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Walt Longmire #9.1
Spirit of Steamboat
A Christmas novella for fans of the hit drama series LONGMIRE now on Netflix and the New York Times –bestselling series.
Craig Johnson's new novel , The Western Star, will be available from Viking in Fall 2017.
Sheriff Walt Longmire is in his office reading A Christmas Carol when he is interrupted by a ghost of Christmas a young woman with a hairline scar and more than a few questions about his predecessor, Lucian Connally. With his daughter Cady and undersherrif Moretti otherwise engaged, Walt’s on his own this Christmas Eve, so he agrees to help her.
At the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Lucian is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle’s and swears he’s never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988—a story that will thrill and delight the bestselling series’ devoted fans.
Craig Johnson's new novel , The Western Star, will be available from Viking in Fall 2017.
Sheriff Walt Longmire is in his office reading A Christmas Carol when he is interrupted by a ghost of Christmas a young woman with a hairline scar and more than a few questions about his predecessor, Lucian Connally. With his daughter Cady and undersherrif Moretti otherwise engaged, Walt’s on his own this Christmas Eve, so he agrees to help her.
At the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Lucian is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle’s and swears he’s never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988—a story that will thrill and delight the bestselling series’ devoted fans.
146 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2013
601 people are currently reading
3879 people want to read
About the author
Craig Johnson
102 books4,968 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Craig Johnson an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright. . He lives in Ucross, near Sheridan, Wyoming, population 25.
Johnson has written twelve novels featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire: The Cold Dish, Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, Another Man's Moccasins, Junkyard Dogs, The Dark Horse (which received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, and was named one of Publisher's Weekly's best books of the year in 2009), Hell Is Empty, As The Crow Flies and A Serpent's Tooth. The Cold Dish and The Dark Horse were both Dilys Award finalists, and Death Without Company was named the Wyoming Historical Association's Book of the Year. Another Man's Moccasins received the Western Writers of America Spur Award for best novel of 2008 as well as the Mountains and Plains award for fiction book of the year.
Former police officer; has also worked as an educator, cowboy, and longshoreman.
AWARDS: Tony Hillerman Award for "Old Indian Trick"; fiction book of the year, Wyoming Historical Society, for Death Without Company, Wyoming Council for the Arts Award.
Craig Johnson an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright. . He lives in Ucross, near Sheridan, Wyoming, population 25.
Johnson has written twelve novels featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire: The Cold Dish, Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, Another Man's Moccasins, Junkyard Dogs, The Dark Horse (which received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, and was named one of Publisher's Weekly's best books of the year in 2009), Hell Is Empty, As The Crow Flies and A Serpent's Tooth. The Cold Dish and The Dark Horse were both Dilys Award finalists, and Death Without Company was named the Wyoming Historical Association's Book of the Year. Another Man's Moccasins received the Western Writers of America Spur Award for best novel of 2008 as well as the Mountains and Plains award for fiction book of the year.
Former police officer; has also worked as an educator, cowboy, and longshoreman.
AWARDS: Tony Hillerman Award for "Old Indian Trick"; fiction book of the year, Wyoming Historical Society, for Death Without Company, Wyoming Council for the Arts Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 999 reviews
July 9, 2017
This a short, sweet novella, 146p. The book opens with Walt Longmire, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, getting a visitor who wants to speak to the previous Sheriff. Walt agrees to take her to Lucian Connally, his predecessor. Then an inspiring Christmas story unfolds in a flashback.
There is a lot of history in this small book--the Doolittle raid on Japan in April of 1942, the bronco horse on Wyoming license plates and the B25 bomber that flew on the Doolittle raid. I read this library book in a day and a half and recommend it. My wife also recommends it.
There is a lot of history in this small book--the Doolittle raid on Japan in April of 1942, the bronco horse on Wyoming license plates and the B25 bomber that flew on the Doolittle raid. I read this library book in a day and a half and recommend it. My wife also recommends it.
July 10, 2014
If you are familiar with Longmire either from the A & E television series or any of the previous books then there is not much I can say to convince you of the high quality of writing this book contains.
Regardless of this book being touted here at GR as being book 9.1 in the series, it is actually a stand alone entry into the Longmire cannon. The title of the book "Spirit of Steamboat" refers to a WWII bomber that is sitting in the Absaroka County airport being refurbished.
The story takes place in 1988 during a huge blizzard. There has been a horrible accident on the icy roads on the day before Christmas with three people dead and a lone survivor, a small girl perhaps aged ten or eleven who is in such critical condition that she will also die if she does not get medical help. There is no facility in Montana that can attend to this issue.
Longmire solicits the help of his former boss the retired Lucian Connally, also an ex-military pilot, to fly the injured girl to Children s Hospital in Denver.
And so the adventure begins in this fast paced, thrill a minute excursion into the storm filled snowy skies.
I read this book last night in one sitting. A "I can't stop reading this" kind of book. Perhaps it will make you seek out the T.V. show, or watch it on Netflix or .. perhaps read one of Johnson's other books.
Regardless of this book being touted here at GR as being book 9.1 in the series, it is actually a stand alone entry into the Longmire cannon. The title of the book "Spirit of Steamboat" refers to a WWII bomber that is sitting in the Absaroka County airport being refurbished.
The story takes place in 1988 during a huge blizzard. There has been a horrible accident on the icy roads on the day before Christmas with three people dead and a lone survivor, a small girl perhaps aged ten or eleven who is in such critical condition that she will also die if she does not get medical help. There is no facility in Montana that can attend to this issue.
Longmire solicits the help of his former boss the retired Lucian Connally, also an ex-military pilot, to fly the injured girl to Children s Hospital in Denver.
And so the adventure begins in this fast paced, thrill a minute excursion into the storm filled snowy skies.
I read this book last night in one sitting. A "I can't stop reading this" kind of book. Perhaps it will make you seek out the T.V. show, or watch it on Netflix or .. perhaps read one of Johnson's other books.
December 22, 2019
Oh, hell, we got a one-legged pilot who hasn’t flown one of these things in about a hundred years. A copilot that in flight-time reality has barely even sat in one. A hangar queen that’s ready for the salvage yard, and a snowstorm that’s going to try and blow us into the ground near Wichita ... What could go wrong?
Oh, hell! I thought I already reviewed this one!
I usually remember about sheriff Walt Longmire during the winter holidays, as I sadly wait for the big snow that no longer comes to my hometown before January or February. Damn that global warming, and damn that Absaroka County in Wyoming, where they never seem to run out of the white stuff.
“Spirit of Steamboat” is one of the best tie-in novellas that the author likes to publish around Christmas time. It’s about the spirit of Christmas, helping others in need, and not about steamboats on the Mississippi River. The opening quote pretty much sums up the plot here, and the less I add to it, the better will readers enjoy the unique flight of an old bomber plane from World War II. As usual with the ongoing Longmire series, much of its charm and appeal lies in the interactions between the members of this tightly knit community and in the sharp wit of the narrator.
bonus note: you don’t need to read any of the other books in order to enjoy this one.
November 1, 2013
Book Review:
Sidled up and in between the major Walt Longmire novels, Johnson frequently publishes novellas and short stories featuring the steadfast hero Walt Longmire: sheriff of Wyoming's fictional Absaroka County. Spirit of Steamboat, numerically sequenced as #9.1 is the latest in this series of novellas.
Aside from the Dick Francis's novels I don't know of any other author writing in this genre who portrays a hero as bound by rational thought, steadfast ethics, and likability as does Craig Johnson.
This is the kind of adventure story that I'd imagine myself reading to listeners by a fireplace where every word inspires heroism, goodness, and a profound anxiety on the part of the listener (or reader) to have Walt survive the experience.
This is a story of a woman who wishes to express gratitude and of how one accepts that gratitude when dished out, or not. This novella features the former sheriff of Absaroka County and Walt, the current sheriff. It is a gripping tale where the reader hangs on every passage, following the deadly flight of Steamboat, an old and deemed a not-safe-to-fly B-52 airplane on a rescue mission through a horrifying snow blizzard, in effect risking a handful of lives in an effort to save one life.
Telling great stories is what Craig Johnson does best. Those who have read my reviews and taken me up on reading this series will no doubt agree: reading a Johnson novel, novella, or short story is a great reading experience second to none.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Review
Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson has written nine novels in his Walt Longmire series. Formerly a police officer; he has also worked as a educator, cowboy and longshoreman. Awards include Tony Hillerman Award, Wyoming Historical Society Award, Wyoming Councl for the Arts Award, as well as numerous starred awards. Johnson was also a board member of the Mystery Writers' of America.
Craig Johnson as an artist, as a man who paints with words ascribes to the essential characteristic of what makes art different from anything else: only it can portray the world as the artist thinks it ought to be as opposed to how it is. "Now a days, it's really hard to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys..." he says in an interview. "But Walt's a pretty good guy...the kinda guy if my car slithered off the road on I-80 in a blizzard, he's the guy I'd want to help me out." Johnson admits to portraying Walt Longmire, the hero in this award-winning series, as "The kinda guy my wife says I want to be in about 10 years."
Starting from his choice of book title all the way to the final period at the end of the book Johnson's prose fills the reader's soul with a longing for the good. And where else is one to find it but in the fictional county of Absaroka, Wyoming and it's Sheriff Walt Longmire. As with the work of William Kent Krueger Johnson introduces readers to the Western concept of cowboys and indians. Growing up in the Netherlands, I read till late in the night the wildly popular series Winnetou and Old Shatterhand (not available in the States). When playing outside 6000 miles away from American soil, it wasn't cops and robbers we played, it was cowboys and indians. It was this image of America I held in my mind as a 12 year old boy standing on the deck of the U.S.S. Rotterdam as we sailed into New York Harbor and waited in the lines of Ellis Island to be granted access to my boyhood dreams.
Unlike older western novels, however, Johnson brings this cultural diversity into the 20th century and without delving into multi-culturalism brings us to that mystical nether region between the two where native american and white man meet each other half-way. Johnson's aim is at portraying a fictional world as it should be and this includes diversity. Henry, a native american is Walt's best friend. The indian community stands ready to aid the law, helps the white man bring justice regardless of race, color or creed. Walt Longmire, in a hallucinatory fit, dances with the Cheyenne spirits who guide him to safety in the midst of a devastating blizzard even though the unconscious man slung over his shoulders is a perpatrator against a Native American woman. Walt does not question his sanity afterwards. Craig Johnson's world is one we might all long for...and isn't that the purpose of art?
Too often I read book reviews where the reviewers seem to place verisimilitude above fiction. In my opinion, if you want reality, if you want to read about the way things are, then view a documentary, read a biography, check out reality TV. This is fiction, and if an author changes reality to suit his notion for the book, so be it...
For some, the first in the series moves along a bit slowly...but to them I would say: give this writer time to paint his world as he sees fit. Books that concentrate on rural settings often have the advantage of highlighting the human condition in startling clarity. Distractions such as are found in urban settings removed, we see good and evil and compassion in a more profound way. Wyoming's Absaroka County gives us this magnifying glass. I found the plot intriguing and the ending second-to-none. Truly, the titles are well chosen in these novels.
There's a huge fan base for Johnson's work out there. A fan base that is after values, the good kind. I'm reminded of my daughter's fascination with Taylor Swift, whose millions of fans adulate her for precisely the same reason: her vision of 'the good'. There is a Renaissance occurring in a real world that at best can be portrayed as lost in the grey fog of compromised values; a Renaissance that has caught the attention of not only our youth, but all ages. And they are telling us what they want.
There's a reason A&E's Longmire series has been approved for Season #2. The first season sported A&E's #1 original-series premier of all time with 4.1 million total viewers. I plan to read this entire series and after that, I plan to view the A&E series (hopefully on Netflix where it is not yet available for down-streaming). Johnson, remarking on the television series agrees that he is 100% on board as the televised version is keeping very close to the books.
Unless there is a drastic divergence in subsequent Longmire novels, this review will be the same for all the Walt Longmire books.
Enjoy!
Sidled up and in between the major Walt Longmire novels, Johnson frequently publishes novellas and short stories featuring the steadfast hero Walt Longmire: sheriff of Wyoming's fictional Absaroka County. Spirit of Steamboat, numerically sequenced as #9.1 is the latest in this series of novellas.
Aside from the Dick Francis's novels I don't know of any other author writing in this genre who portrays a hero as bound by rational thought, steadfast ethics, and likability as does Craig Johnson.
This is the kind of adventure story that I'd imagine myself reading to listeners by a fireplace where every word inspires heroism, goodness, and a profound anxiety on the part of the listener (or reader) to have Walt survive the experience.
This is a story of a woman who wishes to express gratitude and of how one accepts that gratitude when dished out, or not. This novella features the former sheriff of Absaroka County and Walt, the current sheriff. It is a gripping tale where the reader hangs on every passage, following the deadly flight of Steamboat, an old and deemed a not-safe-to-fly B-52 airplane on a rescue mission through a horrifying snow blizzard, in effect risking a handful of lives in an effort to save one life.
Telling great stories is what Craig Johnson does best. Those who have read my reviews and taken me up on reading this series will no doubt agree: reading a Johnson novel, novella, or short story is a great reading experience second to none.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Review
Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson has written nine novels in his Walt Longmire series. Formerly a police officer; he has also worked as a educator, cowboy and longshoreman. Awards include Tony Hillerman Award, Wyoming Historical Society Award, Wyoming Councl for the Arts Award, as well as numerous starred awards. Johnson was also a board member of the Mystery Writers' of America.
Craig Johnson as an artist, as a man who paints with words ascribes to the essential characteristic of what makes art different from anything else: only it can portray the world as the artist thinks it ought to be as opposed to how it is. "Now a days, it's really hard to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys..." he says in an interview. "But Walt's a pretty good guy...the kinda guy if my car slithered off the road on I-80 in a blizzard, he's the guy I'd want to help me out." Johnson admits to portraying Walt Longmire, the hero in this award-winning series, as "The kinda guy my wife says I want to be in about 10 years."
Starting from his choice of book title all the way to the final period at the end of the book Johnson's prose fills the reader's soul with a longing for the good. And where else is one to find it but in the fictional county of Absaroka, Wyoming and it's Sheriff Walt Longmire. As with the work of William Kent Krueger Johnson introduces readers to the Western concept of cowboys and indians. Growing up in the Netherlands, I read till late in the night the wildly popular series Winnetou and Old Shatterhand (not available in the States). When playing outside 6000 miles away from American soil, it wasn't cops and robbers we played, it was cowboys and indians. It was this image of America I held in my mind as a 12 year old boy standing on the deck of the U.S.S. Rotterdam as we sailed into New York Harbor and waited in the lines of Ellis Island to be granted access to my boyhood dreams.
Unlike older western novels, however, Johnson brings this cultural diversity into the 20th century and without delving into multi-culturalism brings us to that mystical nether region between the two where native american and white man meet each other half-way. Johnson's aim is at portraying a fictional world as it should be and this includes diversity. Henry, a native american is Walt's best friend. The indian community stands ready to aid the law, helps the white man bring justice regardless of race, color or creed. Walt Longmire, in a hallucinatory fit, dances with the Cheyenne spirits who guide him to safety in the midst of a devastating blizzard even though the unconscious man slung over his shoulders is a perpatrator against a Native American woman. Walt does not question his sanity afterwards. Craig Johnson's world is one we might all long for...and isn't that the purpose of art?
Too often I read book reviews where the reviewers seem to place verisimilitude above fiction. In my opinion, if you want reality, if you want to read about the way things are, then view a documentary, read a biography, check out reality TV. This is fiction, and if an author changes reality to suit his notion for the book, so be it...
For some, the first in the series moves along a bit slowly...but to them I would say: give this writer time to paint his world as he sees fit. Books that concentrate on rural settings often have the advantage of highlighting the human condition in startling clarity. Distractions such as are found in urban settings removed, we see good and evil and compassion in a more profound way. Wyoming's Absaroka County gives us this magnifying glass. I found the plot intriguing and the ending second-to-none. Truly, the titles are well chosen in these novels.
There's a huge fan base for Johnson's work out there. A fan base that is after values, the good kind. I'm reminded of my daughter's fascination with Taylor Swift, whose millions of fans adulate her for precisely the same reason: her vision of 'the good'. There is a Renaissance occurring in a real world that at best can be portrayed as lost in the grey fog of compromised values; a Renaissance that has caught the attention of not only our youth, but all ages. And they are telling us what they want.
There's a reason A&E's Longmire series has been approved for Season #2. The first season sported A&E's #1 original-series premier of all time with 4.1 million total viewers. I plan to read this entire series and after that, I plan to view the A&E series (hopefully on Netflix where it is not yet available for down-streaming). Johnson, remarking on the television series agrees that he is 100% on board as the televised version is keeping very close to the books.
Unless there is a drastic divergence in subsequent Longmire novels, this review will be the same for all the Walt Longmire books.
Enjoy!
June 6, 2023
Yes…I gave this one a five. I have not had such a tug at my heartstrings for such a long time. The accuracy in detail was fantastic. Even the medical aspect of this novel showed some serious research. You can never tell what direction Johnson will take in his writing from novel to novel.
Two quotes caught my attention:
"Glancing around the cockpit, I wondered at the turn of the fates that would put a hurt Japanese child in such a beast like Steamboat-the same kind of plane that Lucien had flown thirty seconds over Tokyo to drop bombs on her ancestors, but this time on a suicide mission to carry a wounded Japanese child to Denver on a hellacious storm-filled night.
"Oh Walt, is it safe?" This is the point when, if you are given to fabrication, a deceiving man would lie but I knew that if I were to be scattered across the high plains in pieces no bigger than pocket change I probably needed to tell the truth, mostly. "I guess." I glanced back through the doorway and watched as Rich beat on the bomb-bay doors with a rubber mallet in an attempt to get them closed. "Everybody seems to think so."
Two quotes caught my attention:
"Glancing around the cockpit, I wondered at the turn of the fates that would put a hurt Japanese child in such a beast like Steamboat-the same kind of plane that Lucien had flown thirty seconds over Tokyo to drop bombs on her ancestors, but this time on a suicide mission to carry a wounded Japanese child to Denver on a hellacious storm-filled night.
"Oh Walt, is it safe?" This is the point when, if you are given to fabrication, a deceiving man would lie but I knew that if I were to be scattered across the high plains in pieces no bigger than pocket change I probably needed to tell the truth, mostly. "I guess." I glanced back through the doorway and watched as Rich beat on the bomb-bay doors with a rubber mallet in an attempt to get them closed. "Everybody seems to think so."
June 7, 2014
Johnson has gifted us a short, white-knuckled Christmas story that is likely to become a classic. We all know Sheriff Longmire and how he took over the chief law enforcement job in Absaroka County from old Lucian Connally. This story brings them back working together again on a cold and stormy night--Christmas Eve in Montana back in 1988.
This mad twosome seems to go out of its way to test the edges of possibility. In this story, they are doing it for all the right reasons, and at a time when most folks want to be cuddling at home with their families. Central to the action is an old copy of A Christmas Carol which you might want to glance at before or after this slim 100-page novella, just to put you in the mood. This story is just long enough to read after you have laid out gifts “from Santa” under the tree and before heading up to bed.
Bourbon is Connally’s drink of choice…you may want to salute him with a glass after reading this little act of crazy heroism. It does make a good story, a nice little gift for Santa to enjoy, just as though he/she were sitting around with his/her ‘buds’ telling tall tales late into the night…
This mad twosome seems to go out of its way to test the edges of possibility. In this story, they are doing it for all the right reasons, and at a time when most folks want to be cuddling at home with their families. Central to the action is an old copy of A Christmas Carol which you might want to glance at before or after this slim 100-page novella, just to put you in the mood. This story is just long enough to read after you have laid out gifts “from Santa” under the tree and before heading up to bed.
Bourbon is Connally’s drink of choice…you may want to salute him with a glass after reading this little act of crazy heroism. It does make a good story, a nice little gift for Santa to enjoy, just as though he/she were sitting around with his/her ‘buds’ telling tall tales late into the night…
July 9, 2018
A novella that is different from other Longmire stories. There is no mystery involved and the majority of the other main characters (Vic, Henry, Cady, and Ferg) are mostly missing from the tale. Only Lucian plays a major role in this book. But it is a humdinger of a story and if you enjoy old WWII aircraft you will find this fascinating. Walt and Lucian must evacuate a dying girl in the middle of a monster storm by flying a vintage, not quite airworthy B-25 bomber to Denver. Recommended.
August 6, 2022
Well, this one was different, which is just what I wanted. I wasn't sure I'd like it that much, even after listening to it for a while (audiobook narration was excellent, as usual). It wasn't your usual Walt Longmire story of him doing his sherriffing, although that in itself is not really unusual.
This was a Christmas story, although Christmas didn't really play a big role, but the spirit of the book is probably a good one for Christmas. Still, I enjoyed it and it's only August. But I expect Christmas ads to hit soon.
The main story takes place many years back. Walt's wife, Martha, is alive, and his mentor, Lucian Connally, plays a starring role. He stole the show. I think this would make a great video with the right cast. Lucian has so much personality along with his humor that it would probably work.
The story is mostly about an emergency plane trip to save a dying child, in an ancient plane flying through a severe winter storm to Denver, with the child, the child's mother, an old doctor, a young female copilot, Walt and Lucian. The plane has no pressurization or heat, leaky hydraulics and gas, no modern radar or other conveniences, and doors that needed to be banged tight with a rubber mallet.
The child almost dies, the plane doesn't has enough gas to get to Denver but if they land sooner, there will be no way to save the child, and Lucian never seems to worry. Lots of suspense, but no shooting or other crimes. Just what I needed after reading the brutal Allen Eskens' book The Guise of Another.
This was a Christmas story, although Christmas didn't really play a big role, but the spirit of the book is probably a good one for Christmas. Still, I enjoyed it and it's only August. But I expect Christmas ads to hit soon.
The main story takes place many years back. Walt's wife, Martha, is alive, and his mentor, Lucian Connally, plays a starring role. He stole the show. I think this would make a great video with the right cast. Lucian has so much personality along with his humor that it would probably work.
The story is mostly about an emergency plane trip to save a dying child, in an ancient plane flying through a severe winter storm to Denver, with the child, the child's mother, an old doctor, a young female copilot, Walt and Lucian. The plane has no pressurization or heat, leaky hydraulics and gas, no modern radar or other conveniences, and doors that needed to be banged tight with a rubber mallet.
The child almost dies, the plane doesn't has enough gas to get to Denver but if they land sooner, there will be no way to save the child, and Lucian never seems to worry. Lots of suspense, but no shooting or other crimes. Just what I needed after reading the brutal Allen Eskens' book The Guise of Another.
July 8, 2023
I really enjoyed this short novella from Johnson. It tells the story of a very harrowing trip that happened back on Christmas Eve 1988 on an old WWII B-25 bomber named Steamboat. The story starts out with an unexpected visit to the Absaroka County, Wyoming Sheriff's office from a young woman looking for Lucian Connally, the ex-sheriff. Walt Longmire seemed to know this young lady but couldn't place her until she mentioned Steamboat. This brought back to his memory the fateful trip from 1988. A young girl had been severely burned in a traffic accident. Her parents were killed and her grandmother accompanied her on an emergency helicopter flight to Durant but she had to get to Denver ASAP or she would die. However, a blizzard was happening on that Christmas Eve and the helicopter could not go on. But there was an old B-25 bomber in the hangar at Durant that had been converted to fight forest fires. Could anyone there fly it? Longmire knew that Lucian had flown these aircraft during WWII so he was drafted to make this emergency flight in the blizzard, in this old aircraft on its last legs, and with only one leg. Could they make it in time to save the young girl and would she survive the flight?
This short novel was filled with action and told some of the backstory of both Walt and Lucian. It is really a good addition to the Longmire saga and anyone reading that series should definitely include this as part of the Longmire cannon. High overall recommendation.
This short novel was filled with action and told some of the backstory of both Walt and Lucian. It is really a good addition to the Longmire saga and anyone reading that series should definitely include this as part of the Longmire cannon. High overall recommendation.
July 2, 2021
A story within a story from Walt's first days as sheriff, telling of a daring rescue mission, equal parts courageous and reckless. In the midst of a raging blizzard, Walt, Lucian and co embark on a perilous flight, in a storied yet aging relic of an aircraft, to save a young girl's life. This proved a tense nail biter through and through, as well as incredibly endearing.
January 3, 2016
Of course I loved this! It's a short book that augments the regular novels in one of my favorite series, Sheriff Walt Longmire. Part of my 2015 holiday reading extravaganza, it's written by a favorite author, read by the perfect narrator, George Guidall, and takes place on Christmas Eve. I've said in my reviews of Longmire books that there are usually several harrowing "situations" - at the least one - that push Walt to the limit physically, mentally and emotionally in the solving whichever murder is the focus of the story. This book does not contain a murder, but is one long "situation" in which Longmire teams up with former sheriff Lucian Connally and a vintage airplane called Steamboat to transport a barely-hanging-on accident victim to Denver during a horrific snowstorm. The story is dizzying, heart-pounding, breath-taking and tear inducing, and left this reader with a lump in her throat.
A perfect way to cap off my holiday reading!
A perfect way to cap off my holiday reading!
February 9, 2025
What an absolutely marvelous novella. I have not come across a Walt Longmire story that I haven’t liked and this one has all the feels. And I didn’t know about Steamboat the horse and that he was the bronco on the license plate. I loved that plate when I lived in Wyoming and now I love it even more.
February 3, 2025
I meant to read this over Christmas, but February is close enough. This is a moving Christmas tale highlighting compassion and heroics involving an impossible flight in a Christmas storm.
Library Loan
Library Loan
December 10, 2022
This novella is a quick and sweet addition to the Walt Longmire series, one of my very favorites. Walt and his old sheriff, Lucian Connelly, are engaged in a medical emergency that involves flying an old B-25 b0mber from WWII across the Rockies on Christmas Eve in a horrible blizzard. The patient is a small girl with life threatening injuries who must reach a hospital in Denver if she has any chance of survival. The year is 1988, Walt's first year as sheriff, and the story is suspenseful, with a few history lessons thrown in. There were some hints of major incidents that happen in future books, but this could be read as a stand-alone for those who want a good Christmas story.
October 17, 2013
“Dude, this is my second free Craig Johnson book.”
“What the fuck, man?”
“I know, right. I must be one Lucky Bastard.”
“Now you’re referencing a review of one author within the review of another author. Just how big of a pimp, are you?”
“I have a fedora, white bowling shoes with black tips, a cane with a gold handle, a purple vest, and a neon green trench coat.”
“Are you showing up at the Playboy mansion later with an armful of strippers?”
“No way, my wife would bury my body in the backyard next to the scorpions and the lizards with the turquoise tails. And she might even toss a black widow spider into the plastic bag along with me to keep me company.”
“That’s the thing. I thought your wife was going with you--”
“She’s not big on pimped out parties caked with artificial breasts, string bikinis, and copious amounts of alcohol.”
“You lost me at string bikinis. What were we talking about again?”
“Get your head out of the gutter. This is a Christmas novel for crying out loud.”
“It’s not actually a novel. It’s a novella.”
“Oh, are you some kind of expert now?”
“I live inside your head. I must have some vague notion of what’s going on in the publishing industry, otherwise you and I should have parted ways more than 10 years ago.” Brief pause. “But back to the task at hand…what did you actually think of SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT?”
“It was entertaining…”
“There’s a but coming on, isn’t there? And we’re not talking about the ones at the Playboy mansion.”
“I saw the road signs, and followed the detour, but it didn’t take me to the Promised Land. Wyoming has become a bit of a second home for me, with the lush scenery and painted landscapes, but I spent most of this tale in an airplane that has seen better days. And while I appreciated the additional details about Lucian, he’s one crusty old curmudgeon, even in his younger days.” I tilt my head and stare at ceiling tiles. “And I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed a good Walt Longmire mystery.”
“You sure weren’t missing those mysteries too much when you downed all those erotica novels.”
My back stiffens. “True, but Craig Johnson and mysteries go together about as well as PB&J. While Julie Luehrman more than held her own in this tale, what I really wanted was some Vic Moretti with a mouth that matches her cup size and the sage advice of Henry Standing Bear.”
“Aside from the breast reference, you really are a sentimental bastard.”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
I received this book for free through NetGalley.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
“What the fuck, man?”
“I know, right. I must be one Lucky Bastard.”
“Now you’re referencing a review of one author within the review of another author. Just how big of a pimp, are you?”
“I have a fedora, white bowling shoes with black tips, a cane with a gold handle, a purple vest, and a neon green trench coat.”
“Are you showing up at the Playboy mansion later with an armful of strippers?”
“No way, my wife would bury my body in the backyard next to the scorpions and the lizards with the turquoise tails. And she might even toss a black widow spider into the plastic bag along with me to keep me company.”
“That’s the thing. I thought your wife was going with you--”
“She’s not big on pimped out parties caked with artificial breasts, string bikinis, and copious amounts of alcohol.”
“You lost me at string bikinis. What were we talking about again?”
“Get your head out of the gutter. This is a Christmas novel for crying out loud.”
“It’s not actually a novel. It’s a novella.”
“Oh, are you some kind of expert now?”
“I live inside your head. I must have some vague notion of what’s going on in the publishing industry, otherwise you and I should have parted ways more than 10 years ago.” Brief pause. “But back to the task at hand…what did you actually think of SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT?”
“It was entertaining…”
“There’s a but coming on, isn’t there? And we’re not talking about the ones at the Playboy mansion.”
“I saw the road signs, and followed the detour, but it didn’t take me to the Promised Land. Wyoming has become a bit of a second home for me, with the lush scenery and painted landscapes, but I spent most of this tale in an airplane that has seen better days. And while I appreciated the additional details about Lucian, he’s one crusty old curmudgeon, even in his younger days.” I tilt my head and stare at ceiling tiles. “And I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed a good Walt Longmire mystery.”
“You sure weren’t missing those mysteries too much when you downed all those erotica novels.”
My back stiffens. “True, but Craig Johnson and mysteries go together about as well as PB&J. While Julie Luehrman more than held her own in this tale, what I really wanted was some Vic Moretti with a mouth that matches her cup size and the sage advice of Henry Standing Bear.”
“Aside from the breast reference, you really are a sentimental bastard.”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
I received this book for free through NetGalley.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
January 9, 2023
Short but has all the elements of the fine writing I've come to expect from Craig Johnson. Longmire, to-life characterizations, visually exciting action sequences, and in this case, a vintage B-25 with an honored pedigree.
May 30, 2021
Things are going just fine in Absaroka County. It's nearly time for the Homecoming football game. Sheriff Walt Longmire and his friend Henry Standing Bear have been asked to attend the game because their former jersey numbers are being retired. It's a small town fall....until a boy from a nearby Mormon sect wanders onto the scene looking for his mother. She has disappeared. When the case starts getting larger, crossing state lines and becoming much, much more than just a missing person's case, Longmire finds his life and the lives of his deputies are in danger.
I love this series! It is definitely one of my favorites. I love the setting, the characters, the lore and culture that Johnson weaves into his plots -- I love it all. I loved it so much I even watched the television series (several times in fact) and didn't complain when they deviated from Johnson's characters and plots. It was like getting an extra dose of Longmire on top of the books. This is a series where I have the physical books on my keeper shelf all lined up in a row...matching editions. And I also listen to the audio books through my local library because George Guidall brings the stories and characters to life.
This story has a lot of character development moments, some bizarre twists and turns, and just plain weirdness. Normally, I might have raised an eyebrow and thought to myself that there is no way that people would actually behave this way or do these things. But.....after 2020.....and the things I have seen and witnessed people doing, saying and believing.....I just embraced the weirdness and went with it. Great story as usual!
Full stars from me -- I love the Longmire series!
I love this series! It is definitely one of my favorites. I love the setting, the characters, the lore and culture that Johnson weaves into his plots -- I love it all. I loved it so much I even watched the television series (several times in fact) and didn't complain when they deviated from Johnson's characters and plots. It was like getting an extra dose of Longmire on top of the books. This is a series where I have the physical books on my keeper shelf all lined up in a row...matching editions. And I also listen to the audio books through my local library because George Guidall brings the stories and characters to life.
This story has a lot of character development moments, some bizarre twists and turns, and just plain weirdness. Normally, I might have raised an eyebrow and thought to myself that there is no way that people would actually behave this way or do these things. But.....after 2020.....and the things I have seen and witnessed people doing, saying and believing.....I just embraced the weirdness and went with it. Great story as usual!
Full stars from me -- I love the Longmire series!
February 5, 2014
This white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat novella about an emergency flight through a blizzard from Absaroka to Denver puts the author's previous holiday short stories in Christmas in Absaroka County to shame.
This story, a flashback to when Walt had just become sheriff, was unique in that there was no mystery to solve, and it showed the older-generation of characters -- Walt, Lucian Connally, Doctor Bloomfield -- in a very different scenario than usual, under a great deal of stress.
While the suspense was hollow, as we know Walt and company must have survived the harrowing flight, which (even if you haven't read the series) the novella's framing device gives away, I wasn't put off by that because I read this as Christmas miracle tale, and enjoyed seeing the displayed bravery as a form of heroic, action-packed character background for these older gents in the series. In that respect, I also liked the mentions of A Christmas Carol throughout the novella.
This story, a flashback to when Walt had just become sheriff, was unique in that there was no mystery to solve, and it showed the older-generation of characters -- Walt, Lucian Connally, Doctor Bloomfield -- in a very different scenario than usual, under a great deal of stress.
While the suspense was hollow, as we know Walt and company must have survived the harrowing flight, which (even if you haven't read the series) the novella's framing device gives away, I wasn't put off by that because I read this as Christmas miracle tale, and enjoyed seeing the displayed bravery as a form of heroic, action-packed character background for these older gents in the series. In that respect, I also liked the mentions of A Christmas Carol throughout the novella.
May 9, 2025
Most of this story is a flashback to fill in who the woman who has come to see Lucian. While she seems familiar somehow to Walt, he can't remember her either.
Thus prompts the story about a Christmas Eve rescue over 20 years earlier.
It was a great novella with the legend of Wyoming's Steamboat Stallion and a plane named after the same stallion.
Very enjoyable.
This is a great additional story that can be read at any point in the series, from this point or between any previous novel.
5 Stars
Thus prompts the story about a Christmas Eve rescue over 20 years earlier.
It was a great novella with the legend of Wyoming's Steamboat Stallion and a plane named after the same stallion.
Very enjoyable.
This is a great additional story that can be read at any point in the series, from this point or between any previous novel.
5 Stars
January 5, 2014
„. . . no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused. . . .”
Perfect. Just perfect. Now I need to sleep, I have to get up in a few hours, just couldn't lay down the book. Read it.
Perfect. Just perfect. Now I need to sleep, I have to get up in a few hours, just couldn't lay down the book. Read it.
May 1, 2017
A short read/listen. Well done novella. I learned some stuff about Steamboat the rodeo horse and that led me to do some research which is always a plus. I loved the glimpse of Lucien as a younger man.
March 30, 2025
Delightful short story in the Longmire tradition. Unlike most that center on solving a 'whodunit', this holiday special begins with an unexpected visit from a woman looking for the Absaroka Sherriff leading to a flashback tale of defying odds, pulling off what can only be classified as an adventurous Christmas miracle.
As with many of Craig Johnson's books, this is peppered with historical tidbits and characters that are rich in personality. Some fan favorites such as Doc Bloomfield and Lucian Connelly are integral in this read; a story which you will not want to put down.
As with many of Craig Johnson's books, this is peppered with historical tidbits and characters that are rich in personality. Some fan favorites such as Doc Bloomfield and Lucian Connelly are integral in this read; a story which you will not want to put down.
December 17, 2022
I just re-read this story and really enjoyed it, so I'm rounding up to 4 stars.
*********
Steamboat is an old B-25 Mitchell bomber converted for transport, with the same name as a legendary Wyoming rodeo bronc. And it's the only means to get a badly burned girl to the children's hospital in Denver during a record snowstorm. As luck (or fate) would have it, the one pilot who can fly the old plane is retired sheriff and WWII vet, Lucien Connally--if Walt can sober him up, that is.
It's a good Christmas story and offers a further glimpse into the background of one of my favorite characters in the series.
3.5 stars.
*********
Steamboat is an old B-25 Mitchell bomber converted for transport, with the same name as a legendary Wyoming rodeo bronc. And it's the only means to get a badly burned girl to the children's hospital in Denver during a record snowstorm. As luck (or fate) would have it, the one pilot who can fly the old plane is retired sheriff and WWII vet, Lucien Connally--if Walt can sober him up, that is.
It's a good Christmas story and offers a further glimpse into the background of one of my favorite characters in the series.
3.5 stars.
January 31, 2017
A Longmire novella depicting a dangerous B-25 flight during a hellacious blizzard in 1988. A young girl fights for her life after a car accident. Lucien Connolly, Walt Longmire's former boss pilots a WWII plane from Durant, Wy to Denver, CO in a blizzard to save the girl's life.
Here's a fun fact. The bucking bronco that is depicted on the Wyoming license plate is in honor of a legendary bucking bronco named Steamboat! Also, WWII buffs and airplane aficionados will enjoy reading about this dangerous flight in the B-25 named Steamboat!
Here's a fun fact. The bucking bronco that is depicted on the Wyoming license plate is in honor of a legendary bucking bronco named Steamboat! Also, WWII buffs and airplane aficionados will enjoy reading about this dangerous flight in the B-25 named Steamboat!
February 20, 2014
I have read all of the Walt Longmire series, and gave 5 stars to them all, except this one. It was a huge let-down. Did not have a mystery, did not have usual quirky cast of characters (only mentioned), and did not have an interesting storyline to keep me reading. I did finish it, so I plowed my way through to the end, and this is still my opinion: big disappointment.
March 10, 2014
I've never read any of Craig Johnson's work before. Picked this one off of the library shelf because it was short and the cover appealed to the aviation geek in me.
I don't know what the rest of you see here. The plot was predictable, the dialog repetitive, and the aviation laughably ridiculous. Glad it was short.
I don't know what the rest of you see here. The plot was predictable, the dialog repetitive, and the aviation laughably ridiculous. Glad it was short.
June 16, 2021
Great story. One of the few Longmire I had not listened to. Always a comfort to hear George Guidall reading a great story on my walks. A fun story about a Christmas Eve flight to save a young girl injured in a car accident, a blizzard and a lot of luck. No real mystery here but a good yarn which I enjoyed a lot while I wait for the next full length Longmire.
February 27, 2018
SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT by Craig Johnson is a capsule look into this ever lengthening, superior mystery thriller set in the new west. With a reverent nod to heroes from WWII and a cracker-jack story to mix old with new, Mr. Johnson has delivered a delight just right for a cold winter's evening.
October 27, 2013
Technically, this is 9.1 in the publication line-up of the Walt Longmire mystery series set in Wyoming---and at the start of the story with the “prologue”, but the chronology of this novella is more like 0.25 as the main events take place a few months after Walt is elected sheriff in 1988, and Martha is still alive. And, while this is technically a mystery series, it's more of a suspenseful ride with a quickly sobering Lucian and a leaky "boat".
My Take
I liked the start of this one with its present day setting before Walt heads back into memory. It's a moaning Walt, moaning in his head about how lonely this Christmas will be: no Cady as she’s expecting Walt’s first grandchild in January, Vic has gone to Belize with her mom, and Henry has a new ladyfriend. But it’s a loneliness broken by an old memory in the form of a visitor. One who takes Walt and Lucian back in time to a truly fearsome Christmas.
It’s that clue, Steamboat, when Walt realizes who their visitor is and the memory sends him back in time, remembering that fearsome Christmas Eve flight to save a little girl’s life.
It's a trip back into history on many levels as Johnson provides back history on Lucian’s life without making it an info dump, the Haylift story with those personal touches and heavy loads LOL, lots of foreshadowing--he did make me cry with that line: “Good thing we’ve got a long road ahead of us, huh?” A bit more back history gives us the background on the bucking bronco on Wyoming’s license plate with its parallel application between the horse and today’s visitor. I also enjoyed the subtle hints of the Indian spirits who would be such a help to Walt in the years to come.
It’s an exciting ride, LOL, how could it not be when Lucian Connally is at the controls of an ancient bomber with hydraulic issues and leaks of all sorts while Doc Bloomfield struggles to save a young girl’s life western style as he’s flung about the plane.
Yup, fancy flying with a whole lotta goosing and an even trickier landing that reflects back on the bucking bronco of the Mitchell’s namesake.
The Story
It’s a mysterious visitor on Christmas Eve that sends Walt down memory lane to a much earlier Christmas when Martha was still alive, just before the bad news hits.
Only a young girl survived the car crash, barely. If she doesn’t get to a burn unit down in Denver, she’ll die. And there’s a massive cold front from Canada coming in.
The Characters
Walt Longmire has been sheriff of Absaroka County for a bit over a month now, the result of an election Lucian did his best to lose. Martha is his worried wife; Cady is their nine-year-old daughter.
Lucian Connally was the poker-playing, one-legged sheriff before Walt and a Doolittle Raider during World War II. He’s now living at the Durant Home for Assisted Living.
Dr. Isaac Bloomfield goes along for the ride. Julie Luehrman teaches part-time—at Cady’s school and to pilots—and she’s a mechanic and pilot who’ll take that terrifying co-pilot’s seat. Rick Koehmstedt is the airport manager. The Ferg is Walt’s deputy.
Mrs. Oda is the grandmother of Amaterasu, the young burn victim.
Current day...
Ruby is the dispatcher for the sheriff’s department. Mary Jo Johnson works at the Durant Home for Assisted Living. Henry owns the Red Pony Bar and is Walt’s best friend. Even if he is spending most of his time with a new lady. Dog is, well, a dog who goes everywhere with Walt.
The Cover
The cover is a woodcut-effect of a B-25 bomber named Steamboat with the mustang and rider silhouette from the Wyoming license plates painted on her side, as she struggles through the snowy turquoise sky on her errand of mercy. It’s only the Spirit of Steamboat that gets them through.
My Take
I liked the start of this one with its present day setting before Walt heads back into memory. It's a moaning Walt, moaning in his head about how lonely this Christmas will be: no Cady as she’s expecting Walt’s first grandchild in January, Vic has gone to Belize with her mom, and Henry has a new ladyfriend. But it’s a loneliness broken by an old memory in the form of a visitor. One who takes Walt and Lucian back in time to a truly fearsome Christmas.
It’s that clue, Steamboat, when Walt realizes who their visitor is and the memory sends him back in time, remembering that fearsome Christmas Eve flight to save a little girl’s life.
It's a trip back into history on many levels as Johnson provides back history on Lucian’s life without making it an info dump, the Haylift story with those personal touches and heavy loads LOL, lots of foreshadowing--he did make me cry with that line: “Good thing we’ve got a long road ahead of us, huh?” A bit more back history gives us the background on the bucking bronco on Wyoming’s license plate with its parallel application between the horse and today’s visitor. I also enjoyed the subtle hints of the Indian spirits who would be such a help to Walt in the years to come.
It’s an exciting ride, LOL, how could it not be when Lucian Connally is at the controls of an ancient bomber with hydraulic issues and leaks of all sorts while Doc Bloomfield struggles to save a young girl’s life western style as he’s flung about the plane.
Yup, fancy flying with a whole lotta goosing and an even trickier landing that reflects back on the bucking bronco of the Mitchell’s namesake.
The Story
It’s a mysterious visitor on Christmas Eve that sends Walt down memory lane to a much earlier Christmas when Martha was still alive, just before the bad news hits.
Only a young girl survived the car crash, barely. If she doesn’t get to a burn unit down in Denver, she’ll die. And there’s a massive cold front from Canada coming in.
The Characters
Walt Longmire has been sheriff of Absaroka County for a bit over a month now, the result of an election Lucian did his best to lose. Martha is his worried wife; Cady is their nine-year-old daughter.
Lucian Connally was the poker-playing, one-legged sheriff before Walt and a Doolittle Raider during World War II. He’s now living at the Durant Home for Assisted Living.
Dr. Isaac Bloomfield goes along for the ride. Julie Luehrman teaches part-time—at Cady’s school and to pilots—and she’s a mechanic and pilot who’ll take that terrifying co-pilot’s seat. Rick Koehmstedt is the airport manager. The Ferg is Walt’s deputy.
Mrs. Oda is the grandmother of Amaterasu, the young burn victim.
Current day...
Ruby is the dispatcher for the sheriff’s department. Mary Jo Johnson works at the Durant Home for Assisted Living. Henry owns the Red Pony Bar and is Walt’s best friend. Even if he is spending most of his time with a new lady. Dog is, well, a dog who goes everywhere with Walt.
The Cover
The cover is a woodcut-effect of a B-25 bomber named Steamboat with the mustang and rider silhouette from the Wyoming license plates painted on her side, as she struggles through the snowy turquoise sky on her errand of mercy. It’s only the Spirit of Steamboat that gets them through.
October 17, 2013
Review to post on my blog: 10/17/2013
http://thewritelife2.wordpress.com/20...
When I first read the teaser of Spirit of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story, I assumed it had a Dickens feel and a supernatural plot. It said, “…when he’s interrupted by the ghost of Christmas past.” This, of course, is figurative, and while I was off balance by the description, the story is fast-paced and amazing.
Walt Longmire is a sheriff in Wyoming. It’s Christmas Eve and Walt is spending it in his office. Tucked in his arms is Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. A young Japanese woman enters his office, and she has a scar on her forehead that he describes, “…what looked like a hairline crack in the porcelain of her forehead, almost as if she’d been made of china and at one point dropped.” The scar has a story; hence, the “ghost of Christmas past.”
The woman is not a ghost in the supernatural sense. She is a grown up version of the little girl from years ago who nearly died on an emergency flight on a plane from World War II named, Steamboat. After the first chapter or so, we enter the story of long ago. This is billed as a Christmas story, but Christmas has very little to do with it, except for the book Walt continues to refer to throughout the story.
Spirit of Steamboat has a cowboy attitude and the writing is fantastic. Craig Johnson easily writes from Walt’s point of view, differing his voice from the other characters in the novel. The novel is more like a novella. It took me only one evening to read. Craig writes that the original story of Steamboat was meant to be a short story, but it grew to eighty pages, surpassing the limits of a short story. This novel is truly a great read with excellent writing and wonderful descriptions. I gave this novel five stars.
*Book given by publisher to review.
http://thewritelife2.wordpress.com/20...
When I first read the teaser of Spirit of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story, I assumed it had a Dickens feel and a supernatural plot. It said, “…when he’s interrupted by the ghost of Christmas past.” This, of course, is figurative, and while I was off balance by the description, the story is fast-paced and amazing.
Walt Longmire is a sheriff in Wyoming. It’s Christmas Eve and Walt is spending it in his office. Tucked in his arms is Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. A young Japanese woman enters his office, and she has a scar on her forehead that he describes, “…what looked like a hairline crack in the porcelain of her forehead, almost as if she’d been made of china and at one point dropped.” The scar has a story; hence, the “ghost of Christmas past.”
The woman is not a ghost in the supernatural sense. She is a grown up version of the little girl from years ago who nearly died on an emergency flight on a plane from World War II named, Steamboat. After the first chapter or so, we enter the story of long ago. This is billed as a Christmas story, but Christmas has very little to do with it, except for the book Walt continues to refer to throughout the story.
Spirit of Steamboat has a cowboy attitude and the writing is fantastic. Craig Johnson easily writes from Walt’s point of view, differing his voice from the other characters in the novel. The novel is more like a novella. It took me only one evening to read. Craig writes that the original story of Steamboat was meant to be a short story, but it grew to eighty pages, surpassing the limits of a short story. This novel is truly a great read with excellent writing and wonderful descriptions. I gave this novel five stars.
*Book given by publisher to review.
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