Customer Reviews

Reilly's luck (Louis L'Amour Collection)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reilly's Luck is one of L'Amour's longest books of the period, and is the best. Read it. You will enjoy the story of Val Darrant as you watch him grow up throughout the book. Will Reilly is also one of my favorite L'Amour characters, and one of the most complex.

This story is titled for the secondary character. It is a little unusual for Louis L'Amour to give the title to someone other than the main character, but it works really well in this book. The real character is a young boy who was born into a terrible situation. Things looked hopeless for him when he was abandoned by his cold and heartless mother. Good fortune smiled upon him when he found his new care taker to be a gambling man with savvy and character. Will Reilly raised him right and taught him the secrets he would need to be a successful man. After a terrible killing, Val finds himself wanting revenge. Slowly and surely it will come in it's own time. When it does, it finds that a hopeless boy has grown into a good man who is well capable of settling all of the issues at hand. Facing a cold hearted mother after all those years would be enough to upset anyone, but you'll have to read the book to find out how he handles it.

While I could accept much of what is in here for the west I must admit, like other reviewers, there were elements in this which really annoyed me. It was mostly a good read but I felt there were too many plot elements in it which made it more like a Barbara Taylor Bradford rather than a Louis L'amour. For a start Val Darrant always seemed to make money no matter what he did, including going to university back East - he just succeeded and there was little to explain what or why he was doing - it simply seemed like a plot filler. As did the falling in love with the girl, Boston. Who really appeared out of nowhere and disappeared back into nowhere, virtually.

The basic story is that Val Darrant is dumped by his mother's boyfriend - but instead of leaving him in the snow to freeze to death, he is given to a local gambler whom he trusts - Reilly, of Reilly's luck. Reilly likes him and teaches him everything he knows, but 11 years later Reilly is gunned down in a cowardly planned killing. Val gets out of town, but later kills two of the men responsible. Now Val's mother has found out who he is and plans to kill her son whom she hasn't seen for 20 years. She is now rich and powerful and Val probably knows secrets about her he shouldn't.

I read this in an afternoon and enjoyed it despite holes in the plot so big you could drive a thousand head of cattle through it - it was still an enjoyably good read.

I actually avoided reading this book for quite a while because I didn't like the name! But as it turned out later the book is easily one of L'amour's best westerns. It is one of those rare books which has a fine balance of adventure, action, romance and sentiment. Very, very enjoyable read!

Abandoned children in the west is an old truth. Val Durant is left to freeze on a dreadful winter night, but his mother's man take him to a gambling man, Will Reilly. Reilly travels the west and soon notices a string of good luck at the tables that has now logical explanation. He shelters Val, hide him and teaches him to survive in a harsh land.
Along the way Val learns self-sufficiency and ekes out a living when Will is cut down in a gun fight.
Val's search for the killers covers years, but along the way he meets and makes many friends until he finds his true home in the West of his birth.
Read and enjoy.
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This story starts off with a young boy, Val Darrant, being abandoned by his mother. Val ends up being cared for by Will Reilly who is a gambler and travels a lot. The first quarter of the book is about adventures that Will and Val have. They have to deal with outlaws, they fight off Indians, and they travel to Europe. All along the way Will is constantly teaching Val important lessons of life. Will starts teaching Val, at four years old, how to shuffle cards. Val is encouraged to study men and observe what is happening. It seems like on almost every page Will teaches Val about something, how to fight, how to think, how to be kind to people, but also the need to be careful about trusting people.

Unfortunately Will is ambushed by three men and killed while Val is still a teenager. But Val has learned many important lessons from Will. The next part of the book is about Val growing up. He has some money and is able to invest the money in a couple ventures. He has some adventures along the way. Val kills one of Will's murderers. He goes back East to get an education.

The story then jumps forward a couple years, and the last part of the book pulls together many of the threads. Val finally meets his mother, who is again trying to have him killed. Val kills the last two of Will's murderers. And Val financially destroys the man who hired the murderers.

This book has some many of the classic western themes, like gambling, fighting, love, and so on. There is lots of different types of fighting, for example with knifes, with fists, and with guns. There is both a tragic love interest, and a successful love interest.

One of the reasons this is such a powerful story is it is a story about Will's legacy. Up until Val, Will had just been drifting through life, but after raising Val for ten years, Will has made a difference. Will's contributions to the world last beyond his death.

This is one of Louis L'Amour's best. If you like a good western, this is good one to start with.

I'm a big fan of the late Louis L'Amour. INMO one of America's great authors and the only author to be awarded the Congressional medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Reagan. I've bought and read 24 of his westerns, 3 short story collections, his sci fi book Haunted Mesa, Walking Drum, The Last of the Breed, The Lonesome Gods and his first book of poems. Almost all 5 stars. An incredibly talented author.

Reilly's Luck is about a 4 year old boy named Val Darrant growing up and becoming a respectable man. We see his evil, manipulating, murderous mother named Myra who does everything including prostitution and multiple murders in order to advance herself in society and make lots of money. That all she cares about and had no use for he husband, son or boy friend. She treats everyone like dirt. She tells Van her boyfriend she doesn't want her 4 year old son and to get rid of it. Its 40 below zero out and she orders Van to get rid of her son Val. Van has pity on the kid and likes Val and does not leave him to die in the cold but takes Val to the only one ( Will Reilly) he can think of that might take care of Val.

Will Reilly is a professional gambler with good upbringing, manners, intelligence and is good with a gun. He makes some good investments. Val and Will Reilly go to Europe where Reilly meets a beautiful woman and falls in love but she is hounded by a low life, gambling Prince Pavel. The Price tries to bull whip Will Reilly but Reilly gets the whip and slashes and scars the prince's face with his own whip. The Prince plans vengeance and hires men to kill Reilly. Myra the evil mother plots to kill her ex boyfriend Van so there will be one less person that knows her sorted past. Also Val's now rich but evil mother must find the box sent to Val from Van that shows her killings and her sorted prostitution past. Maybe have her son killed too.

Val also makes good investments ( in 1/3 of a ranch and property the railroad later wants that's worth millions)and passes the bar exam and is a licenced attorney and can practice law if he wants to.

Lots of action in this great book. Its a page burner. I read the 229 page book in 2 days.The reader develops deep empathy with poor little Val Darrant and Van who would not let Val die. Also Will Reilly is shown as a real hero and a wonderful person. Lots of fighting, gunfighting, and murder. Several real evil persons are shown. Two outlaws turn out to be good. Also Billy the Kid is a minor character in the book as well as wild Bill Kickok who helped both Val and Reilly.

I won't ruin the story telling the sad fate of Reilly or the great ending. Reilly's Luck is a great Western and a thoughtful look at a man trying to bring up a young boy right and teach him what he would need in life. Also shows the ultimate evil that can be in a beautiful woman with no soul, lust in some men's hearts leading to their downfall and what evil men will do to their fellow men for power and money. A great story and one of L'Amour's best. Rated 5 stars

One of the best, in his well used theme of boy growing up on his own, after being brought up at an early age by someone other than his parents. Have read it multiple times, and still enjoy it every few years.

excellent service. I got it in a matter of two days. Thank you.

First book i have read from mr l'amour and i couldnt stop reading it. iam hooked to his style of writing, great story about a young boy who is taken in by will oreilly. he is taught everything about life and more. many lessons to be learned in this book mr lamour has an interesting way of teaching his reader the important things in life. enjoy the book you wont be disappointed.