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Westerns: Last Stand at Saber River / Hombre / Valdez Is Coming / Forty Lashes Less One / Stories
One of the great storytellers of our time, Elmore Leonard began his career writing Westerns, a genre he loved. In the pages of pulp magazines that were still flourishing in the 1950s—Argosy, Dime Western Magazine, Zane Grey’s Western, and others—he perfected his trademark style, a blend of wiry tautness, sharp characterizations, and jolts of unexpected humor. Now, writer and film critic Terrence Rafferty has gathered the best of Leonard’s Westerns in a single volume, four classic novels and eight outstanding short stories, including the tales that inspired such powerful films as Hombre, Valdez Is Coming, and 3:10 to Yuma.
In Last Stand at Saber River (1959), Leonard spins a tight narrative in which a homecoming Confederate veteran must fight to regain the ranch that has been stolen from him. Set, like most of Leonard’s Westerns, against a stark Arizona landscape, the novel is a masterpiece of unbroken tension, as the hero confronts a violent new war for all he holds dear.
Chosen as one of the twenty-five greatest Western novels by the Western Writers of America, and the basis for a classic film starring Paul Newman, Hombre (1961) is a stagecoach drama whose hero, a man raised by Apaches, is treated with contempt by the white settlers who will ultimately depend on him for their survival.
Valdez Is Coming (1970), Leonard’s favorite among his Westerns, pits Mexican American town constable Bob Valdez against the entrenched power of frontier oligarch Frank Tanner. When Valdez is maneuvered by Tanner into shooting an innocent man, he launches a one-man war for justice for the man’s widow that culminates with a surprising twist.
With Forty Lashes Less One (1972) Leonard explores the comic tone that would mark his later books. Set within the harsh confines of Yuma Territorial Prison, the novel recounts the unlikely friendship of two prisoners—one part Apache, the other African American—planning a near-impossible escape.
Like the novels, the eight stories included here, are tough, suspenseful, convincing, and beautifully spare in style. They range from Leonard’s first published pulp story, “Trail of the Apache” (1951), to one of his last, the fascinating character study “The Tonto Woman” (1982). Among the others are the twice-filmed “Three-Ten to Yuma” (1953) and “The Captives” (1955), the novella that inspired the acclaimed film The Tall T.
In Last Stand at Saber River (1959), Leonard spins a tight narrative in which a homecoming Confederate veteran must fight to regain the ranch that has been stolen from him. Set, like most of Leonard’s Westerns, against a stark Arizona landscape, the novel is a masterpiece of unbroken tension, as the hero confronts a violent new war for all he holds dear.
Chosen as one of the twenty-five greatest Western novels by the Western Writers of America, and the basis for a classic film starring Paul Newman, Hombre (1961) is a stagecoach drama whose hero, a man raised by Apaches, is treated with contempt by the white settlers who will ultimately depend on him for their survival.
Valdez Is Coming (1970), Leonard’s favorite among his Westerns, pits Mexican American town constable Bob Valdez against the entrenched power of frontier oligarch Frank Tanner. When Valdez is maneuvered by Tanner into shooting an innocent man, he launches a one-man war for justice for the man’s widow that culminates with a surprising twist.
With Forty Lashes Less One (1972) Leonard explores the comic tone that would mark his later books. Set within the harsh confines of Yuma Territorial Prison, the novel recounts the unlikely friendship of two prisoners—one part Apache, the other African American—planning a near-impossible escape.
Like the novels, the eight stories included here, are tough, suspenseful, convincing, and beautifully spare in style. They range from Leonard’s first published pulp story, “Trail of the Apache” (1951), to one of his last, the fascinating character study “The Tonto Woman” (1982). Among the others are the twice-filmed “Three-Ten to Yuma” (1953) and “The Captives” (1955), the novella that inspired the acclaimed film The Tall T.
781 pages, Hardcover
Published April 24, 2018
4 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Elmore Leonard
213 books3,712 followersElmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.
Father of Peter Leonard.
Father of Peter Leonard.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 11, 2025
Elmore Leonard Westerns In The Library Of America
The Library of America has been commendably inclusive in its efforts to publish the best of American writing and to show the breadth of American experience. Thus, it has published popular and genre writing and relatively unknown authors in addition to classics such as Melville, Whitman, William and Henry James, and others. The LOA has published a great deal of crime fiction, including a three volume set of the writings of Elmore Leonard (1925 -- 2013). Before he began to write crime and suspense novels, Leonard wrote in the genre of westerns. This new LOA volume is a compilation of Elmore Leonard's westerns, both novels and stories, dating from 1951 to 1982. It includes four novels out of the eight westerns Leonard wrote together with eight short stories published originally in magazines out of Leonard's roughly 30 western stories. Terrence Rafferty edited the volume which includes a chronology of Leonard's life and notes on the texts.
