Book Review- Louis L’Amour- The Empty Land

Louis L’Amour- The Empty Land (Bantam Books 2006) 3.5 Stars

Before I start I must say that I love L’Amour’s books. I have been a huge fan for many years and own most of his books. This is one that I had not had the opportunity to read yet. The Empty Land features the town of Confusion, a town started up with the discovery of gold. A group called Discovery are the founders and they want a gentle, civilised town, but getting it may not be so easy. After the death of a couple of sheriffs the Discovery group decides that they need the help of Matt Coburn to clean up the town, but Coburn wants nothing to do with the town as he is looking to leave the gun fighting role. It takes time, but Coburn gets involved and the town is about to blow its lid sky high.

The Empty Land is not as good as many of his westerns, but I still enjoyed reading it. It moved a little bit slower and did not have as much plot as I would have liked to see. The characters were interesting though and the action scenes were intriguing. I kept finding myself wondering just who would get the boot next, although the endings are always predictable. His words always manage to paint a beautiful picture of the western scenery, back when the land was unscathed by large towns and for that reason I love L’Amour’s novels. He always gets my imagination flowing.

I would recommend The Empty Land to anyone who loves westerns, or is a Louis L’Amour fan.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
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