Customer Reviews

Kilrone

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

 

 

Kilrone is an ex-army man comes across a massacre of I-company and realises that the nearby fort is in danger. His trip there literally takes him back to the past. Denise the woman he used to love is there, as is her husband, and on a more sinister note, Iron John has set up business there. Last time Kilrone dealt with Iron John he might have won but he had been forced to retire.

Iron John, it seems, is dealing with the Indians, more particularly Medicine Dog an upstart fighter who wants more weapons. Now the fort is in danger and there is only Kilrone who can hold it until the troops come back.

I think Iron John last turned up in Fallon and this book is like a poor reflection of that - at least to me. Fallon was funny and wry. This one seems to take itself really seriously. I loved the easy Western humour of Fallon, but this one was more of a pedestrian read. Readable but wouldn't try again in a hurry.

I'm sorry for anyone who would judge Louis L'Amour entirely after reading this book. It was one of his poorer works. L'Amour writes about a man named Barney Kilrone. He was an ex-soldier who had been given a raw deal and blamed for something he had never done. He finds himself in the middle of a bad situation that entangles him in a mess of renegade indians, massacres, and jealousy, and a drunken commander who seeks notoriety. In the end he saves the day and gets the girl, but not the girl some might have expected. Although the ending was rushed as others have stated, I did like the fact that the main villian was finished off by someone other than the main character. Take a look at this one despite it's low rating.

This novel, (by Louis L'Amour), is one of his best. I was a bit shocked at some of the critical reviews on this story. It is an excellent western about a man named Kilrone who has to defend a whole cavalry fort against Indians and outlaws. A GREAT read for any western lover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Louis L'Amour can be depended upon to always deliver a workmanlike novel that offers an entertaining story with the flavor of the "Old West" and he has done so again here. The author herein provides a tale of the U.S. Cavalry on the frontier confronted with an Indian uprising while the cavalry commander must also cope with the re-appearance of an old romantic rivalry whom he fears will try again to steal away his wife. The story comes complete with a couple of good "Indian fights" and the inevitable confrontation between our hero and the principal bad guy, among other features. I would not declare this to be one of Louis L;Amour's best western novels but its far from his worst and is a good enjoyable read.

VERY GOOD PRODUCT. QUICK MAILING. WILL CONTINUE TO ORDER MORE BOOKS. THANKS.

Kilrone is an ex Army man who gave up a promising military career after a confrontation with an exploitative Indian agent and has spent his post military career as a drifter.He rides into an Army outpost to alert the commander to an Indian raid that has wiped out a cavalry patrol.The post commander is Paddock ,a once high flier whose career has been blighted by scandal and an old acquaintance of Kilrone whom he suspects to be in love with his wife.
Against the advice of Kilrone the commander sets out to warn the other patrol in Indian territory of possible attack Kilrone rightly feeling the attack was a ruse to get him to weaken the post defences so the tribes can take over the fort.
He stays behind to organise the defence of the post while Paddock takes the field to warn the other patrol.That is not all however for Kilrone's foprmer nemesis Iron Dave Sproul is a key man in the fort and has been selling guns to the Indians

L'amour cuts briskly between the siege and the troops in the field and action is vividly described and plentiful with something of the more explicit violence that emerged in the genre -celluloid and paper-during the mid sixties.The climactic fist fight is especially powerful and the seeker after action will not put down the book feeling short changed.
The climax fells rushed and the conflict between Kilrone and Paddock is not fleshed out enough ,while the women remain cyphers.This is all a little carping however and overall the book is a satisfying read for lovers of the genre.

Kilrone is a good, solid Western adventure in the Louis L'amour tradition. Or it would be were it not for the terribly rushed ending. L'amour does a wonderful job of pacing the story and building suspense up until the very end of the book at which point several major plot points occur suddenly with no explanation. For example, the cavalry commander who has been so set on tracking the renegade Indians down has a sudden, unexplained change of heart and returns to the beleaguered outpost just in time to save the day. One minute he's discussing with his scouts the best route to take to rendezvous with another cavalry troop. The next time we see him, he's returned to the outpost and there's no explanation for why he turned his troop around. Another example, there is foreshadowing throughout the book that a certain minor character is going to play a very pivotal role in things before the story is over. They do, in fact, play a pivotal role in events but we don't get to see it. We only learn about it after the fact from another character and even then we don't really learn any details. It's almost as if L'amour suddenly found himself up against a deadline and didn't have enough time to finish the story properly so he just tacked on a quick ending. It's very unsatisfying to have a great story, which is a very gripping read, build up to an ending that basically amounts to, "...and then the cavalry came back and saved the day, the renegade Indians disbanded and went their seperate ways, the villain got his just desserts, and the hero got the girl." Kilrone is an okay book but L'amour has written much better. If you want to read something in this vein I would suggest the classic "Hondo", also by L'amour, which is a far superior book.

Kilrone was my first L'Amour book to ever read, and needless to say I was extremely disappointed. I was expecting L'Amour novel events to be more plausible. At times, a better description of some of Kilrone's feats would probably be defined as ludicrous. Kilrone during the fort siege jumped astride a gray horse bareback. I found it odd that Kilrone later during that same day on the ride away from the fort, he reaches for the pommel, without mention of ever finding a saddle along the way. The ending to the novel was very rushed -- absolutely nothing flowed well. If anyone is considering a L'Amour book to read, maybe it is best he/she chooses another.

Kilrone is a great western about a man with many enemies who ends up being embraced by a town he passes through. Lamour's stories are realistic, as he has a thorough knowledge of the terrain and the history of the old west.

This was the first western that I've read. I liked this book. However it does have its faults.

1.) The book stereotypes Indians as "savages." They are "uncivilized,""noble warriors," who are evil yet "brave." They are the bad guys who are easily influenced by a White merchant into doing malicious deeds. The one positive image is a "civilized" Indian woman who has learned the White man's ways. Early in the book, this woman speaks perfect English. However, as the book goes on her English become more and more stilted.

2.) The book is full of cliches. A drifter, who was once an army officer, tells a fort's commanding officer about a troop of soldiers masacred by the Indians. The drifter and the commanding officer know each other previosly.The drifter had dated the officer's wife prior to him marrying her. The officer is jealous of the drifter, so he ignores the drifter's warnings not to leave the fort unprotected by going off to fight the Indians. The drifter, who is wiser than the officer, stays at the fort to help a few soldiers, women and children protect the fort from an Indian attack. Does this story sound familiar? Even if you haven't read this same story, it has elements that can be found in about a half a dozen different Westerns.

So with these faults, why do I still recommend this book? Well, because it is well written. L'Amour is a good storyteller. It's a good adventure. Think about it: do you like action adventure movies even though most of them follow the same formula? If you do, you'll like this story.

Another reason why I was interested in this book was that it demonstrates archaic attitudes towards Native Americans. We should not ignore the fact that these stereotypes existed - in fact they are still around. Our culture is just not as blatent as before. While we are shaking our heads in disgust over these blatent stereotypes, maybe we can also analyize our own prejudices towards others.