2012
A very interesting plot. A western love story with a super hero cowboy.
August 16, 2013
Clever villain, gets it good!
September 12, 2014
Even though I had some problems with the story, the author did make me want to turn the pages to see how it all turned out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews