The Walking Drum

What an absolutely fabulous historical fiction read. I read this book many years ago, in my late teens, but had forgotten much about it, and I am so glad I revisited it. It is full of adventures and interesting characters, quests and battles, friends and foes, but it is also full of fascinating bits of knowledge and philosophy. Mathurin Kerbouchard, our point of view character, is not a perfect man--he is driven by revenge and passion--but he is an interesting character, and his unceasing quest for knowledge really resonated with me. The insatiable desire to learn and explore the world that he exhibits is something that I really relate to. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic historical fiction or adventure tales.

Fave show more Line: “My ignorance was enormous. Beside it my knowledge was nothing. My hunger for learning, not so much to improve my lot as to understand my world, had led me to study and to thought. Reading without thinking is as nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.” show less

Mathurin Kerbouchard, son of a famous corsair, is thrust into manhood when his father's enemies kill his mother and burn his home. Kerbouchard sets out on a quest to find his father, who is rumored to be dead or enslaved, and to avenge his mother's murder. As a galley slave, student, merchant, and soldier, Kerbouchard travels across 12th century Europe learning all he can soak up with his Druid-trained memory. Always on the lookout for his father, a beautiful woman, or a good fight, he explores Moorish Spain, Christian Europe, and the Byzantine Empire on his mission of revenge and his quest for knowledge.

A fascinating story, beautifully and suspensefully written, it bursts with swashbuckling adventure, but Louis L'Amour captures little show more kernels of truth, poetry, and some fantastic one-liners as well. The author researched the period, the history, and the thinkers of a vast number of places and brought them to life through the eyes of his hero who describes his wanderings in rich (and accurate) historic detail. Lamenting the Western/Euro-centric focus of history in schools, L'Amour presents the importance of the Muslim world to the development of culture, philosophy and knowledge. Unfortunately L'Amour died before finishing the proposed trilogy about Kerbouchard's travels in India and China, but this novel stands alone as a fascinating introduction to an oft-neglected aspect of medieval Europe and civilization.

Brilliant. A definite keeper. show less

Although (or maybe because) I grew up in the western U.S., I have never been a great fan of L'Amour. So when my grandfather gave me this book, I was a little skeptical, even though he and I usually have similar tastes. But as I started to read it, I found that I really enjoyed it. The setting was 12th century Europe/Central Asia rather than 19th century America, and the characters were engaging. I couldn't wait to see what the the protagonist, Mathurin Kerbouchard, did next.

That said, some of the scholarship was a tad wonky. You could tell that Mr. L'Amour had done research, but he'd done it out of books that are now considered hopelessly outdated. And Mathurin comes off as a bit unbelievable.... He travels from one end of the known show more world to the other, he defeats all challengers, romances all ladies, is a born leader, natural scholar, brilliant orator, etc, etc... after a while you start hoping he'll fail at something, just to see if he can.

Still, I like the book quite a lot, and every so often I get the urge to re-read it, which is a good sign. Recommended for armchair historians, L'Amour fans, and people who like engaging narratives about super-humans. ^_~ show less

B

Adventure across Medieval Europe that really doesn’t go anywhere. There are some overarching plot threads but they really don’t matter and when they are addressed it feels anticlimactic.

Basically the book repeats the pattern of hero goes to new city, becomes established, reads classic works, makes enemies, meets a ye olde chick, has to escape the city, rinse and repeat for 500 pages. There’s a lot of action but it all feels repetitive and nothing really occurs with impact.

On the positive side there is some interesting detail about the time period and there are historical figures throughout. Also this book is packed with one liner sayings and phrases which was entertaining.

Overall a monotonous adventure in an interesting period show more with clever lines. show less

Not a Western, but L’Amour knocks it out of the park.

The walking drum in the title is a drum used to set the pace for caravans traveling Europe and Asia in the 12th century. The main character escapes murder at the hands of a family rival when word comes to their region that his father has been killed. Vowing to avenge his mother’s death and find his father, if he lives, Maturin travels southern Europe to fulfill his vows.

The descriptions of lands he travels are good, but the clear winner is characters. In addition to Maturin, L’Amour beings to life the allies, enemies, and women who share his journey.

As a Louis L'Amour fan and medieval history buff, this novel disappointed me. I love reading his westerns, and his mysteries are just as good. Going into them, I know they're going to be formulaic, cliched, with predictable characters. But they're a great escape from my academic reading.

It's obvious he did a lot of research and reading for the novel, and he clearly must've visited most of the locations where the story takes place. However, many of the facts in the book are based on outdated scholarship, even during the time he wrote it. I don't blame him for not being able to keep abreast of new developments in Crusade and medieval history. Many current college textbooks have the same problem.

The protagonist is simply too great for one show more human being. Not only is he a matchless warrior and a scholar, everybody can't help but be impressed by him–especially the ladies. His athletic ability, skill with weapons, ease of learning languages, good looks, and yes, Druid-trained photographic memory, allow him to go from rags to riches–several times. In situation after situation, he somehow loses everything, only to slowly rise up again to hobnob with the rich and powerful.

One of the most annoying aspects of this book is the constant, often pretentious, name-dropping of ancient and medieval writers. He describes several well-known and less popular works, but many times, he does no more than list their titles. The only saving grace of this novel is L'Amour's masterful storytelling ability. For all its flaws, it was still a fun read. show less