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Title: Dead Man'S Walk Cassette by Larry McMurtry, Will Patton ISBN: 0-671-55169-8 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Pub. Date: 01 October, 1995 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 10 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.63 (51 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Dead Man's Walk
Comment: This is the story of the early history of Gus and Call, two of the main characters in McMurtry's tour de force Lonesome Dove.
Dead Man's Walk is a worthwhile read, but not of the same quality as Lonesome Dove. Writing is stark and spare, occasionally quite evocative. Characterization is quite good; Gus and Call are appealing and believable, and for the most part the secondary characters have the vivid qualities one comes to expect from this author.
The plot, that of an improbable filibustering expedition to New Mexico (then part of Mexico proper), has some issues. It seems as if this group of characters has been sent out into the desert merely to die in a myriad unpleasant ways; I'm all for grim stories, but this gets pointless. At about the point where most of the expedition has frozen to death or been killed by Indians, and they're STILL not to the hardest part of the journey yet... I got a little bored with the entropic, meaningless feel of the whole thing. There's also a wildly improbable end: the whole sequence with Lady Carey seems utterly unbelievable to me, although the scene where she buffaloes the Indians is great.
McMurtry's presentation of the Indians as torturing, raping, slave-hunting savages took me aback. I don't know enough to say whether his portrayal of these specific types of raiding bands, from these specific Native American societies, is accurate. It's certainly a different picture than one gets from books like Dee Brown's.
I'd recommend this with reservations; generally entertaining, but not without faults.
Rating: 5
Summary: Read this book before Lonesome Dove
Comment: Lonesome Dove got all the attention and won the Pulitzer Prize - deservedly so - but then McMurtry wrote two prequels and one sequel. Each book could be read and enjoyed separately or out of sequence, but for anyone new to this fine series, why not read them in the proper order? In Lonesome Dove, the two main characters, Gus and Call, are experienced and mature, and their circumstances and the time they live in are relatively safe (from Indians). The two prequels, Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon, are nitty-gritty adventure stories that respect the Indians and the Mexicans. The Texas Rangers are realistically portrayed in all their inexperience and naivete, fear, courage, sense of determination and adventure. Nothing is held back, and while the violence might be too gruesome for some, it is never gratuitous. I admit that the ending to Dead Man's Walk is almost too fantastic, but I defy anyone not to enjoy it. I disagree with other reviewers; McMurtry had his heart in all four of the books in this series. For a special treat, I would recommend listening to the audio version of these stories.
Rating: 4
Summary: Dead Man's Walk: or Fall
Comment: "Now except for the two young rangers, his whole troop was drunk, the result of an incautious foray into Mexican territory the day before". This quote explains the troops readiness for being real rangers. Dead Man's Walk, by Larry McMurtry was written to give a realistic view of what explorers of the western frontiers could have encountered. The main characters of the book Gus and Call are great characters for their parts. The location where the story takes place creates great imagery in the readers mind. McMurtry used informal language to show the characters way of living. All these things tie together to make this a great book.
This book focuses on a troop of rangers, especially the protagonist Gus and Call, through out their journey to explore the western frontier. Along the way they encounter many hazards, such as cyclones, natural obstacles, and Indians. The antagonist in the story is a Comanche Indian named Buffalo Hump. These conflicts keep the story interesting and fun to read.
The setting in this novel varies from the desert plains to small rural towns. All of the places the troop comes to are realistic and make the story seem real. At one point in the novel the troops comes to the side of a big hill and has to fend off while trying to keep their horses from running off. Realistic scenes like this show up all throughout the book to enhance the storyline.
McMurtry puts a wide variety of characters in the book to describe the differences in a troops personality. Gus is a young man who is driven mainly by sex. This keeps him thinking all throughout the novel. Call is a more mature young man who tries to think of consequences before his actions. The greatest feared character is without a doubt Buffalo Hump. He keeps the troop aware throughout the book. The troop continuously talks of how to kill themselves if captured by him. The main aspects of these characters give them a certain place in the story.
The main goal of the troops in the story is to make it to California. The reason they joined the Rangers is because it was a cheaper and more sure way to get there. The unsurity of going with the Rangers was the battles and other hardships along the way. If the troops can make it to California, they hope to strike it rich off of all the gold there.
The type of language used in this book made it easy to understand the way of life the different Rangers had. Some of them were from up North and the way he talked represented that. Some of the other characters in the book had an accent that sounded like they came from the back of the backwoods. Some of them could turn three words into one and still make sense. Throughout, the mostly informal language in his book allows the reader to understand the mindset and background of the characters.
To sum it up, this book had many good elements in it. It definitely shows an example of the ways people lived and thought back then. For somebody who likes westerns, or action books, this would be a great book for them. After fighting many battles the ultimate battle comes up with Buffalo Hump. To find out how this awesome story ends, read Dead Man's Walk, by Larry McMurtry.
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Title: Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove) by Larry McMurtry ISBN: 0671020641 Publisher: Pocket Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry ISBN: 0671537466 Publisher: Pocket Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry ISBN: 067168390X Publisher: Pocket Pub. Date: 15 December, 1988 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Sin Killer : The Berrybender Narrative, Book 1 by Larry McMurtry ISBN: 0743451414 Publisher: Pocket Star Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Leaving Cheyenne by Larry McMurtry ISBN: 0671753800 Publisher: Pocket Pub. Date: 01 July, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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