Welcome to the one thousand something edition of Louis L'Amour's storyline and the proof that you can lack any shred of talent yet still be hailed as Welcome to the one thousand something edition of Louis L'Amour's storyline and the proof that you can lack any shred of talent yet still be hailed as an incredible author if you belong to the right lodge....more
This was pretty fun. Unrealistic, yes, but the setting was believable and the characters likable. There was a little too much about Mormons, and this This was pretty fun. Unrealistic, yes, but the setting was believable and the characters likable. There was a little too much about Mormons, and this book barely makes it under the wire separating historical fiction from sanctimonious preaching in a historical setting....more
While by no means intellectual food, this book was actually much better than most from this genre. The couple is loyal and faithful to each other, theWhile by no means intellectual food, this book was actually much better than most from this genre. The couple is loyal and faithful to each other, they trust each other much more than is the norm in these stories, and the girl manages somehow not to be an annoying suffragette in the days where women knew where their power lay. It wasn't terrible by any means, but it was pretty generic. I can't remember that it had anything particularly objectionable, but it did have a few explicit scenes which make it unsuitable for many audiences....more
This book surprised me. I rather expected the Apaches to be "the bad guys" given the time this was written. Instead, the author really focused on the mThis book surprised me. I rather expected the Apaches to be "the bad guys" given the time this was written. Instead, the author really focused on the massive injustices done to the Native people, and puts Geronimo in a sympathetic light. "The Apaches have done far less to us than we have to them. They only kill and torture us, we take everything from them. They don't value their life and comfort above everything else like we do. We take what is most important to them, they take from us what is of little value to them." Interesting and unlooked for point of view. The story, as is usual with Burroughs, is fast paced and intriguing, the characters sharply defined and true to life, if perhaps a little over dramatized. The only thing I disliked about it was the continual reference to the Native paganism. Not something I really wanted to know about....more
Yes, this could have been worse, but assuredly it could have been better! It was rather average, a huge disappointment after the amazing possibilities Yes, this could have been worse, but assuredly it could have been better! It was rather average, a huge disappointment after the amazing possibilities that the hero presented! Really, the offspring of an English nobleman and a Cheyenne princess, accepted by both of his parents' peoples? But that went nowhere. He could have just as easily been a nondescript mountain man for all the author played up on that. The love story was OK, but terribly predictable. Nothing really made this book stand out, but at least it wasn't one of those awful, disgusting books which are nothing but a scaffolding for illicit relations....more
This is just some pulp mill pseudo authentic Western stuff. It has pretty much nothing to recommend it, except the skill with which the author avoids This is just some pulp mill pseudo authentic Western stuff. It has pretty much nothing to recommend it, except the skill with which the author avoids authenticity. I don't recommend it at all....more
This was one of those books where you kind of feel like the author has that mysterious Author Checklist on how to be cookie cutter and cliché. Aside frThis was one of those books where you kind of feel like the author has that mysterious Author Checklist on how to be cookie cutter and cliché. Aside from that, it was a kind of cute story, just one you've probably read many times before with a different title....more
This book is probably my least favorite Black Stallion book. That being said, it is still far above the average horse fiction, and it is a good book. IThis book is probably my least favorite Black Stallion book. That being said, it is still far above the average horse fiction, and it is a good book. It is a little out of character for the series, involving some fantasy and apocalyptic elements, but hey, maybe that will make it that much more fun for someone. Just not me....more
Very cute story, but about mid way it becomes too full of Protestant platitudes. Protestants are such hypocrites. The audacity of you to say that the Very cute story, but about mid way it becomes too full of Protestant platitudes. Protestants are such hypocrites. The audacity of you to say that the Bible is the way to Heaven, and then claim that it isn't all divinely inspired, so that you don't have to believe all of God's Holy Word. Remove the Book of Maccabees, will you? Well, it IS a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, because even after we die, God in his infinite goodness still has a way for us to become perfect so that we need not be cast into the exterior darkness, and if that weren't enough, he allows us living people to pray for them that are dead, so that their time of purification may be shortened and they may sooner enter into Heaven. Second thing I disliked about it, the only Protestant Irish are the cowardly and pathetic ones who sold their Birthright for the mess of pottage that is this world. Irish are Catholic, have been since Saint Patrick drove out the snakes. Erin go braugh! And lastly, this book kind of loses it's impetus about 3/4 of the way through, and it feels like the author was just trying to find a way to be done with it. We Irish are no pathetic apostates who fell to our knees and submitted when the English slaughtered us wholesale for our faith. This is insulting!...more
Little Vic is a failure at the race course. He doesn't have any fire, and he couldn't care less about winning. At least, that's what everyone thinks. Little Vic is a failure at the race course. He doesn't have any fire, and he couldn't care less about winning. At least, that's what everyone thinks. But his loyal groom knows that Little Vic is a great horse, and so smart that he will only run all out when there is a good reason for it. This is a really good book for any young horse lover, or an older horse lover looking for a plot that isn't too complicated. I didn't realize until about half way through that the main character, Pony, is black. It really was a surprise to me, because usually in older books black people are either politely ignored or discreetly put on a different social scale. This book makes no fuss at all over Pony's color, which makes it more or less unique....more
Set in several short stories, this is the origin of Hopalong Cassidy. This is of course a hilarious and rip snorting Western adventure, heavy on actioSet in several short stories, this is the origin of Hopalong Cassidy. This is of course a hilarious and rip snorting Western adventure, heavy on action and light on romance, and scorning realism! It is interesting as a social study as well. It comes from a time when the Irish were the scorned and discriminated race, and it is very interesting how the protagonists react to it. Instead of whining about how they should be treated better, they man up and force people to respect them. Pretty much awesome. They didn't need government assistance and discrimination laws to make their way in life. They worked and fought their way to respect and equality. Erin go braugh!...more
This is the grandfather of Western romance. It has everything you could want; violence, mayhem, half broke horses that the cowboys ride to show off thThis is the grandfather of Western romance. It has everything you could want; violence, mayhem, half broke horses that the cowboys ride to show off their skills, impossible accuracy with handguns, and heros who treat a lady like a lady. This is definitely not deep, but it sure is fun! It is also clean except for a few swear words and the occasional curse. No obscenities or crudities....more
"The doc was kidnapped," said Dave, watching closely. "That so?" Replied Johnny politely. "An' how old was you, Doctor?" "Why, what do you mean?" "Why,"The doc was kidnapped," said Dave, watching closely. "That so?" Replied Johnny politely. "An' how old was you, Doctor?" "Why, what do you mean?" "Why, when you was kidnapped," Johnny explained. "I was kidnapped last night," replied the doc. "You- last night?" Demanded Johnny, incredulously. "I'm d*****d. What did they get?" "Why, they got me!" " I mean, what did they get that was valuable?" Johnny Nelson has been drifting for quite some time. All his pards are married and boring, and the wild young gunslinger has decided to go and look for a place to call his own. With no women in it. Gunsight looks promising, except for one thing; a woman. A woman whose father owns a ranch, and whose neighbors run the territory and want that ranch. Nearly everyone is in the land grabber's employ, and when the father breaks his leg, not even the doc will go to fix it. That is when Johnny decides that, woman or not, Peggy comes with so much trouble that it might be worth sticking around... This is easily my favorite Mulford. Johnny Nelson is my favorite of the Bar-20 hands, and he never disappoints. He keeps you laughing and shaking your head the whole time! While he doesn't do very much cattle or ranch work, (for instance, he never has to clean up the barn, do carpentry work, put up hay, and seldom does he have to build fence or even work cattle) he certainly has enough crazy adventures to make up for it. This book is a real Western adventure story. The characters are tough and ultra masculine, and they are never immoral. They adhere to the lost Southern ideal of respect for all women being the measure of a man. This book is one that I never tire of. "When I leave this range, I'll go of my own accord, and there won't be no pushin'."...more
Told in the first person, this is the story of a young man who decides to take his vacation from college with his best friend, and spend the time at hTold in the first person, this is the story of a young man who decides to take his vacation from college with his best friend, and spend the time at his friends' home in Montana. He is instantly charmed by the family, and while his friend is immediately distracted by a local beauty, his sister steps in to take him around. Together, they concoct the wild plan to discover the Dry Ridge Gang that has been stealing shipments from right underneath the sheriff's nose. But when their adventures lead them to the gang, they find something that they never counted on... This is my personal favorite Western of all time, and I think that it is my favorite Bower. It is thrilling, fast paced, sweet, funny, and best of all, realistic....more
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