Book Review- Louis L’Amour- Riding for the Brand

Louis L’Amour- Riding for the Brand (Bantam Books 1993) 3.25 Stars

Riding for the Brand is a collection of short story western tales. They paint a beautiful picture of the old Wild West. From fighting to keep what’s yours or fighting to find a place to call your own, to fighting just because it is the right thing to do, Louis L’Amour does what he does best, story telling.

I gave this a low rating mainly because I do not enjoy short stories. I find that just when you are getting into the story, it ends. There is no real detail about anything, you don’t get to know your characters, and there is just a shallow plot. Any of the stories in this book could have been expanded to make a book and I would have enjoyed each one much more; that being said, if you enjoy short stories then this is a great book for you. The actual quality of writing is excellent, as is to be expected from a writer of this calibre. I did notice a fair amount of punctuation errors and unintentional spelling mistakes, which I thought was odd as I do not normally notice this in Louis L’Amour novels.

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

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

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

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

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Louis L’Amour- Callaghen

Louis L’Amour- Callaghen (Bantam Books 1972) 3.5 Stars

Callaghen is an Irish veteran of twenty years. He has seen it all, but now he must face a gold-hungry enemy. A group of men who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a tunnel filled with gold. Legend has it that the gold is located near where they are posted and they intend to find out if it is true. Callaghen just happens to be in the way and he does not intend to go down without a fight.

Only a true writer could make the desert sound so beautiful. Louis L’Amour definitely does that. He makes the endless sand sound wonderful. I did find that the characters were lacking depth in this book, even with Callaghen, the main character, the reader does not find out a lot about him. The plot was quite well done though, as well as the actual storyline. Although I felt that some parts were a little bit pointless, these scenes did manage to keep the book flowing. The ending was good, although predictable, I would have liked to see a little bit more from such a talented western writer.

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

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

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Louis L’Amour- Silver Canyon

Louis L’Amour- Silver Canyon (Bantam Books 1972) 4 Stars

Matt Brennan is a gun fighter whose gun is not for sale. When he discovers a man who lives alone on his ranch land and has two big operations wanting his land he decides to help the man out the only way that he knows how, with a gun. It all seemed so perfect except for the fact that the woman he loves is the daughter of an opposing ranch.

Silver Canyon is a great western with loads of action. I loved the main character, Matt Brennan, as he was the tough guy with a sense of right or wrong, and those who oppose him had better watch out. I did not feel that the rest of the characters were particularly strong. The storyline was fast-paced and action-filled, I enjoyed reading it. The plot could have been a little bit more filled out, but was pretty good for a western. I always love the old setting as it is my favourite time period.

I recommend Silver Canyon to anyone who loves a good western, or is a fan of Louis L’ Amour.

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
www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

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
www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html