I'm rating this one down and I'm man enough to admit that it's mostly pique. The story is good and I've always liked Tell Sackett. This is the third featuring him and L'Amour is a better storyteller with each new book. The only trouble is, the first book featuring Tell ended with him together with Ange. And I adore Ange. So in the previous Tell book, L'Amour had to pack her off back East for some mysterious reason and that sucked. In this one, L'Amour kills her off. Off-screen, in the pre-story, in a big dustup that he may have intended to get to sometime but apparently never has (because I'm reading in chronological order, remember***). And that just sucks!And yeah, I like Dorset, the new honey for Tell, but she's awful thin on the pages in this one, floating in and out of the story just enough to hint at her inner awesome. This is the problem with being a romantic reading the Sackett novels, I suppose...Even worse, though, we get more of Owen's not-yet-ex wife, Laura. She's a cartoon villain from Tyrel's story and does herself no favors here. Her machinations drive much of the story, sending Tell into Apache territory on a goose-chase. I can't actually regret it because he rescues folks and meets Dorset, but still, she's a stone-cold bitch and seriously needs to go away (preferably permanently, though not necessarily fatally).So yeah. Pique. It's still a good adventure story and Tell is awesome. Poor Ange. If L'Amour has similar treatment for Dorset later on, I may just give this up as a bad experiment...***Edit: well crap! It turns out the series listing here on GoodReads isn't in chronological order. Gah. So looks like I need an emergency intervention for The Sackett Brand. This may sour me on L'Amour, altogether...****Edited Edit: I changed the ordering here on GoodReads to reflect the much better chronology given at http://www.louislamour.com/sackett/in.... Future generations shouldn't so much thank me as erect statues and possibly instantiate a small cult...
That was quite a ride!Tell Sackett starts this adventure with several other lonely men. In the course of the tale, he's conned into finding a nephew who never existed, runs straight into the Apache, and takes a long ride through Mexico. Unlike previous books, we don't see much of his own kin, which only makes his journey more personal.I've really enjoyed L'Amour's writing. There's a keen respect he has for the Indian, and he does well with maintaining the character's vision and purpose. And Tell is a man of integrity. He knows his limitations, and faces his problems and situations with honesty. Great character.
What do You think about The Lonely Men (1984)?
Overall: If someone whom reads 50-plus books a year, including award winning fiction, "How to Read Literature like a Professor," and most everything else, likes this book, then you will too.My wife, the person mentioned above, lost a bet recently, so she had to read my books on a recent road trip through the plains to central Texas. I love L'Amour, but she has always viewed it as "pulp fiction" and therefore low on the long list of good things to read. But she liked it! As proof, I submit this quote as we were about halfway through the book, near Amarillo and running out of daylight to read by, "Awww, I want to keep going. Is it okay if I turn on the light so we can read another chapter?" That is a glowing review coming from one of the best read people I know other than my mom.The Lonely Men is Sackett #7, but I didn't know that tidbit when I picked up the book for our drive. It is full of mentions and nods to the previous six stories, characters and plots, but they do not interfere too much with the plot in this one. It is easy to pick up, get drawn in and then find yourself wanting more of the backstory.
—Eric Moote
