The Black Rock Coffin Makers

by Louis L'Amour, Stefan Rudnicki

Two men in the isolated town of Tucker want the XY ranch--Jim Walker and the ruthless Wing Cary--and one of them wants it badly enough to kill for it. The Black Rock Coffin Makers is a tale of suspense and danger, with chases, shootouts, double-crosses and posses, all for possession of the XY ranch.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Audiobook, Adventure, Short Stories, Historical Fiction

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1994

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

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been several decades since I read any cowboy tale by Louis L’Amour. I might give him another chance but it won’t be on the basis of Black Rock Coffin Makers (a bad title for this mediocre book).

This story has only the usual elements: Jim Garlin, a square-jawed, honest guy with a lot of money in hand from a recently completed cattle drive who finds himself in a strange town at the wrong time. He is mistaken for a local guy who has the right to bid on a nice big ranch whose owner recently died. With timely help from a local girl, he avoids several guys who are gunning for him He is bribed and left in a remote cabin. By strokes of luck he is not there when some guys come by to kill him. He comes across the girl again and decides to stick around and see things through.

Aside from telling you that things turn out okay (I don’t count that as a spoiler.), there is little plot to comment on. This can’t be anywhere near his best work. He needed to give the ending a lot more care than comes through. A real disappointment.

[J.D. Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't read any L'Amour in quite awhile! It was great to go through this story again. Love it!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the correct edition. Mine was a straight narration by Stefan Rudnicki, one of my favorites. The story is pretty typical. Guy rides into town & gets involved in an issue. Of course, he wins, does the right thing, & winds up with the girl. Just under an hour long, so just fun.

[John Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about gunfighters, rustlers and greed. Good guys and bad, ruthless killers and land grabbers. Jim Gatlin (Kris Kristopherson) drifts into town, only looking for a good meal, a strong cup of coffee and a place to rest in his travels, after a grueling cattle drive. His pockets are flush with cash and he’s looking for his next opportunity. A case of mistaken identity finds Gatlin in a gunfight with a complete stranger, inserting him in a a battle for water and the biggest ranch in the valley. Another entertaining wild western adventure from Louis L’Amour, masterfully narrated by Willie Nelson.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A case of mistaken identity puts a cowboy in a bad place

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best L’Amour I’ve read but finding an audio version read by Willie Nelson elevates it considerably.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'll read more L'Amour. I enjoyed the setting and characters - good light reading.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this audio novella.

The story was captivating and moved along very quickly.

Louis L'Amour writes a great western.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published by Blackstone Audio in 2007.
Read by Stefan Rudnicki.
Duration: 54 minutes.
Unabridged.

Louis L'Amour (1908-1988) was an amazingly prolific writer with a career that lasted 50 years. He wrote up to 200 books, both novels and non-fiction works, depending on how you count them up, but he began writing short stories for magazines. I assume The Black Rock Coffin Makers is one of those stories.

Synopsis:

A cowboy rides into a strange town hundreds of miles away from home. He is immediately mistaken for a local man who was driven out of town and possibly killed by ruthless competitors so that he couldn't make a claim on a ranch. He looks so much like the other man that armed man try to kill him within minutes of arriving in town.

Luckily, he runs into a local woman who is also involved in this mess and that's when the real adventure starts...

My Review:

This story starts out very strong. I was immediately drawn in. But, as it went along it just lost some of its steam. Not a bad story, but not a great one. Good enough.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5

See all of my reviews of Louis L'Amour novels and short stories here:

https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/sear...

[Honza Prchal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not one of his best, though the size is handy for a short drive, but the landscape , is real, and was personally explored by the author. That faithfullness to the landscape, equipment and law of the time is a L'Amour signature, as most of his regular readers know. I can imagine him in the box canyon, staring up at the chimney near the waterfall, imagining the story, and dreaming everything up from that scene or the sheltered crevasse in the badlands where another character met his untimely and horribly painful end. The shaving scene at the end is something straight out of High Plains Drifter, or perhaps I should say, given when each was written, the other way around.
The audioplay is first rate, as L'Amour raio-plays often are.
I rather did like that this didn't include a single incident of someone being knocked unconscious, which was, at times a L'Amour signature.
That this is not L'Amour's best is an indication of just how good L'Amour is. It's a shame that he suffers the deliberate neglect or even contempt of critics much as Agatha Christie and A. C. Doyle did in her and his own homeland for decades.

[Julia B · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun little adventure. I love short books but this one moved by so fast and every plot twist was undeveloped. I never connected to any characters. But it was well written and it was action-packed.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining reading
Seven western novels by Louis L'Amour, each very will written. Each with interesting will developed characters. The story lines are interesting leading to the conclusion. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys westerns. Enjoy reading 2020😯

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this quick western. It was pretty good. I thought it ended abruptly and was suddenly all wrapped up.

[Cammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! That was short. It was getting good and then it was over. I had to go back and listen to the ending.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unexpected twin story of the west, I liked this fast paced story right from the start. This was a Good Read

[emyrose8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like other Louis L'Amour stories better. The audiobook was well done.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short! I couldn't follow the story and kept thinking that I must be missing something.

[Sully Augustine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the hour-long audio version during this evening's walk. A reasonably satisfying short story that held my interest. Typical L'Amour. . .

[Christy Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Forgettable.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little read

[Scott Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. I really enjoyed it!

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

My third L’Amour. There are definitely plots this guy likes to return to, especially the “drifter must help nice lady get rights to her land” trope.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobook

[Rick Farlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good short story and a good change of pace from many of the books that I’ve recently read.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of nostalgia from my growing up days. I never read much Louis L'Amour, but my dad had and read them all. I saw this available as an audiobook and thought I might as well. It was a fun enough short story - fairly predictable (which is pretty standard for a L'Amour), but I did love the closing scene.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on my library's audiobook site and was happy to stumble on a western short story. I have been challenging myself to branch out into other genres and western is hard for me to get into. This was a good short story - cowboys, sheriff, cattle drive, and gunfights...all in one hour!

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the western version of a hostile takeover. When one man wants a ranch bad enough to kill for it, stopping him takes both courage and luck. With an interesting plot and assortment of typical western characters both good and bad, L’Amour never fails to entertain his readers.

[Danny Faraday · Rating 1 out of 5]

It ended abruptly and didnt have much character. I found that the gun fights were not gripping because I didn't know enough about the characters to be concerned at the thought of their deaths. Overall not very exciting.

[Deborah Boutwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple story, quick listen to, only 58 minutes long