I tried to like this book, but I just didn't. I don't know if it's a personal issue - I'm not particularly a fan of Westerns so I am not well read in the genre. Or honestly it could just be a weak book. I'm leaning more towards the latter.Broken Gun tells the story of writer/historian/Korean War veteran Dan Sheridan, who buys an old broken gun in a pawn shop and finds part of a ninety year old journal wrapped up and stuck inside the barrel. Curiosity piqued, Sheridan decides to investigate the journal's story - ninety years previous twenty-seven men and four thousand head of cattle vanished en route to Arizona. He heads West to the ranch where the journal's story begins, and meets hostility. In solving the mystery, Dan is thrown in to the dangers of the Old West - complete with horses, hiding in the brush, getting chased by killers, and a buxom lady friend.This book was obnoxiously cheesy. I suppose that is part of the charm of some Westerns though, and maybe even to be expected from a Louis L'Amour Western? I'm not certain. Another issue I have with this book was the 'noble savage' portrayal of Native Americans. I suppose that is a product of the time that it was written in, but still, as someone with a background in anthropology, the descriptions of Natives were cringe-worthy.I thought the concept for this story was great, and I was excited to read it after glancing at the plot synopsis. Unfortunately, the characters were boringly stereotypical good guy / bad guy personas, and there was an excessive amount of eye-rolling one liners. Even if fans of Louis L'Amour were reading this book I don't think they would consider it emotionally gripping or epic. It's a quick read, and fun. I don't think that I would recommend this particular book to someone wanting to read Westerns - rather, I'd just point them to Louis L'Amour in general. Based on his popularity this can't possibly be a typical book of his.I'm disappointed that I disliked my first Western so much! I am planning on branching out to other authors. I prefer my books a little grittier.
Dan Sheridan buys an old broken gun in a pawn shop and finds part of a ninety year old journal wrapped up and stuck inside the barrel. He is a writer and decides to look into the story of the Toomey brothers. The only trouble is that the people who own the land now have a secret, and it is a secret that they are prepared to kill for. Soon Dan finds himself on the run, hunted through what once once Apache country. Only his pursuers don't realize that he is no city boy. He was born and raised on a ranch and served in Korea and Vietnam. Now as the deadly cat and mouse game plays out there is a large ranch and the life of a beautiful woman at stake.When I was 13 years old I discovered Louis L'Amour. I read every book I could get my hands on. It has been a long time since I read one of his books. The Broken Gun reminded me why I loved him so much. You have the classic tough guy. The women in L'Amour are no shrinking violets. They are tough as the land that they come from. Of course you couldn't really have a L'Amour book without one good knock-down drag-out fist fight. This is a lot of fun
I am not a fan of westerns--movies or books--in part because of the stereotypes that tend to be found in them, in part because the stories seem to be told to a formula. And "formula" shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, I guess....I read a lot of "popular" fiction, which is often "formula" too. I will also admit that I have read only a few westerns over the years....because I am not crazy about the genre in general, in addition to the reasons stated above.Saying that, I actually whizzed through this book, and didn't hate it at all. It was an easy read, there was a story to it that was interesting, and I wasn't bored.
—Rick Bavera
Oh Louis L'amour...I used to always make fun of people that read Louis L'amour, but now I very proudly admit that I belong to that club. They are just fun, pure and simple fun. The writing is quick and the stories perfectly western. I suppose it's not that surprising that I like Louis L'amour, growing up with John Wayne had me primed and ready to fall in love with western reading. This book was a little different then the others I've read. I it was set in "present times" which, for L'amour, was the sixties. While it still has a western feel, I kind of missed the flat out cowboy business. There is nothing distinguishing about the story, it is what is - a classic Louis L'amour. Short, fun, to the point and full of "rough-ridin." Good times.
—Natalie
I see a well illustrated old west themed cover to a Louis L'Amour book, the title 'The Broken Gun' and I plunge into a novel that instantly confuses me. It takes a few pages to realize when in time this novel falls. There is no mention of it. There is a mention of 90 years before...but, before what? By the third page the Korean War is mentioned.Involving stroytelling, time should be established in some way off the top if a story about different time periods is being unraveled. Instead L'Amour leaves the reader at drift trying to figure out what's going on. Making the early part of the book worse is L'Amour's poor approach to literally illustrating an urban setting.Once the novel goes out to ranch lands of sand and rock, L'Amour hits his stride in describing the setting. But, time gets away from him again. L'Amour clearly had trouble with writing about his present.A number of things bother me about the writing of this book. One involved an over long chase near the end. Another was one sentence involving a character that vanishes. Though clearly not the intent, the line is more surreal than consistent with the rhythm of the story.The story is shakey, at best, and the conclusion over obvious. Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of ten.
—Rob Smith
