Book Review- Louis L’Amour- Radigan

Louis L’Amour- Radigan (Bantam Books 1969) 3.75 Stars

After working through harsh conditions to build his ranch, Tom Radigan now finds himself in danger of losing what he has fought so hard to build. Angelina Foley comes from seemingly nowhere claiming to have a deed to the ranch land that he has settled on. Fighting the claim will take grit and determination. She intends to force him off of the land using the gunmen she has hired, but Tom Radigan and his friend John Child do not intend to be run off. The fight is on and knowing the lay of the land may be just the advantage he needs, what with winter approaching fast. He is digging in and the only way he will lose the ranch is if he is no longer breathing.

Radigan is a top-notch western by one of the greatest western writers of all time. Louis L’Amour packs a punch as the plot unwinds with a beautiful woman threatening to take away this tough rancher’s land. You know that the fight is on after the introduction starts off with a man trying to gun down Radigan and failing miserably. After the introduction the author does not fail to produce as we see action mixed with thickening plot. I may have liked to see a little bit more length to the book, which would have helped in developing the plot/storyline a bit more, but a lot of westerns lack in this department so I won’t hold it against him. It also would have been nice for the falling in love bit to be left out as this seems to be a bit of a redundant theme in westerns, leaving it out would have set it apart from other westerns, but again I won’t hold it against Louis L’Amour. The characters were not deep, but were interesting enough to keep the reader intrigued. As many of my main readers know I love the western setting and that time period so as you can guess I loved this part of the book.

I recommend Radigan to western readers and Louis L’Amour fans.

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

Tony Peters

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