Louis L'Amour (1908–1988)
Author of Last of the Breed
About the Author
Born in Jamestown, North Dakota on March 22, 1908, Louis L'Amour's adventurous life could have been the subject of one of his novels. Striking out on his own in 1923, at age 15, L'Amour began a peripatetic existence, taking whatever jobs were available, from skinning dead cattle to being a sailor. show more L'Amour knew early in life that he wanted to be a writer, and the experiences of those years serve as background for some of his later fiction. During the 1930s he published short stories and poetry; his career was interrupted by army service in World War II. After the war, L'Amour began writing for western pulp magazines and wrote several books in the Hopalong Cassidy series using the pseudonym Tex Burns. His first novel, Westward the Tide (1950), serves as an example of L'Amour's frontier fiction, for it is an action-packed adventure story containing the themes and motifs that he uses throughout his career. His fascination with history and his belief in the inevitability of manifest destiny are clear. Also present and typical of L'Amour's work are the strong, capable, beautiful heroine who is immediately attracted to the equally capable hero; a clear moral split between good and evil; reflections on the Native Americans, whose land and ways of life are being disrupted; and a happy ending. Although his work is somewhat less violent than that of other western writers, L'Amour's novels all contain their fair share of action, usually in the form of gunfights or fistfights. L'Amour's major contribution to the western genre is his attempt to create, in 40 or more books, the stories of three families whose histories intertwine as the generations advance across the American frontier. The novels of the Irish Chantry, English Sackett, and French Talon families are L'Amour's most ambitious project, and sadly were left unfinished at his death. Although L'Amour did not complete all of the novels, enough of the series exists to demonstrate his vision. L'Amour's strongest attribute is his ability to tell a compelling story; readers do not mind if the story is similar to one they have read before, for in the telling, L'Amour adds enough small twists of plot and detail to make it worth the reader's while. L'Amour fans also enjoy the bits of information he includes about everything from wilderness survival skills to finding the right person to marry. These lessons give readers the sense that they are getting their money's worth, that there is more to a L'Amour novel than sheer escapism. With over 200 million copies of his books in print worldwide, L'Amour must be counted as one of the most influential writers of westerns in this century. He died from lung cancer on June 10, 1988. (Bowker Author Biography) Louis L'Amour, truly America's favorite storyteller, was the first fiction writer ever to receive the Congressional Gold Medal from the United States Congress in honor of his life's work, & was also awarded the Medal of Freedom. There are over 260 million copies of his books in print worldwide. (Publisher Provided) show less
Image credit: Louis L'AMour, March 26, 1983
Series
Works by Louis L'Amour
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 1: The Frontier Stories (2003) 640 copies, 7 reviews
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 2: The Frontier Stories (2004) 417 copies, 3 reviews
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 3: The Frontier Stories (2005) 312 copies, 3 reviews
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 5: The Frontier Stories (2007) 197 copies, 1 review
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 4: The Adventure Stories (2006) 196 copies, 3 reviews
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 7: The Frontier Stories (2009) 149 copies, 1 review
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 6: The Crime Stories (2008) 132 copies, 1 review
Louis L'Amour: Four Complete Novels- The Tall Stranger / Kilkenny / Hondo / Showdown at Yellow Butte (1980) 108 copies
Five Complete Novels Series II (Utah Blaine/Crossfire Trail/Heller With a Gun/Last Stand at Papago Wells/To Tame a Land) (Series II) (1981) 87 copies
Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 1: Mysterious Stories, Lost Notes, and Unfinished Manuscripts from One of the World's Most Popular Novelists (2017) 86 copies, 5 reviews
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 4, Part 2: Adventure Stories (2006) 61 copies, 1 review
Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2: More Mysterious Stories, Unfinished Manuscripts, and Lost Notes from One of the World's Most Popular Novelists (2019) 46 copies
Utah Blaine/Silver Canyon: Two Novels in One Volume (Louis L'Amour Centennial Editions) (2008) 36 copies
Big Country, Volume 1: Stories of Louis L'Amour (Ride, You Tonto Raiders; and War Party) (2007) 29 copies, 2 reviews
Rivers West (Louis L'amour Lost Treasures): A Novel (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures) (2025) 14 copies
The Sacketts Volume One 5-Book Bundle: Sackett's Land, To the Far Blue Mountains, The Warrior's Path, Jubal Sackett, Ride the River (2014) 14 copies
Sackett's Gold 13 copies
Long Ride Home: Stories 12 copies
Shalako By Louis L'amour (paperback) 9 copies
Big Country, Vol. 2: Stories of Louis L'Amour (West of the Tularosa, Home in the Valley, and West Is Where the Heart Is) (2010) 8 copies
The Hopalong Cassidy Novels 4-Book Bundle: The Rustlers of West Fork, The Trail to Seven Pines, The Riders of High Rock, Trouble Shooter (2014) 7 copies
Louis L'Amour Trio of Tales: McQueen of the Tumbling K, Big Medicine, and Dutchman's Flat (2008) 7 copies
La conquista del Oeste 5 copies
THE KILKENNY SAGA 5 copies
Shalako - Son of a Wanted Man - Crossfire Trail - The Sackett Brand - Bowdrie - Fallon (1978) 5 copies
The Rock of Kiever - The Happy Valley - Slow Joe - The Streak - Trouble Kid - The Sky Liners (1978) 4 copies
Riding for the Brand/McQueen of the Tumbling K/Law of the Desert Born (Louis L'Amour Collector) (2000) 3 copies
The Sacketts: To the Far Blue Mountains The Daybreakers Mojave Crossing The Sackett Brand The Lonely Men (1990) 3 copies
Louis L'Amour - Five Softbound Books: The First Fast Draw, Kid Rodelo, How the West Was Won, The Proving Trail, and Westward the Tide (1967) 3 copies
Louis L'Amour - Five Softbound Books: Dutchman's Flat, Bowdrie's Law, Silver Canyon, Fallon and Shadow Riders (1975) 3 copies
One Night Stand 2 copies
Louis L'Amour Short Stories vol 1 2 copies
Courage on the Frontier Boxed Set (Louis L'Amour): One for the Mohave Kid; The Strong Shall Live; Lonigan (2002) 2 copies
Secret of Silver Springs 2 copies
Three Bullets for the Cactus Kid 2 copies
Une fille sur la piste 2 copies
Una donna fuori posto 2 copies
Hand of Kuan Yin 2 copies
Making it the Hard Way 2 copies
Sackett's Short Stories 2 copies
The Gift of Cochise 2 copies
Best of Louis L'Amour: Keep Travelin/Riding for the Brand/Four Card Draw/Desert Death Song (1998) 2 copies
Fallon: A Novel 2 copies
Taggart: A Novel 2 copies
il grande solitario 2 copies
Louis L'Amour - Five Softbound Books: North to the Rail, End of the Drive, High Lonesome, Long Ride Home and Off the Mangrove Coast (1970) 2 copies
The Defense of Sentinel 2 copies
The Daybreakers Faux Leather Edition 2 copies
A Montanha do Tesouro 2 copies
Time-Life Book Digest: "I" is for Innocent | The Trail to Seven Pines | Who Killed My Daughter? | French Silk (1992) — Contributor — 2 copies
Were the long grass blows 2 copies
Sackett's Land (Sacketts Book 1) 2 copies
The Untamed West: Three Classic Westerns (Center Point Premier Western (Large Print)) (2008) 2 copies
Louis lamour 2 copies
Louis L'Amour Collection Two 1 copy
The Trail To Crazy Land 1 copy
The Math Teacher 1 copy
The Stakes can Kill Ya 1 copy
kid rodelo [Paperback] 1 copy
Lunga fuga 1 copy
A Trail Gone Cold 1 copy
The Frontier Series Volume 1 1 copy
Cowboy Stories 1 copy
Der ruf des waldes 1 copy
More Brains than Bullets 1 copy
Louis L'Amour Collection One 1 copy
NOI SACKETT 1 copy
Volume 3 Frontier Stories 1 copy
L275 - A montanha do Tesouro 1 copy
Louis L'Amour 4 Book lot (Guns of the Timberlands, Heller with a Gun, The Key-Lock Man, and Kid Rodelo) (2004) 1 copy
Dead Ringer: A Western Trio 1 copy
Fuochi sulle colline 1 copy
Un uomo chiamato Mezzogiorno 1 copy
Louis L'Amour - Five Softbound Books: Chancy, Utah Blaine, Kiowa Trail, Rider of Lost Creek and West from Singapore (1965) 1 copy
Fair Blows The Wind 1 copy
Monument Rock 1 copy
Tamburi nel Sole 1 copy
Crossfire Trail: A Novel 1 copy
Ride or Start Shootin' 1 copy
Treasure Mountain - Sacketts 1 copy
THE MUSTANG MAN 1 copy
De veedieven van West Fork 1 copy
Uno contro cinque 1 copy
Road to Casas Piedras, The 1 copy
Confronto no Deserto Livro 1 1 copy
The strong shall live 1 copy
Βίπερ 629: Εταιρία Παρανόμων 1 copy
Βίπερ 700: Η μεγάλη ευκαιρία 1 copy
Silver Canyon (reissue) 1 copy
Lungo il fiume 1 copy
Βίπερ 378: Μια φορά στη Δύση 1 copy
The man from Skibbreen 1 copy
Bowdeir's law 1 copy
The strong shall iive 1 copy
Riding for the grand 1 copy
a conquista do oeste 1 copy
Buckskin 1 copy
Sackett's Land [ 13th printing, Dec. 1980 ] The Sacketts #1 ("I am Barnabas Sackett!") (1980) 1 copy
℗La ℗conquista del West 1 copy
Βίπερ 561: Τό μαῦρο χρυσάφι 1 copy
The daybeakers 1 copy
Adventure Stories, The 1 copy
CATLOW 1 copy
Louis L'Amour Collection 1 copy
Valley of the Sun 1 copy
La legge del West 1 copy
Um Homem da Pradaria Livro 1 1 copy
Matagorda 1 copy
Kaukana siintävät vuoret 1 copy
Secret of Haunted Mesa 1 copy
The Sackett Novels of Louis L'Amour Volume 5: Ride the River; Lonely on the Mountain; Jubal Sackett 1 copy
Bandigo shafter 1 copy
Il traditore sconosciuto 1 copy
Ride the River, Part 3 1 copy
Ride the River, Part 2 1 copy
Ride the River, Part 1 1 copy
DOWN THE LONG ILLS 1 copy
Trail Mix Volume One: Riding for the Brand, The Black Rock Coffin Makers, and Dutchman's Flat (2006) 1 copy
Trail Mix Volume Two: Mistakes Can Kill You, The Nester and the Piute, Trail to Pie Town, Big Medicine. (2006) 1 copy
Crossfire Trails 1 copy
[Law of the Desert Born (Graphic Novel): A Graphic Novel] [By: L'Amour, Louis] [October, 2013] 1 copy
Βίπερ 1976: Σίτκα 1 copy
Σύγκρουση γιγάντων 1 copy
Ἡ μοῖρα τῶν παρανόμων 1 copy
Calloway 1 copy
In Protest 1 copy
Let It Snow 1 copy
Winter Winds 1 copy
Forest People 1 copy
Twilight 1 copy
Tranquillity 1 copy
The Pioneer 1 copy
The Gladiator 1 copy
Call of the Tropics 1 copy
Picture 1 copy
Old Jerry 1 copy
A Wail From a Pulpeteer 1 copy
Question 1 copy
Rain 1 copy
I Shall Go Back 1 copy
Lines To a Season 1 copy
I Came To Create 1 copy
McVey 1 copy
Ship Across The Sky 1 copy
In This Is Beauty 1 copy
The Sea Off Vanua Levu 1 copy
My Three Friends 1 copy
Hildebrand 1 copy
The Weary One 1 copy
To Giordano Bruno 1 copy
Steppe 1 copy
Yacodhapura 1 copy
Then Comes Spring 1 copy
Mutation 1 copy
Love Out of Season 1 copy
On the Road to Amurang 1 copy
Glorious! 1 copy
The Dancing Kate 1 copy
Where There's Fighting 1 copy
South of Suez 1 copy
Well of the Unholy Light 1 copy
The House of Qasavara 1 copy
From Here to Banggai 1 copy
East of Gorontalo 1 copy
To One Without Faith 1 copy
Men to Match the Hills 1 copy
Alkali Basin 1 copy
Let Me Forget 1 copy
Rose of Memory 1 copy
After Tomorrow 1 copy
Decadence 1 copy
The Admiral 1 copy
Battle at Burnt Camp 1 copy
The Ghost Fighter 1 copy
The Cactus Kid 1 copy
Friend of a Hero 1 copy
The Man from the Dead Hills 1 copy
Last Day in Town 1 copy
Here Ends the Trail 1 copy
Ironwood Station 1 copy
The Vanished Blonde 1 copy
To Hang Me High 1 copy
Stage to Willowspring 1 copy
Rain on the Halfmoon 1 copy
Home is the Hunter 1 copy
Marshal of Canyon Gap 1 copy
West of Dry Creek 1 copy
Riches Beyond Dreams 1 copy
Let the Cards Decide 1 copy
To Make a Stand 1 copy
The Passing of Rope Nose 1 copy
A Husband for Janey 1 copy
Beyond the Chaparral 1 copy
Wings over Brazil 1 copy
By the Waters of San Tadeo 1 copy
To You, Jeannine 1 copy
Words From a Wanderer 1 copy
North Cape 1 copy
Banked Fires 1 copy
Secret Pass 1 copy
Winter 1 copy
A Handful of Stars 1 copy
Wings over the Waves 1 copy
Nocturne 1 copy
An Ember in the Dark 1 copy
Biography in Stone 1 copy
Life 1 copy
Without This Land 1 copy
I'm a Stranger Here 1 copy
To Cleone: In Budapest 1 copy
Interlude: Hongkong Harbor 1 copy
Meeting at Falmouth 1 copy
The Money Punch 1 copy
The Gravel Pit 1 copy
Coast Patrol 1 copy
Under the Hanging Wall 1 copy
Crash Landing 1 copy
Sideshow Champion 1 copy
Roundup in Texas 1 copy
Thicker than Blood 1 copy
Guldfloden 1 copy
Manden uden fortid 1 copy
Kamp på liv og død 1 copy
Hævnens vej 1 copy
Duel i ørkenen 1 copy
Drama i vildmarken 1 copy
Det blodige opgør 1 copy
Hirtetyn naisen joki 1 copy
Paperback 1 copy
Net Vriende Bly Leef 1 copy
Louis L'Amour Collection - Set of 12 Volumes - Leatherette Hardcover Books (The Louis L'Amour Collection) (1981) 1 copy
Short Stories 1 copy
THE CHEROKEE TRAIL, DOWN THE LONG HILLS, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN, PASSIN THROUGH, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL, RIVERS WEST. (1900) 1 copy
Man Alleen 1 copy
n Graf vir Twee 1 copy
A Trilha dos fora-da-lei 1 copy
Over On AThe Dry Side 1 copy
Bloed op die Water 1 copy
Temmers van die Woestyn 1 copy
Begrav de döda 1 copy
Hunted Mesa 1 copy
The Far Mountains 1 copy
all works 1 copy
The Fighting Four 1 copy
Collectors Series 1 copy
The Running Hills 1 copy
Bluff Creek Station 1 copy
Big Man 1 copy
Duffy's Man 1 copy
Hattan's Castle 1 copy
Trail to Squaw Springs 1 copy
Author's Tea 1 copy
A Friend of the General 1 copy
Poklad 1 copy
Black Rock Coffin Makers/ Trail to Pie Town/ Mistakes Can Kill You: Vol 2 (Louis L'Amour Collector) (2000) 1 copy
Sackettien perintö 1 copy
Piritetty karjatila 1 copy
Man nennt mich Hondo / Allein in der Wildnis / Sein Name war Flint. 3 Romane in einem Band. (1987) 1 copy
The Sackett Stories 1 copy
Associated Works
A Century of Great Western Stories-An Anthology of Western Fiction (2000) — Contributor — 125 copies
Catlow [1971 film] — Original book — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- L'Amour, Louis
- Legal name
- L'Amour, Louis Dearborn
- Other names
- LaMoore, Louis Dearborn (birth name)
Burns, Tex
Mayo, Jim - Birthdate
- 1908-03-22
- Date of death
- 1988-06-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- self-educated
- Occupations
- novelist
gold miner
merchant seaman
professional boxer - Organizations
- WPA Writers Project
- Awards and honors
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (1984)
Congressional Gold Medal (1982)
Theodore Roosevelt Roughrider Award (1972)
Saddleman Award (1981)
National Book Award (1979) - Relationships
- L'Amour, Angelique (daughter)
L'Amour, Beau (son) - Short biography
- Louis Dearborn L'Amour (March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short-story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels; however, he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, non-fiction, as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films.
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1908. He left home at the age of fifteen and enjoyed a wide variety of jobs. In 1983 Mr. L'Amour became the first novelist to ever to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in honor of his life's work. In 1984 he was also awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan.
Louis L'Amour died on June 10, 1988. - Cause of death
- cancer (lung)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Jamestown, North Dakota, USA
- Places of residence
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Burial location
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California, USA
- Map Location
- North Dakota, USA
Members
Discussions
Louis L'Amour 2022 Shared Read Challenge in 75 Books Challenge for 2022 (January 2023)
Louis L'Amour in Westerns (March 2012)
Reviews
This was my first Louis L'Amour and I had so much fun reading it! L'Amour's style, slow, precise and idiomatic, generates a perfect Western feel. I sensed that I was walking in the lazy streets of a Colorado frontier town where despite everyday boredom lays a restlessness and wary curiosity for strangeness. The plot slowly unfolds, giving ways to clues and suppositions with bouts of action. I appreciated the veiled violence, discreet compared to today's gruesomeness.
Overall an entertaining show more read which brings us back to a gone era. show less
Overall an entertaining show more read which brings us back to a gone era. show less
As a new fan of western literature (and media in general) I was so, so excited to start reading Louis L'Amour. So all fools me I accidentally chose the singular NON Western book. And one of his Lost Treasures too.
As a result, this review may be entirely unfair. I'm rating what may be an unfinished book, script or just a stitched together collection of notes.
I did not like this book one bit.
I never Enjoy being harsh on books but this one took effort to avoid a DNF.
Every other page, if not show more every other page, has an obnoxious amount of MC questions. 'What do they mean by evil?' 'What is Eric doing?'. Not just are these questions repeated, but actual lines. Within one page I saw the exact same dialogue repeated in very minutely different ways.
It got exhausting. I genuinely found myself rolling my eyes.
There are a ridiculous amount of contradictions. Mike saying he didn't have any friends on one page yet another he gets many letters from friends. A man approaching and saying he is not a man of many words, and yet has 3 pages of dialogue.
And then the convenient plot advancements... Such as when a lady who was taken by guards appears immediately after being mentioned for the first time. Then doesn't explain why she's there. How she escaped or why.
The main character escapes the main climax after being knocked out and his friends explain his dog came through and saved him. After at least 50 pages of figuring how to resolve said conflict.
Plots are left unresolved. Like Kawasis village. Or the archivist.
My main gripe though is how flat the characters felt. For the first 200 pages Mike does nothing but go to and from the mesa, repeating over and over things that the readers know. Mike himself is skilled at most everything, and so there were no stakes. I knew he was going to get through everything! He never faced any conflict himself. No difficulty. He acted like he knew more about the people in the Third Dimension than they did themselves. And this wasnt contested. There was no explanation as to how he felt.
His reuniting with Erik (the main plot might I add) was lackluster. Neither seemed particularly glad to meet each other again and though Erik was starving, Mike did nothing to help this. He even goes on ahead.
Dialogue is stilted and every character has the same voice. There is zero emotion- just action. And even then, 200 pages of debating?
I struggled. I really did. I really really really wanted to like this book. I finished it even so I could give it a fair shot. If you want to read Louis L'Amour. Please don't read this one. Find one of his westerns. Which I'm about to do now. show less
As a result, this review may be entirely unfair. I'm rating what may be an unfinished book, script or just a stitched together collection of notes.
I did not like this book one bit.
I never Enjoy being harsh on books but this one took effort to avoid a DNF.
Every other page, if not show more every other page, has an obnoxious amount of MC questions. 'What do they mean by evil?' 'What is Eric doing?'. Not just are these questions repeated, but actual lines. Within one page I saw the exact same dialogue repeated in very minutely different ways.
It got exhausting. I genuinely found myself rolling my eyes.
There are a ridiculous amount of contradictions. Mike saying he didn't have any friends on one page yet another he gets many letters from friends. A man approaching and saying he is not a man of many words, and yet has 3 pages of dialogue.
And then the convenient plot advancements... Such as when a lady who was taken by guards appears immediately after being mentioned for the first time. Then doesn't explain why she's there. How she escaped or why.
The main character escapes the main climax after being knocked out and his friends explain his dog came through and saved him. After at least 50 pages of figuring how to resolve said conflict.
Plots are left unresolved. Like Kawasis village. Or the archivist.
My main gripe though is how flat the characters felt. For the first 200 pages Mike does nothing but go to and from the mesa, repeating over and over things that the readers know. Mike himself is skilled at most everything, and so there were no stakes. I knew he was going to get through everything! He never faced any conflict himself. No difficulty. He acted like he knew more about the people in the Third Dimension than they did themselves. And this wasnt contested. There was no explanation as to how he felt.
His reuniting with Erik (the main plot might I add) was lackluster. Neither seemed particularly glad to meet each other again and though Erik was starving, Mike did nothing to help this. He even goes on ahead.
Dialogue is stilted and every character has the same voice. There is zero emotion- just action. And even then, 200 pages of debating?
I struggled. I really did. I really really really wanted to like this book. I finished it even so I could give it a fair shot. If you want to read Louis L'Amour. Please don't read this one. Find one of his westerns. Which I'm about to do now. show less
I liked the survival bits of this, though L'Amour is often frustratingly vague about how much time has passed between one scene and the next. Instead of knowing how a task is accomplished, we know only that it has been done.
I even enjoyed the cat and mouse chase, at least at the beginning. As the book went on, everything got more and more repetitive: the survival techniques, the chase, and especially the writing. Over and over again, we're told, "No one could survive out there!" and "Alekhin show more would catch the American and kill him!" and "Natalya stared into the distance, wondering if he was still alive," and "The past few months had made Joe lean and strong," and worst of all, "Joe was reverting to a savage Indian."
I understand L'Amour was writing after centuries of negative, and inaccurate, propaganda from the US government about native peoples, but even when I tried to make allowances for that, the constant harping on Joe's true self being "savage" and "uncivilized" was extremely tiresome. Joe, you see, is a special snowflake of a Red Indian. He, and he alone, is the only remaining Indian with a crude and primitive code of honor. He, and he alone, is the only one capable of waging so personal a war against his oppressors.
I know this type of book is intended to feed a fantasy of self-reliance and moral superiority, but I just don't have a lot of patience for anyone who truly believes that they are the last of a breed. Especially when being the last of a breed allows someone carte blanche to behave however they wish, all ties to humanity irrelevant because they are somehow apart from everyone around them.
Every single person is special. Every single person is unique. And every single person has to figure out how to accept that they are not any more special or unique than any other person. Joe is highly competent—most of the time—but his war is not holy. His "savage" inner self is not righteous. (Or Indian, for that matter.) And if he had any idea how much his pragmatic ruthlessness had in common with his antagonists', he might rethink his conviction that he is the last of his breed. show less
I even enjoyed the cat and mouse chase, at least at the beginning. As the book went on, everything got more and more repetitive: the survival techniques, the chase, and especially the writing. Over and over again, we're told, "No one could survive out there!" and "Alekhin show more would catch the American and kill him!" and "Natalya stared into the distance, wondering if he was still alive," and "The past few months had made Joe lean and strong," and worst of all, "Joe was reverting to a savage Indian."
I understand L'Amour was writing after centuries of negative, and inaccurate, propaganda from the US government about native peoples, but even when I tried to make allowances for that, the constant harping on Joe's true self being "savage" and "uncivilized" was extremely tiresome. Joe, you see, is a special snowflake of a Red Indian. He, and he alone, is the only remaining Indian with a crude and primitive code of honor. He, and he alone, is the only one capable of waging so personal a war against his oppressors.
I know this type of book is intended to feed a fantasy of self-reliance and moral superiority, but I just don't have a lot of patience for anyone who truly believes that they are the last of a breed. Especially when being the last of a breed allows someone carte blanche to behave however they wish, all ties to humanity irrelevant because they are somehow apart from everyone around them.
Every single person is special. Every single person is unique. And every single person has to figure out how to accept that they are not any more special or unique than any other person. Joe is highly competent—most of the time—but his war is not holy. His "savage" inner self is not righteous. (Or Indian, for that matter.) And if he had any idea how much his pragmatic ruthlessness had in common with his antagonists', he might rethink his conviction that he is the last of his breed. show less
Absolutely worth it if you want to get past the learning
but the thunderstorm shootout and earthquake after a lightning strike kept me VERY engaged; and the reveal after the fight that, among the rubble, Clarry Jacks wasn’t dead after being shot in the head gave me goosebumps. That part alone turned the novel from good to great.
His character growth from a handsome, laughing, devil-may-care outlaw and kind of side character to bitter, angry, and insane murderer/antagonist by the end of the novel…. I want to read more novels with character arcs like that because I already liked him at the beginning, and he jumped to my favorite character, even before Hopalong by the end of it.
I keep feeling like I need to know more lore than what I already do, and it intimidates me from reading with more enthusiasm. Maybe I’d be more willing to read a Western again if it was a standalone or had some kind of fantasy/sci-fi element. Was a very fun ride!
Lists
Best Westerns (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 870
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 99,515
- Popularity
- #92
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 1,254
- ISBNs
- 3,364
- Languages
- 22
- Favorited
- 105
