RachelleVaughn Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I hope they aren't dying out! I'm currently reading a series of western romances by Vicki Lewis Thompson in the Harlequin Blaze line. I've also liked Joan Johnston's western romance novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 For a great western series, I'd recommend The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour...it's 18 or 19 books. I have a leather bound set of every book that L'Amour wrote and have read each one twice. The Sacketts, I agree, by L'Amour are good. A Western in the "Mountainman" theme that is one of the greatest is "The Big Sky" by A.B. Guthrie. A great, great, book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) For a great western series, I'd recommend The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour...it's 18 or 19 books. The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour are a very good read with a lot of western history behind the writing. Hi Kell How are you liking Sisters Brothers ? I thought it was such a neat story. Can't wait for that author to write more. I hope they are westerns,too . By the way, for those of you who are Lonesome Dove fans, or are pondering purchasing it , if you have a Kindle, they now have the Lonesome Dove series, all 4 books in one pakage . I'm thinking about getting them,although I have read 2 of the 4 . Too tempting to have them all in one place on my kindle . The Sisters Brothers is a good read but too much comedy for me to consider what a true Western should be. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry is excellent and so are a few more of his western writings. Other genuine and very good western writers are Louis L'Amour, Elmore Leonard, and 4 books by Robert B. Parker. The books by Robert B. Parker are really, really, good but are also hard hitting (like James Lee Burke's non-western writing) and may not be for everyone. Parker's first Western, Appalossa, was made into a major movie. I wish Parker had written more westerns. A little clip on Elmore Leonard. I am currently in the process of re-reading his westerns: Leonard got his first break in the fiction market during the 1950s, regularly publishing pulp Western novels. Leonard had his first success in 1951 when Argosy published the short story "Trail of the Apaches".[4]:29 During the 1950s and early 1960s, he continued writing Westerns, publishing more than 30 short stories. He wrote his first novel, The Bounty Hunters, in 1953 and followed this with four other novels. Five of his westerns were turned into major movies before 1972:[5]The Tall T[6] (Richard Boone), 3:10 to Yuma[7] (Glenn Ford), and Hombre[8] (Paul Newman), Valdez Is Coming[9] (Burt Lancaster), and Joe Kidd[10] (Clint Eastwood). Edited January 3, 2014 by muggle not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) Hi Muggle! I too am convinced. Lonesome Dove will go onto the list -- right after late Victorian. And then probably some of the others we already own Thanks for the suggestions for good reading. Paul Edited January 4, 2014 by Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSchultz19 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I haven't read any Western genre books, but now that I've seen this thread I might look into reading one and seeing how it goes. I can say from television and movies that the genre was popular not too long ago, but for some reason it has faded. I guess things like that come and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Another book that I really, really, recommend is "The Big Sky" by A.B. Guthrie. It is about the early Mountain Men that explored the west in the beginning and before the cowboy era. Some of you that are a little "older" may remember James Drury who starred in The Virginian TV series, one of the great Western series. This is what he has to say: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sky-B-Guthrie-Jr/dp/0618154639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389716624&sr=1-1&keywords=the+big+sky 55 of 58 people found the following review helpful Great story--poetry in book form! By James Drury on December 12, 2000 Format: Paperback Hi folks, my name's James Drury. I played The Virginian for nine years, as some of you may remember, and I had occasion to read many Western and to enjoy many of them come to life on the screen. None of them were much better than this book by A.B. Guthrie. This man writes with a power that is seldom seen anymore, a power and a flowing poetry that would be hard to beat. If you haven't read this book, please do yourself the favor. I promise you will not regret it. This one is not to be missed. A.B. Guthrie, with this book, has produced a story as ruggedly poetic as the best of Elmer Kelton, Kirby Jonas or Elmore Leonard--even Jack Schaefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Another book that I really, really, recommend is "The Big Sky" by A.B. Guthrie. It is about the early Mountain Men that explored the west in the beginning and before the cowboy era. Some of you that are a little "older" may remember James Drury who starred in The Virginian TV series, one of the great Western series. This is what he has to say: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sky-B-Guthrie-Jr/dp/0618154639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389716624&sr=1-1&keywords=the+big+sky 55 of 58 people found the following review helpful Great story--poetry in book form! By James Drury on December 12, 2000 Format: Paperback Hi folks, my name's James Drury. I played The Virginian for nine years, as some of you may remember, and I had occasion to read many Western and to enjoy many of them come to life on the screen. None of them were much better than this book by A.B. Guthrie. This man writes with a power that is seldom seen anymore, a power and a flowing poetry that would be hard to beat. If you haven't read this book, please do yourself the favor. I promise you will not regret it. This one is not to be missed. A.B. Guthrie, with this book, has produced a story as ruggedly poetic as the best of Elmer Kelton, Kirby Jonas or Elmore Leonard--even Jack Schaefer. Another review from a person on Amazon....................... 15 of 16 people found the following review helpfulDesignated "The best novel of the American West" By Tom Bruce on January 14, 2005 Format: Paperback Amazon Verified Purchase What Larry McMurty's "Lonesome Dove" is to the cowboy of the old west, A.B. Guthrie's "The Big Sky" is to the mountain men of roughly the same period. "Lonesome Dove" gives us August McCrae and W.F. Call; "The Big Sky" introduces us to Boone Caudhill, Jim Deakins, and Dick Summers. These are magical characters, brought to three-dimensional life by the skills of the respective authors. The pacing of "The Big Sky" is right on. Guthrie gives us a few pages of quiet introspection as we get to know the heart and soul of his creations, and then hints of danger to follow building extreme foreboding of trouble ahead. This is followed by high-tension, full-fisted action as the individual conflicts are met head-on; then comes another quiet period to allow us to catch our breath. This is not a shoot-em-up Western, but a realistic portrayal of life and times of 1830 to 1843 in the American northwest written for the mature reader. In fact, it is realistic to a surprising degree. No more to be said about that, because I don't wish to destroy your delight of discovery. "The Big Sky" is the first in a series of six books in the so-called "Big Sky series." This first book has been designated "the best novel of the American West" by the Western Literature Association. The sequel, "The Way West," won the Pulitzer Prize. I can't wait to read it; in fact I began immediately following the last page of the first book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I thought I would "bump" this up to see if any new members have joined that like Westerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicedrinkwater Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I have never read a Western before, but I do have Doc my Mary Doria Russell on my bookshelf and I think I might enjoy it. I have read The Sparrow and Children of God by her, which were excellent books, so I'm willing to give her novel about Doc Holiday a try. She is also coming out with a follow up to Doc next year called Epitaph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I just downloaded from the library "All The Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy. This will be a re-read for me as I read it about 10+ years ago I think. I was going to re-read The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie, jr (winner of the Pullitzer Prize) but changed my mind at the last minute. All The Pretty Horses was available in kindle format as The Big sky was a paperback from my bookshelf. If The Big Sky had been available in kindle I would have gone for it as a re-read. Both books are excellent reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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