Max Brand

Peter Quince was a fighter born and bred. Orphaned at a young age, he remembered an old woman saying that he was a bad one and would cause a lot of trouble in the world. Others claimed he had bad blood and it would show up sooner or later. But Bill Andrews felt a connection with the boy, took him home and raised him as one of his own despite his wife's misgivings. Peter soon learned he could manipulate people by withholding his true feelings--showing and telling them what they wanted to see and hear. Peter had learned that battles should be won by cunning and strength, with cunning being far more important. But when he beat his foster brother in a fight over a girl named Mary, Peter knew it was time to strike out on his own. In his travels he would seek out those with skills he needed and learn from them until he was able to master his teacher. At barely twenty, he had a price on his head for shooting a man in self-defense. As he outsmarted lawmen in five states and territories, the bounty rose to over $100,000. He finally fled to Mexico, but there he would fall into trouble again with a wealthy land baron, a beautiful woman, and a notorious bandit.

Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 - May 12, 1944) was an American fiction author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns. Faust wrote mostly under pen names, and today is primarily known by one, Max Brand. Others include George Owen Baxter, George Evans, David Manning, John Frederick, Peter Morland, George Challis, and Frederick Frost. Faust was born in Seattle to Gilbert Leander Faust and Elizabeth (Uriel) Faust, who both died soon after. He grew up in central California and later worked as a cowhand on one of the many ranches of the San Joaquin Valley. Faust attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he began to write prolifically for student publications, poetry magazines, and occasionally newspapers. He did not attain a degree, as he was deemed a troublemaker, and began to travel extensively. He joined the Canadian Army in 1915, but deserted the next year and went to New York City. During the 1910s, Faust started to sell stories to the pulp magazines of Frank Munsey, including All-Story Weekly and Argosy Magazine. When the United States joined World War I in 1917, Faust tried to enlist but was turned down. He married Dorothy Schillig in 1917, and the couple had three children.

The Untamed, Max Brand's first foray into Westerns, is regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the writer's most successful efforts. Combining an unforgettable main character with a story packed with action, conflict, and revenge, The Untamed is a classic of the genre that will captivate any reader.

Renowned Western writer Max Brand does it again in the eminently enjoyable novel The Seventh Man. Packed with enough action and romance to please even the most die-hard fans of the genre, the novel also addresses a wide range of important themes with insight and sensitivity. This classic's appeal extends far beyond the core audience for Westerns-give it to a yet-to-be-won-over friend or loved one, and soon they'll be clamoring for more.

If you like your westerns with a stiff dose of righteous vengeance and well-deserved comeuppance, you'll love The Rangeland Avenger by prolific author and beloved master of the genre Max Brand. A softspoken but ruthless protagonist cuts a swath of violent payback across the Wild West in this thrill-a-minute adventure.

The Night Horseman by Max Brand. First published in 1920. At the age of six Randall Byrne could name and bound every state in the Union and give the date of its admission; at nine he was conversant with Homeric Greek and Caesar; at twelve he read Aristophanes with perfect understanding of the allusions of the day and divided his leisure between Ovid and Horace; at fifteen, wearied by the simplicity of Old English and Thirteenth Century Italian.

The thrill, allure and fatal attraction of gambling are brought to life in Max Brand's classic Western, The Garden of Eden. Boxing matches, card games, horse races, and more -- there's nothing that the thrill-seeking hero won't place a bet on. Is his luck about to run out?

The mining certificates granting ownership of the Christabel mine that Edward Dugan inherited from his father had a face value of $250,000, but the mine itself had been declared worthless. Still, Henry Christian, the man that had sold them to Dugan's father, said he'd buy them back for $1,500. Penniless, Dugan decided to walk the three thousand miles from his home in Boston to the mine in the Southwest to check out the offer. But along the way he meets a travel companion named Red. Red knows Christian by reputation, and by another name: Bonanza Chris. He knows the only reason Bonanza Chris would buy the mine back is if he had discovered it was far from worthless. He decides not to abandon Dugan to negotiate with Bonanza Chris on his own, but not even Red can imagine how far Bonanza Chris will go to restake his claim on the mine.

