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Texas Rangers

by Elmer Kelton

The Texas Rangers series by Elmer Kelton has 9 known books (9 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Buckskin Line (1999).

Books
9 known books (9 novels)
Published
9
First published
1999
Status
deceased
Last checked

Start here: The Buckskin Line (1999) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of The Buckskin Line

The Buckskin Line (1999)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Buckskin Line

    Novel

    The Buckskin Line opens Elmer Kelton's nine-novel Texas Rangers series in 1999, introducing Rusty Shannon, orphaned in a Comanche raid and raised by a Ranger veteran, as he grows into a Ranger himself on the turbulent post-Civil War Texas frontier. At 287 pages, it launches the series' generational story.

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  2. Badger Boy

    Novel

    Badger Boy is the second book in the Texas Rangers series, published in 2001. It follows The Buckskin Line and comes before The Way of the Coyote in publication order.

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  3. The Way of the Coyote

    Novel

    The Way of the Coyote, published in 2001 at 272 pages, is the third Texas Rangers novel, continuing Rusty Shannon's story as the frontier around him shifts from Comanche raids toward the range wars and rustling of the Reconstruction era.

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  4. Ranger's Trail

    Novel

    Ranger's Trail is the fourth book in the Texas Rangers series, published in 2002. It follows The Way of the Coyote and comes before Texas Vendetta in publication order.

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  5. Texas Vendetta

    Novel

    Texas Vendetta, the fifth Texas Rangers novel, appeared in 2004 at 421 pages, continuing Elmer Kelton's chronicle of Rusty Shannon and the widening cast -- including Andy Pickard, the boy Rusty rescued in the opening book -- as Reconstruction reshapes the frontier.

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  6. Jericho's Road

    Novel

    Jericho's Road, also published in 2004, is the sixth Texas Rangers novel at 288 pages, following Texas Vendetta as Elmer Kelton continues tracking the next generation of Rangers through the closing of the open frontier.

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  7. Hard Trail to Follow

    Novel

    Hard Trail to Follow, the seventh Texas Rangers book, appeared in 2008 at 287 pages, coming several years after Jericho's Road as Elmer Kelton continued the series into its later installments not long before his death in 2009.

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  8. Other Men's Horses

    Novel

    Other Men's Horses, published in 2009 at 268 pages, is the eighth Texas Rangers novel and one of the last books Elmer Kelton saw published in his lifetime, ahead of the posthumous series finale, Texas Standoff.

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  9. Texas Standoff

    Novel

    Texas Standoff, published in 2010 after Elmer Kelton's death in August 2009, closes out the Texas Rangers series as his final novel. At 284 pages, it follows Other Men's Horses and completes Rusty Shannon and Andy Pickard's story on the Texas frontier.

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About the Texas Rangers series

Elmer Kelton's last extended body of work follows Rusty Shannon, orphaned as a child in a Comanche raid and raised by a Texas Ranger veteran, as he grows into a Ranger himself in the turbulent decades around the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Texas frontier. Across nine novels published between 1999 and 2010, the series widens from Rusty's own story to follow the next generation, including Andy Pickard, a boy Rusty rescues from a Comanche war party in the opening book, as the frontier itself changes around them -- Comanche raids giving way to Reconstruction-era range wars, cattle rustling, and the slow closing of the open frontier.

Texas Standoff (2010) was published after Kelton's death in August 2009, closing out both the series and Kelton's career; it was his last novel.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in Elmer Kelton's Texas Rangers series?

Nine, published 1999-2010, following Rusty Shannon and later Andy Pickard.

Is this the last series Elmer Kelton wrote?

Yes -- the final book, Texas Standoff, was published in 2010, after Kelton's death in August 2009, and was his last novel.

Does this series connect to Kelton's other Texas Ranger fiction?

No -- despite the shared name, it is unrelated to the earlier Buckalew family novels or any other Kelton series.

Reading order last verified .