Hondo: A Novel

There are no bad Louis L'Amour books, but Hondo is one of a hand full of the truly great westerns by L'Amour. The only problem is that it is impossible to stop reading once you start. I recommend starting to read this book early on a weekend morning and make lots of coffee in the evening because you can't put it down.

There is nothing like a good western on a rainy afternoon (yes, it rains in Las Vegas). “Hondo” is fast paced and well plotted. I know that John Wayne played Hondo in the movie, but I pictured Randolph Scott in the part. I enjoyed this novel and will certainly read more of Louis L’Amour.

I decided to start reading some western at night because I love classic western movies. I read several by lesser known authors that were terrible. So I decided to only read the classics. Hondo by Louis L'Amour was recommended as the best. The writing and character development were superb but I couldn't finish it. It a love story that I found boring. Great writer, great western just not for me.

Hondo was the first of the Louis L'Amour novels. If my memory serves me correctly the book was published in 1954 and made into the John Wayne movie the following year. Louis L'Amour is/was one of our most prolific western writers in the 20th century. Hondo was about a a US Army scout who was traveling across Apache Territory to report to the Army that Vittorio was at it again. En-route to the fort he finds a cavalry wiped out and manages to evade the Indians. He finds a secluded ranch and meets a young woman and her son who is unprotected by her husbands gallivanting away from home. The movie depicted the Apaches on the move and the Army moving to protect the settlers. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

HONDO is a romance.

Oh sure, the hero (popularized in film by John Wayne) is a hard-bitten, Apache-fighting man, much like many who populate Louis L'Amour's books. But when he meets Angie Lowe and her son, Johnny, alone at a desert ranch, the novel shifts gears.

HONDO, written more than a half-century ago, was L'Amour's first big, critical success. Wayne himself said it was his favorite western novel. And there's a reason it's still in print. Hondo Lane, who has lived with the Apaches and who scouts and carries dispatches for the army, is a powerful protagonist, cunning and savvy. His growing relationship with Angie Lowe -- and the sharp turn the story takes when her long-absent husband reappears -- is even more central to the tale than the growing danger as Apache chief Vittoro prepares the tribes for war.

Even sweeter, though, is Hondo's budding paternal friendship with Johnny, a young boy in need of a father. L'Amour's writing here is deftly tender, without being overly sentimental.

Of course, a L'Amour book always has plenty of fighting, from man-on-man gun battles to large conflicts between the Apaches and U.S. troops. Although the action centers mostly on its eponymous hero, there is a strong sidebar depicting the valor of Company C, a detachment of calvary troops caught out in Apache territory. Their story is terribly moving, and adds a note of solemnity to the novel.

Hondo is a no-nonsense western hero, a man alone who is forced to face what's missing in his life, even as the landscape erupts in chaos around him. Powerful stuff.

by Tom Knapp, the Rambles.NET guy

There are stiff and clunky spots throughout Louis L'Amours best work, yet the tug to keep reading is right there. The prose style is a bit outdated in spots, pure poetry in others. His stories are palate-cleansers from the over-complicated, self-important thrillers of today. The pretenses are low, although in "Hondo" we get more than a few stern lectures about the appropriate way to die in the face of the enemy. "Hondo" is a classic for a good reason--all the classic elements of conflict. Man against nature, man against himself, man against an enemy and man against the Apaches, who are both fearless killers and, at times, reasonable negotiators. There are big choices to be made. "Hondo" jumps out of the shoot with a nifty bit of survival in the Old West. "Hondo Lane could smell trouble, and he knew it was coming, for others and for himself." There are circling buzzards, curious lone coyotes, a Winchester in the scabbard, "the gray bones of a long dead tree." Within pages of the start, Hondo has taken on two Indians and, of course, won the day. The main action of involves Hondo's interaction with Angie Lowe, a rancher stuck out in the desert with her son Johnny. Of course Angie needs a man, son Johnny needs a father figure. Angie's husband is gone--although the given reasons, at least to Hondo, don't quite fit with what he sees around the ranch. Soon, of course, there are Apaches and Hondo is in the middle of a series of colorful and dangerous situations as the pressure mounts. Hondo is on the run, concerned about "those hard and tireless desert fighters." The desert backdrop is key. It's a land "where all life is born with a fire, a thorn, a sting." Good stuff.

How can Hondo possibly be as good as it is? Certainly not because of its plot. Everything that actually happens in Hondo has happened in five hundred books before it and five hundred more since: lone drifter finds lonely woman, the Apaches rise up, the cavalry get ambushed. And certainly not because of its conflict; in this novel, as in far too many of L'Amour's works, the villains are so overmatched by the hero that they're instantly forgettable - except for Vittorio, but Vittorio is not really a villain and is not meant to be.

And yet, Hondo is one of L'Amour's most memorable and moving books. In a sense, it is not a story so much as a love poem: a love poem to the American West, to its land, to its virtues, and to its vanished people. All of L'Amour's books show his love for the West, of course, but here that love is almost the main character in itself. Every word does its best to mirror the beauty that L'Amour sees in the land and its people. At times it has the power and majesty of a hymn, of a nearly religious love. Hondo Lane and Angie Lowe's growing love mirrors and amplifies L'Amour's love, and makes for what is surely L'Amour's most heartfelt book.

I've always liked Westerns better in the movies than in fiction. What makes for good mythic archetypes on the silver screen often makes for something less than that on the printed page. Still, Louis L'Amour's Hondo worked for me. It's a tale of the tall silent loner, hard on the outside and a sensitive soul deep within, the kind of archetype first given us by James Fenimore Cooper's Hawkeye character in Last of the Mohicans. Since then writers of Westerns have reworked the character again and again. And L'Amour does it, as well, with Hondo Lane. He creates a supremely likeable loner who is equally at home with the Apache Indians as with the white settlers, and who is suddenly thrust into a situation in which he must worry about a lone settler woman and her six year old son living in Indian country as the Apaches rise up in rebellion at the broken treaty foisted on them by the white man. Vittoro, the old and implacable Apache chief, takes a shine to the woman's son when he shows unexpected pluck and extends his protection over the boy and his mother. But another Apache, Silva, balks at this, even as Hondo is heading to the homestead to rescue the mom and her son, the woman's ne'er-do-well husband hot on his heels, intent on murder and mayhem. Hondo must fight his way back to the woman and boy, despite the harsh enmity of the Apaches, and balance the demands of his army employers with the needs of the little family he has decided to adopt. It's a good, fast moving story though it hasn't much depth to it. Nor are the characters, who are mostly well drawn, very deeply portrayed. In the end its the drive of the narrative and the rich evocation of the Arizona desert that carry this one. L'Amour worked the Western myth as well in print as many contemporary filmmakers sometimes managed to do in celluloid. -- SWM

Hondo was the first of the Louis L'Amour novels. If my memory serves me correctly the book was published in 1954 and made into the John Wayne movie the following year. Louis L'Amour is/was one of our most prolific western writers in the 20th century. Hondo was about a a US Army scout who was traveling across Apache Territory to report to the Army that Vittorio was at it again. En-route to the fort he finds a cavalry wiped out and manages to evade the Indians. He finds a secluded ranch and meets a young woman and her son who is unprotected by her husbands gallivanting away from home. The movie depicted the Apaches on the move and the Army moving to protect the settlers. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

HONDO is a romance.

Oh sure, the hero (popularized in film by John Wayne) is a hard-bitten, Apache-fighting man, much like many who populate Louis L'Amour's books. But when he meets Angie Lowe and her son, Johnny, alone at a desert ranch, the novel shifts gears.

HONDO, written more than a half-century ago, was L'Amour's first big, critical success. Wayne himself said it was his favorite western novel. And there's a reason it's still in print. Hondo Lane, who has lived with the Apaches and who scouts and carries dispatches for the army, is a powerful protagonist, cunning and savvy. His growing relationship with Angie Lowe -- and the sharp turn the story takes when her long-absent husband reappears -- is even more central to the tale than the growing danger as Apache chief Vittoro prepares the tribes for war.

Even sweeter, though, is Hondo's budding paternal friendship with Johnny, a young boy in need of a father. L'Amour's writing here is deftly tender, without being overly sentimental.

Of course, a L'Amour book always has plenty of fighting, from man-on-man gun battles to large conflicts between the Apaches and U.S. troops. Although the action centers mostly on its eponymous hero, there is a strong sidebar depicting the valor of Company C, a detachment of calvary troops caught out in Apache territory. Their story is terribly moving, and adds a note of solemnity to the novel.

Hondo is a no-nonsense western hero, a man alone who is forced to face what's missing in his life, even as the landscape erupts in chaos around him. Powerful stuff.

by Tom Knapp, the Rambles.NET guy

There are stiff and clunky spots throughout Louis L'Amours best work, yet the tug to keep reading is right there. The prose style is a bit outdated in spots, pure poetry in others. His stories are palate-cleansers from the over-complicated, self-important thrillers of today. The pretenses are low, although in "Hondo" we get more than a few stern lectures about the appropriate way to die in the face of the enemy. "Hondo" is a classic for a good reason--all the classic elements of conflict. Man against nature, man against himself, man against an enemy and man against the Apaches, who are both fearless killers and, at times, reasonable negotiators. There are big choices to be made. "Hondo" jumps out of the shoot with a nifty bit of survival in the Old West. "Hondo Lane could smell trouble, and he knew it was coming, for others and for himself." There are circling buzzards, curious lone coyotes, a Winchester in the scabbard, "the gray bones of a long dead tree." Within pages of the start, Hondo has taken on two Indians and, of course, won the day. The main action of involves Hondo's interaction with Angie Lowe, a rancher stuck out in the desert with her son Johnny. Of course Angie needs a man, son Johnny needs a father figure. Angie's husband is gone--although the given reasons, at least to Hondo, don't quite fit with what he sees around the ranch. Soon, of course, there are Apaches and Hondo is in the middle of a series of colorful and dangerous situations as the pressure mounts. Hondo is on the run, concerned about "those hard and tireless desert fighters." The desert backdrop is key. It's a land "where all life is born with a fire, a thorn, a sting." Good stuff.

How can Hondo possibly be as good as it is? Certainly not because of its plot. Everything that actually happens in Hondo has happened in five hundred books before it and five hundred more since: lone drifter finds lonely woman, the Apaches rise up, the cavalry get ambushed. And certainly not because of its conflict; in this novel, as in far too many of L'Amour's works, the villains are so overmatched by the hero that they're instantly forgettable - except for Vittorio, but Vittorio is not really a villain and is not meant to be.

And yet, Hondo is one of L'Amour's most memorable and moving books. In a sense, it is not a story so much as a love poem: a love poem to the American West, to its land, to its virtues, and to its vanished people. All of L'Amour's books show his love for the West, of course, but here that love is almost the main character in itself. Every word does its best to mirror the beauty that L'Amour sees in the land and its people. At times it has the power and majesty of a hymn, of a nearly religious love. Hondo Lane and Angie Lowe's growing love mirrors and amplifies L'Amour's love, and makes for what is surely L'Amour's most heartfelt book.

I've always liked Westerns better in the movies than in fiction. What makes for good mythic archetypes on the silver screen often makes for something less than that on the printed page. Still, Louis L'Amour's Hondo worked for me. It's a tale of the tall silent loner, hard on the outside and a sensitive soul deep within, the kind of archetype first given us by James Fenimore Cooper's Hawkeye character in Last of the Mohicans. Since then writers of Westerns have reworked the character again and again. And L'Amour does it, as well, with Hondo Lane. He creates a supremely likeable loner who is equally at home with the Apache Indians as with the white settlers, and who is suddenly thrust into a situation in which he must worry about a lone settler woman and her six year old son living in Indian country as the Apaches rise up in rebellion at the broken treaty foisted on them by the white man. Vittoro, the old and implacable Apache chief, takes a shine to the woman's son when he shows unexpected pluck and extends his protection over the boy and his mother. But another Apache, Silva, balks at this, even as Hondo is heading to the homestead to rescue the mom and her son, the woman's ne'er-do-well husband hot on his heels, intent on murder and mayhem. Hondo must fight his way back to the woman and boy, despite the harsh enmity of the Apaches, and balance the demands of his army employers with the needs of the little family he has decided to adopt. It's a good, fast moving story though it hasn't much depth to it. Nor are the characters, who are mostly well drawn, very deeply portrayed. In the end its the drive of the narrative and the rich evocation of the Arizona desert that carry this one. L'Amour worked the Western myth as well in print as many contemporary filmmakers sometimes managed to do in celluloid. -- SWM

This novel was back-written from the movie by the same name -- L'Amour had supplied the basic screenplay, and Wayne reputedly suggested he turn it into a novel.

It was, if I recall correctly, L'Amours first novel, and that, as well as its origin as a film, may explain its paucity of character development and over-reliance on set-pieces. In film, much can be suggested by tone, lighting, focus, pacing, score and the choice of technique (cuts, fades, dissolves, etc.). Plus, in film, an actor's voice, gesture, facial expression give the audience clues about the character -- their mood, condition, attitude, essence. But in a book all must be supplied by words alone. L'Amour went on to have an amazing career as a story-teller -- one might even say a composer of epic sagas (e.g., The Sacketts).

L'Amour never wrote to achieve a new style of literature, but to express the myriad stories he heard, touched, lived or dreamed. In achieving that he brought a lot of pleasure to many, and from his books he also gave life to the dust of history. Hondo is a wonderful introduction to his work.

It is perhaps one of those fortunate turns of kismet that Bantam's Louis L'Amour's Legacy Editions series should be launched at roughly the same time as the premiere of "Deadwood," HBO's new original western series. It is doubtful that it was planned that way, given that such matters are usually scheduled a year or so in advance. However, the interest in "Deadwood," a graphic and gritty presentation that is not your daddy's "Bonanza," will hopefully rekindle interest in the Western genre in general and L'Amour in particular.
While L'Amour's name is known and revered to fans of the Western genre, he was in the somewhat unenviable position of having his work better known than he was to the general public. This was due primarily to the adaptation of his fine novels to epic films, such as How The West Was Won, The Shadow Riders and, of course, Hondo.
L'Amour's HONDO is inexorably intertwined with John Wayne, who played the lead role of Hondo Lane in the 1953 film. It is hard to believe that the book of the same name was L'Amour's first full-length novel. L'Amour had confined himself to the magazine market up until then, honing his craft by refusing to sacrifice quality at the expense of quantity, writing for reliable publications such as Argosy (recently and brilliantly revived) and creating word paintings on a huge, adventurous canvas. The quality of HONDO demonstrates this for all time. Though over fifty years has passed since its publication, L'Amour's prose sparkles and shines with a brilliance that transcends time, place and fashion.
Hondo is a mystery man, a loner, whose background is only roughly sketched throughout the novel in a passage here, a sentence there. He is a dispatch rider for General Crook, traveling through an Arizona desert that he knows as well as his own name. In his lifetime, he has lived among the Apache and the white man, usually uncomfortably. Hondo is a legend among both, a roughhewed individual who will live in peace if he is permitted but who will kill without hesitation if he is attacked or disturbed. As the novel begins the Apache are leaving the reservation, beginning a rebellion that will ultimately lead to their inevitable destruction.
Hondo is on his way back to General Crook to bring him word of the uprising when he stumbles across a small ranch in the desert worked and defended by Angie Lowe and Johnny, her young son. Angie Lowe has been deserted by her husband but is not about to desert the land and small ranch that her father left to her. Lowe and Hondo find themselves attracted to each other following their brief meeting, and after Hondo completes his mission he is compelled to return to Lowe in an attempt to persuade her to leave the ranch in the face of the deadly Apache uprising.
Vittorio, the chief of the Apaches, is also aware of Lowe, and respects her courage and that of Johnny. He desires to bring them into his tribe of Apache warriors. While he respects Hondo as well, there are those in his tribe who do not. One is Silva, who is motivated by hatred rather than nobility, and who has set his sight upon Lowe and her son in order to wreak a terrible vengeance. L'Amour painstakingly but quickly draws these disparate people and elements together, and if one anticipates the conclusion it is only because it is a classic one that L'Amour had a hand in creating.
The ending of HONDO, in its way, is perfect: one is left wanting more, to learn what happened to Hondo Lane and to Angie Lowe, and yet what is revealed is enough. And while HONDO is firmly and finely steeped in the Western genre, its subject matter, and L'Amour's resounding skill as a wordsmith, transcends classification. HONDO is ultimately a necessity for any bookshelf, published in the edition that it has earned and deserves.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

