Reading List

Deleted member 42 · Nov 20, 2009

I've read a few Zane Gray and a couple-three Louis L'Amours.

I need something like a canon of the Western. What are the books and authors I should read for a broad overview? I'm interested especially in specific titles, but even authors would help.

Thanks people--

MaryMumsy · Nov 20, 2009

Writers actually still alive and writing: Robert B Parker (has written a trilogy that is classic western genre) and Loren Estleman writes both classic genre western and modern crime fiction. It has been many moons since I read any others, so will wait for someone else to make recommendations.

Oh, and the classic: Lonesome Dove. When I first read it I thought it was awesome. Reading it now, not so much. It needs a good pruning with a machete.

MM

firedrake · Nov 20, 2009

I'd second Lonesome Dove.

TheIT · Nov 20, 2009

Some good recommendations here:

"Recommended reading for Westerns?"
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56546

Albedo of Zero · Dec 9, 2009

I'm a fantasy reader and writer, and recently I found myself with a big bad block and nothing new to read! My twenty year old son actually had a couple Louis L'Amour books..I borrowed them, read them, and I just may be hooked!

He has his characters lean against trees to build themselves a cigarette, dream of the girl they met territories ago, and standing twice in one spot just to make a shadow...I like him!

Cav Guy · Dec 22, 2009

L'Amour is good, as is Parker. Matt Braun is also worth a look, and he's a big fan of Elmer Kelton. Terry Johnston (the Plainsman series) is fairly good, too.

I guess part of it comes down to what "side" of the Western genre you want to follow. L'Amour is very much a traditional Western writer, as is Braun in his way. Johnston is a more historical Western writer, and a bit on the gritty side. The Virginian is pretty much a must if you want to see where folks like L'Amour got their start. A fellow named West came out with a short series of novels based on the series "Gunsmoke" a couple of years back. They aren't bad, but are closer to the traditional side of things.

TheIT's link is also a good starting point.

BradyH1861 · Dec 22, 2009

Lonesome Dove has already been seconded, so I will "third" it. You might also check out Anything for Billy, also by Larry McMurtry.

TheRob1 · May 12, 2010

Louis L'amour is the reason I quit reading mainstream fantasy. In my younger days I read a lot of the d&d imprint novels.

Sackett's Land was so rich in detail and L'amour does such a great job of making the world of his stories come to life that I swore off mass market fantasy after that.

I've read close to 20 of his books. I'll admit though, they do get formulaic.

My favorites:
Sackett's Land and To the Far Blue Mountains (should be read together)
Daybreakers and Sackett (should be read together)
Riley's Luck
Borden Chantry

Also check out West to Singapore.

I consider Silverado to be a must watch.

HisBoyElroy · May 23, 2010

Oh, without question, Comanche Moon (Larry McMurtry). It's not only my favorite western, it's one of my favorite books.

Also enjoyed Terry Johnstone's Sioux Dawn and its sequel Red Cloud's Revenge. Surprisingly good, given that I don't really like any other of Johnstone's books.

Shadow_Ferret · Jul 23, 2010

Just finished True Grit. Was a great book. If you've seen the movie, the book just adds to it. It was fun reading dialog and imaging the movie actors speaking the lines. It did, however, have a different ending than the movie, which I won't give away.

Unique · Aug 3, 2010

Don Coldsmith - for a different perspective
and Peter Bowen for a modern perspective

Definite faves in my book

Shadow_Ferret · Aug 3, 2010

I know I'm asking this 8 months later, but...

Cav Guy said:
I guess part of it comes down to what "side" of the Western genre you want to follow. L'Amour is very much a traditional Western writer, as is Braun in his way. Johnston is a more historical Western writer, and a bit on the gritty side.

What's the difference between these two "traditions?" I assumed ALL Westerns were historical in some regard, since they all take place in the late 1800s.

And since Unique used "different" and "modern" perspectives in her description of two authors, what exactly do those mean?

Since I'm coming to this as a complete Newbie, never ever having read a Western before, I'm curious about the categorizations.

So far, I've read "True Grit," "Shane," and currently I'm reading something by Peter Brandvold. In what tradition of Western do those fit?

Vito · Aug 13, 2010

My recommendations:

Hombre by Elmore Leonard
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Warlock by Oakley Hall
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard -- this is a great collection of the stories Leonard wrote for Western pulp magazines before he became a household name.

All of 'em are a quick read except Warlock, which is a little "heavy" and literary. I think it was a Pulitzer Prize nominee when it was first published back in the 1950s.

MumblingSage · Sep 5, 2010

I don't know how well known he is, but Richard S. Wheeler writes somewhat unusual Westerns--unusual in that he often has older protagonists, or ones in professions that aren't typical of a Western hero (like a journalist). They're not literary, but they are thoughtful and very attentive to historic detail.

ejbwr · Jan 25, 2011

Blood Meridian

Rawiya · Apr 5, 2011

Vito said:
...Warlock by Oakley Hall...

I looked up Warlock on BN.com. It sounds interesting but I prefer things with a twist, hence my enjoyment of Firefly (sf/western).

I'm not a western fiction fan but I've read about the historical O.K. Corral. I recently read The Buntline Special, A Weird West Tale, by Mike Resnick. It's steampunk meets the O.K. Corral with a special appearance by "The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo." Bat Masterson flies through after Geronimo helps him live up to his name. Yes, it's weird but I rather enjoyed it--alot.

I'll also add that True Grit is a great read.

ElisabethF · Apr 27, 2011

I'd highly recommend a somewhat lesser-known (nowadays) author who's a favorite of mine: B.M. Bower. Her debut novel Chip of the Flying U is a good starting point. One of her later books, Tiger Eye, just might be my all-time favorite Western novel.

Try some Max Brand - he wrote incredible amounts of books, novellas and short stories and I've read so many I can't remember them all. Destry Rides Again (which is totally different from the film adaptations, by the way) is a good read and would be a good introduction to his work. I also enjoyed Trouble Trail (a.k.a. Desert Showdown).

Jonah Hex · Apr 28, 2011

ericbies said:
Blood Meridian

I agree. Blood Meridian and Lonesome Dove... nothing better than them

Reading List

Deleted member 42

MaryMumsy

the original blond bombshell

firedrake

practical experience, FTW

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

Albedo of Zero

That didn't hurt

Cav Guy

Living in the backstory

BradyH1861

Hold Fast.

TheRob1

Trained by the soft master

HisBoyElroy

Conqueror Worm

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Unique

Agent of Doom

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Vito

Recalled to life

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

ejbwr

Rawiya

ElisabethF

Jonah Hex