Louis L’Amour
The Burning Hills (1965)
Author: Louis L’Amour
Genre: Western
Plot Summary:
Trace Jordan and his friend Johnny Hendrix made a living rounding up Mustangs, then breaking them and selling them. When Jordan was gone from the ranch, a group of men came and stole the horses and shot Hendrix dead. Jordan came back to discover this and rode out looking for whoever had done the deed. On finding one of the men, who was not sympathetic, Jordan shot and killed him in the middle of town. The man turned out to be head of the “Sutton-Bayless outfit,” a local ranching family. So Jordan headed out into the desert, with a posse trailing behind. Jordan hides in a canyon, getting food and aid from a Mexican girl, Maria, whose family lives in the desert. She helps him avoid detection and escape. The posse and tracker pick up his trail again, but by this time they are rather split up into factions that don’t necessarily get a long very well. Eventually Jordan kills several of them. Then he meets some of the older, more sensible members of the posse who were just trailing him because of their loyalty to the man he killed, not out of a sense of moral right. They decide to end it there and head back to town. In the last few pages, there is a brief threat from some Indians, and it looks like Maria and Jordan will stay together romantically, at least for a little while.
Geographical Setting: the Southwest U.S., desert
Time Period: late 1800s
Appeal Characteristics:
The book tells a rather simple story, straightforward. It is generally slow-paced, with bursts of action usually in the form of shootouts or violence of some kind. Vivid descriptions of the landscape and environment of the desert, as well as the tension of being followed, while needing food and water, while wounded.
Similar Authors: Zane Grey
Red Flags: Violence, particularly gun violence, fistfights, mild descriptions of gun wounds, slight chauvinistic attitude toward the woman character. Also, the Mexicans’ dialogue is written with an obvious accent, even when they speak among themselves, when they would undoubtedly be speaking Spanish.
The Empty Land (1969)
Author: Louis L’Amour
Genre (and subgenre): Western (Traditional)
Plot Summary:
Dick Felton and his partners discover gold near the foothills of the Snake Range, in Nevada and Utah. Almost immediately, their discovery attracts not only prospectors eager to strike it rich, but also people eager to help them spend their money. “Confusion,” as the place is called, becomes a boomtown, full of unrest and violence. Yet, Felton and others are determined to have a civilized, permanent town. To achieve this, they must have a marshal who can enforce the law. Matt Coburn comes to Confusion; he has cleaned up boomtowns before and has a reputation as a tough but honest man. Coburn is tired of drifting from town to town, staying in towns only long enough to settle them. Also, he has reached the point where he kills more readily, using violence rather than cool-headed judgment. Though he seeks a more peaceful life, he is reluctantly drawn into the conflict.
Geographical Setting: Nevada and Utah, near Mount Wheeler
Time Period: post-Civil War (1870s)
Appeal Characteristics:
L’Amour uses a classic storyteller style, building from the accidental origins of the gold rush to the present conflict. Aside from a few slang terms, he keeps the language spare and concise. Though the story centers primarily on action and conflict, L’Amour emphasizes the beauty of the surrounding landscape and develops themes about civilization and the use of violence.
Red Flags: violence, including fistfights, murders, and shootings; some strong language.
High Lonesome (1962)
Author: Louis L’Amour
Genre (and subgenre): Western
Plot Summary:
The book opens with Considine’s crew robbing a bank. The safe is empty except for heavy change. Their crappy financial situation leads Considine to consider the town of Obaro. Considine’s old buddy is the sheriff of Obaro and married to Considine’s ex-sweetheart. On the trail to Obaro, the crew meets up with a wily old ranch hand, Dave Spanyer, who used to work with Dutch robbing banks. He’s moving his daughter out to California to start over, so association with his notoriety won’t taint her name. There is a night spent in the Wildhorse Mesa, where Mary Spanyer and Considine meet accidentally in the horse barn and share passionate kisses. The next morning, Spanyer and his daughter set off across Apache Indian country to California. The crew rides into Obaro; Considine visits his old flame and fistfights with the sheriff while his crew robs the bank. The crew sets off across Indian country, toward Mexico where they will live out their life in ease. Except, the trail is littered with evidence that the Indians are out and hunting the Spanyers. Considine remembers his feelings for Mary during their short time together and decides to ride after them and attempt a rescue. The rest of the crew follows. They fight their way through Indians in the canyon to the top of High Lonesome, where the Spanyers are taking a stand against the onslaught. SPOILER: After two days of gun fighting, the posse from Obaro, hunting the bank robbers, breaks up the remaining Indians and rescues the Spanyers. Dutch, Hardy, and Kiowa have all died in the fight while Considine rolled out of sight during hand-to-hand combat. The men from Obaro suspect that Considine may still be alive but silently decide he redeemed himself helping the Spanyers and leave him for dead. The money is nowhere to be found, as Kiowa hid it in another part of the canyon. The improbable part is the Obaro men leave without the money, as they want to get out of Indian country. Considine grabs a horse and the money left behind and sniffs the winds of Mexico as the Spanyers wait from him in the canyon below.