The area of this novel is southeastern Arizona in the area of the Chiricahua Mountains during the Apache wars. The main character is Hondo Lane, riding dispatch and scout for General Crook. He has a companion who sides him, "a rough-looking mongrel dog," named Sam.

Most of the reviews herein show ample evidence to the enjoyment and value of this novel. Most give it either 4 or 5 stars. Not too many, though some exist, are negative regarding this story. So it's safe to say this is a very good western. I think it possibly the best Louis L'Amour ever penned. I've read the book more times than I can count, having several hardcover and softcover on my shelves. It's a quick, engrossing read, but such an entertaining one, too.

One of the elements that strike me, is the number of people who cannot separate John Wayne from this story. They seem linked together forever. I recall seeing the picture back in the 1950s, yes the story is that old, and the movie was shot in 3-D. If you are of a certain age you will know what that means, and also what a dud 3-D turned out to be. Considering John Wayne, I think the movie did him a great service as a starring role; and though I have a large piece of artwork from the movie on my western wall, of John and his faithful dog, Sam, directly behind him, I never forget that the short story, and book came first. Not the other way round.

So give Mr. L'Amour the credit, for without the story, no movie. But again, they do seem inseparable.

Though this book can stand along side "Shane" I think the two very different books. The subject matter and time frame doesn't match either. Hondo Lane belongs to a time of seizing the land, Shane belongs to a later time, when gunfighters are quickly becoming obsolete, and 'sodbuster' settlers are seizing the land.

One last interesting element for me is the various thoughts and glimpes each reader receives from Hondo. Read the reviews, and you will see that the book is truly a universal western, meaning many things to many people.

Louis L'Amour's own words may describe it best, "...American stories, the stories I wish to tell, and if I have not told them well, I shall have tried."

Semper Fi.

I have tried reading L'amour in the past and have never been able to get into his writing. Nothing changed this time around for me. I don't think he is very good. I keep picking his books up because I am looking for good Westerns beyond Zane Grey.

I don't think this book works very well for several reasons. Firstly, the characters are as thin and brittle as can be. Hondo is supposed to be the silent hero, but I could never fully get into his motives for what he does or why. I felt like he put his life on the line many times in ridiculous fashion while acting like an unruffled John Wayne. There are good Indians and bad Indians. Both good and bad come across as idiots. The chief adopts a boy because he is brave while his people slaughter all other whites in the area. There is a bad Indian that wants to kill this family so vehemently, and I don't understand why.

The plot meanders. I think this is the one aspect of Hondo I admire. The story weaves across a large swath of conflicts and places. At the same time, I did not feel like any of this was explored well enough.

Lastly, L'Amour is not a good writer. I read where he bragged about publishing something like 800 novels. If you do the math and think he had a 40 year career, thats 20 books a year or 1 book every 20 days. Maybe the lack of revisions or editing is what makes Hondo feel so completely devoid of prose style or writing structure.

Try Riders of the Purple Sage instead.

The western myth over the years has slowly become the American myth. The old west has come to represent the ideal American characteristics of independence, heroism, and ruggedness. So, too, the cowboy has been given an almost god-like status in the mind of America. In the book Hondo, Louis L'amour captures both the qualities of the west and of the cowboy. This book has rightfully become an American classic. It has been read by thousands, but still finds a place in today's world of political correctness and multi-culturalism. But, how has the book not only survived but thrived through the years? For the answer, we need only analyze three things: the main characters, the descriptive use of the west, and L'amour's writing style. The main characters of Hondo and Angie are the back bone of the book. It is through the development of these two characters that L'amour is able to keep the reader's attention and entertain, as well. Hondo contains just about every masculine characteristic that is viewed by American eyes as desirable. He is truly a man's man. He possesses great physical strength and mythic-like reflexes. He is rugged and independent and as with most heroes, in the end, he gets the girl. Perhaps his most important characteristic is his tendency for both good and evil. He is a true middle grounder who is able to exist between the two worlds of the Indians and the settlers - the worlds of chaos and order. Angie falls in love with him for these characteristics, and so does the reader. We admire him because he is fixed, right or wrong; he is what he is. Angie tends to have all the desirable characteristics of a woman as well. L'amour portrays Angie in a manner which allows the reader to choose how Angie is seen. She can be seen as a strong, brave, independent women who survived the west on her own and became involved with Hondo out of want and not necessity. Or, she can be seen as loyal, domestic, and allowing herself to be swept off her feet by a handsome cowboy. By leaving the interpretation of Angie to the reader, L'amour can capture both sides of how the west is viewed. On one hand, the west is a place of opportunity for independent survival and on the other, it's a place where one can find true love and romance. Hondo and the scenery are paralleled throughout the book. Much like Hondo, the west is shown to be rugged, rough, and brutal. L'amour does not describe the west with great detail as other cowboy novel authors have, such as Zane Grey. This fact adds mystery of the west. Leaving the west as an unknown, L'amour is able to accentuate the frontier qualities associated with the west. What little description he does give is simplistic in nature. L'amour's writing style in general is very simplistic. Some critics have labeled this a negative aspect of the book; however, I feel it only adds to it. The cowboy myth itself is very simple in nature. In its purest form, it is the ability to survive independently, not relying on anything or anyone else. By keeping the language simple, L'amour is able to convey that myth and use it to the advantage of the work. The reader able to easily identify the feelings associated with both the west and the cowboy. Louis L'amour has given us a very entertaining work with Hondo. The western has become more than just another form of literature. The western myth has become the American myth. It sums up the qualities and characteristics of our nation. As Americans we have all come to identify ourselves with certain concepts such as individuality, independence, and resourcefulness. These qualities are all shown by our hero Hondo. L'amour and other western writers have given us a median in which we find an American at his best. We can all find aspects of the cowboy in our daily lives and that is precisely one reason why Hondo has lasted so long.

This western classic is based on the author's short story, "The Gift of Cochise", and further developed into one of the genre's most popular stories. Louis L'Amour's love of the west, its great lands, the Indians and the settlers who followed comes alive in this rugged tale which has interesting characters and a touch of romance. Army dispatch rider Hondo Lane happens upon an isolated ranch and befriends Angie Lowe and son Johnny, both abandoned by a ne'er-do-well husband and father. The Apaches are on the warpath and the pony soldiers are out on patrol to put down the Indian uprising. John Wayne was the star in the excellent 1953 film which portrays the Apaches as a fierce but dignified warrior tribe. It is young Johnny who is the main point of interest of both Lane and chief Vittoro who want the boy grow into manhood despite the enmity between the Apaches and the soldiers. L'Amour is said to have been one of President Eisenhower's favorite writers and enjoyed reading his tales of the old west. Actor David Strathairn is the narrator of the audiobook and expertly recreates this story for audiobook listeners.

First had this book read to me by a teacher in the fifth grade, and it was then that I fell in love with the writing of Louis L'Amour. I had never heard of him before that. I began to devour his books and bought at least one, sometimes two or three copies of his work, often just because there was a new cover on one. I personally consider this book to be the best example of his writing and what made L'Amour the household name he is today, a name mentioned even in the novels of a great like John Grisham. Ride on, Louis. We miss you. Incidentally, I find a certain similarity of writing between L'Amour and an author from my neck of the woods, Kirby Jonas. I hope one day that Jonas develops into a writer as prolific as L'Amour, because I need a new favorite author, and I have read all L'Amour's probably three to five times.

Louis L'Amour is the author of Hondo, and exciting, action-packed western. Hondo is the cowboy of the story; fighting off Indians, killing betrayers, and rescuing Angie and her son Johnny. This story fits the sterotype of westerns with all the gunslinging and violence. Hondo, the character, is the typical cowboy. He never shows his feelings to others, is courageous, rugged, and appealing to the women. Angie, whom is a damsel in distress, depends on him to get her and her son out of the danger that surrounds them, and she trusts him. She is attracted to his exciting and dangerous life; the violence is what makes him so appealing to her. The violence in his life represents his masculinity as a cowboy. Killing Indians and surviving in the desert shows how much power and control he possessess, and the power he has makes him even more masculine in Angie's eyes, therefore increasing the attraction. This book is full of action and constant excitement, and it is simple to read. The positive side to reading this book is that it is entertaing to those people who like westerns. Hondo gives an adventuresome, interesting version of the stereotype of the "old west". The book seems to fly by as one is reading it. However, if a person does not enjoy action books, this may not be the correct choice for them.

Novel or novelization? That is the question one has to ask oneself. Did Louis L'Amour write it or did he follow James Edward Grant's screenplay? The back cover of the original publication--which I have--has a John Wayne quote, "The best novel I have ever read" and that's quite a feat considering the book wasn't "written" until after the movie was made. But either way, this was the beginning of one of the longest and most successful publishing ventures ever---Louis L'Amour, a phenomenon in the literary business. And without a doubt is one of his best works. The short story upon which the movie and this book is based, The Gift of Cochise, is probably better in the real scheme of things but then short stories have to be judged quite differently than longer works. And as with most novelists, LL's early works are his best with a few exceptions. I recommend you read the book and watch the movie and decide which you like better.