Fascinating characters, action-packed adventure, skillful literary description, and a plot that keeps you guessing-Max Brand's Way of the Lawless offers something to appeal to every reader, whether you're a confirmed fan of the genre or someone who is dipping into Western fiction for the first time.

A classic western from one of the masters of the genre.

Hunter was a man who could rip a tree trunk from the ground with his bare hands or tame the wildest stallion with his kind manner. Nobody west of the Pecos would have dared run afoul of the mighty frontiersman. But Pete Reeve didn't have the reputation of a dead shot because he relied on his common sense. Then Bull and Pete crossed paths, and townsfolk from Cheyenne to San Antonio braced for the battle.

Lorrimer Weldon has spent his life being a tumbleweed and rolling where the wind blows him. Up to Canada, down to Mexico, through deserts, forests, and mountains; anywhere fortune could be found. Those travels helped earn him a reputation as a gambler and a gunfighter-a reputation that frequently preceded him. When Weldon rode into San Trinidad, he found he immediately had two job offers: the outlaw Roger Cunningham wants Weldon to join his smuggling operation as a hired gun, and Dr. Henry Watts wants to hire Weldon's gun as well, but as muscle to protect a patient dying of consumption, the beautiful Helen O'Mallock. Weldon finds Watts' proposition far more attractive, so he accepts the offer, knowing that Cunningham will resent the decision.

Grab your hat and horse and hit the dusty trail with prolific Western writer Max Brand. In Trailin', Brand unfurls the tale of Anthony Bard, a well-born fellow who longs for adventure and ultimately finds it in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Bard sets out to capture the outlaw who wronged his kin -- and finds love along the way. A must-read for fans of classic Westerns.

Solitary, mysterious figure Donnegan is on the run from his past. The last thing he has time for is love. But like all matters of the heart, sometimes emotions bloom when they are least convenient - as they do the first time Donnegan encounters the kind, free-spirited Lou Macon. Do they have a shot at a happy life somewhere - or are Donnegan's misdeeds bound to catch up with them?

In the old West, laws were often loosely and arbitrarily applied, so many gunslingers and cowboys took the law into their own hands and applied eye-for-an-eye justice on their own terms. The huge, lumbering outlaw Bull Hunter intends to hunt down and kill the men responsible for his uncle's death. When he finds out that the ringleader is already behind bars, he devises a clever plot to spring his nemesis in order to dispense his comeuppance, street justice-style.

Renowned writer of westerns Max Brand gives the age-old nature-vs.-nurture debate a new spin in Black Jack. The Black Jack of the title is a notorious gunslinger who is shot down in his prime. His young son, Terry, is cared for and reared by a network of family friends. Is the young man doomed to follow in his father's foolhardy footsteps? Read Black Jack to find out.

The ever-popular Ronicky Doone series from renowned Western author Max Brand features one of the most indelibly memorable protagonists in the genre. Although Ronicky is a stand-up guy with a deep-seated sense of honor and loyalty, he often finds himself stuck in scrapes that require some creative thinking to get out of. If you love unforgettable characters mixed up in action-packed adventures, you'll love Ronicky Doone.

This Western from prolific author Max Brand is a classic revenge story that is sure to please readers who are hankering for a solid dose of action-packed adventure. Riders of the Silences recounts the tale of hardened gunslinger Red Pierre, who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance on the ne'er-do-well who killed his father.

In Harrigan, prolific writer Max Brand takes a detour from the dusty trails of the West where his novels were typically set and spins a gripping nautical tale set in Hawaii and upon the open sea. What starts out as a chance meeting between two men turns into a heated race for priceless treasure - and the love of a remarkable woman.