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Kilkenny #3
Kilkenny (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures): A Novel
As part of the Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures series, this edition contains exclusive bonus materials!
Kilkenny wasn't looking for trouble when he entered the Clifton House stage station, but trouble found him when a reckless youngster named Tetlow challenged him, drew his gun, and paid for it with his life.
Looking to escape a reputation that he never wanted, Kilkenny settles in the lonely mountain country of Utah, planning to ranch a high, lush valley. But the past is on his trail. Jared Tetlow is a powerful rancher determined to run his vast herd on the limited grasslands there--whether he has to buy out the local ranchers, run them out, or kill them. He'll cut down anyone who stands in his way, especially a man he already despises: the gunman named Kilkenny--the man who killed his son.
Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures is a project created to release some of the author's more unconventional manuscripts from the family archives.
In Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volumes 1, Beau L'Amour takes the reader on a guided tour through many of the finished and unfinished short stories, novels, and treatments that his father was never able to publish during his lifetime. L'Amour's never-before-seen first novel, No Traveller Returns, will also be released as a Lost Treasures publication, followed by Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2.
Additionally, many beloved classics will be rereleased with an exclusive Lost Treasures postscript featuring previously unpublished material, including outlines, plot notes, and alternate drafts. These postscripts tell the story behind the stories that millions of readers have come to know and cherish.
Kilkenny wasn't looking for trouble when he entered the Clifton House stage station, but trouble found him when a reckless youngster named Tetlow challenged him, drew his gun, and paid for it with his life.
Looking to escape a reputation that he never wanted, Kilkenny settles in the lonely mountain country of Utah, planning to ranch a high, lush valley. But the past is on his trail. Jared Tetlow is a powerful rancher determined to run his vast herd on the limited grasslands there--whether he has to buy out the local ranchers, run them out, or kill them. He'll cut down anyone who stands in his way, especially a man he already despises: the gunman named Kilkenny--the man who killed his son.
Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures is a project created to release some of the author's more unconventional manuscripts from the family archives.
In Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volumes 1, Beau L'Amour takes the reader on a guided tour through many of the finished and unfinished short stories, novels, and treatments that his father was never able to publish during his lifetime. L'Amour's never-before-seen first novel, No Traveller Returns, will also be released as a Lost Treasures publication, followed by Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2.
Additionally, many beloved classics will be rereleased with an exclusive Lost Treasures postscript featuring previously unpublished material, including outlines, plot notes, and alternate drafts. These postscripts tell the story behind the stories that millions of readers have come to know and cherish.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
190 people are currently reading
888 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
996 books3,473 followersLouis 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".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
February 23, 2022
This is a classic Western story. My second reading. There are five Kilkenny stories and this is the third one. Kilkenny is a gunfighter trying to find a better life and avoid violence. He finds a the Valley of Whispering Wind which is not a euphemism of a valley downwind from Bake bean eating cowboys. Here he decides to make his home and builds a cabin.
Of course trouble follows him in the form of Jared Tetlow a cattle baron whose son he killed in a fair gunfight. The town of Horsehead, which made me think of that iconic Godfather movie scene, is the stage for the fight between the little guy and the big guy with his remaining three sons and the vicious Havalik. His actual name and not a nickname for someone who loves licking ice cream. I wondered if Louis has a sense of humor in giving places and characters odd names.
The story follows a familiar path with the homesteaders in the way of Jared ruthlessly disposed of by his men. There is the continuing love interest with Nita who has also decided to set up a ranch in the area and a past love of Lance Kilkenny. Lots of gunfights, temper tantrums on both sides and bad guys who give the West a bad name for ambushes. A predictable ending with all the loose ends tied up well and nice to see one of Tetlow’s sons, Ben, has some morality.
I picked up this publication years ago and have just realized it’s the original 1954 Ace publication. The cover is not on Goodreads so I used another one.
I like reading Louis Westerns and enjoy the descriptions of the landscapes and the characters which evokes for me the Western genre. Is it based on reality, no but then is any genre.
Of course trouble follows him in the form of Jared Tetlow a cattle baron whose son he killed in a fair gunfight. The town of Horsehead, which made me think of that iconic Godfather movie scene, is the stage for the fight between the little guy and the big guy with his remaining three sons and the vicious Havalik. His actual name and not a nickname for someone who loves licking ice cream. I wondered if Louis has a sense of humor in giving places and characters odd names.
