Frederick Faust, better known as Max Brand, is one of those authors I’ve been reading for more than 60 years, and I suspect I’ll continue to read his work for as long as I’m around. TWISTED BARS, currently available from Amazon in e-book and paperback editions, reprints three pulp novellas: “The Duster”, WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE, November 2, 1929; “Twisted Bars”, WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE, November 16, 1929; and “The Duster Returns”, WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE, November 30, 1929.
Although they were published originally as individual novellas, these stories flow right from one into the next and actually form a novel. It’s narrated by a middle-aged cowboy named Baldy Wye, who works on a spread near the town of Christmas. When he hears that the notorious outlaw known as The Duster has shown up in town, Baldy indulges his curiosity and goes to see the famous desperado. The Duster has come to Christmas not to commit some daring crime, though. Instead, what he wants is to bury the ashes of his former partner, Hector Manness, in the local cemetery. Manness, mortally wounded by a posse, had asked The Duster to have him buried there. Unfortunately, the local minister is adamant that a criminal like Manness will never be laid to rest in the church’s graveyard.
The Duster sets out to change the minister’s mind, and the result is a dramatic story but one that’s almost totally lacking in action. That lack is a continuing problem in this book. There’s a bank robbery in the second story that’s very well done, and of course, everybody blames The Duster, but is he really guilty? In the third story, The Duster and the minister’s daughter have fallen in love, but in order to win her hand in marriage, he has to prove that he’s actually gone straight and given up his outlaw ways. There’s a twist that most readers will see coming, but it’s still effective and raises the stakes nicely.
The stories in TWISTED BARS are very well-written. Faust could turn a phrase with great skill, and he was one of the best at tormenting his protagonists and creating a lot of psychological drama. But most of this book consists of people sitting around and talking, and there’s very little of the action for which Faust is also famous. I think this is a very minor entry in his work, and if you haven’t read him before, I sure wouldn’t start here. If you’re a fan and just enjoy the way he writes, it’s worth reading, but don’t expect it to be in the top rank of his yarns.
4 comments:
I went through several Max Brand novels when I was fifteen (the old Pocket Books and Popular Library editions), and I've read him sporadically since then, when the mood strikes me. I doubt I'll ever read anything near his total output!
Like he previous commenter, I began reading Max Brand when an early teenager. My Dad, who read loads of Western pulps and paperback, introduced me to Brand's stories. I first tried his first Western THE UNTAMED, but didn't care for it. Later I read THE STOLEN STALLION, a Silvertip novel, and enjoyed it a lot, so much that I read all the rest of the Silvertip novels. I began reading others, here and there, liked some but not others. During my later years I read THE BRUTE, as written by David Manning, published by Chelsea House (didn't know where it was originally printed or under which of Brand's original names it was published). My opinion was that it might have been inspired by Burroughs' Tarzan stories. because The Brute lived in the forest and traveled through trees! Anyway, I enjoyed it very much. Since a teenager I've acquired a box full of Brand's hard bounds. I'm also a fan of Brand's historical novels. I didn't collect Brand like I collected Edgar Rice Burroughs, but I did enjoy a lot of his stories, even the mysteries -- CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT for instance.
My first Max Brand novel was SINGLE JACK, the Dodd, Mead edition checked out from the bookmobile in the summer of 1964. I loved it. Years later, the local library got hold of the same exact copy when it was discarded from the Fort Worth Public Library. I could tell that because one signature of pages was discolored and I'd never forgotten that. I read that same copy again and was less impressed with it, but that didn't keep me from reading a bunch of other Max Brand novels over the years.
THE BRUTE sounds interesting. There was a reasonably price copy on Amazon, so I ordered it. Most of the Chelsea House books came out under different pseudonyms than the original pulp publication. Maybe I can figure out where it appeared originally. Whether I do or not, it sounds like a good book!
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