False Rider

Silvertip

by Max Brand

The 1940s classic from the world's most celebrated Western writer!

A gun cracked!

The lantern in the deserted mine was smashed to bits. Then Jim Silver's great voice boomed through the darkness, "Barry Christian, I've come for you!"

Christian screamed, not like a man but like a tortured woman. He was sick with fear. Somewhere in the blackness his worst enemy--a deadly enemy--was moving closer...closer...Christian took out his knife and held it in front of him. Then suddenly a fist boomed against his jaw!

Genres: Westerns

Hardcover

First published July 1, 1933

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

[Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A routine Westen. Not bad plot and characters, but nothing special. make allowances for the usual overblown language.

[Mike Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read from Max Brand’s Silvertip series. Most of the story revolves around an imposter who passes himself off as Jim Silver.

[Éric Kasprak · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The False Rider, Max Brand spins a compelling tale around a cunning thief who eerily resembles the famed Jim Silver and seizes the opportunity to impersonate him. This audacious act by the "false rider" swiftly sullies Silvertip's hard-earned reputation, leaving the genuine Jim Silver with no alternative but to pursue the imposter and restore his good name. What truly distinguishes this story is the intriguing narrative choice to present a significant part of the unfolding events through the eyes of Duff Gregor, a character decidedly on the wrong side of the law – a card cheat, gunman, and all-around crook. This unusual perspective injects a fresh and captivating dimension into the classic Western framework.

As is typical in the Silvertip series, Jim Silver faces off against his recurring nemesis, Barry Christian. While Christian embodies the familiar villain archetype, Brand imbues him with a curious blend of masculine honor amidst his malevolent nature. This sets the stage for the timeless battle between good and evil, yet it's enriched by the unexpected complexity of Gregor's internal evolution throughout the narrative.

True to form for a Max Brand "Silvertip" novel, readers can anticipate a relentlessly paced story brimming with action and adventure. Brand delivers his signature blend of larger-than-life characters engaging in dramatic confrontations that keep the pages turning.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The False Rider" is one of a series of pulp Western novels by Max Brand featuring Silvertip, a heroic lone rider who metes out justice to various wrong-doers he runs across in his travels. So far, so ordinary. What raises this book somewhat above the ordinary is the fact a good deal of it is told from the point of view of Duff Gregor, a "card cheat, gunman, and general crook".

Duff is quite believable in his motives and decisions and at the end even gains a certain stature. The primary villain, Barry Christian, is more of a stereotype; he could be characterised as the worthy antagonist of Silvertip. He's bad but has a manly kind of honour blended with his evil nature. However, neither Barry Christian nor Silvertip are as interesting as Duff. The heroine does have a couple good moments but is clearly a secondary figure (in fact, she is probably less significant than Silvertip's horse, Parade.)

The plot, too, is reasonably interesting with a quite unusual twist. It's pulp, but an above average and adequately entertaining example of the genre. It would make a good Western B film.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

read SOMETIME in 2001