The story follows a familiar path with the homesteaders in the way of Jared ruthlessly disposed of by his men. There is the continuing love interest with Nita who has also decided to set up a ranch in the area and a past love of Lance Kilkenny. Lots of gunfights, temper tantrums on both sides and bad guys who give the West a bad name for ambushes. A predictable ending with all the loose ends tied up well and nice to see one of Tetlow’s sons, Ben, has some morality.
I picked up this publication years ago and have just realized it’s the original 1954 Ace publication. The cover is not on Goodreads so I used another one.
I like reading Louis Westerns and enjoy the descriptions of the landscapes and the characters which evokes for me the Western genre. Is it based on reality, no but then is any genre.
January 3, 2010
As I work my way through L'Amour's westerns I can't help but relive the fun I had when I read them the first time over 30 years ago...
These books are easy to read, yet very well written. Full of western cliches, yes but some how different. And, to be fair, they are loaded with historical accuracy.
This book is just another story about the gunfighter who wants to settle down and circumstances won't let him. Done before? Yes, many times. But still done so well by this author it remains full of excitement and surprises.
These books are easy to read, yet very well written. Full of western cliches, yes but some how different. And, to be fair, they are loaded with historical accuracy.
This book is just another story about the gunfighter who wants to settle down and circumstances won't let him. Done before? Yes, many times. But still done so well by this author it remains full of excitement and surprises.
May 29, 2022
This was the third installment in L'Amour's Kilkenny series, written in 1954. Kilkenny is on the move, looking for a quiet, out-of-the-way place to settle down ranching. He just killed a hot-headed young man who insulted him, and then drew on him. The witnesses clear him of any crime, but he'd rather find a place to live where his gunslinging reputation is unknown. His travels bring him to a rugged badlands country in southeastern Utah, south of today's Canyonlands National Park. There he finds an incredibly beautiful high valley, secluded and perfect for ranching. He builds a cabin and then makes the 2-day trek back to town for supplies. His peace and quiet end when he tangles with Jared Tetlow, a "cattleman" who has just gone around to the local ranchers buying up land, making them offers "they couldn't refuse". And Tetlow knows that Kilkenny is the man who killed one of his sons in the gunfight. Complicating everything is the reappearance of Kilkenny's former lover, Nita Riordan, who is also a rancher and looks to be squarely in the path of the rampaging Tetlow gang.
I noticed a close parallel in the on-again, off-again relationship of Kilkenny and Nita to that of Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba in Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. Nita's attitude toward Kilkenny mirrors that of Bathsheba's toward Gabriel in her time of crisis:
"Despite her anxiety it almost frightened her to think of seeing him again. She understood well enough his motives for leaving her as he had, and respected him for it even while she regretted it. That she was quite prepared to accept him despite what might happen he well knew. Yet the thought of seeing him again and the chance of losing him again frightened her."
It's hard to tell what reality L'Amour was coming from, or what his politics were, but this statement suggests that he was out of touch with some basic facts of American life: "For one man to grow so large ... meant many men must remain small or have nothing. The proper level lay between the two extremes, and this was the American way."
L'Amour is always tossing in "wisdom from the trail" tidbits: "From long practice he avoided metal on his clothing or horse. No man would wear glittering ornaments who was not a braggart or a fool. A chance reflection on a bright buckle or spangle had guided more than one bullet." Our hero is also into the practice of avoiding attention by building fires with "smokeless wood". Ahem, is that a real thing ? What wood is that ?
In Kilkenny, L'Amour spends quite a bit of time inside the mind of the antagonist Jared Tetlow, and it strengthens the book.
I noticed a close parallel in the on-again, off-again relationship of Kilkenny and Nita to that of Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba in Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. Nita's attitude toward Kilkenny mirrors that of Bathsheba's toward Gabriel in her time of crisis:
"Despite her anxiety it almost frightened her to think of seeing him again. She understood well enough his motives for leaving her as he had, and respected him for it even while she regretted it. That she was quite prepared to accept him despite what might happen he well knew. Yet the thought of seeing him again and the chance of losing him again frightened her."
