Where the Long Grass Blows
by Louis L'Amour
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Fiction. Western. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:Bill Canavan rode into the valley with a dream to start his own ranch. But when he managed to stake claims on the three best water holes, the other ranchers turned against him.No one is more determined to see Canavan dead than Star Levitt. Levitt is an unscrupulous businessman who has been accumulating cattle at an alarming rate. Suspicious after witnessing a secret meeting between the riders of warring ranches, Bill begins noticing other show more dubious behavior: Why is Levitt’s fiancée, Dixie Venable, acting more like a hostage than a willing bride-to-be?
Canavan doesn’t have much time to figure out what’s going on. The entire valley is against him, and everyone is ready to shoot on sight. show less
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I haven't read a western for nearly 40 years, despite being a big fan of them in my early teens. So when I saw a Louis L'Amour book in our local library, on the spur of the moment I decided to give it a go as he was one of my favourite authors back then.
I must say "Where the Long Grass Blows" was fun. Despite an implausible plot line and an anti-climatic ending, it was a light, entertaining read with lots of action and excitement which made it a page turner. I loved the Old West setting with its gunslingers, cattle drives, range wars, horses, lawlessness, shootouts and ruthless villains. After all, what more could a gal want? Having enjoyed this one so much, I'm off in search of some more novels by this author.
I must say "Where the Long Grass Blows" was fun. Despite an implausible plot line and an anti-climatic ending, it was a light, entertaining read with lots of action and excitement which made it a page turner. I loved the Old West setting with its gunslingers, cattle drives, range wars, horses, lawlessness, shootouts and ruthless villains. After all, what more could a gal want? Having enjoyed this one so much, I'm off in search of some more novels by this author.
This a typical L'Amour western with plenty of action, a vivid description of an unusual geographic formation in western America, a love story and some heartless villains. Bill Caravan is ready to settle down and he has spent a great deal of time researching a good location near the town of Soledad. He has discovered that the two cattle barons who control the valley are battling one another for control of the land they do not own because they never register the deeds for the water rights and land. Caravan arrives to study the situation before revealing his ownership of the important resources and meets a very attractive Dixie Venable who he soon learns is to marry Star Levitt, a man who takes a quick dislike for Caravan which feeling is show more mutual.
Caravan discovers a lot of dirty dealing including opium smuggling, cattle rustling and blackmail. The author keeps the story moving at panic pace making the book impossible to put down. show less
Caravan discovers a lot of dirty dealing including opium smuggling, cattle rustling and blackmail. The author keeps the story moving at panic pace making the book impossible to put down. show less
Slow-starting but eventually this was a fairly good read. I did like a few unusual plot twists but they didn't lift the story above average for me. Don't judge the author's body of works by this one.
Note: this is a novel length retelling of The Rider of the Ruby Hills.
Note: this is a novel length retelling of The Rider of the Ruby Hills.
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870+ Works 99,170 Members
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
- 1976 - 11
- People/Characters
- Bill Canavan; Walt Pogue; Charlie Reynolds; Dixie Venable; Westbrook Scott; Star Levitt (show all 9); Rolly Burt; Mabry; Emmett Chubb
- Epigraph
- [None]
- Dedication
- [None]
- First words
- There was a lonely place where the trail ran up to the sky, turning sharply away at the rimrock where a man could see all the valley below, a splendid green of forest and meadow fading into the purple of the farther mountains... (show all).
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Dishes rattled in the kitchen, and Rolly was pouring coffee.
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- Members
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- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.56)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 17
- ASINs
- 11
