Ride the Dark Trail

Logan Sackett may be riding a stolen horse when he drifts into the tiny town of Siwash a few days ahead of a posse, but he never backshot anyone, nor took up arms against a woman. He's of no mind to borrow trouble, but learning that Jake Flanner and his bunch of dry-gulching nesters have Em Talon and the MT surrounded, he decides to take a hand. And when a Sackett takes a hand, the body count usually rises.

One of my favorite Sackett books. Women aren't generally major characters in L'Amour's books, but he makes an exception for Em, and she's wonderful.

B

I really liked this book, not so much for Logan Sackett as for Emily Talon who was born a Sackett. I would love to be as tough and brave as she can be.

Of course there are bad guys galore; it wouldn't be much of a story to have the hero ride into town and ride out without anything happening. I enjoyed the description of the land as well as the way that the characters thought out why they were doing what they were doing.

Easily read as a stand-alone tale, it does do better to read it in series order (either chronological or publication) so to pick up more nuances. I'd suggest it to anyone who enjoys Westerns.

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Title: Ride the Dark Trail
Series: Sacketts #16
Author: Louis L'Amour
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Western
Pages: 167
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Logan Sackett is on the run from a posse and in possession of a stolen horse. He takes a rest in a small town and is trying to eat a meal in peace. A young woman enters the bar looking for work, as the man she had been working for is trying to force her to marry him since her father is dead. Logan gets show more involved, comes across the man running the town and learns that an Emily Talon is needing some help. He takes the young woman out to Emily's ranch and finds out she is a Sackett and under siege.

He doesn't like the boss man in town, a relative needs help and a pretty young girl has already relied on him. It's a no brainer that Logan sticks around. He sends out some feelers for Emily's two sons and begins doing what a Sackett does best, ie, stand their ground.

Logan and Emily take on a whole gang and when Em's two sons do return, Logan is wounded, left on a mountain and then has to go rescue Emily who has been taken captive by the Boss. Showdown ensues, bad guys die and Logan thinks about moving on to California.

My Thoughts:

An enjoyable read that kept me entertained for a day. None of these Sackett books truly depend on each other. Change the names of the characters and you could have any standalone western that you wished. I guess that could be viewed as a weakness and in the right (or wrong perhaps?) mood I could definitely go that way. But these are just tales of adventure showcasing the Spirit of America.

L'Amour obviously loved America and thought that the men and women who bled and died during its growing up period deserved to be thought of as heroes. Not superheroes or impossible icons, but heroes in the fact that they did the right thing and just wouldn't give up.

This checked off most of the boxes I expect from a Sackett book: the hint of romance with the girl, rugged individualism, a mountain, a rain storm, tricky and brutal badguys, relatives saving the day.

I would say this is a typical L'Amour book and you'll either enjoy it or not depending on if you like him as an author or not.

★★★☆½ show less

Logan Sackett has nothing but his guns, unwavering determination, and a name for being tough. When he comes upon a distant relative being hounded off her own land he does what he's good at: pushing back with no regard for the odds.

I admit it, I like the main character, a lot, and it's the primary reason I love this entry in the Sackett series.

There is nothing pretentious about this story. It's a simple western tale, doesn't try to be more. Logan Sackett rides into a town and immediately gets into trouble. He hears about an old woman defending her ranch alone after her husband was killed, and goes out to see her. Turns out, she's a Sackett too. Sometimes the good guys show up just in time, but this is still a mighty fine piece 'o storytellin'.

[Ride the Dark Trail] by [[Louis L'Amour]] is the first L'Amour novel I read, or rather, had read to me, via audiobook. It was quite entertaining; my favorite part of historical fiction is getting a sense of the culture of long ago. The wild west really was wild, the characters in the story killed without hesitation or compunction: Some out of vengeance, some out of fear or self defense, some for no reason other than money. There was no law enforcement, and even when there was, there was a chance the outlaws were in the right and the law was on the take.

The main character was Logan Sackett. He runs into a distant relation Em Talon nee Sackett, who's in a middle of a feud with a local town bully. Along the way, you meet her sons Milo show more and Barnabas. A lot of shots get fired, a lot of people get killed. Read and find out who. show less