Customer Reviews

The Law at Randado

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

 

 

In the course of the last month, I've become a big fan of Elmore Leonard's Westerns. I'm new to the Western, late in the game. After a few L'Amour's, a friend put me on to Leonard. He's the very top of the genre, in my view. The dialogue and the action tell the story and make the points about toughness and character, not the sentimental interior thought process of the hero, so common in this genre; at least what I've seen thus far.
Kirby Frye is young and green (as a deputy), but he stands up to the townsmen and Phil Sundeen, the bad cattle baron, much to their surprise. He reminds me a lot of the implacable Roberto Valdez in "Valdez is Coming" (I think Leonard's greatest Western), and there are similar qualities to the story. But this is early Leonard (1954), and he only gets better as time goes on.
We again meet the scoundrel Sundeen and see his fate in Gunsights, a much later book (1979).
It's going to be hard to go back to other Western authors having been introduced to Elmore Leonard this early on!

Kirby Frye is a young Deputy Sheriff but he has a lot of guts. Men are dragged from his jail and hanged while he is out of town. When he goes after the men who did it they humiliate him. The second time he goes after them they take off his shoes and make him walk out of town. THAT WAS A MISTAKE!!! Phil Sundeen has all the men, power and money and he thinks Frye will keep on going. Sundeen has always done what ever he wanted to do, but that is about to come to an end. He uses his own tough men plus a hired gun but to no avail. The story is about Fryes tracking the men responsible and has a lot of action in it. It shows that Frye is human and can make mistakes. I liked the character of Dandy Jim. A quick read, very good western that will hold your attention.

Leonard's lawman in this tale is a youngster whose fortitude remains internal and gives no hint of itself to the young sheriff's adversaries. As a result, they are prone to humiliating him whenever there is opportunity. But it is their ignorance of what constitutes strength that makes them blind to the perseverance of the youth and his solid belief to uphold the law. A nice and easy read from beginning to end.

Nancy in Tacoma, WA : Gotta love the slow walkin, slow talkin lawman who gets it done and how. The crafting of a western with history, action, interpersonal dynamics, realistic dialogue, a little love and the 'looming question' is not for the faint of heart. This story is a great example of how all of those elements come together.

I enjoy taking a break from my more usual Louis L'Amour westerns because, let's face it, they do tend to be somewhat formula driven. In this book, Mr Leonard includes some of those classic western features: a green lawman, an evil cattle barron and his henchmen, and ultimately the showdown between the two. But other than that this book, like the other 3 Elmore Leonard westerns I've read, doesn't follow traditional formulas all that much.

The premise is that the town of Randado has decided it doesn't need to wait for the formal legal system of the larger town many miles away so they take action on their own. They appoint their own judge and jury and proceed to drag two Mexicans from their jail cell and hang them. When the deputy sheriff returns, he must confront those that behaved illegally. Most of the novel is the resulting chase, trying to bring the bad guys to justice. I know that sounds pretty much like a formula western novel but it is Mr Leonard's style that makes the difference. His characters are not all black or white but rather colorful, filled with doubts of what course of action to take. In short, they are more "real" than one often finds in the western genre. The plot isn't exactly straight-forward and therefore is not so predictable.

I'll continue to recommend Elmore Leonard's western novels to those who like westerns or those that just like a good story that won't take hours and hours to complete.

A young lawman learns how to do his thing. Follow another's lead, but be your own man. His love interest is less than ideal. And the final scene will surprise those expecting the usual Western movie ending. Leonard rewards intelligence. What a joy.

In Elmore Leonard's, Law at Rendado, a young deputy loses two of his prisoners to a rich man's lynch mob - and finds a fight worth dying for. Another 5 stars for E.L.

Imagine every Western you've ever seen or read composited into a generic plot, then spit out in some unique form involving a specific place called Randado and a guy named Kirby Frye who just happens to be babyfaced. Do you really care, still? This book isn't bad, it's mediocre. There is no reason to pick it up over another generic Western. The text is periodically amusing, usually easy to read, and sometimes expressive, but the story is devoid of meaning and not all that interesting except to someone who needs to read a generic Western right now or they'll die. I wouldn't recommend this book to a paper pulper.