Main Characters:
Considine: Hero
Considine’s Crew
Kiowa: Tribeless Indian
Dutch: Safe Cracker
Hardy: Youngest, brashest of Considine’s crew
Dave Spanyer: Outlaw used to ride with Dutch, turned honest ranch hand, moving west to California.
Mary Spanyer: Female love interest
Geographical Setting: Near the Mexico Border, in the Sand Tank Mountains, Wildhorse Mesa, town of Obaro, Apache Indian country, and the canyon beside High Lonesome.
Time Period: Wild West
Appeal Characteristics:
The book action packed. The crew is robbing banks, starting fist fights, riding their horses for stretches of time, threatening one another to pistol duel/fights, tracking the Indians, and have a huge final battle with the Indians that lasts about forty pages. There is a bit of the romance novel element, as Considine and Mary Spanyer contemplate their attraction to one another. It is not the central concern, but this attraction drives Considine to more adventure and noble deeds. If a reader enjoys the Southwest setting, then they may be attracted to L’Amour’s attention to geographical setting. The ending was ambiguous; Considine is sniffing the wind, thinking of Mexico while the Spanyers wait for him to catch up with them. He has all the money and the author leaves the reader to decide which path Considine will follow.
Similar Authors: More Louis L’Amour or Zane Gray.
Red Flags: Violence with guns, axes, and hanging. Indians portrayed as bloodthirsty.
Hondo (1953)
Author: Louis L’Amour
Genre: Western (Traditional/Indian Wars)
Plot Summary:
Hondo Lane is a solitary man, hard as the Arizona desert. He meets Angie Lowe while on an Army scouting mission. Angie’s no-good husband, Ed, deserted her. Angie is a Christian woman but she is drawn to Hondo’s strength and he can’t stop thinking of her after he returns to the Army post. The Apaches, led by Chief Vittoro, rise up against the white settlers but spare Angie and her son because of Johnny’s bravery. Vittoro makes Johnny his blood brother, but demands that Angie marry an Apache brave if her husband does not return soon. His second-in-command, Silva, is angry because he was wounded by Johnny. Meanwhile, Hondo humiliates Ed Lowe at the outpost and then decides he should take Angie to safety. Ed attempts to kill him, but Hondo kills him first and takes a tintype of Johnny from Ed’s pocket. Hondo is captured by Silva, but Vittoro spares his life because he believes Hondo is Angie’s husband. Vittoro is killed by soldiers and Hondo, Angie and Johnny flee because they fear Silva’s revenge. Hondo kills Silva in hand-to-hand combat and they move to California to start a new life together.
Geographical Setting: Southeastern Arizona - Chiricahua Mountains
Time Period: 1874
Appeal Characteristics:
Plot driven, loaded with action and fast paced. Dialog is kept to a minimum and descriptive passages are limited to descriptions of the desert landscape, all of which may be major appeal elements of this book. Characters are black and white which is typical of the genre – the tough, honorable man with a hidden tender side; the good, hardworking woman; and the dissolute gambler. Native Americans are portrayed as ruthless and violent but also noble, brave and honorable. There is a strong moral undercurrent and this book may have crossover appeal to fans of Christian fiction as good people generally triumph and bad people die. While there is a lot of gunplay and death, it is not graphic. The romance between Angie and Hondo plays a large role, and this may appeal to Romance fans.
Similar Authors: Douglas C. Jones. Elmer Kelton. Max Brand.
Red Flags: Native Americans might be offended by the portrayal of the Apaches as noble savages. Women might be offended by the idea that a woman needs a man in order to raise a son.
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