Texas Vendetta

Texas Rangers #5

by Elmer Kelton

Ranger privates Andy Pickard, the onetime Comanche captive called Badger Boy, and the war-anguished Farley Brackett, are assigned to deliver a prisoner to the sheriff of a county some distance from the ranger camp on the San Saba River. The prisoner, Jayce Landon, has recently killed a man named Ned Hopper and is to stand trial for murder.
The rangers quickly learn that the Landon and Hopper families are involved in a blood feud and that Jayce Landon is the target of both clans: the Landons want to rescue him and the Hoppers want to kill him. Worse, Jayce is to be delivered, jailed, and tried for murder in Hopper's Crossing, a settlement owned, populated, and run by the family dedicated to killing Jayce and all his Landon kin.
The young rangers soon encounter the main figures in the hate-filled Hopper clan -Big'un, a huge lout who is deputy sheriff at Hopper's Crossing, and Judd Hopper, county judge and patriarch of the family. And when Jayce escapes, hell breaks loose with the rangers caught between the warring factions.
Andy Pickard, reunited with his old mentor, retired ranger Rusty Shannon, has another problem or two to deal with. He is worried about Scooter Tennyson, a young son of an outlaw who has been "adopted" by the rangers at their San Saba River camp and who earns his way as a cook's helper. Scooter's father, now released from prison, has come to take his son back-and into a life on the run. And Andy has a growing affection for Bethel Brackett, sister of his worrisome partner, Farley.
Texas Vendetta , fifth in Elmer Kelton's memorable and critically acclaimed Texas Rangers series, is filled with the author's always engaging characters and is set against the historically accurate backdrop of the turmoil of post-Civil War Texas.


At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Elmer 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...

Reviews

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this moderately paced adventure. This story is #5 in a series, but I read this book as a stand alone and it was just fine as such. This book does not drag or spend too much time on long drawn out descriptions. Elmer Kelton writes some interesting situations. The story is based in sparsely populated south Texas shortly after the Civil War, and the Rangers are undermanned. This leaves them making some morally ambiguous choices.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Even though the Native Americans are not part of the story anymore, Kelton weaves a good solid western tale complete with an explosion, bank robbery, and shootouts. Easy to get sucked in to this story.

[Captain Basil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my third Kelton novel and my favorite so far. I really enjoy these Texas Rangers and the plot moved swiftly. If you are in the mood for a good solid western, this one is for you.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of Keltons's books are great. Very educational.

[levi patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 80s I was vacationing in the Caribbean. I walked into a small mom and pop’s store in Barbados. I saw a book in a little wire book-rack titled The Wolf and The Buffalo, that was authored by Elmer Kelton. I purchased the book and after reading it—I believe it’s now out of print—I became an Elmer Kelton fan. He could write a realistic, compelling story. Since then, I’ve read several of his books. Personally, I’ve never read one of his books that I felt deserved less than a five-star rating. I just finished reading Texas Vendetta which was about the exploits of the Texas Rangers trying to handle an explosion family feud. I worked several agencies as a law enforcement officer for nearly forty years. I could relate to the Ranger who didn’t necessarily go by the book all the time but with the decisions he had to make, justice was served nevertheless.

[Charles Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

As westerns go, this one is pretty good. On a scale with McMurtry or Lansdale with good history and good action that doesn't always favor the good guys. One or two saving graces is Kelton avoids any Texas-drawl dialogue. You can read this book and understand who is saying what. The other is he has a good sense of how the law was administered (or not) and how local politics and feuds muddied the waters. This really is not a simple story but a nice blend of rural Texas hard-scrabble life mixed towards the end with the new Texas.
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[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always good to enjoy a series, as you learn the characters, and it's almost as if you grow with them. This is certainly the case with Elmer Kelton who is one of the great western story tellers. In the 5th installment Andy Pickard/Badger Boy is sent to get into the middle of a feud similar to the Hatfields and McCoys. At times the book stalls, and is somewhat predictable, but still a decent read.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story of the frontier and the Texas Rangers who were the only law at the time.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Texas Ranger Andy Pickard and an abrasive fellow Ranger named Farley Brackett are tasked with transporting two prisoners to jurisdictions where they face different charges, and one of these prisoners Jayce Landon's charge is murder. They find themselves in quite a fix when the Landon family and the Hopper family each try to get at him in captivity. Landon had killed a Hopper and two clans are involved in some kind of old feud.

