Zeke and Ned Review

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(More customer reviews)What a tale! I'm a Cherokee with a strong heritage, heard about Ned Christie while growing up. I read the review by one of the other Cherokees, and was surprised to see how disappointed they were in this story. How refreshing to see a book with flesh-and-blood characters--I'm sick of books that portray us as "noble savages". We are a people with yearnings, sorrows, flaws and loyalties, strong ones. We wanted, more than anything in the nineteenth century, to be left alone to lead our lives, to extend our heritage. ZEKE AND NED is told in the style of a tall tale, Mark Twainish, if you will, and what a story!!! A historical novel, key word here being "novel". McMurtry and Ossana have taken a critical piece of history and brought it to life. My grandfather read it, loved it, laughed out loud, and cried at the end. I'm sure the clever, engaging dialogue is from the writers' imaginations and not from any historical treatises, because such treatises don't exist. Most of the general facts are true, such as the courtroom shootout, Judge Parker's penchant for hanging, the questionable morals of the U.S. Marshals, the fiery determination of Ned Christie to just be left alone, the strength of our women and their loyalty to their men and their heritage. Hope you'll take a chance on this book. You won't be sorry you did.

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Boone's Lick : A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a reader of McMurtry's novels for years--I've always enjoyed his storytelling, but what I've seen over the years is a paring down of the details in his stories so that narrative and description of place are becoming displaced by the voice of the protagonists--who are not omnicient, but simply tell the story of themselves in circumstances over which they have no control.
Boone's Lick is a beautiful, simple novel. No--it's not Lonesome Dove and Lonesome Dove fans should not judge Boone's Lick based on their love of only one of McMurtry's novels.
McMurtry went through a dry period which included junk like the sequel to Terms of Endearment (I can't even remember the title of the book, it was so substandard), but I have been moved by both Duane's Dead, and now, Boone's Lick.
Readers who expect a great narrative will be disappointed by this novel. But those who expect subtle character development through the voice of a simple, gentle character to tell a story of the old west will be pleased. I'd advise any reader to be patient, and continue on--by the last 75 pages, I was unable to put the book down and wept at the end.

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Dead Man's Walk Review

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(More customer reviews)This book in the Lonsesome Dove series in the first, in chronological order. Gus and Call, called 'young pups' by their elders, have joined the Texas Rangers, hoping for some adventure (and for Gus, a little brothel action and card playing). Soon after their expedition begins, they discover they are in way over their heads. The Commanches are, literally, on the warpath, and hate white people (with good reason, considering the way the white men treated them). They are also very smart, very fast, very skilled in riding and fighting, and VERY bloodthirsty. The main Chief, who even the most hardened soldiers are scared of, is Buffalo Hump, and he is introduced in an unforgettable lightning storm on the prarie, in one of the most vivid, terrifying scenes in the entire series (and if you've read the series, you know things can get VERY ugly). The men in charge of the expedition are either crazy, stupid, drunk, have a very short fuse, or all of the above. The trek starts out rather confident, looking forward to the challenges to come, but soon realize they are no match for the Indians. The Commanches set up a variety of clever, deadly, devastating traps, and soon their ranks are halved, then quartered, then...then it gets REALLY ugly.
This book was a page-turner, and had all the entertaining characters a reader comes to expect from the series. All of the books treat death as an everyday thing, but I think this is one of the most cold-blooded; do not read if you're sqeamish. There's not just one or two nasty scenes, either, they count many and come fast. This is an entertaining book, one that I couldn't put down, but not especially pleasant. A good read, don't get me wrong, but one that is emotionally gruelling.
I guess if you wanted to read the books in chronological order, this would be the one to start. I had planned to do that originally, after I read LD, but have found reading them in the order they were written is actually more satisfying; backstory is filled in, and you get a better perspective.
If you loved LD, read this and the other books in the series. If you're just starting out, read LD first; it may be the strongest, but it will give you an idea of just what a treat you're in for. No ccomplaints here-I put the bok down after reading the last page, and promptly walked right over to my new copy of Commanche Moon (I wisely bought them at the same time) and started in.
This author was born to write.

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