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Ronicky Doone
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1920
22 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Max Brand
1,824 books135 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 29, 2023
Apr 29, 1130am ~~ Ronicky Doone is supposed to be one of Max Brand's most famous characters, according to what I have read. But while this book started off promising, it fell apart for me pretty quickly.
In the first chapter Ronicky Doone meets Bill Gregg, who has borrowed Doone's horse in a desperate attempt to get to the Stillwater railroad station before the train arrives. He has just minutes left and has already ruined three horses in the attempt. We don't know why he needs to meet the train, all we know is that he MUST get there, and he took the horse without permission.
Not a polite thing to do in the West, and Ronicky Doone shoots him in the leg for it, thus causing Gregg to miss the train and apparently ruining his life. But oddly enough they become great friends and when Doone hears the why of the horse borrowing, he swears to help Bill.
So the two new besties go to New York City on a grand quest to find the person Gregg had planned to meet at Stillwater. Can they do it? What else will they find while they are in 'civilization'?
At first I paid attention to see how Brand handled the country hicks in the big city idea, but I was not interested enough to pay attention throughout the whole book so I just skimmed through for the highlights. I kind of liked Doone as a character, but I think I would have enjoyed him more in his natural habitat.
This was a 1995 edition of a story which was originally published in 1921. And once again the cover art had nothing at all to do with the story. How did the editors decide to illustrate a book set in New York City with a scene of a rugged cowboy leading a herd of cattle through a blizzard? Ronicky Doone would never have done that anyway. He was a gambler, not a cowman. He kept his hands soft and delicate in order to handle the cards properly. Never in a million years would I imagine RD in a blizzard with cattle.
Since I began keeping track of such trivia, this makes three covers that don't match the stories in the books. The rest of my Brand books in print are all hardbacks. I don't know if I will get to whine about this little pet peeve again, but we'll see the next time I head out West.
In the first chapter Ronicky Doone meets Bill Gregg, who has borrowed Doone's horse in a desperate attempt to get to the Stillwater railroad station before the train arrives. He has just minutes left and has already ruined three horses in the attempt. We don't know why he needs to meet the train, all we know is that he MUST get there, and he took the horse without permission.
Not a polite thing to do in the West, and Ronicky Doone shoots him in the leg for it, thus causing Gregg to miss the train and apparently ruining his life. But oddly enough they become great friends and when Doone hears the why of the horse borrowing, he swears to help Bill.
So the two new besties go to New York City on a grand quest to find the person Gregg had planned to meet at Stillwater. Can they do it? What else will they find while they are in 'civilization'?
At first I paid attention to see how Brand handled the country hicks in the big city idea, but I was not interested enough to pay attention throughout the whole book so I just skimmed through for the highlights. I kind of liked Doone as a character, but I think I would have enjoyed him more in his natural habitat.
This was a 1995 edition of a story which was originally published in 1921. And once again the cover art had nothing at all to do with the story. How did the editors decide to illustrate a book set in New York City with a scene of a rugged cowboy leading a herd of cattle through a blizzard? Ronicky Doone would never have done that anyway. He was a gambler, not a cowman. He kept his hands soft and delicate in order to handle the cards properly. Never in a million years would I imagine RD in a blizzard with cattle.
Since I began keeping track of such trivia, this makes three covers that don't match the stories in the books. The rest of my Brand books in print are all hardbacks. I don't know if I will get to whine about this little pet peeve again, but we'll see the next time I head out West.
August 3, 2017
An entertaining reading by LibriVox to pass a long drive back home from a trip to the beach.
September 18, 2024
First in a series of three. Bill Gregg sees a picture of a girl and goes after her, with Doone helping him go find her. The trail leads to N.Y. city where the girl and a girl friend of hers are being held against their wills. Spoiler Alert: Bill Gregg gets his girl(Caroline) and it's up in the air about Doone getting the other girl (Ruth Tollover) as he loses his money to a friend in need so it ends with him not proposing marriage.
February 9, 2020
This is a Max Brand Western story set in New York City. It has all the action and romance of his other stories but takes place primarily in New York. Good, enjoyable light read.
