The Walking Drum: A Novel

I thoroughly enjoyed it, couldn't put it down, didn't want it to end so now I would definitely like to have the next two volumes after this story that Louis wrote about at the end of this volume, one of the best I've read

The story structure is a roller coaster - after Mathurin Kerbouchard's mother is killed, he begins the quest to find his father who is rumored to have been captured or killed in battle. Sounds easy but it ain't - his inquisitiveness sets him up against multiple foes that enable him to rescue several pretty ladies, all of whom help him reach his goal of finding out what happened to his dad.

The writing style is reminiscent of the 60s and 70s (lack of punctuation, missing the word that, etc), with a strong masculine flavor.

Historical information packs this novel but the story doesn't always seam up with it well; the information sometimes feels out of place and, at times, lengthy (though L'Amour fails to challenge Tolkien's lengthy descriptions). Would have been interesting to see L'Amour tackle this time period in a nonfiction piece.

Fast moving, interesting novel -- brings the major cites of the 10th century world into geographic & cultural perspective with adventures of son seeking to find and release his Corsair father from imprisonment-- If he is still alive..