Gunfighter's Return

by Max Brand, Frederick Schiller Faust

Transformed into a feared gunman by circumstances, not by choice, Jim Curry holds up a stagecoach and makes off with twenty thousand dollars, the exact sum needed by gambler Charlie Mark who tracks Jim down and makes a strange bargain with him

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jim Curry and Charlie Mark are our central characters in this smart Max Brand narrative, and the way their lives interweave and change because of how the other is acting make for a surprisingly-layered character feel in a classic western setting.

We start with a cowboy-version of Robin Hood. Jim Curry is caught up defending his father in a posse hunt, finds himself on the run believing he killed two pursuers, and thus abandons his former life and turns outlaw. As an outlaw, however, monikered "the Red Devil," he is only robbing from wrong-doers who have taken advantage of true laborers. He'll target card cheats or mine claim jumpers, then take those funds and send them to the rightful owners. In his holdups he hasn't killed anyone, so he achieves some kind of heroic legend status.

Then we are introduced to Charlie Mark. Mark is the son of a hard-working rancher who gives him every opportunity, but Charlie would rather play cards, jump from town to town, take advantage of those he can, and live a spoiled life. When Charlie finds himself beat and penniless, he heads west and hears about this Red Devil outlaw. When the Red Devil (Curry) holds up his stagecoach and Mark witnesses how he handles the robbery, he decides to just hunt down this Red Devil and take his stash for himself.

When the two meet face to face, they agree to let Charlie take on the Red Devil moniker and make his own use of it for a life of crime. Jim has grown lonely and tired of always being on the run, and he wants Charlie to commit a robbery as the Devil while Jim is somewhere else so he has an alibi and can go back to living a normal life without suspicion.

Then we meet Mark's adopted sister Ruth who, through some twists of fate it would be spoilery to mention, ends up befriending Jim and the two fall in love.

Verdict: A fun Max Brand western with some smart twists and turns, some interesting characters, some earned come-up-ences and an ending I didn't see coming.

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: G

[Sam Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Western, I am a Max Brand fan, he has excellent storytelling ability that draws you in. Whether he ends happy or sad, you always seem to want more!

[Steve]

Great