January 5, 2014
When a stranger rides into town in a cloud of dust on a horse almost ridden to death and demands a fresh mount and directions to a nearby town, the reader settles down in his (or her) chair and prepare to enjoy a tale of the old west. This narrative is far from your typical western mainly because it soon makes its way eastward to the East River and New York City. In a time when life in the Wild West has calmed down, any self respected cowboy wouldn’t hesitate to go eastward in search of love and adventure. It is a charming story of an impossible search for a nameless girl and the mutual (if not somewhat unlikely) friendship of two men and their tenacious quest for love. There are some negative points that can’t go unmentioned. The first of these is the naïve approach to love that was quite common to stories of that era and the second and most disturbing use of the characters given and family names. The name Ronicky Doone is repeated at least a ten score time making it rather trite, worn, tedious and monotonous. It isn’t the best of Max Brand, nor is it the worst. I give it three stars and recommend it to lovers of western stories.
January 5, 2018
Though I usually always enjoy Brand's writing, the plot of Ronicky Doone veers into the somewhat fantastical territory where he sometimes liked to go, with rather exaggerated characters. There's the nearly infallible super-criminal who has a strange fascination and hold over people, and the hero whose pure force of character, apparently, is the only thing that can topple said villain.
As is sometimes the case with his longer works, the first few chapters are pretty strong, and then the tone of the story changes. Most of it is set in New York City, incidentally; just the beginning is in the West. There's also the ironical twist that Brand seemed to like applying to his endings: . Sometimes this serves for a dry laugh; other times it's merely maddening. It looks like he wrote some other stories featuring the character of Ronicky Doone, so maybe in this case the ending was left open on purpose.
As is sometimes the case with his longer works, the first few chapters are pretty strong, and then the tone of the story changes. Most of it is set in New York City, incidentally; just the beginning is in the West. There's also the ironical twist that Brand seemed to like applying to his endings: . Sometimes this serves for a dry laugh; other times it's merely maddening. It looks like he wrote some other stories featuring the character of Ronicky Doone, so maybe in this case the ending was left open on purpose.
October 15, 2009
Melodramatic to the point that the dialogue is often overwrought and silly, emotionally unsatisfying, and an uneasy mixture of competent and turgid prose, this book does not have much to recommend it other than the novelty of setting most of this Western novel in New York City. Two country boys head East to rescue a maiden, and turn out to be more than a match for the city sharpies. While that is no surprise, fish usually triumph in the fish out of water stories, the story is told well enough to get two stars, with a third for the novelty of the setting. There are Shakespeare references on pages 158 and 238.
November 20, 2013
I liked the book. It was fun to read.
Most of the book tool place in New York.
The last few pages were not that great. I think leaving that part out would have been better than putting it in. Seemed he tried to make it fit the character with some explanations, but did not seem to fit well.
Kind of like eating a pecan, and the last bite has a little bit of the shell in it. It was great till that point.
Most of the book tool place in New York.
The last few pages were not that great. I think leaving that part out would have been better than putting it in. Seemed he tried to make it fit the character with some explanations, but did not seem to fit well.
Kind of like eating a pecan, and the last bite has a little bit of the shell in it. It was great till that point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2010
I listened to the audio version by Librovox. Although not using a different voice for the various characters it was well read and clearly understood.
Very well written book...good characters and some unexpected events. Most of the story takes place at locationss outside the "old west" but I recommend it to those who like western genre.
Very well written book...good characters and some unexpected events. Most of the story takes place at locationss outside the "old west" but I recommend it to those who like western genre.
March 29, 2016
Great read with Max's leading off to unexpected places with characters you come to know personally.
Max leads the reader to characters bigger than life. They come to life as people we wish we knew personally. People who deal with life by taking an active part instead of just observing as it passes by. Another great read by Max Brand.
Max leads the reader to characters bigger than life. They come to life as people we wish we knew personally. People who deal with life by taking an active part instead of just observing as it passes by. Another great read by Max Brand.
March 26, 2009
From the Wild West to New York city Doone is a gallant knight in shinning armor aiding his friend to win the hand of a damsel in distress from The Man with the Sneer. Action-packed with guns, gambling and girls, this book is for all ages to enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews