May There Be a Road
- Book Review,
by Louis L'Amour
From Publishers Weekly
To most readers, Louis L'Amour is the quintessential writer of westerns; few know that among his 118 published volumes are stories set far from sagebrush country. In this volume of 10 previously uncollected short stories written early in his career and issued now, 13 years after his death, with an afterword by his son, Beau, L'Amour's broader interests are on display. Two of the tales, "Red Butte Showdown" and "The Cactus Kid" do indeed evoke the frontier settings L'Amour is best known for, but three of them, "Making It the Hard Way," "Fighter's Fiasco" and "The Ghost Fighter," are about prizefighting and indicate the influence of writers like Jack London and Ernest Hemingway. No less surprising in their modern California settings are "A Friend of a Hero" and "The Vanished Blonde," which echo Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett; Hemingway's themes are again reflected in "May There Be a Road" and "Wings Over Brazil," two yarns set against the volatile backdrop of war and revolution far from the purple mountains of Montana or the desolate plains of the Dakotas. The title story (never before published) unfolds in a rough-riding Tibet. Though influenced by other writers, each story follows L'Amour's patented formula, evident already in this early work. A tense situation is revealed, brief characterization and background follow, then the tale is tied up in a sequence of hard-hitting action sequences. These are professionally written stories, minor gems collected from the dustier corners of L'Amour's oeuvre. (May 8)Forecast: Banking on the enduring appeal of L'Amour, the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club are making his latest posthumous offering an alternate selection, and sales should be strong. One more volume of stories is yet to come before the well runs dry. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This is an eminently readable and enjoyable collection of 10 previously unpublished short stories by the late L'Amour. In"The Ghost Fighter," Bat McGowan is the world heavyweight boxing champion. He is also a drinker, womanizer, and carouser. His managers have a chance to make some money off the title by staging matches in small towns, and decide to employ look-alike Barney Malone as a stand-in. As the exhibitions progress, Malone proves that having the title of champ and actually being one are two different things. Other stories feature a detective searching for a missing woman; another fighter who takes a gambler's payoff; and a young Tibetan lord who battles treacherous terrain and the pursuing Red Army to save his love and also the legacy of his people's way of life. Many posthumous collections consist of substandard works that probably should never be blessed with publication, but such is not the case here. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
An Alternate Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club, The Literary Guild, and Doubleday Book Club
From the Hardcover edition.
Review
An Alternate Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club, The Literary Guild, and Doubleday Book Club
From the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
SPIRITED AMERICAN STORIES
GATHERED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
From the coasts of Brazil to the borders of Tibet to the very heartland of America, May There Be a Road gathers ten previously uncollected stories that capture the magnificent scope and sense of epic adventure that epitomize Louis L'Amour classic fiction.
In these vivid settings L’Amour takes us into the pivotal moments when lives are altered forever, when men and women face a deadly enemy, find a kindred spirit, or confront their own mortality.
Among the unforgettable characters we meet here are a hard-living, hard-drinking freighter captain whose penchant for flying may change the course of World War II . . . A lonely frontiersman who unexpectedly finds himself the protector of two orphans . . . A boxer who accepts a gambler’s payoff and then must fight to redeem himself . . . A detective willing to believe an unproven story in order to discover a painful truth hidden in a small town. And in the title story L’Amour weaves the powerful tale of a young Tibetan khan who leads a band of horsemen on a daring escape across treacherous mountain terrain. At stake is the survival of a people and an ancient way of life.
Evoking the American spirit of bravery, pride, adventure, and self-reliance as few writers have, this extraordinary volume proves once again that L’Amour has set a standard yet to be matched.
From the Inside Flap
SPIRITED AMERICAN STORIES
GATHERED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
From the coasts of Brazil to the borders of Tibet to the very heartland of America, May There Be a Road gathers ten previously uncollected stories that capture the magnificent scope and sense of epic adventure that epitomize Louis L'Amour classic fiction.
In these vivid settings L’Amour takes us into the pivotal moments when lives are altered forever, when men and women face a deadly enemy, find a kindred spirit, or confront their own mortality.
Among the unforgettable characters we meet here are a hard-living, hard-drinking freighter captain whose penchant for flying may change the course of World War II . . . A lonely frontiersman who unexpectedly finds himself the protector of two orphans . . . A boxer who accepts a gambler’s payoff and then must fight to redeem himself . . . A detective willing to believe an unproven story in order to discover a painful truth hidden in a small town. And in the title story L’Amour weaves the powerful tale of a young Tibetan khan who leads a band of horsemen on a daring escape across treacherous mountain terrain. At stake is the survival of a people and an ancient way of life.
Evoking the American spirit of bravery, pride, adventure, and self-reliance as few writers have, this extraordinary volume proves once again that L’Amour has set a standard yet to be matched.
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