[Read by Jim Gough]
Here is one of L'Amour's early creations, which have long been a source of great speculation and curiosity among his fans.
Early in Louis L'Amour's career, he wrote a number of novel-length stories for ''pulp'' western magazines. ''I lived with my characters so closely that their lives were still as much a part of me as I was of them long after the issues in which they appeared went out of print,'' he said. ''I wanted to tell the reader more about my people and why they did what they did.'' So he revised and expanded these magazine works to be published again as full-length novels. Here is one of his early creations, which have long been a source of great speculation and curiosity among his fans.
A Man Called Trent opens on nester Dick Moffitt lying dead where he was killed by King Bill Hale's riders. His son Jack and adopted daughter Sally, who witnessed the murder, go for safety to a cabin owned by a man called ''Trent'' -- an alias for Kilkenny, who is seeking to escape his reputation as a gunfighter.

Interesting and satisfying continuation of the Kilkenny series. I like Lance Kilkenny, a more complex character than one expects in this genre. The plot has been done before, cattle king vs. nesters, but for me the human interactions makes this a better than average tale by L'Amour. ( )

Here we have a volume with two of L'Amour early novels as they were originally published in the pulp magazine West in 1947. The hero in both stories is Lance Kilkenny.

In The Rider of Lost Creek Lance becomes involved in a range war when he arrives to help a friend keep his range. It appears to all that two local cattle barons are fighting it out for the friend's land. However, Lance comes to suspect that it is a mysterious man who lives in a mansion on a hill who is really behind the burning and killing.

Lance also meets the mysterious Nita Riordan and her body guard Jaime Brigo. Love blossoms but Lance does not see marriage as an option for he feels his life will end violently and not something he wishes to put a woman through. He also meets the Brockman twins killing one, beating the other half to death.

The novel ends with Lance abandoning Nita, leaving an angry Brockman looking for him and the solving of the mystery of the man on the hill who he kills.

In A Man Called Trent we have the sequel to the previous story. Lance now known as Trent has settle on a piece of land near the the town where Nita has again set up shop in a saloon. The local cattle baron, King Bill Hale, is forcing families off their land by threats and if that does not work, fire and murder.

Lance organizes the surviving families into taking on Hale and his men. Lance has to box a famous pugilist to defeat Hale and save his love, Nita from being forced to marry Hale or his vicious son, Cub Hale. There are several gun fights one of which ends Cub's rein of terror but also wounds Lance. At the end of this novel, he decides to marry Nita. He also befriends the surviving Brockman twin who settles near Lance's place. ( )

A Man Called Trent by Louis L’Amour

Why I picked this book up: I really like the Louis L’Amour westerns since reading Hondo and others like Last of the Breed so I jumped on this one.

Why I finished this book: This book started off ok, a man with two kids he came upon set the stage but it was really about freedom, virtues, the American culture, tough as nails type, not giving up in the face of adversity and others trying to chase “nesters” off their own property, loyalty and there was his woman. It was worth the read even though it was not one of my favorites I’ve read of his to this point. It’s still worth reading but I kind of lost interest during the fight with the prize fighter in some ways I guess but I don’t know, maybe the fight part was interesting enough to finish it but not because of the boxing but the reason and way he went into the fight, the money, winning the people over and talking to the officials about the land issues.

Rating: I’d give this book a 3 star rating out of 5 stars. If you want a quick read that is a pretty predictable, classic western, I’d pick this up if one of his others like the two I mentioned above weren’t available. ( )

I have never read a western before but quite enjoyed thisone. It was an easy, predictable read. A classic goodies versus baddies set in the wild west. Of course, there is a lady too. Compared to books written today it was very clean - no graphic sex scenes, no disgusting language and despite the gun fights that one would expect the violence is mild. There is a moral too. I would read more westerns if looking for a quick, uncomplicated, old-fashioned book. ( )