"Texas Vendetta" (2004) is the fifth entry in Kelton's Texas Rangers series.

Raising this one above the average western, or even the standard Kelton western, are the interesting characters. While a surface plot based on an old-fashioned family feud hints at a simple story, the focused array of relatable and smart characters and the Texas Rangers' duties regarding its law enforcement actually take this story to another level. Andy Pickard's internal conflict of purpose when coming across others who are torn between family and morality, Rusty Shannon's beaten demeanor for wrongs suffered in the past when confronted by lawbreakers brazenly dodging it now, young Scooter Tennyson's trap between wanting to do right and wanting to please his father, the various members of the Landon and Hopper clans and their loyalties, the local Sheriff trying to stay relevant and still be able to sleep at night, and finally Lige Tennyson, the racist criminal promising to go straight after serving out his sentence and now on his own path of, well, you'll see.

Verdict: I think Kelton's work is either really good or pretty bad. "Texas Vendetta" (2004) is one that is really good, and because it works as a standalone story you don't have to read the prior books in the series to enjoy it, though readers already familiar with Rusty and Andy might appreciate it more.

Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13

[Joe Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it enjoyable how Kelton takes his time to introduce the characters in the first half of the story before the expected action takes place. You can’t help but become attached to many of the characters; thus, invested in their well being, and while Andy Pickard, a young Texas Ranger, is figuratively the main character, the other characters don’t seem secondary. You root for the good and look forward for the bad getting their due. The good are good, the bad are bad, and then there are some in a gray area.

The story moves at a nice pace, and Kelton is a master at sucking the reader into the story as if you, the reader, are alongside the characters. The dialogue is sharp, realistic, sometimes subtly humorous, and matches each character’s personality. And you may be surprised by how the action plays out.

[Nathan Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where Kelton wanted to be when he started the series. In the 1870’s with Rangers getting going. Good story.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmer Kelton is a good writer who knows his Texas history. Having lived in the Texas hill country for five years, I enjoy reading about the beginnings of some of the places I visited.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another delightful novel describing the early settlement of Texas and the formation of the Texas Rangers. Living in Texas in those early days was hard on men but extremely hard for women.

[Candace Simar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmer Kelton is a master at perfect dialogue. I enjoyed the story of Texas Rangers getting the bad guys in the post-Civil-War years of Texas. Excellent.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

audio solid story

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series!

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good characters but not excellent or clear follow though on personalities; therefore, it is hard to follow.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite it being in the middle of a series, the story stands on its own. Had some good western analogies

[M. O'Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Texas Ranger, Andy Pickard nickname Badger Boy, is after the bad guys again. Andy rides into a Texas feud and is forced to tackle both sides as the body count jumps. This is a typical well-written, western novel that you come to expect from Kelton. The authenticity of the era, setting and pace all blend into an enjoyable read. Kelton draws the reader into the time period like few other western writers. The action is believable, with good dialogue and details. Kelton delivers a low-rev matter of fact suspense level that is not over the top but is compatible with his protagonist. The book is solid entertainment for an enjoyable read in an old west setting. I look forward to reading the next Kelton novel I find on the shelf.

[Yankey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking at my three star rating above I'm feeling guilty. I LOVE western fiction. The hokey, wholesome, wishful, good-ol-days story lines. When I ran out of Zane Gray and Louis Lamore from the old stack and Craig Johnson from the new stack I turned to another prolific writer, Elmer Kelton. The story kept me engaged and met my whole-some-ness standard but the bad guys just weren't very ominous. I'll read a few dozen more of Elmers little stories before I throw in the towel.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Andy Pickard/Badger Boy Texas Ranger tale by Kelton. This time Andy and his ranger pals get involved in a feud between the Hopper family and the Landon family. Kelton invents a good bad guy for this book, Big 'Un Hopper. Recommended to fans of westerns.

[Teddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining book from Elmer. Keeps your interest. If you have read other Texas Ranger books from Elmer you already know the charaters.

[Topher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses more on the actions of Andy, and we witness what looks to be Rusty's real retirement from the rangers.

[Bill Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hard to finish. Kept putting it down and picking it up numerous times.
Great author. Have me three others to read.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I do read Westerns and the late Texan Elmer Kelton wrote quite a few that I've enjoyed over the years.