westerns

[chunks]

lol the bookstore forum is practically dead.

OK so I really like reading Westerns -- Lonesome Dove is one of the greatest books out there, and just as good are stories written by Lous L’amour (Last of the Breed is the best one imo.) As great as these stories are I think that this genre gets overlooked now a days in both books and movies. I guess it seems old fashioned and barbaric, and no one is interested in it anymore with the new frontier being space/sci-fi. But it’s really one of the most interesting times of American history with all the outlaws and very little law. This is starting to sound lame, but I wanted to know if anyone really reads them anymore and which books/authors you like.

[dmby]

there is a great book called "Stand to Horse". Read it.

[Dr. Maturin]

Elmer Kelton writes great westerns that are more realistc than L'amour. They are set in Texas and are very interesting reads, although it took me a while to get used to his style.

The best "Western style" series I have seen or read is Terry C. Johnston's Titus Bass series. I believe there are 8 books in the series all more than 500 pages. Unbelievable series IMO, has one of the most poetically sweet endings I have come across in literature.

On a related note if you enjoy westerns you would most likely enjoy naval ficiton series such as Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin series. It starts with Master and Commander (much different than the movie and much much better). I'm sure you've heard of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, which I also highly recommend.

[Amnesia]

Hmmm, my father actually tried to get me to read Louis L'Amour (of whom he is an avid fan). I tried a couple short stories but the style just didn't grab me. It was more of a meat and potatoes style I guess than the floral arrangements I tend to prefer. (Yeah, I like that 'flowery crap' in language and action.) It just seemed like a lot of direct and basic communication, but then, that's probably just part of the style -- giving the raw facts.

As for westerns as a whole, I'm not quite sure. There's definitely an idealized, romanticised form out there which everything else appears to fall into, but then, I haven't read many westerns. =/

[neko-sennin]

'Fraid I'm just not much into Westerns. Perhaps it was growing up surrounded by it in first Western, then Eastern, Montana, as a kid, living in the mountains and near farms and ranches and stuff, so I guess it just felt like history book rehash to me. The only L'Amour book I've ever read was The Haunted Mesa, but I don't know if that one counts as a typical Western, so...

I don't know if they count as "Westerns" but I always liked Jack London, and in recent years I've become a big fan of Tony Hillerman, and his more modern Southwestern stories, though those are more mystery/detective novels than Westerns.

[Kokain]

I too have no experience in this genre, but after watching No Country For Old Men, I did a little research on Cormack McCarthy (who wrote the book of the same name upon which the movie was based) and it appears that most of his novels--many of which are Westerns--have been very favorably received.

After digging around a little I've decided to start with Blood Meridian, since I have a soft spot for sociopath antagonists who also happen to be scary geniuses.