This is one of L'Amour's better works. Decent plot. Minimal macho akwardness in his language. The story follows one of his typically well-cultured killer types, who slightly tips the scales towards good, joining a group of prospectors looking for gold in Big Sky country. Turns out something is rotten in Denmark and Matt Bardoul (our protagonist) must try and do something about it. Great suspense and action throughout. This is clearly genre work but if some of the word smithing had been cleaned up and the irritatingly lenghty and incongruous diatribe from an old Indian about how the white men were causing environmental catastrophe from one end of the continent to the other had been removed, I would have given it 4 stars. If you like westerns and need an engaging read, go ahead and grab this one.
This is L'Amour's first novel. The beginnings of his trademark writing style are there. Yet the plot has a few uneven spots and there are probably a few too many characters. The ending with Col. Pearson immediately recognizing his faults seems stilted. As always, L'Amour does a great job of putting the reader into the events of 1877. One technical problem I noted: Jacqine Coyle claimed familiarity with the exploits of many of the western gunmen including Billy the Kid; however the Lincoln County War which propelled The Kid to fame didn't begin until 1878.With the exceptions noted above, this was a worthy effort for his first work. It certainly foreshadows his coming excellent works.
