End of the Drive

April 28, 1997
The west of the late Louis L'Amour (How the West Was Won) rides again in this anthology of eight short stories and a novella, all previously unpublished. It is a familiar territory where "every horse could be ridden, every man whipped, every girl loved," a comforting wilderness of stalwart heroes and cowardly villains. There is violence (the novella, "Rustler Roundup") and romance (the title piece), the latter often tinged with humor ("The Courting of Griselda"). A common theme is that in the West ordinary men are capable of extraordinary things. In "Caprock Rancher," a father faces down a notorious gunman and teaches his son the value of integrity and quiet courage. In "The Skull and the Arrow," a man who has been beaten and left for dead by thugs holding a town hostage summons his last ounce of gumption and returns to rally the citizenry. In "The Lonesome Gods," a French immigrant is saved from death in the desert by his special sense of place. L'Amour is unparalleled in his ability to paint the Western landscape with words, and his sense of period detail and argot is fine. These works, recently discovered among his papers, may not be vintage L'Amour, but they possess enough of his enthusiasm and verve to delight fans and newcomers alike.