Customer Reviews

LONE CALDER STAR

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this latest installment of the Calder saga, Janet Dailey displays the hallmarks that made the earlier Calder books such a critical and commercial success. The story takes us to Texas and the Cee Bar Ranch, home of the first Calder ancestor, Seth. Lawman Clint Echohawk, still mourning the loss of his father, travels from Montana to the ranch in Texas to manage the ranch and investigate the suspicious ongoings there. Sparks fly between Quint and Dallas, a waitress/student who eventually, along with her endearing grandfather Empty, move into the ranch as hired hands. Whether fighting the corrupt schemes of neighbouring rancher Max Rutledge, or feelings for his new love Dallas, Quint Echohawk reminds us why we love the Calder men...they're strength, pride, and tenderness. All in all, this is a very welcome addition to the Calder Saga. No Calders are killed of in this book (thank you Ms. Dailey...I was running out of kleenex) but the plot is nonetheless well-paced and keeps you hooked! If you are a fan of the earlier books in the Calder saga, this book will take you back home!

I'm pleased to say that this latest Calder book is much better than the last one. While I don't think the newer books will ever be as good as the first few in the series, I hope Ms. Dailey continues to improve. This book doesn't take place on the Triple C ranch, and I think it could easily be read as a stand-alone book for someone who never read the earlier books. Chase, Cat and Jessy are mentioned, but you don't really need to know any of the Calder history to understand this book. The story focuses on Quint Echohawk, Cat's son with Logan. As with all the Calder men, he is strong and honorable. Jessy sends him to the Cee Bar ranch, the land they own in Texas, to see what's going on there. The last ranch hand on the Cee Bar has up and left without telling anyone or giving a reason. After arriving in Texas, Quint quickly learns that the Rutledges are responsible for scaring off all the employees. They are trying to buy all the land in the area, and they're using any means necessary to do it. The first person Quint gets to know in Texas is Dallas, a waitress/store clerk/student who has some experience of her own with the Rutledges. She and her grandfather, Empty Garner, were forced to sell their ranch to the Rutledges. Quint thinks she's pretty, but he assumes she's younger than she is. He thinks she's in high school. (He later learns she's legal, and then the sparks fly.) I won't tell the story, but Empty and Dallas end up working on the ranch with Quint and they all fight the Rutledges together. Also, I don't know if this is a "spoiler" or not, but Ms. Dailey has decided NOT to kill off any major characters in this book! Hallelujah!

As stated, this was the first novel of hers I've read. I have the paperback version. I had a book I hated, took it to my bookstore and got this one instead (it was the same price, not the best way to pick a book).

I sat on it for a few months before I finally picked it up. I found I should have picked it up much earlier. I enjoyed the novel. I do agree with one of the reviews that some of the characters were a bit "unwritten" but I still liked it and not having read any of the other Calder novels, it was still easy to follow.

The one thing I liked about it, well sometimes in novels you can just sit there and think, yeah ok, that's never going to happen. I really think that this type of situation exists and she wrote it as it may have happened anywhere. I really enjoyed the way the characters talked. No one really talks like that anymore and I miss it. Big business doesn't care about who and what they take over either and I thought Daily wrote truthfully about that as well, but didn't throw it in my face.

So, all in all, it was a good book. I hated putting it down. :)

A-

While not as spellbinding as the earlier of the Calder series, this is a worthwhile book. Taking place in the Texas arm of the Calder empire, Quint Echohawk, grandson of Chase Benteen Calder is the center of attention.
Calling on Quint's experience as a former government agent, Jessy sends him to Texas to determine the source of the problems causing havoc on the ranch. As we usually find in the Calder series, another powerhouse rancher is manufacturing problems in an effort to gain ownership of the land. In this instance, we again meet up with Max amd Boone Rutledge.
This book is a good read. It is much harder to convey the "spirit of the west" with pickups and corporate jets as opposed to covered wagons and plowshares, but this book does a good job.

I have read all of the Calder Series and throughly enjoyed them.
My husband read the original books and when I finished the latest, Lone Calder Star, he decided to read this book. He
enjoyed it so much that I gave him the other 4 hard back Calder Books to read. Janet writes easy to read books that is spell binding and I do not want to put them down until I finish them. I would definitely recommend Lone Calder Star to anyone that enjoys a good book.

I'm not sure why I went ahead and bought this newest book in the Calder saga because the last one was simply dismal. Now I am wondering if Janet Dailey even wrote the last two, because this book is like night and day better than the last two. A definite return to the wonderful story telling Ms. Dailey had previously exhibited in the earlier Calder editions. Quint is the strong hero you expect in the Calder family, and I was intrigued to see personality traits that reminded me of his father, Logan in Calder Pride, and I genuinely liked Quint. I really enjoyed the character Empty as well. I would have liked a little more insight and character development in Dallas, but all in all this was an enjoyable read. Ms. Dailey, this is the kind of good writing you are remembered for, I hope you can keep this spark, and sincerely hope that whatever slump you were in never returns.

Having exhausted Montana for the moment, the Calder saga has moved to Texas with the next generation. While I think Dailey's last book (Calder Promise) was better, she nevertheless does a pretty good job with the latest installment. The interesting characterizations are there (I think the Dallas could have been a little better, but Easy was great), and while the plot may be a little thin in places, it still works for the most part -- though it didn't seem plausible to me that Quint wouldn't call in the reserves when he started having problems.

All in all, a decent read.

This Calder novel was way better then her last (Calder Promise), but still not as good as the first few in the series. I fell in love with Romance Novels because of this series. I think this novel left plenty to expand upon and I will look forward to the next installment! What a joy it has been to "watch" the Calders, live, love, grow and die....

Loved the new book. Same romance and thrill in Texas as there is in Montana. I have read all the Calder books and I look forward to the next installment.

I have ordered many used books in the past and they have been in pretty good condition! But the book I ordered not only came early but looked brand new! It was a steal! Thank-you very much! I deffiantly reccomend!!!(: