Customer Reviews

The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: Unabridged Selections from The Frontier Stories: Volume II: What Gold Does to a Man; The Ghosts of Buckskin Run; The Drift; No Man's Mesa

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a fan of Louis L'Amour for as long as I can remember and I have always liked the audio tapes, and now CD's, that let me listen to the stories when I am driving. But I do have a couple of complaints about The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour Volume One and Volume Two. First, it would be nice if they listed the titles of the short stories, but they don't. There is no where on the CD itself, the CD case, or the slip cover with the titles of the stories. Why the big secret?

Second, and more important, neither of the readers, John Bedford Lloyd for Volume One and Jason Culp for Volume Two are good at doing voices. Their natural voices are great but then they try to change their voices for various characters, instead of simply reading with their natural voice, and that significantly detracts from the stories. And neither is any good at doing women's voices and shouldn't try. It is embarrassing. It is also embarrassing when Culp does the voices of some of the heros - they come of as either 10 or 12 year old whiny kids (as in The Drift) - or not very bright adults. What is the point? If different voices are important then they should use more than one person to read the story. If not, dispense with the attempt since it detracts from the stories.

I love Westerns, and I absolutely love the way Louis L'Amour tells his Western stories. Granted, there's not always a lot of suspense with regards to the outcome (L'Amour seems not to have been enamored of downbeat, twist, or morally ambiguous endings), but there's often considerable suspense along the way. The writer was a national treasure, and if your tastes run along the same line as mine, this book will be your personal treasure.

I bought this book for my son. He very much likes the book and reads it a little at a time, because he isnt ready for it to end.

Nice books that are good for adding to you collection. Of course Louis L'Amour books are always good stories.

This book makes a good introduction of the works of Louis L'Amour, even if it is the second volumn of his work. There are so many stories and when you want to read a few at a time you can, then set aside to come back to later without missing anything. I would recommend this as a look into western themes and the stories of Rangers, etc. that inhabit our cowboy movies and television programs of times past.

Louis L'Amour is the best Western writer in the last 60 years. He goes into much detail as to the layout of the area where each story takes place. I have all of his Frontier Stories in his Collected Short Stories series. Enjoyable reading!

A master storyteller.

This is the 5th Louis L'Amour book I've read. All are great...see my reviews. INMO Louise L'Amour was the best master western writer. Sadly he passed away in 1988.

This book has it all.. lots of non stop western excitement. Cowboys, Indians, good guys, bad guys, bank hold ups, murder, double crosses, dry gulching, lust for gold, cattle drives, rustling, desert survival skills and more. Lots of gunfighting, fist fighting and more.


About half the stories the central character was Texas ranger Chick Bowdrie. Against all odds Chick solves murders, bank holdups, double crosses and more. In some of the Chick Bowdrie stories he saves a pretty girl or her ranch but says he can't settle down and the range is where he must be. INMO kind of a lonely life.

L'Amour was spectacular with character build up, western scenery description and good plots. Each story for me was a delight to read. The master story teller makes you want to read more. No dull spots. Some of the stories were like mini mysteries plus a few with some spins and deception. Lots of exciting stories. Here is a great book to take with you when getting your oil changed in your car or a doctor or dentist visit. The stories are fast and easy to read and fun.

As I can get more used Louis L'Amour books on deep discount sales I am building a 3 shelf library part for my family. An excellent book for the family library or anyone liking great western fiction. 5 stars

I have only begun reading Louis L'Amour in the last year. I find these short Western stories to be a joy to read.

Perfect book of short stories. Husband loves the book and says the stories are adventurous and interesting. Nice hardcover book and great delivery time.

For those of you who have followed the Sacketts - this anthology gives us another hero, Texas Ranger
Chick Bowdrie. Be forewarned if you buy this book it is mostly stories of this rugged, fast with a gun lawman. It is best to read interspersed with other books as reading about only Mr. Bowdrie as a steady diet can be a bit too repetitive. That being said it is a fun read.