Louis L'amour wrote a short story that was made into the movie "Hondo". The movie was based on a screenplay ,not written by L'amour, that was quite a bit different from L'amour's short story, for instance the screen writer is the one who came up with Hondo Lane and the dog Sam. When L'amour wrote the novel Hondo he worked from the screenplay. According to Robert Weinberger's book "The Louis L'amour Companion" John Wayne told him he had never read the novel Hondo and didn't remember ever meeting L'amour, his endorsement was just for the screenplay. That being cleared up this is a pretty good western. There is a couple of laugh out loud parts in this novel. One is when one of the Apaches is telling his chief that Hondo knows their language and how much he had been insulted by Hondo in Apache. The other is when Sam his dog has been killed, to help get over it he is telling how ugly and mean the dog was he says he almost had to eat him up on the powder river once and he had
not looked forward to it or something to that effect, you have to read it to see the humor. L'amour's best western novel "Conagher" is also a must read.

I've really got a thing for these Louis L'amour books at the moment. They hardly take a moment to read, but they are well-crafted and excellent reads. Hondo seems to be the ultimate Western man - he has lived at least part of his life with Apache, is a scout for the Army, and comes up against the Apache both as friend and foe.

Hondo comes across a farm run by a woman and her son, she lies to him and tells her that her husband is away in the hills rounding cattle - Hondo knows that isn't true as there are no tracks leaving the place. He tries to convince her to come with him to the safety of the fort but she refuses. She has always been friends with the Apache and wants to remain on the property even though her husband has gone and is probably dead.

Returning to the fort Hondo realises that things are bad and the woman and boy out there alone will probably die so he returns against orders, but not without the tacit consent of the fort's commander.

He is tracked from the fort by two men intent on killing him - one of them is Ed Lowe, the woman's husband. Unfortunately for them group of Apache track them to the springs and the two men die trying to ambush Hondo - Hondo manages to kill two of the indians along with Ed Lowe. HOwever one indian has escaped to raise the alarm - and now Hondo is in danger, tracked by one of the vicious roaming Apache bands.

This is very much the story of a man who knows his own code of justice and righteousness and is prepared to live and die by that code. His dog, Sam, is like him. A loner, but one who is loyal and trustworthy.

What I really liked about this book is that most of the characters in it were shades of black and white rather than all good or all bad - for instance Vittoro, the Apache cheif - he was not all bad - as was Hondo. Both respected one another because theirs was a code of fairness rather than hatred. The characters who simply hated got their come-uppance.

It moves along at a cracking pace, and although I like some of the later more humourous heros, I still really enjoyed this book - a great read.

From a female perspective, I have never read a western. I was familiar with the books of Louis L'Amour because my brother had all of his books on his shelf when we were growing up. So I assumed these were all cowboy and indian books only suitable for boys or men.

Little did I know that Louis L'Amour excels at describing the prairie wilderness and nature with the soul of a poet. This is the part I enjoyed the most: his description of sunlight on the desert, the cottonwood trees, the sun playing on the water of the river. However, L'Amour never lets the description get in the way of the narrative. I like that too.

I never realized what a feminine and romantic soul lurked in the writing of Louis L'Amour. This is a man who loves women and is kind to animals and children. What a gentle soul. Even with the fights, ambushes and killing of Apache and pony riders, I absolutely loved this book. EXCEPT, when the Apache chief Vitoro says to Angie, "You have great man. Treasure him." We get the idea that Hondo is the hardened, hardtack cowboy with a heart of gold and we don't need the local chief to tell us so. That was the one bum line in the book. (Which I listened to as an audio book.)

If you only ever read one Louis L'Amour book, this is a great pick. Though I am kind of hooked on him at the moment and am about to start "Last of the Breed."

