In the early 19th Century American West of Louis L’Amor you will find that the main character is always a young man who is strong, an accomplished horseman and cattle wrangler and is always extremely fast and accurate with a gun. This ultimate wild west hero always finds that there is someone who is being bullied and dominated by some evil man bent on taking over the entire town and most of the cattle territory around it. Our hero is morally compelled to step in and risk his own life and that of some of his fellow riders to make things right and achieve western justice. The bad power-hungry dominator must always be met in a gun battle. That fight concludes most of L’Amor stories in a straight up head to head and fair drawing of pistols. Often the hero is wounded but always he defeats the evil. The good people of the town may now live in peace.
This is an exciting collection of twenty eight L’Amor stories, each of which is satisfying and entertaining on its own. Here is a list of their titles:
1. West is Where the Heart is
2. The Turkeyfeather Rides
3. A Man Named Utah
4. Merrano of the Dry Country
5. Bluff Creek Station
6. Here Ends the Trail
7. The Man from the Dead Hills
8. His Brother’s Debt
9. The Black Rock Coffin Makers
10. The Lion Hunter and the Lady
11. Bill Carey Rides West
12. The Marshal of Sentinel
13. No Rest for the Wicked
14. Long Ride Home
15. Mistakes Can Kill You
16. The Man from Battle Flat
17. Death Song of the Sombrero
18. The Outlaws of Mesquite
19. Murphy Plays His Hand
20. Secret of Silver Springs
21. Men to Match the Hills
22. Trail to Squaw Springs
23. West of the Pilot Range
24. McQueen of the Tumbling K
25. Roundup in Texas
26. West of the Tularosas
27. Bad Place to Die
28. Grub Line Rider
Even though these stories are cliché depictions of the wild west and the gunslinger heroes from a time gone by they are most entertaining and extremely well written. L’Amor is a master of the wild west story and reading these brings back childhood days of watching our larger than life heroes in the old black and white westerns on TV and the big screen. This volume is well deserving of an 8 of 10 on the Weaver meter.
