Bad Man's Gulch

by Max Brand

In the title story of this trio, Pedro Melendez will need all the sharp shooting he can muster to help a vulnerable young woman find her missing father - because there are plenty of miners eager to make sure Pedro's the next one to go missing.

Genres: Westerns, Short Stories

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Frederick 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.

Reviews

[Don Follett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read from a very prolific author whose pen name was Max Brand. It is a collection of three stories; The Adopted Son, Billy Angel, Trouble Lover and Bad Man's Gulch. Each of the stories is stand-alone and each one was enjoyable to read. If you like westerns, I think you will like this book. I certainly did. It was a quick and fun read.

[Peter Pactor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three great short novels by one of my favorite authors.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series of novellas/short stories. Several are outstanding which is why I gave it 4 stars. The narrator did a great job too.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book with a simple plot.

[Skjam! · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of three stories, only one of which was originally published under the Max Brand byline.

"The Adopted Son" was also a movie at the same time; Mr. Brand did this thing where he sold a story and a movie script to appear simultaneously a couple of times. The ending twist is really telegraphed, but this is somewhat saved by the love interest revealing she'd figured out that twist the first time she'd met the protagonist.

"Billy Angel, Trouble Lover" is the rare pulp Western story from the woman's point of view. Mr. Brand writes a fair romance story too.

And the title story, "Bad Man's Gulch" is only disappointing in that its shortness prevents the implications of Melendez's fatalistic outlook from being fully developed.

For more Western reviews, see http://www.skjam.com/tag/western/