WAR PARTY has two marks against it right off the bat. First, it’s not a novel; it’s a collection of short stories and I don’t like short stories. Second, there is no indication on either the front cover or back cover description that this is a collection of short stories. I consider that deceptive and unfair. I was very confused when I arrived at the end of the first story and began reading the second one as if it were the 2nd chapter in a novel. Bantam, shame on you! A number of these stories are also written in the first person, which is not a favorite perspective for me either. Only good mark in its favor: they're all written by Louis L'Amour.
“Trap of Gold” is the story of a father mining for gold in a precarious place where any misstep may bring the whole side of the mountain down on him. Every moment is a harrowing experience and he keeps telling himself, this will be the last day he attempts any mining. On the one hand, he wants a stake for his young family. On the other hand, in any given moment, he could die.
“One for the Pot” is a story about a wife who has decided to leave her husband but changes her mind after an old timer, hired assassin talks her out of it. The twist is the hired gun was sent to kill her husband.
“War Party” is about a widowed woman with two small children traveling on a wagon train. The writing is good but just as I’m settling in for a pleasant read, the story ends. That’s why I don’t like short stories. And it’s written from the first person perspective. Best line of the book is in this story:
“The dogs bark, but the wagons go on their way, and if you were going some place you haven’t time to bother with barking dogs.”
“Get Out of Town” is written from the first person perspective; that of the son of a widowed mother. He lost his Dad three years back and his mother has put him in charge of hiring a hand to help on the ranch. Although a number of people warn him against it, he hires a tough hand just out of prison.
“Booty for a Bad Man” is yet again from the first person perspective. The main character is Tell Sackett who has been paid to carry some gold-panners’ gold out of the mining camp and has come across a lone woman on the trail. This again is a story about a wife abandoning her husband; this time because he’s a soldier and she can’t handle the military life. And again, after some soul-searching, decides to rejoin her husband. There’s some good tips included for how to thrawt backtrailers.
“The Gift of Cochise” is again about a widowed woman with two small children. It leads off with her facing off 12 Apaches. She successfully fights off so many repeated attacks that she earns the respect of the tribe’s chief and he comes to visit her and offers to make her his wife. She refuses, but he doesn’t forget about her and brings her an unusual gift.
“A Mule for Santa Fe” is another wagon train story. This time a widowed man and his matchmaking son need one last mule to be able to join the wagon train headed for Santa Fe. He strikes a deal with a woman who wants to join them. She has the mule. They have the wagon.
“Alkali Basin” is a gritty story centered around a stagecoach station. An unsavory character is the station master who is insistent upon needing a load of dynamite. The stagecoach line wants to cut costs and refuses to send the dynamite. In an attempt to further cut costs (and possibly fire the station master), the stagecoach line sends someone out on an inspection tour. He finds out pretty quick why the dynamite is necessary. And yeah, the old timer keeps his job.
“Man to Match the Hills” is another hired gun assassin story. In this one, the professional sharpshooter killer pits his wits again his victim. They both get shot to hell but survive. The assassin probably wouldn’t have survived if his victim hadn’t nursed him back to health. Then instead of turning the assassin into the law, the victim lets the guy go simply out of admiration for his cleverness and toughness. An admiration I don’t understand at all as the hired assassin has killed a number of people in the same way he intended to kill his victim; by shooting him unaware from a distance. And there’s no indication he won’t continue to kill. Unfathomable.
“The Defense of the Sentinel” would make a good movie with someone similar to the actor Lee Marvin as the lead character. The town drunk wakes up to find the town evacuated. He comes to realize that they evacuated due to an impending attack by the Apaches and decides since it’s too late to leave (and he has no horse), he’d better prepare to defend the town by himself. He does, admirably, with the help of the best liquor in the town. The cavalry eventually arrives and is stunned that one lone man held off the Apaches. A town drunk at that! It’s a pretty darn funny tale. My favorite story.
Cigarettes lit up: 5
Cigars lit up: 6
Pipes lit up: 5
Gunplay: 5
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have a comment?