Destry Rides Again by Max Brand was originally published in 1930 and unfortunately, it hasn’t aged well as there were far too many racial slurs to be comfortable with the read. Another thing that threw me off is that the excellent 1939 western comedy film of the same title has absolutely no connection to the story. The film company wisely just used the title and discarded the written story.

The basic plot of the book is Harrison Destry’s quest for revenge against the 12 jurors who allowed their personal feelings to affect their judgment and wrongfully convict Destry for a robbery. After serving six years Destry is released and comes back to town with plans to get even with anyone who had a hand in sending him away. Destry is not a very likeable person, he thinks he is superior to everyone and was a bully when he was younger. The one person he should be going after is the one that originally set him up to be charged of the robbery and now, pretends friendship but continues to plot against him.

Destry Rides Again could have been a western classic but unfortunately the author delivers his story with some rather clunky writing, unbelievable action and as mentioned above, far to many racial slurs. I would strongly advise anyone to skip the book and watch the 1939 film instead. ( )

OK Western. Not as humorous as the old movie with Jimmy Stewart but still good. ( )

A wrongfully imprisoned man returns to wreak vengeance on the men who sent him to jail. ( )

It's hard to choose, but I'd say Brand is a slightly more engaging writer than Western favorites Owen Wister, Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour, but if so, not by much. This is pulp writing, with way too many exclamation points trying to punch up cliched phrases and purple prose. The story focuses on Harry Destry--even he describes himself as "a waster, a lazy loafer, a fighter." What he comes across to me is a thug, happy to find any excuse to use his fists--and this is our hero.

He's framed for a train robbery and sent to prison for six years and returns to the town of Wham a seemingly changed man. Notably, he won't be baited into a fight. So his fiance, who waited six years for him wants to break the engagement, because, she says, "He's not a man." Man = schoolyard bully. So, the rest of the book is about the revenge he takes on those who put him into prison. It's predictable, painful and an insult to a reader's intelligence. And it has no resemblance to the classic film of the name with Jimmy Stewart other than the title. ( )