The best Western novel I have ever read. -John Wayne
Hey look, I'm not about to argue with the Duke. Louis L'Amour is probably the best-selling Western writer of all time and Hondo his first big, and perhaps his best, novel. It is reminiscent of Shane (see Orrin's review) and Riders of the Purple Sage (see Orrin's review), but with Apaches on the warpath taking the place of hostile cattle ranchers or intolerant Mormons. Hondo Lane is the gun fighter, Army dispatch rider, hero who, along with his feral but loyal dog Sam, meets Angie Lowe and her young son Johnny who are homesteading in Apache territory in late 1800's Arizona. Angie has been abandoned by her low down snake of a husband, but refuses to leave her land. Hondo must ride back to the Fort to warn the Cavalry that the Apache chief Vittoro is on the move, but then returns to help defend woman and child.
If the story does not quite reach the lofty literary heights of Shane--perhaps because the focus is so much on what Hondo needs from Angie and Johnny, as opposed to the way in which Shane was the object of the Starrett family's affection--it is still quite enjoyable. Three elements that really stand out and offer a contrast to the easy caricature of the genre are the respectful portrayal of the Apaches, the centrality of the romance angle to the story and the blithe depiction of the difficulty and brutality of frontier life. Even in so formulaic a tale as this one, the American Western demonstrates a level of maturity and nuance that critics seem bent on denying.
With the possible exception of the romance novel, there is perhaps no other genre of fiction which the critics and academia take less seriously than the Western. But consider the fact that by the time of his death L'Amour had sold over 200 million books and among his avid legion of readers were two of the most decent men ever to become U.S. Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. It seems to me that the failure of the intelligentsia to reckon with Western reflects poorly on themselves, rather than on the literature. L'Amour says at one point:
No man knows the hour of his ending, nor can he choose the place or the manner of his going. To each it is given to die proudly, to die well, and this is, indeed, the final measure of the man.
It is easy, too easy, to dismiss the ethos of the Western as a kind of macho posturing. But those lines and the general "code of the West", however much it may be a fictional construct, reflect a concern with reputation which, when observed, has had a salutary effect on men. In an excellent essay on "The Greatness of George Washington" (Virginia Quarterly Review, Volume 68, Number 2) historian Gordon S. Wood traces Washington's greatness and his stature among his peers to what our generation would perceive as an overweening concern for his own reputation. But this same zealous regard for his own name and place in history motivated Washington to lead a life of exemplary moral rectitude and he created in himself the ideal man to lead a nascent and fragile democracy, a man capable of resisting the temptations of power because reputation was more important to him. It is no surprise then to find that two of the only other presidents we've had who can even approach him in stature immersed themselves in this idealistic and rigidly moralistic fiction. God knows what Bill Clinton reads (actually one book we know he enjoyed is Vox by Nicholson Baker, see Orrin's review), but rest assured, it ain't Louis L'Amour
GRADE: A-

Hondo will go down as one of my all-time favorites, regardless of genre. Hondo is killer of men, but also principled and gentle. You really get invested in Hondo as a character, how he straddles morals and living the rough life of a frontier scout. This is most definitely not a spaghetti western, it is much more what I'd imagine the west was at the time that this story takes place in and I believe there were real men like Hondo on the frontier.

The story has it all, a flawed hero, a love interest, action, and subplots. Very enjoyable read.

If you want to read the best Western ever, read "Lonesome Dove." If you want original characters, read Elmore Leonard's Westerns. If you want to read something plain, relaxing and uncomplicated, then just about anything by Louis "L'Amour will do, including "Hondo."
As I joked in the title of my review, it's more of the same -- a grizzled, tough lonely cowboy (in this case Hondo Lane), a lonely woman with an absent (or dead) husband (Angie Lowe) and her son (Johnny), all of whom L'Amour finds a way to get together and make life less lonely in the Old West. And, to make this story a bit different than "Conagher," Hondo has a dog.
L'Amour doesn't do much nuance. Hondo is wide of shoulder, slim of hip, a great fist-fighter and enough of a gunman to make other men go, "Don't mess with him, that's Hondo!" That said, while he's not as snappy with the dialogue as Leonard or Larry McMurtry, L'Amour gets the job done well enough.
Add in some Apaches (particularly a couple named Vittoro and Silva) and L'Amour is in his element, weaving a tale. And it's not an unpleasant one. While I enjoy the other writers I've mentioned, if I were out in a sleeping bag near a campfire for a night or two, I'd rather take along a book like "Hondo." It's just more down to earth.
If you are a L'Amour fan, then buy this book. If you are a person who likes easygoing Westerns, buy this book. It may not be worthy of a Pulitzer, but it is worth the read.

I don't read westerns very much, usually I find that they have the same basic plot, no matter who the author is. However, I have always heard of Louis L'Amour because my brother used to read his novels. When I heard that John Wayne did a movie based on one of L'Amour's characters in a novel he had written, well first I saw the movie, which I liked, then I read the novel, which I really enjoyed.
Hondo is a very entertaining novel. It has vivid descriptions of the harsh desert life where Hondo lives. It describes the tough life of a woman who is surviving on a desert ranch along with her young son. The novel also tells about the true desert warriors the Apache Indians. Mix all of these together with a very tough yet tender cowboy such as Hondo and you get a great novel as a result.

The events of this very solid and compelling story are clearly based on, or at least loosely inspired by, real events in Arizona in 1861. There are many parallels with the Boscom affair and the kidnapping of Mickey Free, events that led to the Apache Wars and the campaigns of Cochise. It's L'Amour's comprehensive knowledge of the history and landscape of Arizona that helps to make this book special. The writing is consistently good, occasionally sublime; "...the tips of the cottonwoods turned gold, like the sun-tipped lances of a moving army." L'Amour is particularly good with dialogue, a skill which is sadly lacking among most Western writers, making Zane Grey for example, almost unreadable. The only thing preventing "Hondo" from being great literature is the paper-thin characterization. Hondo Lane is an idealized, 'Hollywooden' hero and the villains lack any redeeming features that would make them credible. The depiction of the Apache is sympathetic, even to the extent that they too are often idealized ("No Apache ever hit his child"). The author's attempts to describe the developing feelings of the hero and heroine for each other are particularly gauche. L'Amour, it seems, cannot write l'amour. But, so what? If we want profound insights into human nature, we read Jane Austen. If we want the romance and drama of the Old West, we read Louis L'Amour.

