Western

Collection of posthumous short fiction from a master. Some contain the kernels that grew into well known full length work. Great stuff, well worth the reading. ( )

The End of the Drive is collection of western short stories, penned by Louis L’Amour. These stories were varied and I liked some a lot more than others, but overall a nice collection of stories all told in his straight forward, slightly formulistic manner.

The opening story was a variation on a familiar theme, and got the book off to a good start as a young man learns a valuable life lesson from his father. Another story that stood out for me was “ Desperate Men”, a story about prisoners who escape from Yuma Territorial Prison and embark on a gruelling trek across the desert, in as much danger from each other as from the elements. There is one longer novella in the collection, an exciting tale called Rustler Roundup, about neighbour turning against neighbour when their suspicions are aroused as to who is behind the cattle rustling in the area.

No surprises here but an interesting collection of western stories that involve courage, resolve and honour as once again Louis L’Amour builds upon the code of the Old West. ( )

An excellent series of short stories that remained in a box for years, undiscovered, until after the author's death. Included are tales that were the basis or inspiration for novels to come such as Fallon, Kiowa Trail, Tucker, Kid Rodelo, The Lonesome Gods, and the superb Last of the Breed...time for a reread of that one! For fans of the Sackett series, there's another installment about Tell included as well. Highly recommended. ( )

From Booklist L'Amour may be the best-selling author of all-time, and a collection of his never-before-published stories is sure to delight his millions of fans. Included here are six short stories and one novelette. The settings and themes are typical L'Amour--human drama and struggle juxtaposed against the grandeur of the West. For example, in "Caprock Rancher," a headstrong young man earns new respect for his father, and in "The End of the Drive" a young man confuses beauty, love, and opportunity with drudgery until a looming confrontation forces him to revise his priorities. These stories were found among L'Amour's papers after his death, and although they do not represent his best work, they contain the elements that made him beloved: sure-handed characterization, a reverence for western settlers, and an ability to dramatize the perennial problem of good people confronted with hard choices. An unexpected and entertaining treat for L'Amour fans. Wes Lukowsky From Kirkus Reviews The late, great, vastly prolific L'Amour (Jubal Sackett, 1985, etc.) rides again, with a recently discovered never-before-seen novella and sheaf of stories. Most of the tales feature Homeric diction and wonderful hooks. Caprock Rancher'' begins: When I rode up to the buffalo wallow, Pa was lying there with his leg broke and his horse gone.''Desperate Men'' opens with: They were four desperate men, made hard by life, cruel by nature, and driven to desperation by imprisonment. Yet the walls of Yuma Prison were strong and the rifle skill of the guards unquestioned, so the prison held many desperate men besides these four. And when prison walls and rifles failed, there was the desert, and the desert never failed.'' That's a big, gritty voice at work, lifting melodrama to the heavens of storytelling. And, for the most part, these stories cleave to that voice throughout.Caprock Rancher'' tells of a 17-year-old who must rescue $20,000 from three toughs who have found it, although it belongs to several poor ranchers back home who've trusted the boy and his father to take their cattle to market. Desperate Men'' follows four prisoners who escape from Yuma Prison during an earthquake and flee into the desert with an Army payroll. Their greed is as much against them as the sun. In the title tale, a young man who heads a cattle drive finds wooing a beautiful woman to be more fraught with difficulty (and danger) than life on the trail. And in the superbly burnished novella,Rustler Roundup,'' the Laird Valley cattle war pits some smart rustlers, who want to grab Finn Mahone's herd and acres, against an even smarter hero. As ever, L'Amour's characters distinguish themselves from run-of-the- mill westerners by the hard thud of their boots on soil and the worn leather ease of their dialogue. Awesome immediacy, biting as creosote slapped on a fencepost. -- Copyright �1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. ( )