The Outlaws of Mesquite

Rating:
Summary: Captivating, involved book, a must read L'amour title
Review: As a lover of L'amour books, I found these short stories to be some of the best I've read. Anyone who studies the West or loves to read about who founded our rough West should read any of Louis L'amour's books.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of L'Amour's Best
Review: This is a collection of eight short stories. There are several collections of L'Amour's short stories, but this is not one of the better ones. The stories just weren't fleshed out enought to really grip your attention and the characters just didn't have enough attention given to them. Many of these stories have interesting themes, but would have been better suited to full length books where more attention could be given to details.

The Outlaws of Mesquite: Milt Cougar is a stranger who drifts into Mesquite with a herd of horses and no wish for trouble. But Mesquite is being ramrodded by Dan Spencer, a local heavy who has his eye on Cougar's horses. Spencer also has his eye on a local girl, Jennie, who wants nothing more than to ride out of town with Cougar and never look back. Now Cougar has to fight for his herd, for Jennie's freedom and for his life.

This could be a great book if it was fleshed out and the characters were developed more.

Love and The Cactus Kid: The Cactus Kid is in love and he would do anything to please his girl. But the only thing his girl wants is the one thing you can't find in this dried out, dying countryside - flowers. But the Kid is determined and so is Jenny, so off he goes to the mountains and greener pastures in search of the demanded flowers. But trouble is never far behind in the west and the Kid's search for flowers turns into a desperate fight with a group of outlaws hidding out in the mountains.

This bit of fluff is not even worthy of a short story, much less a longer version. The characters are weak and colorless, the hero is being hen-pecked by a girl who does nothing but whine. The outlaws are third rate and the action is tepid. Truely, not one of L'Amour's best attempts.

The rest of the short stories are: The Ghost Maker, The Drift, No Rest for the Wicked, That Packsaddle Affair, and Showdown and the Tumbling T. Some of them are ok, some of them would be great if they were fleshed out and a few of them are forgettable.

On the whole I would not recommend this collection of stories. There are too many other great L'Amour stories you should read first!

Rating:
Summary: Not one of L'Amour's Best
Review: This is a collection of eight short stories. There are several collections of L'Amour's short stories, but this is not one of the better ones. The stories just weren't fleshed out enought to really grip your attention and the characters just didn't have enough attention given to them. Many of these stories have interesting themes, but would have been better suited to full length books where more attention could be given to details.

The Outlaws of Mesquite: Milt Cougar is a stranger who drifts into Mesquite with a herd of horses and no wish for trouble. But Mesquite is being ramrodded by Dan Spencer, a local heavy who has his eye on Cougar's horses. Spencer also has his eye on a local girl, Jennie, who wants nothing more than to ride out of town with Cougar and never look back. Now Cougar has to fight for his herd, for Jennie's freedom and for his life.

This could be a great book if it was fleshed out and the characters were developed more.

Love and The Cactus Kid: The Cactus Kid is in love and he would do anything to please his girl. But the only thing his girl wants is the one thing you can't find in this dried out, dying countryside - flowers. But the Kid is determined and so is Jenny, so off he goes to the mountains and greener pastures in search of the demanded flowers. But trouble is never far behind in the west and the Kid's search for flowers turns into a desperate fight with a group of outlaws hidding out in the mountains.

This bit of fluff is not even worthy of a short story, much less a longer version. The characters are weak and colorless, the hero is being hen-pecked by a girl who does nothing but whine. The outlaws are third rate and the action is tepid. Truely, not one of L'Amour's best attempts.

The rest of the short stories are: The Ghost Maker, The Drift, No Rest for the Wicked, That Packsaddle Affair, and Showdown and the Tumbling T. Some of them are ok, some of them would be great if they were fleshed out and a few of them are forgettable.

On the whole I would not recommend this collection of stories. There are too many other great L'Amour stories you should read first!