The Proving Trail: A Novel
by Louis L'Amour
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Fiction. Western. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:They tried to tell him that his father had killed himself, but Kearney McRaven knew better. No matter what life had dealt him, his father would go down fighting. And as he delved deeper into the mystery, he learned that just before his father died, the elder McRaven had experienced a remarkable run of luck: he’d won nearly ten thousand dollars and the deed to a cattle ranch.Not yet eighteen, Kearney was determined enough to track down show more his father’s murderer and claim what was rightfully his. Now, followed every step of the way by a shadowy figure, Kearney must solve the mystery of his father’s hidden past—a past that concealed a cold-blooded killer who would stop at nothing to keep a chilling secret. show less
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They tried to tell him that his father had killed himself, but Kearney McRaven knew better. No matter what life had dealt him, his father would go down fighting. And as he delved deeper into the mystery, he learned that just before his father died, the elder McRaven had experienced a remarkable run of luck: he’d won nearly ten thousand dollars and the deed to a cattle ranch.Not yet eighteen, Kearney was determined enough to track down his father’s murderer and claim what was rightfully his. Now, followed every step of the way by a shadowy figure, Kearney must solve the mystery of his father’s hidden past—a past that concealed a cold-blooded killer who would stop at nothing to keep a chilling secret.
Kearney McRaven is 17, but has been doing a man's work for several years. When he is bereft of his father under suspicious circumstances, he finds himself alone in the world, aside from some newly discovered cousins who are doing their best to kill him.
Good solid L'Amour book, with a slightly different plot from the 'standard' Western novel, interesting characters, and enough intrigue and action to keep a sleepy person awake for just a little longer...
Good solid L'Amour book, with a slightly different plot from the 'standard' Western novel, interesting characters, and enough intrigue and action to keep a sleepy person awake for just a little longer...
classic western adventure fiction (c1979), set in the snowy mountains of the frontier Territory that is now part of Colorado (mining town of Silverton, high plains, cliff dwellings similar to those at Mesa Verde, Georgetown's Hotel de Paris, and cutting east through Dodge City, Kansas City, past Abilene and a lava flow a the Spanish Mountains), 1890s-1900s (after the Civil War), starting in a blizzardy April and continuing through several weeks/months; the main character Kearney seems to treat indigenous natives with kindness as friendly neighbors, but does sometimes refer to them as "redskins" and notes that the Ute land had been "ceded" (p. 104); there is also a troubling idea posed that the bad guys' Carribean heritage is partly to show more blame for their evildoing (p.106), but if you can ignore/forgive that, it's a fast-paced, entertaining story.
Great adventure tale from a famously skilled storyteller with appreciation for the landscapes of the western frontier, accessible and easy to read with lots of local (dated but likely authentic) vernacular.
picked up from a Little Free Library, part of my trying various popular authors I've never read before-- show less
Great adventure tale from a famously skilled storyteller with appreciation for the landscapes of the western frontier, accessible and easy to read with lots of local (dated but likely authentic) vernacular.
picked up from a Little Free Library, part of my trying various popular authors I've never read before-- show less
One of my favorites. Young Kearney McRaven doesn't realize his father's past is catching up with them until his father is murdered. He then embarks on a lonely trail to discover who he is, who is trying to kill him and why, and where he belongs in the world. Along the way, he meets a branch of his family with evil in their souls.
just good clean fun!!!
just good clean fun!!!
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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. L'Amour knew early in life that he wanted to be a show more 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
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- Kearney McRaven; Judge Blazer; Felix Yant; Pistol; Laurie McCrae; Louis Dupuy (show all 8); Delphine; Bill Tilghman
- Important places
- Colorado, USA
- Epigraph
- [None]
- Dedication
- [None]
- First words
- All winter long I held them cattle up on the plateau whilst pa collected my wages down to town.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I mean it," she said.
And I believed her.
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Statistics
- Members
- 706
- Popularity
- 40,055
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- English, German, Norwegian (Bokmål)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 14
