Badger Boy

By: Elmer Kelton

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Elmer Kelton is hailed as the greatest Western author of all time by the Western Writers of America and has earned six Spur Awards during his impressive career. In Badger Boy, Kelton effortlessly sweeps listeners back to the post-Civil War Texas frontier, where ranger Rusty Shannon hopes to settle down as a respectable farmer. But trouble brews when Rusty captures Badger Boy, a white child raised by the Comanches who murdered his parents.

©2001 Elmer Kelton

Critic reviews

"[A] polished and tightly wrapped yarn of duty, honor, courage and gunsmoke." (Publishers Weekly)

I like westerns

Book did not disappoint
Kelton stories are entertaining
Different than Brand, Short, Grey. But good.

Did Not Disappoint!

Texas post Civil War when "reconstruction" was just beginning. It takes a while to get around to Badger Boy but it all came together. I'm hooked on this series and looking forward to the next one.
The Narrator!!! Great job!! Much much better than the one in Buckskin Line!!!

Love Elmer Kelton

I loved it. made me cry a little bit and smile other times. Elmer Kelton weaves a wonderful yarn.

Enjoyable book!

This is a second book in a series. If you like a good, clean story this is your book.

WOW!

A lot of the story about the end of the Civil War, Texas Rangers, and politics. Maybe the last third of the story about Badger Boy. Every minute terrific. So much shading and nuances. Great characters.

Glad there is a sequel.

It takes a while to get to the Badger Boy story...

Where does Badger Boy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is well written book BUT it takes a bit to get to the story of the actual place where the Badger Boy is developed. It is mostly like a story about the texas ranger who found him for 5 hours and then a "Paul Harvey" rest of the story of how the Badger Boy comes in to the picture.

What other book might you compare Badger Boy to and why?

Jericho Road should be listened to it afterwards, not before as I did by the same author. I actually enjoyed JR more than BB, but the writing is still well done.

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

Very seasoned reader transitioning between voices in the book. I like his sound and narrative.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There is a place in the first half that the highminded Lieutenant learns that he doesn't know everything about indians. Then the story develops later on to when Rusty meets his old flame, and then the support of a exslave. The second half was the way of how BB adjusts to new surroundings and the way he thinks. Well written!

Poor title

The story of Badger boy doesn’t real start until halfway into the book, maybe farther and leaves you wondering about the boy’s future. It is more about Rusty and his problems- Badger boy is almost an afterthought

Good story sterilized by narrator

The first book had an older man with a grizzled voice that didn’t accentuate the text like a junior in high school. One can only imagine how much better the story would feel with the correct voice narrating it. Read this one instead of listening to it

Misleading description and title.

Story was ok but I bought based on description. The character of Badger Boy does not enter until more than half way through the book. At least 5-6 characters in the story are more prominent.

Predictable: the Good Guys Win. Not so: Details

Kelton seemed to repeat himself more than necessary in this one, yet never noted the parallel manner of Rusty's coming to Geneva's household to that of his victorious rival's. I felt he dropped the ball on both those; where was his editor? But I love how he basically lets the wicked be brought down by their own sins with little to no retribution needed by the protagonists. This reader was excellent! My husband and I listened to this book while traveling in not the quietest vehicle, and while another reader sounded more like we picture the author - older and with a deep voice - the clarity of this reader's voice made him much easier to hear. Plus it seemed he actually read the sentences before he got to them: his delivery was near perfect, as opposed to phrases rhythmically strung together with little connection to what was actually being said. I'll try to come back and edit this with his name because he was really good, and my husband thinks so too, so that's two votes!