It's hard to tell what reality L'Amour was coming from, or what his politics were, but this statement suggests that he was out of touch with some basic facts of American life: "For one man to grow so large ... meant many men must remain small or have nothing. The proper level lay between the two extremes, and this was the American way."
L'Amour is always tossing in "wisdom from the trail" tidbits: "From long practice he avoided metal on his clothing or horse. No man would wear glittering ornaments who was not a braggart or a fool. A chance reflection on a bright buckle or spangle had guided more than one bullet." Our hero is also into the practice of avoiding attention by building fires with "smokeless wood". Ahem, is that a real thing ? What wood is that ?
In Kilkenny, L'Amour spends quite a bit of time inside the mind of the antagonist Jared Tetlow, and it strengthens the book.
August 15, 2016
My true rating for this novel is 3.5 stars, so I'm going to go ahead and give it the four, because it's in my top five favorite western novels, and perhaps my favorite Louis L'Amour novel thus far.
"Kilkenny" is the last of a trilogy about the travels and battles of Lance Kilkenny--a man desperately trying to find peace in a world that just will not let him do so. I cannot say this any plainer than this: I LOVE this character. He is the embodiment of who I would like to be as a man, and, unlike a number of contemporary Western protagonists today, Kilkenny isn't a flawed character. He is complicated, complex, conflicted, but he always makes the right choice, when the choices are not easy to make. In a small way, he is almost too perfect, but that's what I want in my male western protagonists. I don't want a wishy-washy pansy who regrets the choices he has made, or who refuses to use his gun because he's tired of taking life, or who resorts to drinking and whoring to escape his all-too-painful memories of the past. No, Kilkenny has the occasional drink, but he drinks for pleasure, not for escape. He's infinitely chaste, and when he falls for a woman, it's for one woman, and no other. He knows who he is, and accepts the life God gave him, and he values his life enough to keep his gun and fight for the cause of justice whenever necessary. Few protagonists today are like Kilkenny, and I doubt I'll ever encounter another character like him again.
In this novel, Kilkenny finally finds a home--he builds a cabin out in the mountains of the whispering wind, and plans to live out his days in peace. Of course, after making his first trek to the local town, he encounters the villains, and thus the conflict begins. Nita, his "girlfriend" who has stuck with him throughout three novels, is now running the KR Ranch. An outside outfit, the 4T ranch, ride into town with thousands of head of cattle, and attempt to bully, kill, and force the smaller ranchers off of their land. The villain is Jared Tetlow, and, of course, he has a hired gunman to enforce his malignant objectives. Sure, this novel follows the standard western formula, but with enough twists and turns and originality to keep the story truly interesting. Indeed, I was so engulfed in this novel that I read it in two days, as I just could not wait to discover how the story ended, and boy was it satisfying. Most western writers are smart enough to know that we want the good guy to win and get the girl, and the bad guy to die, but L'Amour, in addition to providing all we expect, combines that story with exceptional writing skills. Indeed, L'Amour is the finest of all the western writers I've read, and of all of them, he is the closest I would come to calling a truly literary master. Most literary snobs look down on western writers, but some of them, Charles Portis, and L'Amour, are true masters of the craft, and his ability to create a setting and transport the reader into it is masterful, and something I will not soon forget.
L'Amour's westerns aren't gratuitously violent, but they are exceptionally satisfying. I LOVE the way he extends fight scenes, for example, and every shoot out is described in such a way that I can visualize exactly what movements the gunmen are making, what positions they are in, how the shot sounds, what the smoke smells like, the sound of the bullet bursting through a man's teeth, and the visceral sensation of a nick, a gut-shot, or a blast through the head...L'Amour provides it all. I enjoyed the ending of this novel perhaps more than any other I've read. I completed it entirely satisfied. Fortunately, L'Amour wrote a few short stories involving Kilkenny, so he hasn't left my life forever, but this trilogy is one that I will return to again and again, and you just can't say that for many westerns.
"Kilkenny" is the last of a trilogy about the travels and battles of Lance Kilkenny--a man desperately trying to find peace in a world that just will not let him do so. I cannot say this any plainer than this: I LOVE this character. He is the embodiment of who I would like to be as a man, and, unlike a number of contemporary Western protagonists today, Kilkenny isn't a flawed character. He is complicated, complex, conflicted, but he always makes the right choice, when the choices are not easy to make. In a small way, he is almost too perfect, but that's what I want in my male western protagonists. I don't want a wishy-washy pansy who regrets the choices he has made, or who refuses to use his gun because he's tired of taking life, or who resorts to drinking and whoring to escape his all-too-painful memories of the past. No, Kilkenny has the occasional drink, but he drinks for pleasure, not for escape. He's infinitely chaste, and when he falls for a woman, it's for one woman, and no other. He knows who he is, and accepts the life God gave him, and he values his life enough to keep his gun and fight for the cause of justice whenever necessary. Few protagonists today are like Kilkenny, and I doubt I'll ever encounter another character like him again.
In this novel, Kilkenny finally finds a home--he builds a cabin out in the mountains of the whispering wind, and plans to live out his days in peace. Of course, after making his first trek to the local town, he encounters the villains, and thus the conflict begins. Nita, his "girlfriend" who has stuck with him throughout three novels, is now running the KR Ranch. An outside outfit, the 4T ranch, ride into town with thousands of head of cattle, and attempt to bully, kill, and force the smaller ranchers off of their land. The villain is Jared Tetlow, and, of course, he has a hired gunman to enforce his malignant objectives. Sure, this novel follows the standard western formula, but with enough twists and turns and originality to keep the story truly interesting. Indeed, I was so engulfed in this novel that I read it in two days, as I just could not wait to discover how the story ended, and boy was it satisfying. Most western writers are smart enough to know that we want the good guy to win and get the girl, and the bad guy to die, but L'Amour, in addition to providing all we expect, combines that story with exceptional writing skills. Indeed, L'Amour is the finest of all the western writers I've read, and of all of them, he is the closest I would come to calling a truly literary master. Most literary snobs look down on western writers, but some of them, Charles Portis, and L'Amour, are true masters of the craft, and his ability to create a setting and transport the reader into it is masterful, and something I will not soon forget.
L'Amour's westerns aren't gratuitously violent, but they are exceptionally satisfying. I LOVE the way he extends fight scenes, for example, and every shoot out is described in such a way that I can visualize exactly what movements the gunmen are making, what positions they are in, how the shot sounds, what the smoke smells like, the sound of the bullet bursting through a man's teeth, and the visceral sensation of a nick, a gut-shot, or a blast through the head...L'Amour provides it all. I enjoyed the ending of this novel perhaps more than any other I've read. I completed it entirely satisfied. Fortunately, L'Amour wrote a few short stories involving Kilkenny, so he hasn't left my life forever, but this trilogy is one that I will return to again and again, and you just can't say that for many westerns.
September 5, 2022
Still one of my favorite authors.
8/10
8/10
February 8, 2021
Some days, when it's cold and sunny, you just need an old paperback from childhood. There is no high writing here, no moments of gasping character growth, just the steady story of a man doing the right thing.
L'Amour's women are the best, all women and all strength and all grace and all home.
Plus, Kilkenny is kinda awesome.
L'Amour's women are the best, all women and all strength and all grace and all home.
Plus, Kilkenny is kinda awesome.
September 20, 2019
A greedy cattleman attempts to create an empire by stealing from and murdering his neighbors. This novel shows the importance of self-defense.
April 20, 2017
Numero dos in the Louis L'Amour collection.
I wasn't aware, until reading some of these reviews, that this was the last book in a series featuring Lance Kilkenny - though I believe it can still be read by itself, it might have cleared up some confusion with Lance's love interest, Nita, with an implied bigger back story that this book didn't cover.
So far I've had a similar impression with this story as I did with the first Louis L'Amour. Easy to read, fast paced, but with numerous western cliches: an aloof gunslinger who strolls into town, trying to set up a new life for himself - to live in peace and quiet, but the circumstances won't let him; a love interest, from far back into his life, who conveniently finds herself in the same town as him.
Though admittedly he is quite likable.
I imagine this would be a good read on a plain or something. Nothing too deep - halfway cheesy - and a good escape into the Old West: where most government was either non-existent, or just getting started, and the law of the land was in the hands of whoever had the most guns, and most people.
