Law of the Desert: Western Stories

by Louis L'Amour

In “Black Coffin Makers‚” Jim Gatlin finds himself in the small cattle town of Tucker‚ where an attempt is made on his life. Now all he can do is fight for his life. “Grubline Rider” tells the story of drifter Kim Sartain who happens upon a beautiful piece of grassland‚ and sets off a chain reaction when he decides to homestead on that range. Matt Sabre is a young gunfighter in “Ride‚ You Tonto Riders.” Forced to shoot a man‚ he's shocked when‚ on his deathbed‚ the man gives him $5‚000 and begs him to take the money to his wife. Guilt‚ regret and a fierce will to do the right thing lead Matt Sabre to make that ride. Each of these stories vividly showcases Louis L'Amour's powerful and compelling vision of the American West which he called “a big country needing big men and women to live in it.”

Genres: Westerns, Audiobook

220 pages, Library Binding

First published June 1, 1983

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

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old and somewhat formulaic stories from the early days of the author’s writing.

Still fun…if a bit corny. It’s like watching a 1940’s western.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Louis L'Amour, there were some repeats of other stories in this collection. They deal with uprightness and courage.

The Black Rock Coffin Makers
Grub Line Rider
Desert Death Song
One Last Gun Notch
Ride, You Tonto Raiders
War Party
Law of the Desert Born

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories seems more like a sampling of L'Amour's work. They are short as advertised and the heroes have the survival instincts, compassion and wit that I have come to expect.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reader; wide variety of stories.

[Jen (at last!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories. Wonderful narrator.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average story about a gunman on the run from a sherriff whose brother he had killed

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis L'Amour never disappoints. These gritty early (40s and 50s era) stories are classic L'Amour with plenty of tough but tender buys, pretty but tough gals and lots of drama.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like episodes of Gunsmoke without Miss Kitty 🤠. Paints a vivid picture of the wild frontier

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of seven short stories that Louis L’Amour published in Western Magazines in the 1930s and 40s. The first story is “The Black Rock Coffin Marker” about a fight to acquire the XY ranch. The second story is called “Grub Line Rider”: Kim Sartain is a drifter and a cattleman Jim Targ forbids Kim to ride across an unclaimed stretch of meadow land. Kim gets mad and decides to homestead the stretch of land. “Desert Death Song” is the third story. It is a sort of love story. The forth is called “One Last Gun Notch” this one is a gunfighter vs. land hog. The fifth story “Ride, You Tonto Raiders” is about Matt Sabre who kills a man in a fair gun fight and the dying man asks him to take five thousand dollars to his wife and family on his family ranch. The sixth story is called “War Party” about a boy, a frontier woman and a strong male character in a story of life on the frontier. The last story is “Law of the Desert Born” about Shad Morone a gunman. This is one is from the book by the same name.

The audiobook was published in Sept 2014. The stories are well written and fast paced with good character development in spite of them being short stories. This audiobook makes an easy, fast, enjoyable read. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Stefan Rudnicki narrates the book.

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great collection of Louis L'Amour western short stories.

Here's the list in this audiobook:
The Black Rock Coffin Makers
Grub Line Rider
Desert Death song
One Last Gun Notch
Ride, You Tonto Raiders
War Party
Law Of the Desert Born

I really loved "Ride, You Tonto Raiders" and "Grub Line Rider". Awesome gunslinger tough guy Westerns with a bit of romance thrown in. Sure, some of these characters are quick and thinly developed (they are short stories after all), but it's really no different than the Fast and The Furious type settings with Justice, Honor, Love, Sacrifice, and the fastest gun for the prettiest lady. Not much has changed in 300 years.
I never get sick of them.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven short Westerns - in large print - easy reading on a hot day. Enjoy with a tall glass of iced tea.