Customer Reviews

The Haunted Mesa

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The Haunted Mesa is an extremely convincing, well-written and underrated book, and is certainly the most unique in the long, distinguished career of Louie L'Amour. After reading the last 100 pages of this novel I find it difficult to give it anything less than five stars. However, the development of the plot in the first 250 pages does drag on for a while, but I feel most of it is necessary to the story once Mike Raglan crosses over to the Other Side. If you start to get a little bored in the beginning, don't stop reading. All of this about the logbook, the "hairy ones" and Eden Foster does become important later on. Personally, i enjoyed the book all the way through, but I know some people think L'Amour stalled too much before getting on to the parallel world of the Anasazi.

L'Amour does an excellent job of convincing the reader that this story could indeed happen, even though you may think the plot is far-off at first. This book is an incredible combination of history, science fiction and fantasy, and is a must-read for anyone interested in ancient Indians, time travel, or the unknown. Despite the bad rap this book has always gotten, it is definitely one of L'Amour's best, and contrary to popular belief, L'Amour's health was NOT failing when he wrote The Haunted Mesa. The book was originally written ten years before it was published, but Bantam refused to print it at first because they didn't believe anyone would buy a science fiction story by a western writer. Boy, were they wrong. The book got to number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list once it was finally published, and proved to be one of L'Amour's most popular among his fans, even though all the critics seemed to hate it. So give The Haunted Mesa a chance, and I think you will be glad you did.

I picked this book up a few weeks ago at 8:00 pm and didn't stop until I had finished. This book combines elements of the western, Indian lore, science fiction and fantasy, and is unlike any other L'Amour novel. A fantastic read!

This book is a "haunting read" to the degree it is unforgettable. I've read many Louis L'Amour books down through the years, but this one is certainly the most atypical of the entire lot.

Released in September,1987, little less than a year before he died in June, 1988, it has as its locale the contemporary Southwestern frontier. His subject is the cliff dwellers, the Anasazi, who left very little trace of themselves after the year 1250 a.d. The setting is the four-corner area of Utah and Arizona, in the San Juan river area of southern Utah, with mysticism and Indian lore in abundance.

There is not too much to say, for fear of undercutting the suspense filled reading contained in these pages. One cannot quite be sure in what direction the plot will next flow. Especially when reading of the Varanel, a strong arm group to hold their own with any modern day swat team. It can be said with certainty there are no other characters in Louis L'Amour's books to match those found here.

New books by Louis L'Amour are greatly missed by his thousands of readers. But since his second home seemed to be the desert, having a lifetime's knowledge about and love for desert existence, it allowed him to leave his readers one swell final book to read.

Semper Fi.

Growing up near this story's setting, it really hit home. Makes anybody stop and wonder...

The beginning is slow moving but the last 1/3rd of the story is very exciting. It took me 2 weeks off and on to read the first 2/3rds of the book. It took me about 2 hours to finish it. You won't put it down once the plot has been built.

I would rate this book 5 stars, but some characters whom I was interested in were left out of the ending. The book finishes without even making mention of what becomes of them and leaves you to guess as to their fate.

If you like Westerns as well as Science Fiction, you will love this book. L'Amour does seem to steal a little from Star Trek as well as Star Gate.

The late Louis L'Amour was best known for his period Westerns, of which he sold more and wrote better than anyone else. This is one of his atypical stories, like Night in the Solomons and Last of the Breed. It is set in modern times. However, unlike the other two mentioned, it is set in the American West--namely the San Juan River country of southwestern Utah. Anasazi country-- The one-time home of the "Old Ones"--the Southwestern cliff dwellers the Navajos called the Anasazi, who seem to have simply disappeared off the face of the earth.

There is a touch of fantasy and myth in this tale, but the setting and the geography are true and accurate as is typical of Louis' work.

His hero in this story is Mike Raglan, a professional investigator, who is summoned to the Four Corners country by a letter from an old friend, and drawn into mystery and violence, where he eventually learns of the legacy of the "Old Ones."

L'Amour lived the stories of which he wrote. He left home at 15, and worked as a circus roustabout, boxer, miner, logger and cowboy. He was an officer in tank destroyers in WWII, and traveled the world as a merchant seaman. But his first love was always the American West. His heroes were invariably tall, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, and leather tough. A great author, who wrote a hundred stories and sold millions of copies. This book was a New York Times #1 best seller.

Joseph H. Pierre
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity

Being relatively new to the world of Louis L'Amour I must say I'm surprised at how much I enjoy his works. I was under the assumption that his were "cowboy" stories, but not so!
The only reason I didn't give this book five stars are some obvious inconsistencies in his story. It's an engrossing read and you'll hurry to the next page to see what happens. Don't
expect "great" literature, just a great time.

Overhearing a library patron make the remark "If you've read one L'mour book you've read them all", I knew that patron hadn't read this book. I live within 90 miles of the area where this book supposedly took place, and the authors knowledge of the area, customs, traditions, biological features, etc. are fascinating. He is a very knowledgeable author, keeping the reader in suspense till the very end of the book.

"Haunted Mesa" is one of L'amour's few science fiction titles. Some have said it gives them the creeps, but this tale takes on a life of its own and brings two worlds to life: the Four Corners area and the hypothetical world of modern Anasazi.

I think this is one of Louis L'Amour's best. At first I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, I prefer the historical western novels, but once I started reading it, I was hooked. I have read most of his books and Haunted Mesa, along with Comstock Lode, Lonesome Gods, and Reily's Luck, is one of his best! I would suggest this book to anybody.

This is an outstanding work by Mr. L'Amour. I highly recommend it to the suspense and mystery readers. He puts many twists, and turns into the plot that made it very exciting. The setting and location was exceptionally unique. This is a one of a kind book and HIGHLY recommend it.