What do You think about The Bounty Hunters (2002)?
If you're going to read an Elmore Leonard book, don't choose this one. It's not representative!I found the characters to be stereotypical, the plot predictable and Leonard's trademark dialogue blunted. I still could get lost in his obscure syntax & undefined jargon, mind you, but without an edge of black humor it was, well..."okay," but kind of a waste of time.Oh, and if it's true that this was his first novel, then I'm being harsh! Lord knows Leonard's first description of Lieutenant Duro is nothing short of great - as are many of his other "word pictures."But, t return to my original thought - Try a different Elmore Leonard first. Ths is not his best.
—Kathy
The Bounty Hunters was Elmore Leonard’s first novel. He had published a number of short stories in Western magazines before this. As a writer of westerns he was brilliant. The love of character is evident from this first novel.The Bounty Hunters follows Dave Flynn, former cavalry officer turned scout as he leads a young lieutenant into Mexico on the trail of an Apache war chief. Along the way they encounter American scalp hunters who work for the local Mexican commander. Trouble with these scalp hunters is that they aren’t particular with whose scalps they take. A young woman, the daughter of a friend, is taken by the scalp hunters and Flynn goes after them.All the classic western themes are here. The rugged individual, the dangerous situations. We have good guys, we have bad guys, and in the end both the good guys and bad guys get their reward. Bounty Hunters delivers all that could be expected from a western written by Elmore Leonard.
—David Williams
This is a solid first effort by Elmore Leonard, who is, of course, better known for his straight crime fiction. This one s a Western and it is pretty good. It reads like a book version of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western movie, with all of the gritty realism. It is definitely not along the lines of "Shane". There is a lot of blood shed in this one. The book surrounds the activities of a band of scalp hunters, which is, interestingly, the same topic as Cormac McCarthy's, "Blood Meridian", a more dense, difficult book. There are some good guys -- David Flynn and his friend Joe, along with a new, untested soldier named Bowers. They are sent after a renegade Apache chief to bring him to justice. Along the way they discover some evil actions that have been taking place in regard to the scalp hunting. They end up in a village, which again, reminds the reader of something out of a Clint Eastwood movie, or "The Magnificent Seven". The villagers are being abused by a troop of Mexican soldiers, led by a corrupt man. To make matters worse, one of the villagers, a girl, has been abducted by a gang of outlaws.The prose is at points a bit difficult to understand, because Leonard, like McCarthy in "Meridian" does not see fit to use quotation marks. I'm not sure either writer made a good choice, since it is difficult at times to figure out who is speaking. Still, the plot is good and the details of the Western make for good reading. It is a good start to a great career.
—David
