Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Elmer Kelton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sons of Texas Trilogy 1 | Publication Date: May 30, 2006

Mordecai Lewis and his sons Michael and Andrew ride into the Spanish province of Texas to hunt wild horses, planning to sell the animals back home in the Tennessee canebrakes. The expedition proves fatal for Mordecai and leaves the Lewis boys in peril on both sides of the border: with a murderous Spanish officer in Texas and a blood vendetta with the Blackwood clan, a neighboring Tennessee family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A veteran writer of more than 40 western novels, seven-time Spur Award–winner Kelton again delivers careful plotting, colorful characters and vibrant action in this tale set largely in Mexican-ruled Texas. In 1816, the patriarch of the Lewis clan leaves its Tennessee farm to join a group of local adventurers who plan is to capture Texas wild horses and bring them back to sell. Lewis's 16-year-old son Michael sneaks off and joins them. When the party run into a Mexican military patrol at the Louisiana border led by the sadistic Lieutenant Rodriguez, Michael's father is murdered along with much of the party, and Michael is left to die on the prairie, but survives (with a little bit of deus ex machinaaid) and returns home. Five years later, after suffering through a bloody family feud, Michael and a younger brother, Andrew, return to Texas to settle the score and stake out new lives for themselves. Michael eventually finds love, revenge and even future Texas hero Stephen F. Austin. Lucid sentences, few surprises, heavily dialected dialogue, authentically clipped emotions, careful historicism and smooth pacing give what could be a hokey story nice nuance. The second and third installments will cover the Alamo, Sam Houston and Texas independence. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for Elmer Kelton:

"Elmer Kelton is to Texas what Mark Twain was to the Mississippi River."--Jory Sherman, author of The Barons of Texas

"As always, Mr. Kelton's history is accurate and his characters clearly drawn and believable." -The Dallas Morning News on Jericho's Road

"Once again, Kelton offers and exciting tale in which the bad guys are really bad and some of the good guys are, too. His characters are sharly defined, the historical background is vivid and the gunplay can't be beat." -Publishers Weekly on Jericho's Road

"Multiple Spur Award-winner Kelton knows how to tell a wallopin' good story without beating the reader over the head with it. His affection for his characters and his gentle sense of humor win the reader over bit by bit, until we find ourselves genuinely caring how the story comes out . --Abilene Reporter-News

"Elmer Kelton writes of early Texas with unerring authority. His knowledge of the state's history is complete, too--drawn from the lives of real people. . . . The fate of Texas is at hand, and Kelton will have readers eager to find out what happens."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram on The Buckskin Line

"You can never go wrong if you want to read a good story with realistic characters and you pick up a title by Elmer Kelton. In the case of his newest book, The Smiling Country, the guarantee is as good as gold. . . . Kelton's characters jump off the page, they are so real. This is another fine title from the man named the greatest western writer of all time in a 1995 survey by the Western Writers of America." --American Cowboy

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765348977
• ISBN-13: 978-0765348975
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elmer Kelton of San Angelo, Texas is a native Texan and author of over 50 Western novels. He has won many awards for his work and has been recognized as the Greatest Western Writer of all time by the Western Writers of America, Inc. He is the author of Forge's Texas Ranger series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wanderlust takes Mordecai and Michael Lewis to the danger-filled, Spanish-ruled Texas, August 7, 2009

By 

Mr. R. J. Bradley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

The first of a trilogy, Sons of Texas looks at Texas' gaining of independence from Spanish rule by following the lives of central characters, Michael Lewis and his younger brother, Andrew. Mordecai Lewis, Michael's father, headed the western Tennessee family when the story began in 1816 - a time when a hunter had shot pouch and powder horn.
Mordecai was often away and he led a group of local landowners to Texas to bring back a herd of wild horses. Sixteen-year-old Michael tagged along as did Cyrus Blackwood whose family had a reputation for thievery and causing other trouble to their neighbours.
Protecting the interests of the Spanish crown at that time was the brutal Lieutenant Armando Rodriguez. Rodriguez captured and killed Mordecai and Michael was left to die by Blackwood that was a beginning of a feud between the families when Michael survived and returned to Tennessee some time later.
Michael still found Texas an irresistible draw and together with Andrew left to protect his family from the hostility that the Blackwoods were directing towards him, to find romance and to eventually confront Rodriguez.
The feud with the Blackwoods is to be developed further in The Raiders and The Rebels and I'm hoping that the rest of the Lewis family will be featured more. Especially Michael's mother Patience who married Mordecai's brother Benjamin, and the effervescent Annie, Michael's younger sister, who adored Michael for being so like their father.
Elmer Kelton has an understanding of the outdoor life and the ability to pass that onto the reader in a clear, entertaining manner that remained at a very high standard throughout.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great read, August 10, 2008

By 

Robyn Raine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the book that got me hooked on Elmer Kelton I picked this book up in the library and could not put in down. I had to go back the next day and get the others. Soon I was ordering the rest of his books off of Amazon and looking for them in half price book stores. If you read this book you have to finish the trilogy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Western large print book, May 21, 2010

By 

Claudiacougar (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

He's one of my favorite authors, knows what he's talking about.
Always a winner in my book. Doesn't have to be just for men to
read either.