The Broken Gun

I enjoyed this book. There’s a vast Louis L’Amour section in the used bookstore I frequent, and I decided it was time to read a few of his novels as I am familiar with some of his short Western stories. So, I picked a couple of 'em up that had vintage-painted covers that I enjoy.

The short novel starts just like a pulp detective novel and for the first third of the book, it reads more like that genre with a Western backdrop until we get to the ranch at the end of that first third. The central part of the novel occurs on that ranch and finds the protagonist, a judo-practicing Korean War veteran who spent his formative years cowpunching in Montana, in a situation that I think is a L’Amour strong point. The protagonist must survive show more the landscape, man against nature, all the while the bad guys serve as a ticking clock not only showing up to spur him along but also threatening his (somewhat contrived) love interest while he’s stuck on the face of a cliff. The last third becomes a Western-style action yarn with plenty of hiding, outsmarting, running, hiding, shooting, and fisticuffs. The denouement wraps up the central mystery which is not really ever in question just judging by the villains' actions.

It is a little formulaic when it comes to L’Amour’s oeuvre, at least the bits I’ve read, but the characters use their brains building up to and during the action, which I like. The last half of the final third of the novel does seem to drag a little while the hero and his war buddy are captive but overall, I would recommend this one. It’s a quick, easy read and delivers on the Western genre with a little detective fiction flavor at mostly the beginning and at the very end. show less

A classic L'Amour tale told in the modern era. Well likely modern era when it was written. It is the story of a writer that finds the last words of an Arizona rancher in the barrel of a broken gun and wants to learn what happened to the rancher. He is then embroiled in a battle with the descendants of the original killers. As with all L'Amour books, the good guys win.

An easy read and not bad if you don't read anything into it.

The modern-day setting of this book is fun and creative. A historical fiction writer is investigating the lives of characters whose diaries were found hidden in a broken gun. Along the way, he finds some people who have something to hide about their story. Quite plausible and a fun read.

I enjoyed Zane Grey so I wanted to read some Louis L'Amour.

I was disappointed with the emotional dryness of the book and the though the writer's skill was obvious, the book felt mechanical.

If you want good cowboy stuff I would recommend Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. I should say that these great early writers of this genre were quite good and worthy of attention

A mystery set in the American west, but in the mid twentieth century instead of the author's usual late 1800s period. Not L'Amour's best, but worth a read.

The brutal slayings of the Alverez brothers follow an announcement by western fiction writer Dan Sheridan that he is investigating the strange disappearance of twenty men and four thousand head of cattle ninety years early

Product Description Ninety years ago the Toomey brothers, along with twenty-five other men and four thousand head of cattle, vanished en route to Arizona. When writer and historian Dan Sheridan is invited to the missing brothers’ ranch by its current owner, he jumps at the chance. The visit fits right in with his plan to solve the century-old mystery—but it turns out that his host isn’t a fan of books, writers, or people who don’t mind their own business. Soon Dan is living the dangers of the Old West firsthand—tracked through the savage wilderness by vicious killers straight out of the most violent pages of his stories. However, his enemies have made one serious mistake: Sheridan is no pencil-pushing greenhorn, and killing show more him won’t be as easy as they think. Our foremost storyteller of the authentic West, L’Amour has thrilled a nation by chronicling the adventures of the brave men and women who settled the American frontier. There are more than 300 million copies of his books in print around the world. From the Publisher Begin with the massacre of twenty-seven innocent men. Follow it with two brutal murders almost ninety years later. Add two curious, hard-bitten veterans of guerrilla fighting and a beautiful, terror-stricken girl. Mix with a pack of vicious killers who would have been more than a match for the most notorious gunmen of the old West, and you have Louis L'Amour' blistering novel of action and adventure in the new West. show less