Customer Reviews

Gunman's Chance

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What appeals to me in this genre is the simple, clear "Sunday school" themes I long for from my youth: Good over evil, boy gets girl, vengeance is sweet, justice is attainable, hard work is rewarded, and so forth. Luke Short's (Glidden's)story, "Blood On The Moon" delivers really big for me, redemption mostly powering this one. Jim Garry is the young gun who in the course of the story comes to recognize shame and feels self disgust caused by his past evils, then finds opportunity and occasion to right himself and make some amends. This redemption read was enormously satisfying! Also fun is that Glidden crafts "the boy and the girl" just a tad off the easy ideal: Jim Garry has his tarnished past and his Amy is not the gorgeous sister. For me BOTM delivered Sunday school satisfaction and I am dressed up and eager now for my next Luke Short!

Luke Short: "Today's best selling western writer" 1960s

As most readers of Luke Short (Frederick D. Glidden) westerns will be aware the original title of this western novel and the 1949 movie Blood On The Moon are one and the same. The cover of my $1.25 paperback (New Bantam edition/June, 1976) is different from this $.60 cent earlier edition shown here, however, the books are identical in print and story.

Luke Short: "The Master Storyteller of the West" 1970

Fairly simple tale of one man riding an outlaw trail only to be turned off and away from a friend's greed and violence, to switch sides in a range war. As is said of Jim Garry, he always had a conscience, which went a long way to separate him from the long riders with whom he once rode.

Garry's future will be a brighter one now that he rides a different trail, and rides that trail with Miss Amy Lufton.

Luke Short: "Winner of the Special Western Heritage Trustee award." 1980s
with over 31 million copies of his western novels in print

Another readable western novel from Luke Short, just released once again this month as part of Leisure Western Classic Movie Tie-ins. I have a full shelf of Luke Short westerns (48) and find them all entertaining reading with several books such as RAMROD, AMBUSH, and this one, BLOOD ON THE MOON making fine western movies to watch as well.

Semper Fi.

Semper Fi.