The Rider of Lost Creek

Lance KIlkenny is somewhat of mystery. A gunfighter, he doesn't hang around very long after a fight for people to get to know him. An old friend who nursed him back to health after he was seriously wounded needs his help. His friend has the smallest of three ranches about to be embroiled in a range war over grass and barbwire. L'Amour weaves this tale with all of the feel of the authentic old west. It could have been boring to have a range war and fight over barbed wire, so the author weaves subplots throughout, and a little mystery. I was a little let down by the ending, Overall this was a good book.

Gunfighter Lance Kilkenny wades into a range war in the Live Oak country. To state the obvious, Western novels can be either entertaining or dull. Beware the predictable mixture as before product. This story begins with great promise, but falters along the way. The reader expects an exciting tale of cattlemen, barbed wire, and blazing sixguns in the Texas Cow Country. Oddly, a murder mystery gets in the way of the action. Since the plot can't decide between a range war and a whodunit, diminished reading pleasure results. There is some action and suspense, of course, but it loses its punch from a logical story perspective. L'Amour typically enriches his Westerns with enough authentic historical detail to stand above the familiar "a man, a horse, and a gun" formula. This novel is a second-string effort by the Master of the West. It may please dedicated fans, but casual readers beware. ;-)

Kilkenny is this solitary hero against everyone, knight errant, idealistic, boxer, remarkable pistol shooter, hard disease that has the meaning of friendship and justice to flower skin. Some ranchers to attack his friend. At gallop, to his aid in the heat of battle. A beautiful story.