This was the first full-length novel by L'Amour (1910-1988) and it was voted in 1977 as one of the top twenty-five western novels by the Western Writers of America. It was also made into a classic film starring John Wayne. Hondo Lane, always accompanied by the dog Sam, is an Army scout in Arizona in the late 1800s. During an Apache uprising, he comes across a remote farm in which a woman, Angie Lowe, and her six-year-old son have been isolated for some time, her husband having abandoned them. Hondo tries to convince them to return with him to the Fort but she insists on staying. While at the Fort he has an altercation with the delinquent husband at the same time that the woman and her son meet and are befriended by the Apache chief, Vittorio.

Hondo Lane is the perfect portrait of the old west, when he finds Angie Lowe and her son living in the middle of Native American land, the adventure begins and the author knows how to capture the time and the people of an era long gone by. When you are looking for a great western this is the go to author.

In thirty five years, Louis L'Amour wrote over one hundred books. Every one is still in print. Quite an accomplishment. I've read dozens of his books and Hondo is unquestionably my favorite.

L'Amour has been described as a good storyteller, but a mediocre writer. When you start late and publish over one hundred books, it's difficult to maintain the quality required to get a first novel published. Hondo, published in 1953, was his first novel and proves that L'Amour could write well when he paid attention to his craft. Unusual for a Western, Hondo is a love story, reminiscent of The Virginian.

L'Amour loved of the West and it comes through to the reader in his stories.

This is a great story. L'Amour was a terrific writer, and he was in top form in Hondo. The book is so well done, it temporarily made me forget the Wayne movie.

In my opinion, L'Amour was better than Brand or Gray. And better than Bill Johnstone (except for his 40 Guns West).

Hello, folks, I'm James Drury. I used to play the Virginian on television. I say this only to add a little authority to this review. If you haven't read Louis L'Amour, and particularly this book, you ought to build up the fire, sit down on your couch, and kick back. You are in for a treat. John Wayne brought Hondo to life, but he couldn't have done it without this book to build from. Wayne said this was his favorite Western novel, and in the world of Westerns we all trust the Duke! Make sure you read this book if you get the chance, and if you haven't read L'Amour and you take a liking to him you might also want to try Elmore Leonard, Elmer Kelton, Mike Blakely or Kirby Jonas.

What? Into reading westerns? Not hardly. But as a lover of pioneer stories, stories of struggle and survival, about the growth of our country, and after many years of being curious about L'Amour, I thought "why not". What a great fun read. Excellent writing, Good action, interesting characters, fascinating history, wonderful sense of place, though fell short with the romance, for me. Especially good read when you're feeling a little under the weather and need something light. So glad I finally read a L'amour and now know what so many have loved for years.

I would give this book 4.5 stars, if I could. It was a fantastic, short, engaging read that I wish was just a little bit longer! If you like westerns and haven't read this book, what are you waiting for? If you've never read westerns, this one may get you hooked. It sure did for me. Buy it!

Like great comedy films, L'Amour's books don't always get the critical accolades they deserve. This one is especially great. It's well paced. No wasted words. Great plot w/ great characters. Did they make a movie of this? They'd never get it right now. Why did someone Like Norman Mailer get taken seriously and not L'Amour? When L'Amour is on, it's like Hemingway, but better. The only great thing Mailer did was Executioner's Song and his co-writer did most of the work. That's when he wasn't pimping himself out to Esquire for nonsensical profiles of celebrities. Yikes. While Mailer was shmoozing at another NY cocktail high society party L'Amour was churning out another quality book. Who's the real writer? Remarkable.

I enjoyed the story as all of the books by this author. He’s such a wonderful scene painter. This is probably my 6-7 book to finish by Louis L’Amour. More to come as I work through his collection.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*Plot and ending analyzed*

Louis L'Amour's Hondo reads like a silly woman's novel, nothing but talk of love, or syrupy thoughts, and then he insults the Apaches in the process. The Apaches get manhandled and Victorio gets killed. Victorio was a pretty smart guy in the following, so his death was ridiculous and unexpected.

Louis L'Amour didn't even bother to finish the novel with a long, thoughtout ending, but he has the Apaches charging the wagons, which they never did if it meant getting killed. The Apaches in this book, also take "coup" and scalps, which is something they wouldn't bother to do, never. They cared solely about surviving, not about absurd bravery rituals from the plains regions, which only leads their people to death. No, the Apaches were more cunning than that. They also would have shot Hondo outright, no questions asked, not allowed him to fight one of their own. Hondo pretends to be tough and smug in their company, but it's not very appealing or realistic. Just downright disgusting.

Hondo lived with the Apaches, but he hates them for some reason. And for this reason I don't like Hondo as a character. Louis L'Amour was probably writing of his time, but still, I admire the Apaches so Hondo's smug attitude gets weary really quick.

Hombre (1961), a novel by Elmore Leonard, is far more sympathetic, so is the Hombre (1967) film starring Paul Newman.

It's a short read, so it isn't a complete waste of time. Just don't think it's that great like the reviews would have you believe.

The film was equally repulsive.

I would give this book 4.5 stars, if I could. It was a fantastic, short, engaging read that I wish was just a little bit longer! If you like westerns and haven't read this book, what are you waiting for? If you've never read westerns, this one may get you hooked. It sure did for me. Buy it!