Customer Reviews

Son of a Wanted Man

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
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"Son of a Wanted Man," by Louis L'Amour, was first published in 1984. Louis L'Amour is most known for his excellent Westerns, and this novel is no exception. The book is filled with gunfights, pursuits, and a little bit of romance as well.

Ben Curry was the mastermind of well-planed robberies from Canada to Mexico and from San Antone to Los Angeles. Because the robberies were so well planed, almost no clues were left behind. Tyrel Sackett and Borden Chantry begin to look deeper into these robberies and piece together the clues, because Sackett's town was recently robbed.

Ben Curry also planned ahead for his own retirement by raising an orphaned boy, Mike Bastian, as his son. Curry wanted Mike to take leadership of the outlaws, now that he felt Mike was ready. But did Mike want to follow in his foster father's footsteps? And to make matters worse for Mike, several of the outlaws didn't like the idea and would rather become the leader. With Sackett and Chantry looking into their activities, there is plenty of suspense and action in this book.

He has been trained by the best. He can track, shoot, and more importantly, he can think. He's been raised to take over his father's gang of hundreds of outlaws stretching all over the country. But he must now decide if that is the life he wishes to lead. In the meantime there's disention in the ranks, a pair of wise lawmen on the gang's trail, and a woman with the fire of a stallion eating away at his heart. All this and more will face the son of a wanted man. It was a terrific story that keeps moving until the final page. I loved it. The story has everything that you look for in a Louis L'Amour book.

WOW! The only problem with the Amazon product description and reviews is that THEY ARE TOTALLY WRONG!!!!! This Dramatized Audio version of the Novel is somewhat different from the novel. According to the web site dedicated to this audio (www.sonofawantedman.com) the script was written by Louis L'Amour's son Beau and includes some changes.

As an audio fan I can tell you that this is the Rolls Royce of audio productions. It has a full cast of exciting actors playing all the roles, a great sound track and the sound effects are so realistic you won't believe it. I know I didn't. I put on the headphones and spent the next 3 hours totally enthralled!

The third CD is half "The Making Of" and half an interview with Louis L'Amour. According to the How To and the web site all of the sound effects were recorded specifically for this show and to ensure realism. Recorded digitally, this show is really clean with no noise and or hiss. In addition the editor creatively used pan and volume to create a three deminsional space.

I absolutely loved this show and I highly recommend it for anyone that likes good audio, whether you are a western fan or not!

Louis L'Amour's "Son of a Wanted Man" is an outstanding production on EVERY level. I have listened to all types of audio books and radio dramas and this is my absolute favorite. While the Publishers Weekly reviewer got caught up in the technology he completely missed what are IMHO some of the best performances I've ever heard! I began to believe that these characters were real and completely lost myself in the story and drama! The music was highly apporopriate both to the period and style of the show and added a deep sense of emotion without being distracting.

I'm not alone in my liking for this production. Jeff Davis from Audio Books Today says "The narration is done by Terrance Mann and is perfectly suited for this tale. Though his voice is not the usual raspy, western drawl you often hear with stories of the old west, his innocuous voice blends superbly with the story and sound effects. The transitional music also carries the story along with its vast, country feel. "

Son of a Wanted Man is listed as one of the TOP 10 by The Detroit News Entertainment Insider.

Library Bookwatch says "Fans of Westerns will relish Louis L'Amour's Son Of A Wanted Man."

In fact, nearly every review I have read seems to think this is an outstanding production worthy of a listen and I think its a bargain at its lower than usual price!

Son Of A Wanted Man is the first audio book I've ever listened to and I was so disappointed with it! I was hoping to hear the story as Mr. L'Amour intended it to be - as he wrote it. Instead, it's a lot of bad "character acting" and ridiculous sound effects. It completely detracts from the story. Please tell me that not all of the audio books are like this!

Beau L'Amour should be ashamed of himself for ruining his father's work this way. It truly is awful. The voices don't fit the characters and they certainly don't convey the personalities of the characters.

My father taught me to read with Louis L'Amour books. Mustang Man was my first. I've been reading his books for almost 40 years now and I can't express enough how disappointing this audio book was. I sincerely hope they are not all this way.

I liked the story, but had read the same story line in another of L'Amour's books, of which I now have over 55. I was disappointed, but read it all again anyway.

I was priviledged to receive a pre production copy of this from Beau l'Amour and that satisfied me. I did however also get a final published copy and this excelled all expectations.

Don't expect a direct transcript of the novel because this treatment like any adaptation has to be varied to enable the story to be told in the new format. The essence of the novel has been maintained and the story moves quickly in the manner of "Old time Radio dramas"

The added bonus in this is CD three containing a "Making of" section where Beau L'Amour and his Technical Producer explain the process and the technical issues involved in the creation of this 2 CD production. This is then followed with a 30 minute fireside chat by Louis L'Amour himself.

This is a must for any L'Amour fan.

Son of a Wanted Man is a captivating western that can hook anyone onto the Louis L'amour series. It leads the reader to feel compassion for the boy raised by outlaws to take over as the head of an outfit of robbers. But when the boy becomes a man and it's time to take over after his foster father, his conscience gets the best of him. He's not cut out to be a "bad man". Seeing that the leader of the outfit is stepping down, the men become anxious and power hungry and decide to act on their own. Son of a Wanted Man is full of suspense and leaves the reader feeling satisfied by the exciting ending.

Great story about a son who is rased by outlaws to be the perfect outlaw. But when the time comes to choose which path to take, he has to make a decision. Great western and even has a Sackett in it. This was the very first L'Amour book that I read and it is a good one. I love the scene where a character walks across a wire strung across a canyon. L'Amour writes it in a way that you can just see it.