Rivers West – Louis L'Amour, 1975 ★½

Throwing in the Towel, or Something

Rivers West is what happens when an author loses interest in a novel halfway into writing it. The craziest part is I can’t understand why, as this atypical offering from western-fiction legend Louis L’Amour starts out with much promise.

Comstock Lode – Louis L'Amour, 1981 ★★★★

L'Amour Goes Long, Successfully

Walking steady to face down a dangerous hombre, sharing coffee under the stars with people happy to take a bullet for you; catching up with a girl from your past who turns out both beautiful and fascinated by you: Reading this made me feel like a 12-year-old. Comstock Lode is pure escapism, and I lapped up every page.

The novel presents familiar territory for legendary Western author Louis L’Amour: Val Trevallion comes to the American West from Cornwall, England with his parents, who seek their fortune in an untamed land.

Sackett's Land – Louis L'Amour, 1974 ★½

Weak Start to Sackett Series

Louis L'Amour is commonly called the most popular novelist of the 20th century, with some 260 million books sold by century's end. But he wasn't critically well-regarded, and there are times reading him you understand why.

Sackett's Land presents him in surprisingly weak form given the pride of place this novel enjoys in his oeuvre.