I wasn't aware, until reading some of these reviews, that this was the last book in a series featuring Lance Kilkenny - though I believe it can still be read by itself, it might have cleared up some confusion with Lance's love interest, Nita, with an implied bigger back story that this book didn't cover.
So far I've had a similar impression with this story as I did with the first Louis L'Amour. Easy to read, fast paced, but with numerous western cliches: an aloof gunslinger who strolls into town, trying to set up a new life for himself - to live in peace and quiet, but the circumstances won't let him; a love interest, from far back into his life, who conveniently finds herself in the same town as him.
Though admittedly he is quite likable.
I imagine this would be a good read on a plain or something. Nothing too deep - halfway cheesy - and a good escape into the Old West: where most government was either non-existent, or just getting started, and the law of the land was in the hands of whoever had the most guns, and most people.
March 7, 2021
Kilkenny enters a stage station only to be challenged by a youngster who he is forced to shoot in self-defense. Hiding in the mountains, he is hunted by the young man's father who is trying to steal ranches in the area Kilkenny wants to live. Another good L'Amour western without the sex of more modern writers.
February 17, 2019
Ahh this book was so good. I don’t know what it is exactly but I freaking love Kilkenny (add in Anita Riordan? Beautiful). This is by far my favorite in the series. 10/10 recommend.
September 6, 2025
The Kilkenny series 01 Kilkenny by Louis L'Amour
3.5 Stars
challenging informative reflective sad tense
Fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus: Complicated
I have gotten into a Western phase of reading. I am currently in #SpaceOperaSeptember 2025 #SOS, and I am reading different genres on every other book (to keep it fresh). What is sort of funny, is that Space Operas are similar to Westerns in tone, SO that's been fun.
This is a new series I have started. I've read Loius L'Amour in the past, but it's been a LONG time. Also, The Kilkenny's is a series of books about a man (and family), trying to survive in a violent world...in standing up for himself.
I enjoyed it, but wanted to care more for the main character, but it seemed that the author kept me at "arm's length", instead of allowing me to understand his motivations more, than just reading about the experiences that he was having.
When I got to the end of the story, I wasn't totally excited about picking it up again for the sequel, but it also wasn't off-putting, either. I want to know what happens next. This book was also written in 1954, so the tone is a LOT different from the previous series I read by Robert B. Parker and Robert Knott (late 90s to 20-teens).
We will see how it goes when I pick up The Kilkennys 02 The Rider of Lost Creek.
3.5 Stars
challenging informative reflective sad tense
Fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus: Complicated
I have gotten into a Western phase of reading. I am currently in #SpaceOperaSeptember 2025 #SOS, and I am reading different genres on every other book (to keep it fresh). What is sort of funny, is that Space Operas are similar to Westerns in tone, SO that's been fun.
This is a new series I have started. I've read Loius L'Amour in the past, but it's been a LONG time. Also, The Kilkenny's is a series of books about a man (and family), trying to survive in a violent world...in standing up for himself.
I enjoyed it, but wanted to care more for the main character, but it seemed that the author kept me at "arm's length", instead of allowing me to understand his motivations more, than just reading about the experiences that he was having.
When I got to the end of the story, I wasn't totally excited about picking it up again for the sequel, but it also wasn't off-putting, either. I want to know what happens next. This book was also written in 1954, so the tone is a LOT different from the previous series I read by Robert B. Parker and Robert Knott (late 90s to 20-teens).
We will see how it goes when I pick up The Kilkennys 02 The Rider of Lost Creek.
August 29, 2018
Early L'Amour effort (originally published in 1954)--great story about a loner gunman looking for a place to settle down, who gets caught in a range war. By the time the dust settles the bad guys have been vanquished, the good guys have survived and the hero gets the girl. What's not to like?
Louis is a storyteller, pure and simple. The prose is kinda clunky in this one, but the story shines through. I've read all his novels, several times each (at least) and I'd put this in the middle of the pack.
Louis is a storyteller, pure and simple. The prose is kinda clunky in this one, but the story shines through. I've read all his novels, several times each (at least) and I'd put this in the middle of the pack.
January 23, 2021
I only recently realized I had missed the third book. If you liked the firdt two, you will like this one. He finds a valley he names the Valley of the Whispering Wind and his description makes it sound like heaven on earth. A cattle boss who is moving a large number of cattle to the area, simply pushes his herds and begin a process of eliminating competitors. The plot of 3 is much like 2. Naturally Nita had moved in before him. He also meets an old friend from the War by the name of Dolan. It is short, delivers , then ends. Yes, L'Amour finishes the story.
November 7, 2018
A wonderful look into another world. Got to love Kilkenny - no one brings that man down.
June 28, 2022
As usual when reading a Louis L'Amour book, when I get started it is hard to stop. I read this book
in about one day. I have read this story before, years ago but I love these western stories.
in about one day. I have read this story before, years ago but I love these western stories.
September 3, 2016
This isn't four-star writing by any means. I spent a lot of inward sighs on the adverb mania, the head-hopping, the uncertain antecedents ... I could go on, but I don't even want to, because Kilkenny's back, and apparently that's all this Western-loving girl needs to give a book four stars.
Happily (the adverbs are contagious), this trilogy has actually (oh my) grown the characters from the first book to this one--or more accurately, grown their circumstances around them so that each book isn't a repeat of the last. Well, other than the Range War Drags Kilkenny Into Trouble trope, and the Why Can't Everyone Let The Tired Gunfighter Live His Life Peacefully trope. Ah, contented reader sigh. These stories are my brain candy, and they hold my heart by default. L'Amour would have to work hard to dissatisfy me. I love the love he had for the great old American West, and I love the love between Kilkenny and Nita. I love the steel-nerved gunfighter claiming himself a home at last and giving it a (halfway sentimental) name.
Now I'm off to watch some Gunsmoke (and you think I'm kidding).
Happily (the adverbs are contagious), this trilogy has actually (oh my) grown the characters from the first book to this one--or more accurately, grown their circumstances around them so that each book isn't a repeat of the last. Well, other than the Range War Drags Kilkenny Into Trouble trope, and the Why Can't Everyone Let The Tired Gunfighter Live His Life Peacefully trope. Ah, contented reader sigh. These stories are my brain candy, and they hold my heart by default. L'Amour would have to work hard to dissatisfy me. I love the love he had for the great old American West, and I love the love between Kilkenny and Nita. I love the steel-nerved gunfighter claiming himself a home at last and giving it a (halfway sentimental) name.
Now I'm off to watch some Gunsmoke (and you think I'm kidding).
February 28, 2021
I was in the mood for some more westerns, so I borrowed the Kilkenny omnibus from OverDrive. Oddly, this, the third book, is the first in the ebook, followed by The Rider of Lost Creek and The Mountain Valley War, and by a couple of short stories that also feature Lance Kilkenny. So I'm just now getting to the third (2nd in sequence) book.
Or maybe I'll stop. It's a lot of western stories all in one short week.
My husband and I have read all of the L'Amour western novels and have them in a nice matching hardcover edition that I found here and there in used-book stores. We used to get a lot of fun from getting out the big atlas and seeing where in the US these stories were taking place. I wish I could give this more than 3 stars, but "I like it" is just exactly right for a re-read of this.
Or maybe I'll stop. It's a lot of western stories all in one short week.
My husband and I have read all of the L'Amour western novels and have them in a nice matching hardcover edition that I found here and there in used-book stores. We used to get a lot of fun from getting out the big atlas and seeing where in the US these stories were taking place. I wish I could give this more than 3 stars, but "I like it" is just exactly right for a re-read of this.
March 28, 2023
A sizable share of the positive reviews of this book appear to be people that first read it in their youth and are now enjoying re-reading it for nostalgia value. I have no such nostalgia and can say straightforwardly that both this and the other L'Amour book I've read are lowest denominator dreck.
Apparently I am reading these Kilkenny stories backwards. I had already read Monument Rock, the last of the series. I had thought this one was the beginning but now I see that Goodreads indicates it is the third one. It doesn't matter much; I don't think I'm missing anything by reading them out of order. The stories don't build on themselves and the characters don't evolve or change. Start wherever you want.
These are very much black hat/white hat stories where manly, virtuous men uphold the values of law and order and the virtue of their women-folk against dastardly, thieving outlaws who will stop at nothing to run roughshod over any who stand in their way. They are essentially children's stories from another time, except people get shot.
