To the River's End: A Thrilling Western Novel of the American Frontier

To the River’s End is a book about a man named Luke Ransom set in the year 1833, on the American frontier. Luke is a fur trapper who works for the American Fur Company and sells beaver pelt. Luke has planned to quit the American Fur Company, and become a free trapper by himself. The day before he plans to quit, he helps a man named Jug fight off some hostile Native Americans, and they become friends. After that, they decide to be free trappers together and journey out further West in the winter, where the beavers are abundant, but the Natives are more hostile. The author portrays Luke as a kind man who never looks for trouble, but will get himself out of trouble. This makes Luke a likable character with charisma and a witty personality. He fights Bloodworth, a hothead looking for a fight, but only throwing the second punch. Luke outsmarts Bloodworth with his intelligence, but tries to make sure all of the damage done is nonlethal. The overall flow and length of the story is very smooth. I always felt like I wanted to read more and felt comfortable with the characters through the way they were portrayed. The ending to the story was very nice and a funny way to end it. It gave the story a satisfying ending, with more room for a sequel, if required.Overall, this story was a phenomenal read. It had life-like characters that felt as if the reader knew them personally. Luke’s personality was perfect and seemed reasonable, yet heroic in a way. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good time in the Old West.

I enjoyed the interaction of the main characters Luke and Jug. Good story.. 4.5 stars!I will consider reading future books by these authors.

I could hardly put the book down. I liked the characters facing death out in the elements, I did not like the killing of beavers, lol, but in that time everyone wanted a beaver hat. Similar to mink coats later.

Amazing storyline! It’s an adventure I won’t soon forget as the historic mountain men trapped for furs, lived off the land and built small communities in hills and valleys. Sometimes they were loners but often few trapped together for safety. There were Indian camps that fought to keep the trappers out and there were hostile groups that hated the invasion of the white man. Often there were attacks among the tribes themselves that brought heartache and death. Such was the life of an Indian gal named Willow who was lucky to find help as she escaped captivity and found Luke and Jug. This is a great read and I loved it. Thanks to the author for keeping me totally entertained.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of early trappers who made their livelihood trapping Beaver in the wild in the early days of exploration of our country. Luke Ransom and his partner Jug. Decide to partner up at the end of Rendezvous and go and search for Beaver up in the Montana wilderness in Blackfoot country. It was a dangerous decision because it was also Hudson’s Bay territory. They certainly found their Beaver but encountered a lot of unfriendly Blackfoot who wanted their scalps. Quite the story, certainly well written and entertaining.

I have quite the eclectic range from serious political snd historical to la noir to the tales of the old west. As the genre goes this was entertaining if not predictable in a good way

I enjoyed the story but was never completely drawn into the characters. Luke Ransom was to good to be believable. I give it an “okay” rating.

Loved this western.. It moved fast and kept my interest. It has suspense as well as fun. Great western novel

As with all the stories written by j.a. And William W. Johnston it pulls you right into the story. Another great story by the masters.

O have to say l have read many many of wills books love the Preacher books and this is a great book would love a follow up story with these 3

I enjoyed the book...good story. However, alot of "native people"(Blackfoot) were killed by the main character . It was always on the pretext of self defense. The "Blackfoot" were portrayed as the bad guys even though the white frontiermen were trespassing on native land and depleting the native wildlife without compensation. During this period ,the white men were the conquerors who responded harshly to native resistance and not much has changed. Still found the book interesting on the history and lifestyle of trappers ,the fur trade and the relationship with the natives on the frontier.

not one of his best, i found it very predictable

Great mystery thriller!!