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Law of the Land: Stories of the Old West
An action-packed collection of stories of the old West, Law of the Land includes the never-before-published "Biscuits for a Bandit."
Sixteen stories, where good meets bad, and everything in between, from the legendary author of the west, Elmer Kelton. The Law of the Land chronicles some of his most exciting and dangerous tales of the old west, collected together for the first time.
Sixteen stories, where good meets bad, and everything in between, from the legendary author of the west, Elmer Kelton. The Law of the Land chronicles some of his most exciting and dangerous tales of the old west, collected together for the first time.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published November 23, 2021
7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Elmer Kelton
196 books258 followersElmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/elmerk...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/elmerk...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 15, 2021
Law of the Land by Elmer Kelton is a wonderful collection of short stories more or less concerning the law in older times. It's no wonder kelton has so many Spur awards, he is a master of the western tale. This is a quick read that I can really recommend for fans of westerns. I must thank @this_is_edelweiss @macmillanusa @forgereads for giving me this advance copy and #ElmerKelton for writing this stuff.
September 19, 2022
I enjoyed the full, mixed, bag of Western short stories. These have been selected from the writer's long career and focus on lawmen and impromptu crime solvers. Sometimes on a frontier or on a cattle trail, there was no way to find a lawman when you needed one. You just had to hope the mean-looking outlaw who rode past, would keep riding and not take a fancy to your horse and goods. Other times, the Ranger or Sheriff was the central character, old wisdom tempered by youthful daring from a sidekick.
I especially liked that a few stories focused on men old before their time, worn out by the weather and work, but still needing to earn at whatever job could be found. Some women feature, capable, as they needed to be.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
I especially liked that a few stories focused on men old before their time, worn out by the weather and work, but still needing to earn at whatever job could be found. Some women feature, capable, as they needed to be.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
February 5, 2022
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
In the 1950's (and a few decades prior) it was pretty easy to find and read some short western fiction if that was your literature of choice. There were scores of western pulps. Today, western readers are generally limited to a few publishers of western novels by a very few western writers.
Law of the Land is a collection of short western fiction by Elmer Kelton, an author whose works have spanned many decades - from 1948 ("There's Always Another Chance" originally published in Ranch Romances) to 2010 ("The Ghost of Two Forks" originally published in Ghost Towns, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis). That's an incredible period of work for anyone!
I enjoy reading western fiction (I think I'm among a dying breed) and enjoy short fiction, so a book like this is very much appreciated. That said, everything included in this collection is very well written and an enjoyable read and at the same time, nothing here stands out as being exceptional. This is exactly the kind of book I might select or recommend for a vacation read. They can be read with a limited amount of available reading time.
What makes each of these stories work is that they are about people. In every story, an individual stands out and rises up to solve an issue. These people are clearly drawn and seem so real and act in ways we expect people to react.
This book contains the following:
"The Fugitive Book"
"Jailbreak"
"Biscuits for a Bandit"
"There's Always Another Chance"
"Born to be Hanged"
"O'Malley's Wife"
"In the Line of Duty"
"Relics"
"North of the Big River"
"The Ghost of Two Forks"
"Lonesome Ride to Pecos"
"Apache Patrol"
"The Last Indian Fight in Kerr County"
"Uncle Jeff and the Gunfighter"
"Sellout"
"Die by the Gun"
Looking for a good book? Law of the Land by Elmer Kelton is a really good collection of short, western fiction.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
In the 1950's (and a few decades prior) it was pretty easy to find and read some short western fiction if that was your literature of choice. There were scores of western pulps. Today, western readers are generally limited to a few publishers of western novels by a very few western writers.
Law of the Land is a collection of short western fiction by Elmer Kelton, an author whose works have spanned many decades - from 1948 ("There's Always Another Chance" originally published in Ranch Romances) to 2010 ("The Ghost of Two Forks" originally published in Ghost Towns, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis). That's an incredible period of work for anyone!
I enjoy reading western fiction (I think I'm among a dying breed) and enjoy short fiction, so a book like this is very much appreciated. That said, everything included in this collection is very well written and an enjoyable read and at the same time, nothing here stands out as being exceptional. This is exactly the kind of book I might select or recommend for a vacation read. They can be read with a limited amount of available reading time.
What makes each of these stories work is that they are about people. In every story, an individual stands out and rises up to solve an issue. These people are clearly drawn and seem so real and act in ways we expect people to react.
This book contains the following:
"The Fugitive Book"
"Jailbreak"
"Biscuits for a Bandit"
"There's Always Another Chance"
"Born to be Hanged"
"O'Malley's Wife"
"In the Line of Duty"
"Relics"
"North of the Big River"
"The Ghost of Two Forks"
"Lonesome Ride to Pecos"
"Apache Patrol"
"The Last Indian Fight in Kerr County"
"Uncle Jeff and the Gunfighter"
"Sellout"
"Die by the Gun"
Looking for a good book? Law of the Land by Elmer Kelton is a really good collection of short, western fiction.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
March 13, 2024
I love short stories and I love westerns so LAW OF THE LAND is a must read for me. Elmer Kelton is a skilled writer who brings the western eras to life with characters and communities that are true to the period. This book contains 16 short stories that are just the right length to read in between meetings and appointments are while sitting on the porch in the evenings. It's a perfect choice to gift to a friend who loves westerns.
June 18, 2022
Sometimes men taking the law into their own hands wasn't such a bad thing--especially when it involved biscuits rather than guns. All but one of these stories were really short and the last one was a novella rather than a novel. Love him--his people are so real--you can almost see them.
September 27, 2025
Very obvious, slightly entertaining stories/parables about the "old west".
Full of overused tropes. Kinda of like Aesop for western cowboys. Part of imagined America weak men love to pretend they could live through.
Some amusing characters, though.
Full of overused tropes. Kinda of like Aesop for western cowboys. Part of imagined America weak men love to pretend they could live through.
Some amusing characters, though.
January 12, 2022
basic western, I enjoyed it but it was a bit too classic western and didn't really feel as gritty as I like them. but then I'm a die hard Louis Lamour fan
January 19, 2022
Well-crafted narratives that satisfied even though were are a bit naive.
February 26, 2022
2021 collection of mostly previously published western short stories by author Elmer Kelton. The 16 stories were written between 1948 and 2008. Enjoyable.
February 20, 2023
Bottom Line.... you simply can't lose reading a Kelton book.
This one is great with 16 stories, all good.
This one is great with 16 stories, all good.
Read
February 27, 2024I could not finish listening to the drone on Libro.fm. Sorry!
October 21, 2024
Really disappointing. Poorly written and poor story lines
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews