Lauran Paine

Once in awhile there's an author who completely transcends genres. My mother, who usually reads popular fiction and certain thrillers like Jack Reacher, can't get enough of Paine. "Such a good writer" she'd say, and she'd read a line or paragraph to me, and I'd be impressed. Well, so even though I don't like thrillers, read very few mysteries, have read maybe two westerns, I have finally decided to try Paine.

And let me tell you I have no idea why he's been forgotten. He was popular enough in show more the day, in his niche, it seems... but gosh, people, these two stories were so full of richly drawn characters, intriguing plots, gorgeous settings. and nifty lines... all I can say is, I'm glad she wound up buying a lot of his works and I will be continuing to read them.

All I can think is that they're not full of enough gore & profanity for modern readers.

The dialogue feels so real, like the ppl actually talk, not complete coherent sentences every time:
"What we got to be careful of is that they don't have someone back up through here somewhere watching."

Honor is important. Following the law instead of going vigilante is important:
"If you ever get a notion to lynch someone again, I'm goin' to ride your damned butt all the way to the state penitentiary, and make sure you spend the rest of your life there. How would that work out for your wife, your ranch, everything else you have?"

Also:
"... he'd never before Met an outlaw quite like Buck, either, and in spite of himself he respected him. It was a difficult thing to put a finger upon, this respect, but there was something to Buck other outlaws lacked. He felt that, knew it to be true, and yet it eluded his definition." show less

Less admiring than the other biography I have seen --unlike it, this does not doubt Horn was guilty of the killing for which he was hanged. still, it makes clear he was a man of considerable abilities in languages as well as guns.

"Prairie Empire" by Lauran Paine was another one of those books that have been sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. It reminded me of one of those novels from a bygone era. The writing, plot, characters, and setting were old fashioned, which I found made for an enjoyable read. The author, Mr. Paine, (1916-2003) led quite the interesting life. In the late 1930's, he trapped wild horses in northern Arizona and even, for a time, worked as a professional farrier. The novel is more of a short show more story, that includes a moral to the plot. If you're looking for an older, western read, I would recommend "Prairie Empire". Just an fyi, Mr. Paine had written 300 novels under various pseudonyms. I look forward to reading additional novels by this author. show less

Perhaps this misogynistic hostile account of La Chatte's war balances her self-serving autobiography but the ornamented writing style and the lack of footnotes indicate that this is closer to journalism than history. Every episode contains judgements about the moral value of the participants and all the women are portrayed as deceivers, haridans, or harlots. There is a powerful story to be told about Carré but this does not do the job and the few slight paragraphs that cover her show more post-imprisonment life are a great disappointment. show less