Rusty Sabin

A Western Story

By: Max Brand

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

Rusty Sabin, born to white parents, was brought up by the Cheyenne Indians who had given the young red-headed boy the name Red Hawk. His ability to heal the sick and make strange magic were widely honored throughout the tribe. But in his twenties, Red Hawk set out to take his place among white people.

When Rusty and his stallion named White Horse were nearly at the frontier post of Fort Marsden, the river boat he was riding in was grounded, and a man called Bill Tenney comes to his rescue. Rusty doesn't know much about the white man's ways -- especially a white man like Bill Tenney, a thief and a fugitive. Tenney is only interested in one thing -- Rusty's white stallion, considered sacred among the Cheyennes. Meanwhile, Major Marsden, who considers Rusty little more than a savage himself, is determined to come between Rusty and his sweetheart, Maisery -- and the Cheyennes do all they can to compel Rusty to return to his tribe.

©2012 Max Brand (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Caught between two worlds

I am back to reading a traditional western author after reading some new western genre authors. The book is written by the well known Max Brand which is one of the nom de plumes of the famous author Frederick Faust. This is book one in a trilogy about Rusty Sabin.

Rusty was born to white parents but was raised by the Cheyenne. His name was Red Hawk because of his red hair. Red Hawk had the skill and talent to heal the sick and make magic. When he was in his twenties Red Hawk decided to go live in the white man’s world after he discovered his white father. Rusty rides a white stallion that is sacred to the Cheyenne. Rusty calls the horse “White Horse.” Rusty meets the bad man Bill Tenney and the Army Major Marsden who thinks of Rusty as a savage and, of course, he falls in love with a white girl.

The book, of course, is well written with a standard western plot. Brand always writes a good adventure with a moral yarn included. The story was first serialized in a western magazine in 1935. This is one of the many magazine serializations by Max Brand that have been turned into a book to keep the author’s copyrights going and now into audiobook format. It is noticeable that this was written in the days when the author was paid by the word because of the frequent descriptive words used but this does not slow down the flow of the story. I enjoyed listening to a master storyteller weave an exciting yarn. Peter Ganim does a good job narrating the story.