What do you think?
Rate this book
Texas Rangers #1-3
Lone Star Rising
In Lone Star Rising, Elmer Kelton ("A Texas Legend," according to Texas Governor Rick Perry), brings together the first three books of his acclaimed Texas Ranger saga.
The Buckskin Line introduces Rusty Shannon, the red-haired Comanche captive rescued and adopted by Mike Shannon, who is a member of a Texas "ranging company" that protects settlers from Indian raids. In the throes of the War Between the States, Rusty joins the Rangers and searches for the renegades who killed his adoptive father.
In Badger Boy, the Rangers are disbanded and Rusty returns to his home on the Red River only to discover that the girl he loves has married another. In a time of personal turmoil as well as the post-war uphheaval in Texas, Rusty's childhood returns to haunt him as he rescues Andy Pickard, called Badger Boy by his Comanche captors.
Andy and Rusty ride together in the newly reformed Rangers in The Way of the Coyote, in a time when Texas is overrun with outlaws, Confederate raiders, Ku Klux Klansmen, and marauding Comanches.
The Buckskin Line introduces Rusty Shannon, the red-haired Comanche captive rescued and adopted by Mike Shannon, who is a member of a Texas "ranging company" that protects settlers from Indian raids. In the throes of the War Between the States, Rusty joins the Rangers and searches for the renegades who killed his adoptive father.
In Badger Boy, the Rangers are disbanded and Rusty returns to his home on the Red River only to discover that the girl he loves has married another. In a time of personal turmoil as well as the post-war uphheaval in Texas, Rusty's childhood returns to haunt him as he rescues Andy Pickard, called Badger Boy by his Comanche captors.
Andy and Rusty ride together in the newly reformed Rangers in The Way of the Coyote, in a time when Texas is overrun with outlaws, Confederate raiders, Ku Klux Klansmen, and marauding Comanches.
704 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
42 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Elmer Kelton
196 books260 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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 19, 2025
Lone Star Rising is three books in one volume, the first three of Kelton's "Texas Rangers" series that went for nine novels.
The Buckskin Line:
A 1999-written western, Buckskin Line is about a Texas kid who is raised on the frontier by adopted parents after his family was killed by Comanches. The Comanches had their reasons.
The protagonist grows up and reaches age just as the Civil War breaks out, and he sympathizes with friends on both sides of the conflict in boring fashion. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are kind of stuck between those two groups and also between the peaceful Indians being imprisoned on their reservations and the vengeful Comanches outside the reservation who are always looking for ways to get back the land they lost.
Verdict: Buckskin Line just doesn't have interesting characters or writing that holds my attention like other westerns do. Kelton's stuff gets better.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Badger Boy:
"Badger Boy" takes place in 1865 and finds a frontier farming settlement in Texas dealing with the end of the Civil War as soldiers and Rangers return home to pick up the pieces and navigate their new situation.
The Ranger from "The Buckskin Line" returns and has a backstory that works well in this one. We meet Badger Boy, a white teen who was adopted by Comanches like the Ranger had been but he is still with the Indians and considers himself one. This leads to a lot of good dialogue and moral gymnastics as the two reconcile their similarities, differences, and responsibilities when they finally meet late in the story. There are a few other storylines, well-paced and probably intended to influence further novels in the series, and they are all interesting, too.
Verdict: A smart western, easy to read, preachy at times as Kelton does, some eyerolling moments that are actually earned, and just a really fun western. Loved this one.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
The Way of the Coyote:
Rusty asked, "What is it you like so much about shootin' police?"
"I don't rightly know. Maybe it's the way they jump when they're hit. Anyway, they're all Yankees at heart. Texas could do with a lot less of them." - Farley Brackett
Coyote is the third entry in Kelton's Texas Ranger series and picks up right after the event that ended "Badger Boy". It would kind of spoil Badger if I told you exactly how Coyote starts, so I'll just say it begins in the Fall of 1865 right after the Civil War's end and the folks on the Texas frontier are still trying to figure out what to do with themselves now that the Texan state government and law enforcement is kind of a toothless carpetbagging paper authority.
Our hero Rusty Shannon splits main protagonist duties with the white former Comanche Andy Pickens as they deal with comancheros, whiskey runners, kidnappers, horse thieves, grudge settlers, carpetbaggers, racists, and stubborn womenfolk.
Verdict: Another good western from Kelton. I've come around on his stuff - this one still has its share of eyerolling moments and preachiness but comes across so fun and authentic it works. Way of the Coyote is even better than Badger Boy and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
Averaging the ratings for the three novels, I get a 3.3. A good volume for someone looking for a smart, easy, western adventure series.
The Buckskin Line:
A 1999-written western, Buckskin Line is about a Texas kid who is raised on the frontier by adopted parents after his family was killed by Comanches. The Comanches had their reasons.
