Η τελευταία σφαίραΈνατο βιβλίο του Λουίς Λ'Αμούρ που διαβάζω και μπορώ να πω ότι με διαφορά είναι το καλύτερο απ'όλα. Και αν τα προηγούμενα μου άρεσαν πολύ, τότε αυτό που μόλις τελείωσα σχεδόν με ενθουσίασε. Πως έχει η ιστορία: Ο εκατομμυριούχος Τζέιμς Τ. Κέτλεμαν αφήνει τον πολιτισμό και τα χρήματά του, καθώς και την όμορφη γυναίκα του που τον παντρεύτηκε για τα λεφτά και σχεδίαζε να τον σκοτώσει για δαύτα, για να περάσει τους τελευταίους μήνες της ζωής του, σ'ένα κρησφύγετο που ανήκε στον Τζιμ Φλιντ, έναν τίμιο πιστολά που βρήκε τον Κέτλεμαν πεταμένο στο δρόμο όταν αυτός ήταν παιδί και τον φρόντισε. Ο Κέτλεμαν, σύμφωνα με τον καλύτερο γιατρό της Νέας Υόρκης, έπασχε από καρκίνο και ήταν στα τελευταία του. Ήθελε να περάσει ήσυχα, διαβάζοντας και ιππεύοντας, σ'ένα ήσυχο μέρος, χωρίς μπελάδες και παρέες. Ήθελε να είναι μόνος. Όμως η Δύση δεν συνίσταται για ηρεμία. Θα μπλεχτεί σ'έναν πόλεμο ανάμεσα σε κτηνοτρόφους και εκμεταλλευτές γης και θέλοντας και μη θα παίξει έναν σημαντικό ρόλο στην υπόθεση, ειδικά από την στιγμή που θα μπει στον στόχο ενός επικίνδυνου πιστολά και ενός αδίστακτου επιχειρηματία... Η πλοκή είναι πολύ καλοδουλεμένη και ενδιαφέρουσα, με έντονη δράση και αγωνία για την συνέχεια, η γραφή το κάτι άλλο, όμορφη μέσα στην απλότητά της, με ωραίες περιγραφές τοπίων και γεγονότων, οι χαρακτήρες σίγουρα ενδιαφέροντες, με τον κεντρικό ήρωα να είναι ένας απόλυτα συμπαθητικός τύπος και, τέλος, η ατμόσφαιρα οπωσδήποτε τρομερή. Δεν ξέρω αν αξίζει πραγματικά να βάλω πέντε αστεράκια, αλλά το ότι το σκέφτομαι και μόνο τόσο σοβαρά σημαίνει ότι το βιβλίο αυτό μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ και ότι είναι σίγουρα από τα καλύτερα γουέστερν που έχω διαβάσει. Ειλικρινά αναρωτιέμαι πως και δεν έγινε ποτέ ταινία!
As a child I used to love gathering around the TV with my family watching such classic westerns as Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and Bonanza (so totally smitten was I with Little Joe (aka Michael Landon)). All of these were considered atypical westerns for their time, as the core of the storylines dealt less about the range but more about family, how they cared for one another, their neighbors, and just causes. As much as I loved the TV shows, I'd never actually 'read' a western. Several of my friends over the years had suggested that I read Louis L'Amour and so I chose "Flint" to be my first foray into the western genre. He left the West at the age of seventeen, leaving behind a rootless past and a trail of violence. In the East, he became one of the wealthiest financiers in America. Now, suffering from incurable cancer, he has come back to New Mexico to die alone. But when an all-out range war erupts, Flint chooses to help Nancy Kerrigan, a local rancher. A cold-eyed speculator is setting up the land swindle of a lifetime, and Buckdun, a notorious assassin, is there to back his play. Flint alone can help Nancy save her ranch…with his cash, his connections—and his gun. He still has his legendary will to fight. All he needs is time, and that’s fast running out…. (publisher's synopsis)I did enjoy this book, probably because it brought back such fond memories of the TV shows (and again I found myself smitten with the male lead, an educated, urbane, complex guy). This book, like the shows, deals with morals and honor and closeness of family. But there's also plenty of action, full of twists and turns, with Flint believing he will die anyway and hence not playing by the rules and attacking his foes head-on. This book was an easy read and one that I enjoyed. It certainly won't be the last for me by this author, or of the genre.3.5*/5
What do You think about Flint (1997)?
Flint is a historical fiction book by Louis Lamour. It is about a man who goes west to die because a doctor told him he has cancer, and his wife tried to cheat him and have him killed. The man's name is James T. Kettlemen, also known as Jim Flint. Flint is very good with a gun. He uses it to protect a girl named Nancy Kerrigan, a rancher, from a man trying to steal the ranch and sell it for a large profit. One thing I like about this book is that it is filled with action and excitement. There are many times when Flint gets into a gun fight and has to battle his way out. One time, he gets beat up by the man trying to steal the ranch and his gang. At first he was unconscious, but he gets back up and shoots the men who beat him up. One thing I don't like about this book is that the beginning is very slow. The book doesn't start to pick up until about thirty pages into it. It is at this point in the book where Flint gets into his first gun fight. I recommend this book because it has lots of action, and it teaches you how things were run years ago. Does Flint or the man and his gang prevail? I can't tell you that...you'll have to read it and find out for yourself.
—Mrs. G's Reading Literature
Whatever happened to The Western? Superceded by modern crime writing, no doubt. This was a real return to form from the last novel I tried by Louis L'Amour (The Haunted Mesa), which I think he must have written in his dotage. This was a traditional, classic Western, and I enjoyed the portrayal of the scenery, the lava strewn mesas, the endless blue skies, the scent of the sage as your horse keeps you company in the painted desert, combining with the real men, the real Western girls who you admire nearly as much as your horse, and the timeless truth that a man has to do what a man has to do. Although it often bordered on the laughably cliched, the effortless style carries the plot and the characters along, and you can't help but admire it. Is anyone writing like this these days in any genre? Maybe Elmore Leonard, and he started with Westerns too. I'd like to see a revival of The Western if only to remind people that seemingly simple storytelling is an art in itself, and it is through the Western that this tradition is best carried.
—Jim
Kettleman was an unnamed orphan plucked from a western street by the enigmatic gunman, Flint. Flint supported him through boarding school and then left $100 and a message that he could be found in Abilene if wanted. After Flint was killed, the orphan took the name Kettleman and went East to make his fortune in finance. When diagnosed with cancer and to escape a murderous wife and father-in-law, he returned to the West, to a hideout he knew from his days with Flint. Taking the name Jim Flint to avoid his wife, he stumbles into a range war.Western - Dying of cancer, ruthless financier James T. Kettleman decides to leave the East and returns to old familiar hideouts in New Mexico. When a range war erupts, he finds himself helping a local rancher named Nancy Kerrigan against the land speculator setting up the swindle of a lifetime and his hired assassin, Blackdun. Kettleman--now called Flint--has resources that Nancy needs to survive the clash. The question is whether he will live long enough.
—Ed
