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The End Of The Trail: Western Stories
Capturing the harsh realities of life in the Old West, a collection of short fiction by the creator of Conan features twelve stories of outlaws, gunfighters, lawmen, and others for whom loyalty, courage, and personal codes of honor are more important than the trappings of civilization. Simultaneous.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
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About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,008 books2,651 followersRobert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 2, 2011
The serious, hardcore western stories in this collection fit the writing style of Howard like a glove. Like his horror stories, historical fiction,straight adventure like El Borak does.
The reason i rate this collection so highly are these stories:
"The Vultures of Wahpeton" - I found it to be so full of twists like the best hardboiled PI stories, the gunman turned deputy was great REH hero. Epic,Plot,character,hardboiled sensibility wise its easily the best Howard western i have read. Its like he wrote a hardboiled PI story.
"The Man on the Ground" - A powerful weird western story that show what a master of atmosphere,mood REH was. I got drawn to protagonist feud,his situation so vividly. A great ending.
"Knife, Bullet and Noose" - A really short story but Sonora Kid was a different, young, fun REH hero. He was both hardcore, still not amoral gunman,outlaw like most of other stories.
"Law-Shooters of Cowtown." - I dont like the hero Grizzly Elkins as much as i like John Kirby of Gunman's Debt but this story was so grim. The fist fight in the jail, Grizzly Elkins attacking a mob on his own with his fists was something special to read.
"Gunman's Debt" - A bit traditional western but with REH bent, i liked the hero John Kirby.
The reason i rate this collection so highly are these stories:
"The Vultures of Wahpeton" - I found it to be so full of twists like the best hardboiled PI stories, the gunman turned deputy was great REH hero. Epic,Plot,character,hardboiled sensibility wise its easily the best Howard western i have read. Its like he wrote a hardboiled PI story.
"The Man on the Ground" - A powerful weird western story that show what a master of atmosphere,mood REH was. I got drawn to protagonist feud,his situation so vividly. A great ending.
"Knife, Bullet and Noose" - A really short story but Sonora Kid was a different, young, fun REH hero. He was both hardcore, still not amoral gunman,outlaw like most of other stories.
"Law-Shooters of Cowtown." - I dont like the hero Grizzly Elkins as much as i like John Kirby of Gunman's Debt but this story was so grim. The fist fight in the jail, Grizzly Elkins attacking a mob on his own with his fists was something special to read.
"Gunman's Debt" - A bit traditional western but with REH bent, i liked the hero John Kirby.
February 23, 2012
An uneven mix, but given that it includes some early efforts, that is to be expected. The later stories in the book are downright awesome. It's hard to rate a collection of short stories. The best ones should be rated a four or five, but the worst rate a two, easily. I gave it three stars, but some of the stories should be read by any fan of Westerns.
February 8, 2010
It's all about "Vultures of Whapeton" here. One of Howard's best but the collection is a little uneven over all. Not as solid as "Boxing Stories" but "The Black Stranger and Other American Tales" (which does cheat by leading off with a Conan yarn), but it does include a few classic Howard stories.
July 11, 2009
A collection of Robert E. Howard's more serious western stories. This doesn't include the humorous tales. Many of these are very good, especially the longish Vultures of Whapeton.
October 22, 2020
Cowboy stories by the author of Conan. No white hats here, these guys are hard men in a hard country. They have their own kind of morality, which means it's OK to shoot some people and OK to steal, but not always. Not every ending is a happy one. The tales are well written with lots of action and sometimes complex plots. Corrupt sheriffs, angry drunks, honest outlaws, even an occasional singing cowboy. Does not make me wish I lived in the Old West.
February 27, 2016
The best thing about this lackluster Robert E. Howard collection is the cover (which doesn't actually depict any scene in the book.) Howard may have given the world Conan the Barbarian but also gave the world some really crap Westerns and nonfiction articles about his part of Texas. Incredibly repetitive and stereotypical. The final "stories" are selections from his letters. I had to stop reading there.
July 29, 2012
This was really excellent. Romantic, a little over-wrought, maybe even cliched - but good stuff. The serials in here the strongest, as well as the essay on Billy the Kid. Again, romantic, the stuff of pulp high drama - but awesome.
February 20, 2016
An excellent unedited collection of Howard's western stories. No one beats Howard for fast paced action. No matter if he is writing about Conan or some cowboy in Texas Howard always sweeps you through the story with his writing. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews