Crusader: A Western Story

by Max Brand

Lured out of the wilderness by fight manager Sparrow Roberts, who wants to turn him into a boxer, Harry Camden decides he wants something more, and drifts into a life of crime that leads him to steal a great stallion called Crusader.

Genres: Westerns

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

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

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Max Brand Short Story Collection of Western Adventures

MB. has. penned a wide variety of western short stories. This collection is an excellent variety of different situations the people of the west faced....DEHS

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of three long short stories that first appeared in magazines. This is a deliciously silly Western and horse story. Throw reality out the window and break out the popcorn! We get very little information about Harry Camden and yet he's an interesting Tarzan the Apeman-like guy. Crusader, the title character, doesn't appear until Part II, but it's worth the wait. I wonder if Walter Farley got to read these before he wrote The Black Stallion. There are similarities between Crusader and the Black.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Max Brand is a great storyteller, but his stories feel somewhat formulaic. I understand how he was such a popular writer in his time, but "Crusader" is more of a guilty pleasure and a light read. I'm not sure how or why he received the sobriquet, 'Shakespeare of the West,' perhaps the appellation arises from the comparatively large volume of work Max Brand produced.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audio...hubby purchased it on itunes, we paid for it, might as well listen. It was different. Not really my type- parts were only 2 or 2 1/2 stars.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a little slow starting but once it got going it was hard to put it down. Glad I stuck with it.

[Kirk Bradberry]

Well written. Plots are such that you want to keep the pages turning. Characters well developed. Kept you wondering what was coming next. Thoroughly enjoyed the read.