Customer Reviews

Lando (The Sacketts)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was first issued as a Bantam paperback in December, 1962, having Orlando Sackett as the narrator. The time period circa 1873-1875 was assigned by Louis L'Amour in his Sackett Companion, and that places the book as #8 in the Sackett family series.

This is essentially a fictional story concerning Orlando Sackett, narrated by him, as he leaves the mountains of Tennessee, the Sackett historical homeland, unless you are like Parmalee Sackett, a flatland Sackett. Falcon Sackett, Orlando's father, settled in Tennessee after marrying Orlando's mother to be, Aleyne Kurbishaw. As Orlando leaves the mountains the Tinker (Cosmo Lengro) is his companion, one who says little, but knows much. During the ensuing years of mule raising and racing, bare knuckle fighting, Mexican incarceration, and gold chasing, the Tinker and his wonderfully made knives will be Orlando's guide and companion. I'm not going to give you more of the plot, for those are not the reviews I give, and most other reviews here will offer adequate background as to the plot.

What I will offer is what none of these other reviews knew or offer: there are many details within this deceptively simple novel of the west that are all true. This is a novel from Louis that is a veritable treasure trove of facts.

For instance, the details of what a tinker was, his life and travels, is all true of the times. Jem Mace is mentioned as an English prizefighter of the time, and that is also true: he fought from 1855 through 1864, today classed as a welterweight. The gunfighters of the story: Cullen Baker, Bill Longley and Bob Lee are true characters drawn from this time and place. Governor Edmund Jackson Davis was a real reconstruction governor for the state of Texas, and during his time in office an unknown man, L. H. McNelly, who later became a legend in the Texas Rangers, was part of the governor's police force. Juan Cortina, born in Mexico on May 16, 1824, dying in 1894, also existed. The Bald Knobbers were an actual group of vigilantes around Forsyth, Missouri, who were later disbanded by force, some members being hung, due to their ruffian activities. The cities of Beeville from the 1830s and Oakville, a lawless city Captain McNelly later cleaned up, also existed, and still did at the time of Louis' novel. Finally the Henry Rifle is known to all western readers as a gun appearing during the American Civil War, eventually leading the way to developing the later and famous 1873 Winchester repeating rifles of the frontier. These are just some of the facts and historical notes tucked within this novel, there are more. But these will suffice.

I have all of Louis L'Amour's books in hardcover, and generally enjoy all of them. When I first encountered this one, however, I did not think much of it. But upon discovering the facts that lay behind it and tucked into it, I became more and more interested.

If you want an enjoyable western from Louis, though certainly not in the category of Hondo or Shalako let's say, but still a very interesting read, don't be shy of reading this one. It can be digested in only a few hours, but the facts will add to your western understanding.

Semper Fi.

I was reading over some of these reviews and saw that some readers had given Lando a luke warm rating. Had to put in my own two cents.
I thought Lando was flat out terrific! This character is a bit different than many of Louis L'Amour's main men, and I liked the differences. Lando is full of action and the fist fighting scenes are top notch.... the best. I've read perhaps a hundred of L'Amour's books; have enjoyed all of them, some more so than others, but Lando is a winner. Darn good read.

Read this same book about 20 years ago. Its a shame its not a longer story line. Its good book for a quick read.

Orlando "Lando" Sackett is a new and different hero from L'Amour's most famous clan. The son of Falcon Sackett, Lando is short and has no talent for the fast draw or gunplay. His mother is dead and he's been separated from his father since he was a child, and we see how much that has cost him. When the itinerant gypsy known as the Tinker warns Lando that his own uncles are coming to kill him for his father's gold, Lando goes in search of the gold, in search of his father, and, most importantly, in search of the Sackett within himself.

Lando is not the best of L'Amour's Sackett novels; Sackett, Jubal Sackett, and The Daybreakers are better. But Lando may well be the novel that succeeds best AS a Sackett story. In Sackett, Jubal Sackett, and The Daybreakers, L'Amour could have plunked a leading man who had nothing to do with the Sackett family into the leading role, and each book would have been just as good. Not so in Lando. Orlando's palpable need to reconnect with his father and his clan is central to the whole story; he depends from start to finish on the friends the Sackett family has made over the years, and while the gods have stinted him the height, the fast gun hand, and the wit that they so generously doled out to other Sacketts, they gave him a double helping of another famous Sackett trait: toughness.

