Robert E. Weinberg

The Louis L’Amour Companion contains little in the way of serious criticism or even cursory explorations of his work. It is mostly comprised of overwhelming praise, biographical articles that are noted in the book as full of discrepancies and overstatement, and summaries of his various works (especially Hondo mostly concerning the movie) with the occasional bit of actual criticism (always the same criticisms though). These criticisms being: he uses formulaic plots, his characters are one-dimensional, and they often act implausibly. These are mentioned but are dismissed immediately on about half of the occasions that they are brought up in the book with the same excuse - he writes for his readers not critics.
The book is a bit shallow for my liking and has a regular fixation on the number of books sold or his status as a bestselling author more than on anything of substance. There is a bit from it that I do like however, "Louis L’Amour has written competent and exciting Westerns but no great ones" (pgs 382-383).
I have to admit this book was easy reading and maybe the checklists of L’Amour’s work could be useful if I were a collector. However, if you are looking for a reliable resource on the author’s life or exploration of his work in any capacity then I cannot recommend this book at all.
… (mehr)

La Muerte Roja, líder del culto de vampiros conocido como los Hijos de la Noche del Terror, está a punto de hacerse con el control de las dos organizaciones secretas que gobiernan el Mundo de Tinieblas. Los únicos obstáculos en su plan para lograr el dominio global son dos humanos, Dire McCann y Alicia Varney
A espaldas de la Muerte roja, sus aliados impíos, demonios de fuego de otra dimensión, han estado manipulándole para sus propios fines. Si el Matusalén lograra sus objetivos, un horror inimaginable se desencadenaría sobre el mundo.
Ha llegado la hora de la batalla para los Liberados. Desde las catacumbas de París hasta los desiertos de Israel y una antigua cripta bajo las calles de Viena, Dire McCann y la Muerte Roja se enfrentan en una lucha titánica de la que solo uno puede emerger victorioso. Se trata de un duelo a muerte, de una batalla que revelará por fin la asombrosa verdad tras la Mascarada de la Muerte roja.… (mehr)