The protagonist grows up and reaches age just as the Civil War breaks out, and he sympathizes with friends on both sides of the conflict in boring fashion. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are kind of stuck between those two groups and also between the peaceful Indians being imprisoned on their reservations and the vengeful Comanches outside the reservation who are always looking for ways to get back the land they lost.
Verdict: Buckskin Line just doesn't have interesting characters or writing that holds my attention like other westerns do. Kelton's stuff gets better.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Badger Boy:
"Badger Boy" takes place in 1865 and finds a frontier farming settlement in Texas dealing with the end of the Civil War as soldiers and Rangers return home to pick up the pieces and navigate their new situation.
The Ranger from "The Buckskin Line" returns and has a backstory that works well in this one. We meet Badger Boy, a white teen who was adopted by Comanches like the Ranger had been but he is still with the Indians and considers himself one. This leads to a lot of good dialogue and moral gymnastics as the two reconcile their similarities, differences, and responsibilities when they finally meet late in the story. There are a few other storylines, well-paced and probably intended to influence further novels in the series, and they are all interesting, too.
Verdict: A smart western, easy to read, preachy at times as Kelton does, some eyerolling moments that are actually earned, and just a really fun western. Loved this one.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
The Way of the Coyote:
Rusty asked, "What is it you like so much about shootin' police?"
"I don't rightly know. Maybe it's the way they jump when they're hit. Anyway, they're all Yankees at heart. Texas could do with a lot less of them." - Farley Brackett
Coyote is the third entry in Kelton's Texas Ranger series and picks up right after the event that ended "Badger Boy". It would kind of spoil Badger if I told you exactly how Coyote starts, so I'll just say it begins in the Fall of 1865 right after the Civil War's end and the folks on the Texas frontier are still trying to figure out what to do with themselves now that the Texan state government and law enforcement is kind of a toothless carpetbagging paper authority.
Our hero Rusty Shannon splits main protagonist duties with the white former Comanche Andy Pickens as they deal with comancheros, whiskey runners, kidnappers, horse thieves, grudge settlers, carpetbaggers, racists, and stubborn womenfolk.
Verdict: Another good western from Kelton. I've come around on his stuff - this one still has its share of eyerolling moments and preachiness but comes across so fun and authentic it works. Way of the Coyote is even better than Badger Boy and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
Averaging the ratings for the three novels, I get a 3.3. A good volume for someone looking for a smart, easy, western adventure series.
October 1, 2020
Page-turning trilogy of West Texas before during, and after the Civil War.
Outstanding characters and events with a tale told as few but Elmer Kelton can tell. These were the final days of the Comanche, the grim days of war and reconstruction, and the families who sacrificed deeply to bring peace and law and order to these endless plains. The Texas Rangers, often without pay but dedicated to duty and protecting the innocent, made a huge difference against marauding Indians and desperate outlaws. Tough times and magnificently told. Well worth the time.
Outstanding characters and events with a tale told as few but Elmer Kelton can tell. These were the final days of the Comanche, the grim days of war and reconstruction, and the families who sacrificed deeply to bring peace and law and order to these endless plains. The Texas Rangers, often without pay but dedicated to duty and protecting the innocent, made a huge difference against marauding Indians and desperate outlaws. Tough times and magnificently told. Well worth the time.
January 17, 2019
Excellent is an understatement
Very well written from a historical perspective as well as full of adventure. A novel full of very realistic danger that could have happened exactly as written. I highly recommend this book!
Very well written from a historical perspective as well as full of adventure. A novel full of very realistic danger that could have happened exactly as written. I highly recommend this book!
August 22, 2018
A compilation of 3 novels by Elmer Kelton covering the early years of the Texas republic from the 1850's through the Civil war. Simply, but beautifully written.
October 18, 2020
Not bad. I only read Part 1.
January 2, 2025
Great writer, sorely missed.
January 8, 2025
A great read with characters you connect with over the course of the book. Greatly enjoyed it.
January 25, 2009
I loved this trilogy about the start of the Texas Rangers. Kelton's descriptions of what Texas used to be like are excellent! I also felt that he carefully researched and presented both sides of several sticky political issues at the time. I really like all of Kelton's books I've read so far.
February 11, 2010
Classic Western. Engaging and a quick read. Relaxing compared to the Sanuel Huntington book.
March 15, 2014
I actually read this trilogy a couple years ago. It is a bit slow at times, but overall not a bad set of books. I found the historical aspects were good and the story very realistic.
September 6, 2016
These were meant to be standalone books, so when they lumped #1, #2 and #3 together, they repeat each other a lot.
September 3, 2016
Enjoyable read
January 22, 2014
Ordered
April 7, 2017
Kelton was the best
I love this series and have read it many times over the years. Gave it 4 stars because of all the typos. Wish Amazon would proof read before publishing the Kindle version.
I love this series and have read it many times over the years. Gave it 4 stars because of all the typos. Wish Amazon would proof read before publishing the Kindle version.
Read
March 10, 2018Really enjoyed this one. Great western that stayed true to historical fact for the most part. Not for someone looking for the pulp fiction kind of western.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews