What do you think?
Rate this book
Stepsons of Light
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
- GenresWesterns
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1969
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 15, 2021
Phenomenal! Finding the perfect Western is a never-ending journey; the journey itself is the destination.
But if you had to strip a Western novel to its core and layout what makes it truly superb, you’d first need a generous helping of characters who you can admire: salt-of-the-earth: non-conformist. Then you’d want to see the iconic landscape play a role as prominent as any one of those characters. You’d want that author to turn vast tablelands and cedar-clad hills and peaks into the place where gods live. You’d then want to see the author interjecting in the narrative with refreshingly honest homespun wisdom. Finally, you’d want good to triumph over evil; the simple folk trumping the elite. That’s why you read Westerns.
And when you consider all of this, there are a few books that can truly accomplish this: The Virginian by Wister; Heart of the West by O Henry; Sackett, by L’Amour; True Grit, by Portis; Heart’s Desire by Hough; The Texican by Coolidge; Chip of the Flying U by Bower; Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Cather; and Shane, by Schaefer. No doubt the list is much larger. These are Westerns with grit, as well as intelligence. With hope and honor, instead of depravity and shame. They trade smut and baseless violence, for wit and charm. They bring values into the world, instead of calling them all into question.
Not least among these great Westerns is a little book by Rhodes called Paso Por Aqui. It’s a little novella, that does in 100 or so pages what every other Western writer aspires to do in a lifetime. But, that’s not Rhodes’ only masterwork. Stepsons of Light is a longer, more substantial work, that pits the Homespun folks of rural New Mexico against evil. Rhodes takes the people he knows best, and makes them shine, as champions of honor; pillars of community; bastions of common sense; and defenders of human dignity. You will never look at a small, disheveled town the same way again. Rhodes challenges you to not turn your back on the simple man, but to meet him, to find the good in him, and to find the good in the world.
The Stepsons of Light could be your neighbors. They could be the folks living in a double-wide on the outskirts of town. They might not vote the way you do. They may have a questionable bumper sticker or two. You might think they don’t dress very well, or that they’re just not educated, but according to Rhodes, they have a lot to offer this world, and you’ll find you have to agree. We have a lot to learn from them. They’re not ignorant, he says, they couldn’t be to survive. And don’t believe they’re wretched; they don’t have time to be.
But if you had to strip a Western novel to its core and layout what makes it truly superb, you’d first need a generous helping of characters who you can admire: salt-of-the-earth: non-conformist. Then you’d want to see the iconic landscape play a role as prominent as any one of those characters. You’d want that author to turn vast tablelands and cedar-clad hills and peaks into the place where gods live. You’d then want to see the author interjecting in the narrative with refreshingly honest homespun wisdom. Finally, you’d want good to triumph over evil; the simple folk trumping the elite. That’s why you read Westerns.
And when you consider all of this, there are a few books that can truly accomplish this: The Virginian by Wister; Heart of the West by O Henry; Sackett, by L’Amour; True Grit, by Portis; Heart’s Desire by Hough; The Texican by Coolidge; Chip of the Flying U by Bower; Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Cather; and Shane, by Schaefer. No doubt the list is much larger. These are Westerns with grit, as well as intelligence. With hope and honor, instead of depravity and shame. They trade smut and baseless violence, for wit and charm. They bring values into the world, instead of calling them all into question.
Not least among these great Westerns is a little book by Rhodes called Paso Por Aqui. It’s a little novella, that does in 100 or so pages what every other Western writer aspires to do in a lifetime. But, that’s not Rhodes’ only masterwork. Stepsons of Light is a longer, more substantial work, that pits the Homespun folks of rural New Mexico against evil. Rhodes takes the people he knows best, and makes them shine, as champions of honor; pillars of community; bastions of common sense; and defenders of human dignity. You will never look at a small, disheveled town the same way again. Rhodes challenges you to not turn your back on the simple man, but to meet him, to find the good in him, and to find the good in the world.
The Stepsons of Light could be your neighbors. They could be the folks living in a double-wide on the outskirts of town. They might not vote the way you do. They may have a questionable bumper sticker or two. You might think they don’t dress very well, or that they’re just not educated, but according to Rhodes, they have a lot to offer this world, and you’ll find you have to agree. We have a lot to learn from them. They’re not ignorant, he says, they couldn’t be to survive. And don’t believe they’re wretched; they don’t have time to be.
September 7, 2015
This book was a pleasant surprise! I was expecting/hoping for a Zane Grey-type Western action. Stepsons of Light is much deeper. It contains the expected mix of cowboys and four legged critters, women folk down to the ranch house, etc. It evolves into a tale of stolen mineral claims and murder, then morphs into a court room drama with cowboy defendant acting as his own attorney. The book is well written and the author keeps things moving along. I highly recommend to Western fans.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews