Louis Lamour Book Reviews

There are two words that appear throughout various Louis L’amour novels that really bother me.

Sojer (Slang for Soldier)

Injun (Indian)

Both words are used by various nefarious characters as derogatory terms.  The politically correct movement of the very recent past has strongly discouraged these types of words and phrases and more than a little bit of that movement has ingrained itself into my personality.

In most cases I enjoy putting myself into the time period of the book that I am reading, and L’amour does a wonderful job of recreating the old west.  Both “Sojer” and “Injun” are authentic uses of the words and correctly placed, but they still grate on me.

Part of the problem may be that the only time they seem to appear is when a bad guy uses them.  They are a meta-clue as to who to watch out for and give away pieces of the plot without allowing the reader to solve the mystery organically.

Aunt Madge is my favorite character in Louis Lamour’s Callagen.  She is the wise woman who guides the romantic couple and protects the younger characters from harm.

Thoush she is clearly a stock character, patterned after the ever present nurse in the plays of Shakespeare and Johnson, L’amour does an excellent job of making her interesting and enjoyable.  She has the right answers to the right questions at the right time.  She is all around loveable and interesting.  Even her interactions with the less important characters build interest.

When they find the Delaware, The Stick Walker, in the desert, it is Aunt Madge who gives him water and draws his attention.  Though Callaghen could have easily performed the necessary action to move the story forward, L’amour does an excellent job of giving a lesser character an opportunity to shine.

Morty Callaghen comes off almost too sure of himself to be believable.  He speaks several languages, has a ton of experience, and generally seems to have all of the answers.  At the same time, however, his self doubt towards Malinda seems entirely out of place.  An experienced soldier and world traveler seems at a total loss with a woman of relatively little position and standing.

It may have been an attempt to humanize an otherwise superhuman person, but this apparent dichotamy in Callaghen’s psyche makes the story feel rather forced and distracting.  L’amour spends so much time attempting to explain Callaghen’s feelings that the action at times becomes slowed.

Of course Callaghen is a stock character as most of L’amour’s heroes are, but in general his protagonists are much more compelling.

The desert, as described by Louis L’amour is very nearly a living thing.  His characters study it and interact with it as if it were another person.  It is apparent that he had a deep love and respect for all of nature, but he seems to have paid particular attention to the deserts of the American southwest.

Often the desert is described as beautiful.  The beauty of the desert is far different from the beauty of the mountains or of the forests.

I have lived in the mountains, the desert, and in the rainforests of the pacific northwest.  The desert beauty is one that is  best appreciated at a distance and in quiet moments.  More than any other place the desert is a quiet, still place where the scenery can be taken in.  Up close, however, it is often very harsh and unwelcoming.  Either too hot or too cold, and often too windy.  Sandy, dirty, very often unpleasant but at the same time still, quiet, and beautiful.

Of all the places I have lived the desert most calls to me and I think that Louis L’amour expressed much of that sentiment in his works.

Calleghen is a gritty, but slow paced novel by Louis L’amour.  Typically his works move a bit faster than Calleghen, but that does not make this an unenjoyable story.  Rather it provides for a great deal of though.

The essence of the story surrounds a soldier who has travelled the world and is currently stationed in Indian territory.  He is about to finish his term of service when a mysterious man appears at the post, posing as a transferred officer.  The officer takes the men deeper into the desert than expected, where they are attacked by Indians.  After the officer is killed, Calleghen finds a map that leads to a supposed treasure.

The usual romantic side note is included though it is severely downplayed throughout most of the novel.  In the end there is no treasure, and Callegen leaves the army in relatively good standing.

Overall I have to rate this one a bit lower than his other works, though it is still worth a read.

Quackery was a famously profitable industry throughout the 18th and 19th centuries throughout the United States as well as Europe and other parts of the world.  Even today in the 20th century many untried supplements and herbal remedies continue to be sold with varying levels of success at natural and organic markets throughout the country and around the world.

Among the most famous is Dr. Godbold’s Vegetable Balsam of Life which was purported to cure consumption, asthma, coughs and the common cold.   Louis L’amour did his research and makes use of the fame of quackery in Hanging Woman Creek.  The cattle rustler Tom Gatty specifically asks for Dr. Godbold’s Vegetable Balsam of Life on one occaision, refusing to settle for Gardner’s Horse Linament.

Ann Bronte took Dr. Godbold’s Vegetable Balsam, but to no avail.  In the end she perished.  It appears that the balsam did little help the fictional Tom Gatty either.

How much of modern supplements and home remedies are legacies of quackery?  How many really work?  Which discoveries of modern medicine wait just around the corner?

Boxing is one of the many recurring themes in Louis L’amour novels.  During his own life L’amour fought many boxing matches and this is certainly a topic that he knew much about.

In my own experience, having fought in the ring I can attest that the information that he presents in the stories are exact and correct.  Whether the boxing is more or less anecdotal such as in Hanging Woman Creek or if it presents a pivotal moment such as in Lando, the theme is generally the same.  The rough fighter that enjoys fighting for the sake of fighting finds a mentor who then begins to teach him how to find in a more precise and scientific manner.

In many ways boxing is a rite of passage for L’amour that takes his heroes from boyhood to manhood despire the fact that many are already adults when the stories begin.  All heroes must undergo a transformation of some kind - physical, emotional, spiritual or otherwise.  Boxing is one of a set of staple transformations that typify Lamour’s characters, and one which I personally enjoy very much.

A similar sort of transformation is very common in the action movies of today.  Many martial arts movies, for example are all about the physical journey from unskilled to master - a well-known precedent of the great Bruce Lee.  George Lucas used the same trope with his Jedi characters.  This trait is one of the many that make Luke Skywalker such an endearing figure.

I cannot fault L’amour for using boxing in this way - in fact I commend it and appreciate it more each time I read it.