Heller with a Gun

by Louis L'Amour

Tom Healy was in trouble. His theatrical troupe needed to get to Alder Gulch, Montana, and the weather was turning. Andy Barker promised Tom he could get them there safely, but Tom was reluctant to trust he had the lives of three actresses to consider, and his personal feelings for Janice further heightened his concern. Then King Mabry showed up. Although Tom didn’t like the way he looked at Janice, he could see that Mabry made Barker uneasy. So Tom invited Mabry to join them. Tom was right to be worried, because Barker had a plan. He knew that the wagons carried something more than actors and scenery. He and his men were going to steal it any way they could. And that included murder.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Action, Historical, Adult

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Magby is a survivor. Set during winter with snow galore, bad guys and renegade Indians. Lots of tension, a traveling acting troupe who chose the wrong guide need rescuing. I enjoyed this story of doggedness, Dodie the young beautiful Western woman and Tom Healy was an interesting character. No surprises but very entertaining.

[G. Salter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read Louis L'Amour before, and after this I'm sorry about that. This is a short book, not a novel either in length or complexity (which was a little disappointing) but the fascinating characterizations and descriptions of the setting make more up for that. I will be coming back to L'Amour's books in the future.

[Grape · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually found this book in a dumpster, and so first assumed it was there for a reason other being slightly damaged and old. But as a library worker I decided I should give westerns a try so I could help suggest them to interested readers. I had heard of Louis L'Amour and knew he was a popular author in the genre, and the book was quite short, so I went for it.

It was surprising to me how engaging this book was. I am not typically interested in western stories, (but I do like a good spaghetti western movie). Heller with a Gun read like a movie, which means for me, that I had a hard time putting it down. Lots of action, gritty back-country experiences and a little love story thrown in for good measure.

The protagonist happened to be a little too lucky, but the author does point this out multiple times... just a small thing that bothered me a bit. Otherwise, if you are the kind of reader that reads a book for the action and the story, give this one a try.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a typical L'Amour western. Gunfighter protects a group of eastern actors from a bunch of baddies. There is a twist ending: the problem is I could see the twist coming from a mile away. A good quick read for western fans.

[Matthew Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I persist in my unfashionable appreciation of Louis L'Amour. The dialog was a trifle contrived at times, but L'Amour nonetheless merits his reputation as master storyteller with his evocative, genuine descriptions. I also think this plot particularly good.

[Steven Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story - engaging characters, nice geographic detail of Wyoming in the winter.

[Grace Devanney]

That was fun

[Jonathan Rolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hemingway has nothing on L'Amour when it comes to the topic of manliness.

The protagonist gets shot. Twice. He's left for dead and nearly freezes to death. But after a hot fire, some black coffee, and about 24 hours of being laid up he's back in the saddle and blazing away. And not once in the book do we find him eating vegetables. Beans, maybe. Remarkable.

The women think he's hot, and they should because he's saving their ass from murderers, rapists and Sioux. He's deadly and upright and doesn't seem to discuss his feelings much. He's tired of killing and at one point endures a lecture from one of the women about how wrong it is for him to kill. Minutes later he kills four treacherous thugs trying to abduct her. No more lectures. This approach works for him romantically, too.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sitting on our backyard deck shaded by a leaf canopy provided by Maple, Cherry, and Sassafras trees. It is a sunny day and there's is a gentle breeze. All in all, the perfect setting to read a L'Amour story. By the way, if you are a L'Amour fan the story is typical and a quick read. Analogous to comfort food for the brain.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great western! Just had a need to read a couple of these. Quick read, but L'Amour never ceases to impress.

Danny

[Eric Fredricksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually pretty good by LL standards, in terms of some small mystery in the course of the plot. Pretty sure he picks titles out of a hat.

[Vicks 009er · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Heller with a Gun” is one of Louis L’Amour’s earlier novels and I thought it was solid. Nothing to complain about and hard to put down. The premise is unique and really cool: Five actors hire a guy and his buddies to get them through the Wyoming Territory in the dead of winter. King Mabry is a rough and rugged loner that doesn’t trust the newly hired dodgy guides so he decides to follow the group’s trail to make sure the actors are safe. Blizzards, bullets, Indians, murders, thieves, and Mabry’s own past are determined to hinder the gunfighter’s desire to do what is right. Really fun story, memorable characters, and an incredibly satisfying ending.