While the LOA has published crime fiction and noir, this volume is the first devoted to the western genre. The American western has a long history in dime novels, magazines, radio and television, film, and fiction, pulp and otherwise. Much of the genre may be stereotyped and hackneyed. It is worthwhile to explore the western and some of the best efforts in the genre both for enjoyment and to see what may be learned from western writing.
Leonard's westerns are tautly and sparely written in a style he would develop further in his crime and suspense novels. They read quickly and with a build-up of dramatic tension. The works are set in the Arizona territory with an emphasis on the 1880s. They generally feature a strong male character, an individual of few words. For the most part, Leonard's westerns focus more on character and on plot than on scenery and landscape. Conflict and revenge are strong themes in Leonard's writings, as in much of the genre. Leonard also explores culture conflict between the American settlers, the Apaches, and peoples from Mexico. The writings also have frequent religious allusions. The character development, discussion of culture conflict and discrimination, and exploration of ethical issues are important parts of Leonard's western writings in addition to the drama of the plots and the ever-present violence. Each of the four novels in this compilation originally was published as a paperback original. I will comment briefly below on each novel.
Published in 1959, "Last Stand at Saber River" is set in Arizona territory at the end of the Civil War. The main character is a returning Confederate veteran who seeks to reestablish a peaceful life with his wife and three children. In his absence, his ranch has been occupied by supporters of the Union who use the property to supply the Union Army. Leonard's novel explores the continued conflict between supporters of North and South following the end of the war. Paul Cable, the tough taciturn hero of the book, is portrayed as willing to fight for his wife and children in establishing life in peacetime and for what he holds dear. This book is the most conventional of the four novels in this volume.
"Hombre" was published in 1961 and is Leonard's best-known western. In 1967, it was made into a film starring Paul Newman. Set in Arizona in 1884, the book is unusual for Leonard in that it is recounted by a first-person narrator, a technique that Leonard uses well. The main character, John Russell, 21, is a tough quiet man who goes by the nickname of "Hombre". Although not an Indian, Russell was raised by Apaches and has adopted much of their culture. During a stagecoach journey, Russell is rejected by his fellow-passengers because they believe he is Apache. Later, when the stagecoach is robbed, the passengers must rely on Russell for their lives as they are pursued through the Arizona desert by outlaws. The book develops Russell's character, and that of the other passengers, offers a criticism of racial discrimination, and shows several difficult ethical dilemmas as those on the stagecoach flee for their lives. "Hombre" is a moving, tightly told story and my favorite in this collection.
"Valdez is Coming" was published in 1970 and was made into a 1971 movie starring Burt Lancaster. It is a story set in Arizona in the 1880s, of revenge and violence with religious overtones and some highly introspective flashbacks into the lives of its characters. A town constable, Valdez, who has formerly fought the Apache, gets into a feud with Tanner, the powerful owner of an illegal business who ships weapons to Mexico. The feud involves the unjustified killing of an African American man and Valdez' efforts to provide reparations for his pregnant wife. With its exploration of character and ethical themes, the book becomes violent as Valdez is pursued through the Arizona mountains
with Tanner's men. The novel works to a surprising yet appropriate conclusion.
The final novel in this collection, "Forty Lashes Less One" dates from 1972 and is set in the concluding days of the notorious Yuma Territorial Prison in 1909. The book is a gritty novel of prison life including an attempted escape as the inmates are transferred by train to a new more modern prison. The book shows sharp humor in addition to character development, a realistic portrayal of Yuma prison life, and a treatment of race. The two primary characters are an African American inmate, Jackson, and an Indian inmate, San Carlos. The two go from being bitter enemies through a term served together in solitary confinement and eventually become fast friends. The book includes a degree of religious satire in the person of Manly, a fundamentalist preacher, who becomes acting superintendent at Yuma during its final days, and who, with all his own prejudices, attempts to instill religion and to reform Jackson and San Carlos.
The eight short stories in this volume explore many of the same themes as do the novels. The most famous of these stories, "Three Ten to Yuma" also has a connection to Yuma prison as a sheriff is charged with getting a prisoner there safely. The story "The Tonto Woman" is one of the few works in this collection with a leading woman character. I also enjoyed the story "The Captives" and the unusual story "The Nagual".
The genre western once was a staple of American popular writing, but it suffered from over-exposure and from too much formulaic, indifferent writing. The best works in the genre, such as Leonard's, still remain worth reading. This collection of Leonard's westerns shows the vitality of a genre that is sometimes undervalued. I hope the Library of America publishes further volumes of worthwhile westerns in addition to its extensive collections of noir and crime fiction.
Robin Friedman
The Library of America has been commendably inclusive in its efforts to publish the best of American writing and to show the breadth of American experience. Thus, it has published popular and genre writing and relatively unknown authors in addition to classics such as Melville, Whitman, William and Henry James, and others. The LOA has published a great deal of crime fiction, including a three volume set of the writings of Elmore Leonard (1925 -- 2013). Before he began to write crime and suspense novels, Leonard wrote in the genre of westerns. This new LOA volume is a compilation of Elmore Leonard's westerns, both novels and stories, dating from 1951 to 1982. It includes four novels out of the eight westerns Leonard wrote together with eight short stories published originally in magazines out of Leonard's roughly 30 western stories. Terrence Rafferty edited the volume which includes a chronology of Leonard's life and notes on the texts.
While the LOA has published crime fiction and noir, this volume is the first devoted to the western genre. The American western has a long history in dime novels, magazines, radio and television, film, and fiction, pulp and otherwise. Much of the genre may be stereotyped and hackneyed. It is worthwhile to explore the western and some of the best efforts in the genre both for enjoyment and to see what may be learned from western writing.
Leonard's westerns are tautly and sparely written in a style he would develop further in his crime and suspense novels. They read quickly and with a build-up of dramatic tension. The works are set in the Arizona territory with an emphasis on the 1880s. They generally feature a strong male character, an individual of few words. For the most part, Leonard's westerns focus more on character and on plot than on scenery and landscape. Conflict and revenge are strong themes in Leonard's writings, as in much of the genre. Leonard also explores culture conflict between the American settlers, the Apaches, and peoples from Mexico. The writings also have frequent religious allusions. The character development, discussion of culture conflict and discrimination, and exploration of ethical issues are important parts of Leonard's western writings in addition to the drama of the plots and the ever-present violence. Each of the four novels in this compilation originally was published as a paperback original. I will comment briefly below on each novel.
Published in 1959, "Last Stand at Saber River" is set in Arizona territory at the end of the Civil War. The main character is a returning Confederate veteran who seeks to reestablish a peaceful life with his wife and three children. In his absence, his ranch has been occupied by supporters of the Union who use the property to supply the Union Army. Leonard's novel explores the continued conflict between supporters of North and South following the end of the war. Paul Cable, the tough taciturn hero of the book, is portrayed as willing to fight for his wife and children in establishing life in peacetime and for what he holds dear. This book is the most conventional of the four novels in this volume.
"Hombre" was published in 1961 and is Leonard's best-known western. In 1967, it was made into a film starring Paul Newman. Set in Arizona in 1884, the book is unusual for Leonard in that it is recounted by a first-person narrator, a technique that Leonard uses well. The main character, John Russell, 21, is a tough quiet man who goes by the nickname of "Hombre". Although not an Indian, Russell was raised by Apaches and has adopted much of their culture. During a stagecoach journey, Russell is rejected by his fellow-passengers because they believe he is Apache. Later, when the stagecoach is robbed, the passengers must rely on Russell for their lives as they are pursued through the Arizona desert by outlaws. The book develops Russell's character, and that of the other passengers, offers a criticism of racial discrimination, and shows several difficult ethical dilemmas as those on the stagecoach flee for their lives. "Hombre" is a moving, tightly told story and my favorite in this collection.
"Valdez is Coming" was published in 1970 and was made into a 1971 movie starring Burt Lancaster. It is a story set in Arizona in the 1880s, of revenge and violence with religious overtones and some highly introspective flashbacks into the lives of its characters. A town constable, Valdez, who has formerly fought the Apache, gets into a feud with Tanner, the powerful owner of an illegal business who ships weapons to Mexico. The feud involves the unjustified killing of an African American man and Valdez' efforts to provide reparations for his pregnant wife. With its exploration of character and ethical themes, the book becomes violent as Valdez is pursued through the Arizona mountains
with Tanner's men. The novel works to a surprising yet appropriate conclusion.
The final novel in this collection, "Forty Lashes Less One" dates from 1972 and is set in the concluding days of the notorious Yuma Territorial Prison in 1909. The book is a gritty novel of prison life including an attempted escape as the inmates are transferred by train to a new more modern prison. The book shows sharp humor in addition to character development, a realistic portrayal of Yuma prison life, and a treatment of race. The two primary characters are an African American inmate, Jackson, and an Indian inmate, San Carlos. The two go from being bitter enemies through a term served together in solitary confinement and eventually become fast friends. The book includes a degree of religious satire in the person of Manly, a fundamentalist preacher, who becomes acting superintendent at Yuma during its final days, and who, with all his own prejudices, attempts to instill religion and to reform Jackson and San Carlos.
The eight short stories in this volume explore many of the same themes as do the novels. The most famous of these stories, "Three Ten to Yuma" also has a connection to Yuma prison as a sheriff is charged with getting a prisoner there safely. The story "The Tonto Woman" is one of the few works in this collection with a leading woman character. I also enjoyed the story "The Captives" and the unusual story "The Nagual".
The genre western once was a staple of American popular writing, but it suffered from over-exposure and from too much formulaic, indifferent writing. The best works in the genre, such as Leonard's, still remain worth reading. This collection of Leonard's westerns shows the vitality of a genre that is sometimes undervalued. I hope the Library of America publishes further volumes of worthwhile westerns in addition to its extensive collections of noir and crime fiction.
Robin Friedman
April 4, 2020
Valdez Is Coming
Valdez vs. Tanner
Good vs. Evil
Good wins
Just the fantasy that we need
Valdez, Valdez, please come, we need you here now
Elmore Leonard: a great, cinematic stylist
4.5 stars
Valdez vs. Tanner
Good vs. Evil
Good wins
Just the fantasy that we need
Valdez, Valdez, please come, we need you here now
Elmore Leonard: a great, cinematic stylist
4.5 stars
January 20, 2019
I've read the four novels in here, and shoud finish the stories soon:
1. Last Stand at Saber River -
2. Hombre
3. Valdez is Coming
4. Forty Lashes Less One
Stories:
1. "Trail of the Apache"
2. The Rustlers"
3. Three-Ten to Yuma"
4. Blood Money"
5. The Captives"
6. The Nagual"
7. The Kid"
8. The Tonto Woman"
1. Last Stand at Saber River -
2. Hombre
3. Valdez is Coming
4. Forty Lashes Less One
Stories:
1. "Trail of the Apache"
2. The Rustlers"
3. Three-Ten to Yuma"
4. Blood Money"
5. The Captives"
6. The Nagual"
7. The Kid"
8. The Tonto Woman"
July 30, 2021
This Library of America collection of Elmore Leonard's western fiction (novels and short stories) is well worth reading and having on the shelf. I pretty much enjoyed everything in this collection, but especially liked Last Stand at Saber River and Valdez is Coming. Several of the short stories were terrific too, including the classic 3:10 to Yuma. Good fun and something to get lost in for a while.
July 26, 2020
The novels were excellent as were most of the stories. I grew up watching Westerns with my dad, but haven’t been inspired to read many, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them. It helped that they all take place in my home state and near where I live. My only complaint is that I wish the entire collection was presented chronologically by publication date to better see Leonard’s evolution as a writer. I look forward to continuing with the Library of America’s collections of his works nonetheless.
July 5, 2019
Elmore Leonard’s Western Stories are of unequal quality. The Library of America edition doesn’t help, I suppose, by trying to appeal to the lazy reader rather than present them in any kind of meaningful way. When well-edited, a writer’s compendium reveals patterns in the work of a lifetime. It does not need to be very sophisticated. A simple chronological layout shows progressions and recurrences. In comparison, the Library of America edition feels like some badly cooked French pastry where all the taste is in the glazing. Lick it and you’re left with a soggy doughy blob which the lazy reader will leave. Only the courageous ones will finish it all – and only the courageous ones will be rewarded with the pool of flavour hidden in its core, the very last story: The Tonto Woman.
For a lot of the short stories are somewhat disappointing. Most of them were written when Leonard was between twenty six and thirty five. We are in the fifties. His style is not yet fully developed. Trail of the Apache is drowned in over- detailed descriptions and stage directions. The pace never picks up and his characters fail to compensate for it. We have to wait till 3.10 to Yuma to see the style lose its fat, cut to the essential and gain this lean quality that marks Hombre. This is where LOA edition does not make sense: why put all the novels first then shove in the short stories? A novelist’s short stories are his workshop. If you are to publish all his work in one collection, to severe the link that binds the short works and the long is absurd.
Hombre brings to mind Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Whereas Faulkner’s novel is a collection of first-persons points of view, Leonard’s is much more of a third-person book, albeit told from the first person. Where the young Faulkner was still deep into the Stream of Consciousness, Leonard writes after Raymond Chandler. He is also more static; his paintings do not have the marvelous minimalist fluidity that Faulkner’s have. But they are as visual: a bit of light here, a line drawn there. Suddenly, the portrait emerges: shape, colour, attitude, and its surroundings: dust, sun, thorns.
The unexpected in Leonard’s Western stories comes from their conclusion. There is no sign preparing the reader for it. The tales are kneaded, shaped and baked in foreboding and doom. Of them, only fatality, it seems, can emerge victorious. And though, most of the novels and short stories have a happy ending. His bad guys are often clumsy, or cowards, or just reasonable men – a personality flaw for a bad guy, which seals their doom and saves the day. How strange. Was it publishing policy at that time? Is it another sign of Leonard’s lack of maturity? Hard to say. Only one story escapes the pattern: Hombre again, Leonard’s undeniable masterpiece. All its characters are dark. They carry the stigmata of doom and violence. They very much resemble the characters of The Tonto Woman. But the story goes the opposite way.
I have written enough about Hombre already. Let’s spend some time with The Tonto Woman. From the first page of the collection I was waiting for it. It comes last, after 700 pages of unequal quality. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Written in 1982 when Leonard is almost sixty, it is the perfect text to close the collection. Eleven pages with not a misplaced or unnecessary word, eleven pages of total, absolute visual precision. I cannot think of a change that would improve the story. All of Elmore Leonard sits in these eleven pages. Ruben Vega, a Mexican middle-aged man and a bad, bad boy, meets a woman who, after being kidnapped by a Mojave tribe who tattooed her face, has been banished by her husband. “They did it so that, after I die, I be identified as a Mojave and my soul saved from hell” she explains. Her husband, a rich farmer owning a good chunk of the country, does not care what the tattoos are for. He sees them as a stain. Ruben Vega, a man who had so many women, who killed so many men, who spent his whole life stealing, a bad man, decides to give her back her pride. Every single line of these eleven pages is heavy with tension, sex and violence. Twice, Leonard has a very clear opportunity to end it all in shooting and blood. The characters are tailored for a final shootout. He decides otherwise. Not a single weapon is fired. And even if he leaves the story unfinished, he concocts an unsentimental ending where the possibility for good, unexpectedly, settles in.
For a lot of the short stories are somewhat disappointing. Most of them were written when Leonard was between twenty six and thirty five. We are in the fifties. His style is not yet fully developed. Trail of the Apache is drowned in over- detailed descriptions and stage directions. The pace never picks up and his characters fail to compensate for it. We have to wait till 3.10 to Yuma to see the style lose its fat, cut to the essential and gain this lean quality that marks Hombre. This is where LOA edition does not make sense: why put all the novels first then shove in the short stories? A novelist’s short stories are his workshop. If you are to publish all his work in one collection, to severe the link that binds the short works and the long is absurd.
Hombre brings to mind Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Whereas Faulkner’s novel is a collection of first-persons points of view, Leonard’s is much more of a third-person book, albeit told from the first person. Where the young Faulkner was still deep into the Stream of Consciousness, Leonard writes after Raymond Chandler. He is also more static; his paintings do not have the marvelous minimalist fluidity that Faulkner’s have. But they are as visual: a bit of light here, a line drawn there. Suddenly, the portrait emerges: shape, colour, attitude, and its surroundings: dust, sun, thorns.
The unexpected in Leonard’s Western stories comes from their conclusion. There is no sign preparing the reader for it. The tales are kneaded, shaped and baked in foreboding and doom. Of them, only fatality, it seems, can emerge victorious. And though, most of the novels and short stories have a happy ending. His bad guys are often clumsy, or cowards, or just reasonable men – a personality flaw for a bad guy, which seals their doom and saves the day. How strange. Was it publishing policy at that time? Is it another sign of Leonard’s lack of maturity? Hard to say. Only one story escapes the pattern: Hombre again, Leonard’s undeniable masterpiece. All its characters are dark. They carry the stigmata of doom and violence. They very much resemble the characters of The Tonto Woman. But the story goes the opposite way.
I have written enough about Hombre already. Let’s spend some time with The Tonto Woman. From the first page of the collection I was waiting for it. It comes last, after 700 pages of unequal quality. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Written in 1982 when Leonard is almost sixty, it is the perfect text to close the collection. Eleven pages with not a misplaced or unnecessary word, eleven pages of total, absolute visual precision. I cannot think of a change that would improve the story. All of Elmore Leonard sits in these eleven pages. Ruben Vega, a Mexican middle-aged man and a bad, bad boy, meets a woman who, after being kidnapped by a Mojave tribe who tattooed her face, has been banished by her husband. “They did it so that, after I die, I be identified as a Mojave and my soul saved from hell” she explains. Her husband, a rich farmer owning a good chunk of the country, does not care what the tattoos are for. He sees them as a stain. Ruben Vega, a man who had so many women, who killed so many men, who spent his whole life stealing, a bad man, decides to give her back her pride. Every single line of these eleven pages is heavy with tension, sex and violence. Twice, Leonard has a very clear opportunity to end it all in shooting and blood. The characters are tailored for a final shootout. He decides otherwise. Not a single weapon is fired. And even if he leaves the story unfinished, he concocts an unsentimental ending where the possibility for good, unexpectedly, settles in.
October 24, 2023
A bit of a cheat: I read only one story from this collection. As part of a 2023 reading challenge, I was to read a western, not my usual genre. Asking my husband for a suggestion, he recommended Elmore Leonard's short novel, Hombre. I expected to plod through it and chalk it up to fulfilling a "requirement." Surprise! It is among the best writing I've ever read.
Hombre ticks off all the checkmarks of a typical American western tale, this one in 1884 Arizona: a stagecoach ride,(actually, a mud wagon in this iteration), an assortment of passengers from different walks of life, a holdup, hostages, escape and chase, and gunfights. Who will be killed? Who will survive? Yet while all the elements indicate stereotype, and at its most basic, Hombre is, indeed, stereotypical, the strength of Leonard's writing raises it far above that level.
A young man named Carl Everett Allen, who takes part in the events, narrates the story by writing about it months after it takes place. He invites the reader into his thoughts about both what has happened and into his self-reflection, as well as into his musings about the other characters. While his tone is conversational, Allen's narration consists of short, punchy sentences, appropriate for this genre.
Leonard's dialogue is tight, realistic, and brisk; the tension is a taut wire ready to snap. He describes the landscape in cinematic terms, easy to envision. In a mere one hundred pages, Leonard writes an unforgettable story.
Chosen by the Western Writers of American as one of the twenty-five greatest Western novels, a well-deserved recognition.
Brilliant and highly recommended.
Hombre ticks off all the checkmarks of a typical American western tale, this one in 1884 Arizona: a stagecoach ride,(actually, a mud wagon in this iteration), an assortment of passengers from different walks of life, a holdup, hostages, escape and chase, and gunfights. Who will be killed? Who will survive? Yet while all the elements indicate stereotype, and at its most basic, Hombre is, indeed, stereotypical, the strength of Leonard's writing raises it far above that level.
A young man named Carl Everett Allen, who takes part in the events, narrates the story by writing about it months after it takes place. He invites the reader into his thoughts about both what has happened and into his self-reflection, as well as into his musings about the other characters. While his tone is conversational, Allen's narration consists of short, punchy sentences, appropriate for this genre.
Leonard's dialogue is tight, realistic, and brisk; the tension is a taut wire ready to snap. He describes the landscape in cinematic terms, easy to envision. In a mere one hundred pages, Leonard writes an unforgettable story.
Chosen by the Western Writers of American as one of the twenty-five greatest Western novels, a well-deserved recognition.
Brilliant and highly recommended.
March 20, 2023
3.5/5 A solid collection of gritty and interesting westerns. Leonard has a lean and enjoyable style.
Four novels (plus short stories) ratings:
Last Stand at Saber River 4/5 - Insular, growing sense of tension, some interesting characters.
Hombre 3/5 - Anti-hero character, definitely good, but felt kinda predictable.
Valdez is Coming 3.5/5 - Good revenge tale with a satisfying conclusion.
Forty Lashes Less One 4/5 - Slightly lighter tone, great ending. My favorite of the four.
I didn't read all of the short stories, but "Trail of the Apaches" and "3:10 to Yuma" were good.
Four novels (plus short stories) ratings:
Last Stand at Saber River 4/5 - Insular, growing sense of tension, some interesting characters.
Hombre 3/5 - Anti-hero character, definitely good, but felt kinda predictable.
Valdez is Coming 3.5/5 - Good revenge tale with a satisfying conclusion.
Forty Lashes Less One 4/5 - Slightly lighter tone, great ending. My favorite of the four.
I didn't read all of the short stories, but "Trail of the Apaches" and "3:10 to Yuma" were good.
June 7, 2022
Uniformly amazing. Out of the four longer works, Hombre and Valdez among the best novels I’ve read in a long time, the stories are all terrific. Leonard even in his early work is confident, funny, great at structure and dialogue. Brings something fresh to staples and standard movements of the genre.
Leonard is a master. In a long career of crime novels and westerns, Leonard established himself as one of the best American writers across genres. Cinematic, funny, war for dialogue, love of desperate, cruel, and/or witty characters. The usual compliments—how to be original about this genius…
Leonard is a master. In a long career of crime novels and westerns, Leonard established himself as one of the best American writers across genres. Cinematic, funny, war for dialogue, love of desperate, cruel, and/or witty characters. The usual compliments—how to be original about this genius…
July 20, 2018
Hard tp believe that a western story could be funny, but Forty Lashes Less One was hysterically funny.
October 12, 2018
I reviewed the short novels individually and liked most of those. The short stories didn't do as much for me in general but The Nagual stood out and really reminded me of Leonard's crime fiction.
June 26, 2022
Leonard is a writer's writer. His methods, his opinion, his hand in the works are invisible. The reader gets only the story. And all the stories are entertaining.
September 23, 2018
As I read them:
Hombre *** – This has an interesting plot. An ex-Apache (who never was an Apache, but that’s not important here) goes on a stage ride with an eclectic mix of folks who dislike him for being an ex-Apache. After the stage is held up and they are being chased by murderers across the desert, the other passengers must rely on him to survive. The group has a nice dynamic with morally questionable characters and plenty of perspectives on race, justice and the clash of civilizations. The relative value of water vs. money is also an interesting point, though, like these other points here, it’s not explored in the novel in any depth.
I just don’t think you get a very good payoff after this terrific set up. It suddenly ends when ** SPOILER ALERT ** Russell decides – for all intents and purposes – to kill himself. He could have done that 40 pages earlier or 40 pages later. It was like Leonard just got tired of writing the novel and decided to end it there. (03/18)
Valdez Is Coming *** ½ -- This follows the classic Kung Fu plot line. A man is pursuing his life-long dream of selling high-end, high-fashion women’s shoes when he severely beaten by the mall rats for some spilling his soda on their iPhone. They leave him for dead, but he miraculously survives (though sometimes a buddy of his doesn’t). Little do they know he was once a special forces/samurai/ninja and when he recovers he comes for them to inflict his his awful revenge.
Leonard’s Mr. Majestyk follows the same lines (the melon farmer who just happened to be an Army Ranger.) It might not be his only novel that follows this plot line. It’s a classic form we see so much we hardly recognize it. (Hamlet, perchance.) It is a powerful format because the audience/reader easily gets invested in wanting to see the revenge. Revenge is a very potent emotion to tap.
Valdez Is Coming is a worthy addition to this genre. I think it is the best of the few Leonard novels I've read. I actually had some interest in the characters. Leonard does a nice job of introducing Valdez as almost a secondary character and building his role. I also like the secondary characters – Frank Turner is intriguing, the Segundo, the Mexican who Valdez first kills. They are deftly presented in a few words and possess some depth of character.
Why, though, is Frank Tanner so interested in killing the murderer of the former husband of his current lover? It really makes no sense. What’s he care? He’s a murderer and a cattle rustler himself, and the murderer did him a favor freeing up the woman he wanted. I thought at the end there’d be some dark, strange reason Tanner wanted the husband’s murderer, but that never comes up. Well, Valdez’ motivation is equally absurd, so I guess you just try not to think about those things and enjoy the revenge.
Like the other Leonard Western I read, Hombre, this novel just seems to quit. It’s like Leonard hits a word count or page count and just ends the story wherever he is. This same ending could have happened 50 pages earlier or 100 pages earlier. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll leave it there for you to decide yourself.
Another thing about that ending …. It’s a cliffhanger. As I was approaching the end of the novel, I thought it was going to be hard to reconcile the ending so that it’s not a “main street at high noon” shootout or a sappy kiss in front of a setting sun. Leonard harnessed all his considerable skills, creativity and energy, and … doesn’t finish it. You don’t know what really happens at the end. Okay.
The end is a disappointment, but Valdez Is Coming (I love the title) is a good, action-packed read with some interesting characters. It has the best characterization of the few Leonard novels I read. If you like action-packed reading with interesting characters, I recommend this book. (09/18)
Three-Ten to Yuma *** – This is widely cited as one of Leonard’s best Westerns, and one of the best of all time. It’s been made into a movie twice.
I guess I was expecting much more, because it left me kind of flat. The “sheriff doing the right thing even if it might mean death” theme is not particularly new. High Noon comes to mind. I could probably think of more.
And the idea of the Sheriff with a wife and three kids was handled as a cliché. There was no depth there. It also lacked any depth in analyzing why Scallen would risk his life. Was it simply duty, respect for the law, a personal code of honor? I don’t know for sure. All are touched on vaguely. This seems like the core of the story and it’s kind of brushed off.
(This is where the great detective stories like The Maltese Falcon excel. It presents the complicated motives of Spade as he investigates the death of his partner – a partner he didn’t necessarily like.)
So this story seemed like a scene from a movie, without the rest of the movie. I can see why a director would want to do this because they could provide the background. This is a nice action and suspense piece, but not much more. (03/18)
Hombre *** – This has an interesting plot. An ex-Apache (who never was an Apache, but that’s not important here) goes on a stage ride with an eclectic mix of folks who dislike him for being an ex-Apache. After the stage is held up and they are being chased by murderers across the desert, the other passengers must rely on him to survive. The group has a nice dynamic with morally questionable characters and plenty of perspectives on race, justice and the clash of civilizations. The relative value of water vs. money is also an interesting point, though, like these other points here, it’s not explored in the novel in any depth.
I just don’t think you get a very good payoff after this terrific set up. It suddenly ends when ** SPOILER ALERT ** Russell decides – for all intents and purposes – to kill himself. He could have done that 40 pages earlier or 40 pages later. It was like Leonard just got tired of writing the novel and decided to end it there. (03/18)
Valdez Is Coming *** ½ -- This follows the classic Kung Fu plot line. A man is pursuing his life-long dream of selling high-end, high-fashion women’s shoes when he severely beaten by the mall rats for some spilling his soda on their iPhone. They leave him for dead, but he miraculously survives (though sometimes a buddy of his doesn’t). Little do they know he was once a special forces/samurai/ninja and when he recovers he comes for them to inflict his his awful revenge.
Leonard’s Mr. Majestyk follows the same lines (the melon farmer who just happened to be an Army Ranger.) It might not be his only novel that follows this plot line. It’s a classic form we see so much we hardly recognize it. (Hamlet, perchance.) It is a powerful format because the audience/reader easily gets invested in wanting to see the revenge. Revenge is a very potent emotion to tap.
Valdez Is Coming is a worthy addition to this genre. I think it is the best of the few Leonard novels I've read. I actually had some interest in the characters. Leonard does a nice job of introducing Valdez as almost a secondary character and building his role. I also like the secondary characters – Frank Turner is intriguing, the Segundo, the Mexican who Valdez first kills. They are deftly presented in a few words and possess some depth of character.
Why, though, is Frank Tanner so interested in killing the murderer of the former husband of his current lover? It really makes no sense. What’s he care? He’s a murderer and a cattle rustler himself, and the murderer did him a favor freeing up the woman he wanted. I thought at the end there’d be some dark, strange reason Tanner wanted the husband’s murderer, but that never comes up. Well, Valdez’ motivation is equally absurd, so I guess you just try not to think about those things and enjoy the revenge.
Like the other Leonard Western I read, Hombre, this novel just seems to quit. It’s like Leonard hits a word count or page count and just ends the story wherever he is. This same ending could have happened 50 pages earlier or 100 pages earlier. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll leave it there for you to decide yourself.
Another thing about that ending …. It’s a cliffhanger. As I was approaching the end of the novel, I thought it was going to be hard to reconcile the ending so that it’s not a “main street at high noon” shootout or a sappy kiss in front of a setting sun. Leonard harnessed all his considerable skills, creativity and energy, and … doesn’t finish it. You don’t know what really happens at the end. Okay.
The end is a disappointment, but Valdez Is Coming (I love the title) is a good, action-packed read with some interesting characters. It has the best characterization of the few Leonard novels I read. If you like action-packed reading with interesting characters, I recommend this book. (09/18)
Three-Ten to Yuma *** – This is widely cited as one of Leonard’s best Westerns, and one of the best of all time. It’s been made into a movie twice.
I guess I was expecting much more, because it left me kind of flat. The “sheriff doing the right thing even if it might mean death” theme is not particularly new. High Noon comes to mind. I could probably think of more.
And the idea of the Sheriff with a wife and three kids was handled as a cliché. There was no depth there. It also lacked any depth in analyzing why Scallen would risk his life. Was it simply duty, respect for the law, a personal code of honor? I don’t know for sure. All are touched on vaguely. This seems like the core of the story and it’s kind of brushed off.
(This is where the great detective stories like The Maltese Falcon excel. It presents the complicated motives of Spade as he investigates the death of his partner – a partner he didn’t necessarily like.)
So this story seemed like a scene from a movie, without the rest of the movie. I can see why a director would want to do this because they could provide the background. This is a nice action and suspense piece, but not much more. (03/18)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 25, 2018Fiction L5812w 2018
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