The Iron Trail

by Max Brand

YOU could not call Sheriff Cliff Matthews a natural detective, but you might say that he was an antitype of the true “law-hound,” with a sense of humor added. He knew a joke when he saw one, and by dint of not taking himself too seriously he was continued in office as sheriff of Burnside County. However, he occasionally made an arrest, and at the very moment when we see him first such a rare event was about to take place. But he stood for a time at the door of the office, his hand upon the knob, and listened to his victim discoursing cheerfully within.

Genres: Westerns

Hardcover

First published December 24, 1926

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

[David L]

The Iron Trail is about a twelve year old boy named Call. Call's parents were both wizards and his mother died fighting the enemy when Call was a baby. Calls father did his best to protect Call from magic, but Call is forced to take an admissions test to get into a Wizardry School. Call begins training at the school and finds out that he is far more powerful than any other apprentice there. Call soon learns that he is linked with the enemy. I choose to read the Iron Trial because it had great reviews and I enjoy Fantasy books. I liked the plot and the element of mystery in the book. However, I did not like that it did not conclude its story and instead waited for the sequel.

[Vaijayanthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good - the essence of this great writer's talent is revealed in this book.

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting!
Hooked me till the last word!

[Jason Crow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book although it was well written. It is one of those "westerns" that is set in the contemporary time period, which was 1926. Telephones and automobiles are a part of the story, but essentially, it is a western. This book illustrates that the genre of "western" may not have been such a clear cut thing. This makes sense considering that many of those folks who lived through what we call the classical western period were still alive. The western frontier was still very untamed in many ways. The western was more about geography than time period.
I found the main character interesting, but didn't see a real reason for him to all of a sudden go straight and the third man in the triangle was just unmentioned in the end. He was a steady man and an honorable one, so it didn't seem right for him to lose the girl, although I suspect he kind of dodged a bullet there.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading a large print version

[Xdw · Rating 2 out of 5]

western adventure, written 1926, not bad