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no one named Heller in the book. King Mabry is a gunman that runs into a troupe of actors in a remote inn. He likes one of the troupe, but she is put off by his brute use of force. It is winter and the troupe is guided by some bad men that intend to rob, rape and kill. Mabry saves them. They fight desperadoes and Indians. The ending is not his usual.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

L’Amour is not the most eloquent writer to ever pen a paperback, but I have to say, if you’ve ever traveled out to the Bighorn Mountains, to the wind swept planes of Wyoming, to where the West is still surprisingly wild, this book is the atmospheric read you’re looking for. Having recently done a road trip out there, it was a delight to read this gun-slinging western.

[Scott Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is short which is a good and bad thing. There was a lot that felt rushed and I wish the book had more time to breathe. Other times I wished it had rushed through some things. Overall it’s decent and worth a read through.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I get the appeal of this author now… a fun read. Probably the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars is my literature snobbiness. Sure there’s some corniness, but it was nice to read something easy.

[Ryan O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid Lamour story. He has the ability to put you back in the old west and be grateful that the pioneers ahead of us explored the country.

[Bob Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the book never get tired of Louis L'Amour books Gun slinger meets a troupe traveling thru Wyoming and needs saving from bad hombries and renegade Indians.

[Skjam! · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Mabry has a reputation. Some of it’s earned. He indeed is a fearsome man when holding a gun, having killed eleven men “not counting Indians.” But he’s at pains to point out that those men were all armed and facing him at the time. Mabry’s also not keen on being hired for his gunfighting skills, when his preferred skill set is riding herd. The men he killed in the Civil War was because it was war, and the men he’s killed since came looking for violence. In fact, right now he’s riding to tell a potential employer that he’s rejecting a job that’s sure to lead to murder.

Mabry survives an assassination attempt and takes the would-be hit man to the nearest outpost to heal up. While there, Mabry meets a small entertainment troupe that’s headed up into Wyoming. Tom Healy, a fine Irish tenor and their manager; Doc Guilford, piano player; Maggie, who’s been in the business far too long to do anything else; Janice, who’s not the best actress or singer but has a rare beauty; and Dodie, an ingenue who grew up in Colorado and is not as naive as she looks. They’ve hired a guide named Barker, who Mabry doesn’t like the looks of.

Despite this, and despite Mabry’s immediate interest in Janice, King Mabry has other business and can’t get involved. But once that business is concluded, Mabry decides to follow the wagons into Wyoming, assuring himself that it’s just out of curiosity. But the smell of gold and blood is on the trail ahead.

By the time Louis L’Amour wrote this 1955 novel, he’d had several of his stories adapted to movies, and had gotten acquainted with show business people. So we can guess that the small troupe in this tale is based a bit on his experiences with Hollywood. There’s relatively little time given to the show business aspect, however, with the majority of the plot devoted to trying to survive the trek into Wyoming in winter despite robbers and a renegade band of Sioux warriors.

King Mabry is a reluctant killer, who spends the first part of the story trying to avoid gunfights and murder. As is standard for Westerns, eventually his hand is forced. He and Janice share a mutual longing, which causes a bit of a love triangle, as Tom Healy is also very interested in Janice, and Dodie makes it clear she likes Mabry. The bad guys also are especially interested in Janice, but have much shorter term plans for her.

Janice, for her part, likes Mabry in general but wants him to discard his guns and promise not to kill…while they are still being hunted by the robbers! I don’t think that relationship is going to work out.

Content note: While Mabry doesn’t include Indians in his official kill count, he otherwise doesn’t show prejudice towards them and bases his behavior towards them on their actions. Also, it’s all but stated outright that the robbers want to rape the women.

This is an okay Louis L’Amour book, but not one of his top-notch ones. It feels like something he pounded out between weightier stories.

The movie version was titled Heller in Pink Tights, starred Sophia Loren, and featured much more show biz than survival action.

[Shubes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! One of the best Louis L'Amour books that I've read in recent years. The protagonist was believable, the characters well developed, the story itself was believable enough, and the ending...well, yeah, you could pretty much see it coming from a mile away, but still fun. Overall, one of the best of L'Amour's novels that I've read. Good enough that I wish Louis had based more stories on the lead character; he was that interesting. Not another "superhero wearing a ten-gallon hat" like some of the westerns (that I'm not overly fond of), but just a hard-working cowboy who happened to be fast with a gun. Excellent book!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis L'Amour was a master at economical writing and "Heller with a Gun" is a exceptionally tense, suspenseful Western. In the deadly cold of an 1870s winter, itinerant ranch hand King Mabry meets a ragtag theatrical troupe wanting an escort across the bleak landscape to their next gig. Mabry turns them down but has second thoughts based on the guide they eventually hire. Thus begins a nail-biting sequence of events as Mabry races to catch up with the players, while the reader waits for the criminals to make their move. Not a scene is wasted and the author manages to surprise us at the end.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, the back cover intro has nothing to do with the story. I am curious if this was added by the publisher to possibly increase interest. Nobody who reads Louis L'Amour needs to be enticed! I have never been disappointed when reading a L'Amour book. Once again, I got right into the story. There is always something to learn or explore. This one is a bit of a character study. The lead character is labeled as a gunslinger. You find out what that really means and what it costs him. I decided the title relates to his skill with a gun.

[Charles Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pocket paper-backs, pulp fiction Westerns. These were the modern substitutes for knights in shining armour. They were also adult-approved versions of a kids comic book. They are no longer very much in vogue, but growing up my Dad shared his library with me. He must have had hundreds of these, and I probably read just about all of them. Particularly enjoyable were the ones in the Sackett series. The stories have all blurred together with time, their plot always a step away from redundancy, but their feet was always planted firmly in good fun.

[Tyler Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well written book by Louis L'Amour. The plot is typical for L'Amour, but non the less, a fine enjoyable read and one that I never get tired of reading. Smooth dialog and wonderful narration with a somewhat believable story.

"Wind knifed at his exposed cheek. He drew deeply on his cigarette. Whoever followed him had the same problem. Find shelter or die. The wind was a moving wall of snow and the evening was filled with vast sound."

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its always a pleasure to find a Louis L'Amour book that I haven't read before. In Heller With a Gun, King Marby is being hunted because he turned down a gunfighter job. He stumbles across a troop of entertainers in the wilderness who have a secret of their own. The troop is being targeted for rape and murder by a member of the old Plummer gang and King attempts to save them. For the romantic, two women in the troop develop feeling for King.

[Zachariah Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only started getting into the Western genre this year - but this book made me glad I did.

This was my first L'Amour book and it was brilliant. I've heard it said that his writing is simple and bare-bones stuff, not anything that you're going to find any good quotes for reflecting on. That wasn't the case with this book.

It was action-packed, gritty, quotable and had a plot that made every page seem to fly by.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting take on the old west. Yes, still good guys and bad guys, but add in a theatrical troupe working their way through the west. These are mostly eastern folks, out of their element and just trying to make a living, when they get into trouble. This seventh book by L'Amour does contain an interesting twist at the end, but I don't want to spoil it by putting it here.

[Carmelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth Louis L'Amour book I've read and I cannot wait to read more. The characters, plot, locations all played their part in an enjoyable, satisfying read and it ended just as I hoped it would.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one ends with a twist, and that was refreshing!

[John Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Mabry rides into Head Creek Junction with an injured man, Peter Griffin, who tried to kill him. He learns of a theater troupe led by Tom Healy, that plans to head out to Deadwood. Healy has four entertainers in his small group: Janice, Dodie, Maggie and Doc Guilford. A local man named Barker says it can be done in the middle of winter. Mabry says no it can’t. When Mabry sees one of the theater troupe, Janice Ryan, he stops dead in his tracks. But he is a killer. Nothing can come of pursuing her.

Mabry heads to Cheyenne to complete a job he had taken. He worries about Janice being out in the harsh climate. He heads back to Head Creek Junction, to learn Healy and his theater troupe have left with Parker and his men. Mabry decides they could use his protection and follows them.

Mabry gets ahead of them and scouts the land. Mabry is shot twice and left for dead in the snow. Griffin arrives and says he has killed Mabry. Barkley and his men make their move, killing Doc Guilford. Janice, Dodie and Maggie lock themselves in their wagon. Healy escapes into the night, leaving the women behind in a strong fortified wagon.

Healy finds Mabry near death and begins to nurse him back to health.

Several days later, Indians attack Barker’s men and the wagon. Healy and Mabry arrive and run them off. They abandon the wagon, fearing another Sioux attack. It begins to snow again. They take shelter where they can and live off the land. The Sioux party is still out there and Barker is also on their trail.

Favorite line: “Healy was no fool. He had the beginning of wisdom, which was awareness of what he did not know.”