The Lone Ranger and the Mystery Ranch

The Lone Ranger #2

by Fran Striker

The lone survivor of a massacre of Texas Rangers, together with his Indian friend, Tonto, search for the leader of a band of hooded, ruthless killers known as the Night Legion.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Pulp, Adventure

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Fran Striker (born Francis Hamilton Striker) (August 19, 1903 – September 4, 1962) was an American writer for radio and comics, best known for creating The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon

Series:
* The Lone Ranger Magazine & Romantic Western
* The Lone Ranger
* Tom Quest

Reviews

[Taylor Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

199 pages but the solving of the mystery and the lone rangers victory was only the last 5 pages which felt a little anti climactic

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this one according to my 8yr old. Of course, his opinion is slightly bias - his hero is the Lone Ranger. What can I say, it reads just like an episode of The Lone Ranger.

[Anthony Ordille · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one of my favorite childhood TV shows, when my son saw a small collection of books on the Lone Ranger and asked if I wanted any, I said yes. He returned home with two books of the series. I immediately started on this copy. I just finished it and was thrilled to learn something new about the Lone Ranger that I do not recall knowing as a kid. That the Lone Ranger was a real Texas Ranger and Tonto saved his life from a massacre and he wears the mask so no one would know who he was as he searched out those responsible for the killing of his friends.
As an author of the 21st century, it is neat to see writing techniques from 1938.
The story keep me wanting to go to the next chapter to learn who the boss of the Night Legion was. Had a great ending with a shocking twist.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Lone Ranger novel, written in 1938.
The legend/story as we know it today was still taking shape.
In this one, Tonto rides a white horse, whose name is never mentioned. (Of course soon, Tonto would ride a Paint Horse named Scout)
We're told The Lone Ranger and Tonto are on the trail of a ruthless hooded gang called The Night Legion. The Legion murdered a group of Texas Rangers who were pursuing them. They attacked the Rangers in their camp, killing them. One Ranger survived, found by Tonto and nursed back to health. Now masked, he goes by The Lone Ranger.
(This is a little different than the story as it will eventually come known to be)
A good book. Fast and furious.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent boy's adventure story, though too sloppily written and plotted to be of any particular interest to adults. Fran Striker was clearly better suited to radio scripts than novels, and this paperback edition does him no favors by overlooking countless typos and punctuation mistakes. But if you're a fan of the Lone Ranger, I see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy this, especially since it contains a good deal more action and intrigue than Book #1 in the series. I'm gonna throw it in a box and save it for when my son turns ten or so.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Night Legion are a group of people causing havoc in the old west. Luckily the Lone Ranger and Tonto are on the case.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving these classic action-adventure stories. The language and so forth is "quaint" at times, but overall it is such a refreshing change from so much of what is written and published nowadays.

[Sarah Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this we see the Rangers back story is shaping up more, and we see some of the better action involving Tonto. Its also rare to the Ranger loose his temper at the outlaws but one does make him loose his cool for a moment here. Its better example of Fran Strikers style.

[Evan Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the book was good. It captured my attention and brought me throughout the journey. What I did not really like was how old fashion it was and the vocabulary was a little low on the scale. Other than how old it was I would recommend it to somebody because of how intriguing the plot is.

[Wes Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads quickly and is written just as the television show with Clayton Moore portrayed the Lone Ranger.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2003. Part of the Lone Ranger series.