I'd quit reading L'Amour for a while, after few less-than-impressive books, but I tried again recently and the last two I've read were back up to standard. The Iron Marshal is interesting because of its first few chapters which develop the hero's backstory. Instead of the usual seasoned frontiersman we have a city-bred hero, but one whose background peculiarly fits him for the situation he lands in out West. Tom Shanahgy, an Irish immigrant boy, grew up working in the organization of a New York City political boss. When a fight with another gang goes the wrong way and forces him to hop a freight train headed west, he ends up dropping right into a small Kansas town that has its own troubles, and is drawn into them almost against his will.It's a good complicated plot, with a looming confrontation between a tough rancher and the townsfolk, a missing marshal, and a plot by others to take advantage of the confusion and pull off a bigger crime. I'd say the only weakness is that some of the supporting characters aren't developed quite as well as they could be. I've noticed L'Amour had a tendency to use large numbers of characters, but not describe their physical characteristics and personalities as much as he could have, making it difficult for the reader to keep everybody straight in their mind. He was better with a tight, limited cast (e.g. Last Stand at Papago Wells or High Lonesome). In The Iron Marshal, though, the weakness isn't enough to damage the story that much. A good solid Western with a unique opening.
I'd been getting rather tired of Louis L'Amour, as his writing is its own cliché: the moralizing, the invincible hero who comes out of nowhere, the simplistic writing style, etc. I was going to give him a break, despite the generally rousing stories. I had recently noticed that his later works manage to break out of the mould. This one, from 1979, is such a one.A man finds his calling when he takes the job of town marshal. When a gang of thugs try to take it all away from him, he perseveres against threats, slander and opposition to come out on top.
What do You think about The Iron Marshal (1993)?
I enjoyed this story of a young immigrant from the Bowery in New York who finds himself in a small western town where he quickly becomes the marshall. L'Amour spins a tale of a young man who develops skills while growing up in a tough area of the 'big city' and then finds that those skills come in handy when he finds himself in the middle of a whirlwind of hidden agendas.I'm reading Louis L'Amour books to honor my father who loved the author and his works. I find myself enjoying the lessons that the characters learn and feel that these are lessons that my father was hopeful to teach to me when I was younger ... and perhaps lessons that I can share with my 12-year old son as he grows into himself.In any case, I recommend this to anyone who likes westerns.
—Villager
I read this one for the #timetoread National Readathon and am glad I did. It's been forever since I read a Louis L'Amour book and I now realize how much I missed them. This book though just about wore me out in all that was going on and the tennis match of clues, twists, and the like going on in it. It was well done. My only complaint is the flashbacks at the beginning. They were very jarring and quite anticlimactic since the reader knows the outcome and the fact the main character survives everything. After all, he is the main character and the book had barely begun. Still, a good one and I now want to read more of Mr. L'Amour's books.
—Holli