Stylistically, this is one of L'Amour's best written novels; the scenes of the Natchez Trace, Texas, and Mexico are beautifully rendered. The Tinker, mentioned in passing in many of L'Amours Sackett novels, gets center stage here and shines. L'Amour sometimes had difficulty coming up with villains to match his heroes, but here he has produced a whole slew of juicy baddies, including a female one. When a pretty girl in a L'Amour novel has a fixation on her father, look out: the dame's up to no good. L'Amour also tries his hand at rendering an eerie atmosphere, and succeeds rousingly. Unfortunately, Josh Hamilton's narration, while good enough for most of the scenes, does not give these spine-tingling passages the hushed tone they need; thus, I would recommend reading the hardcopy instead of listening to Hamilton.

What's not to love about Lando? Two things. One, when John Miller wrote that too many of L'Amour's plots rely on coincidence, he was probably thinking of Lando first. The Texas Rangers, Cullen Baker, and other useful folks show up with suspiciously perfect timing throughout the book. Two, the conclusion is a bit of a letdown, as happens all too often in L'Amour's stories. L'Amour tries hard to give us a rousing finish, but the villains' behavior at the end is simultaneously so brazen and so ineffective that it's more laughable than thrilling. It is regrettable that the cover matter gives away key plot points, but that's not L'Amour's fault. If by any chance you read this review before reading the novel, I urge you not to read anything on the book's back cover.

Lando is probably the touchstone of where you are as a L'Amour reader. If you like it, the Sacketts are for you; if you don't, just skip the rest of the Sacketts and read L'Amour's stand alone novels instead, especially Hondo, High Lonesome, and Kiowa Trail.

Though I'm relatively new to Westerns, and started with L'Amour, I've now read some Elmore Leonard and some Elmer Kelton and have come up with a few opinions.
L'Amour is a solid three-star writer, and Lando is a very good example. This is praise, not criticism; there's too much "star inflation" anyway-- folks tend to come off of a book they've enjoyed and think it's the greatest ever.
Lando has a good sidekick in the Gypsy "secret agent". That is, he knows about the hidden gold and Lando's dad, and maneuvers Lando out of the Virginia mountains out West. It's a good "search for hidden gold" Western, with two main failings in my view: Lando's dad turns up alive in a rather coincidental fashion, and (perhaps the biggest defect in the book) the years in a Mexican jail that toughen Lando are glossed over in a couple of pages. This might work if the jail stay was a few months, but not where 6 or 8 years are involved!
A good read, with the stregths and shortcomings of L'Amour represented. If you are somewhat new to Westerns, read a few L'Amours, but then turn to Leonard, Kelton, and others.

Learn about mules, Mexico, and boxing by reading this. Also learn about several bad men and several good men who don't let life keep them down. This book definately has that independent frontier spirit in it.

Part of the book tells you about a previous adventure reguarding the treasure that I wish I could read from a first person perspective instead of having it told to me. But aside from that, a nice read. Our hero even has a nice side.

I ordered a book that was missing in my Sackett saga by Louis L'Amour. It came as promised and when it was promised. Very pleased. Thank you.

The book was shipped on time and the condition as described. I would gladly use this seller again in the future.

This is a story of gold, prison, boxing, and a racing mule. Young Lando, a Clinch Mountain Sackett, sets out from Tennessee to find his father who went looking for hidden gold in Mexico and has been missing for years. Along the way, he meets up with a gypsy "tinker" and the two head for Texas and adventures follow. He is betrayed and ends up in a brutal Mexican prison, but escapes to get revenge. This is a good story that will keep you turning the pages (and you will find out where the racing mule comes into the story).

Lando the 5th. book of the Sackett series was fun to read. Lando Sackett is a tough guy and has been in a Mexican prison for many years. During this time in prison his muscles became stronger his resolve greater and his desire to succeed a must. The gold would be his and he would make the people who deserted him pay.