Apparently I am reading these Kilkenny stories backwards. I had already read Monument Rock, the last of the series. I had thought this one was the beginning but now I see that Goodreads indicates it is the third one. It doesn't matter much; I don't think I'm missing anything by reading them out of order. The stories don't build on themselves and the characters don't evolve or change. Start wherever you want.
These are very much black hat/white hat stories where manly, virtuous men uphold the values of law and order and the virtue of their women-folk against dastardly, thieving outlaws who will stop at nothing to run roughshod over any who stand in their way. They are essentially children's stories from another time, except people get shot.
May 26, 2021
For a bit of escapism and relief from more serious material, Louis L'Amour has been my go to for more than fifty years. Shooting, fisticuffs, baddies and the good guy gets the pretty lady, what could be bad about that?
May 3, 2024
I totally get why pulpy westerns hung around for so long, easy to read, clear good and bad guys, roughing it in the desert, gunslingers taking justice into their own hands, deputize me sheriff. Yeehaw!
July 27, 2010
Kilkenny is one of my favorite of L'Amour's characters. A hero and a gunfighter.
June 3, 2009
Lance Kilkenny fights off cattle rustlers, saves town and gets girl - typical Louis L'Amour plot. It is a good book to pass the time on an airplane, especially from Wichita, Kansas, to Chicago.
September 18, 2009
First L'Amour book. Didn't love it...didn't hate it. Took a bit getting used to, might try another now that I know what to expect.
December 1, 2013
Not one of his best. I just didn't get involved in the story and the love interest was annoying.
February 18, 2015
It didn't really give me the adventure I was hoping for. I will read more of his books but this one was a little dry...
September 8, 2019
good read...
June 4, 2021
Another good story from Louie L'Amour. This one centers on a range war and as always the hero gets his girl in the end.
October 9, 2017
#1 in the Kilkenny series (In 1954, this was the first Kilkenny novel - two Kilkenny novella were published in 1947 under the name Jim Mayo.) The Kilkenny series is confusing, there are three novels, the second two being reworked from the 1947 novellas, and a short story included in the 1986 collection Dutchman's Flat and finally the novella that provided the title for the 1998 collection Monument Rock. Given the L'Amour family's propensity for repackaging the late authors material, these works may well also appear elsewhere.
#1 Kilkenny series - Kilkenny wasn’t looking for trouble when he entered the Clifton House stage station, but trouble found him when a reckless youngster named Tetlow challenged him, drew his gun, and paid for it with his life. Looking to escape a reputation that he never wanted, Kilkenny settles in the lonely mountain country of Utah, planning to ranch a high, lush valley. But the past is on his trail. Jared Tetlow is a powerful rancher determined to run his vast herd on the limited grasslands there—whether he has to buy out the local ranchers, run them out, or kill them. He’ll cut down anyone who stands in his way, especially a man he already despises: the gunman named Kilkenny—the man who killed his son.
#1 Kilkenny series - Kilkenny wasn’t looking for trouble when he entered the Clifton House stage station, but trouble found him when a reckless youngster named Tetlow challenged him, drew his gun, and paid for it with his life. Looking to escape a reputation that he never wanted, Kilkenny settles in the lonely mountain country of Utah, planning to ranch a high, lush valley. But the past is on his trail. Jared Tetlow is a powerful rancher determined to run his vast herd on the limited grasslands there—whether he has to buy out the local ranchers, run them out, or kill them. He’ll cut down anyone who stands in his way, especially a man he already despises: the gunman named Kilkenny—the man who killed his son.
August 10, 2018
I'm like a speck of dust and this book is the vacuum. I opened this book and from sentence three until the closing chapter, the vacuum held its suction. I was gone... This book has a lot of cliche western elements, but the writer tells his story so well that it never becomes a drag. I'd that's most of the elements here that were negative. I also the occasional tidbits of clever knowledge refreshing.
However, I did find the godlike superhero powers of the main character a bit excess. Like could this guy please have something he's not good at? He's always taking the bad guys for a beating, and while it was enjoyable, I felt like this book lacked real tension because the main character has no vulnerabilities. He's "unbelievably" (emphasis on unrealistic) good at everything. Throughout the book, he gives the bad guys a beating but never really suffers any true beating, which to me lacks a depth of realness to it.
That said, I enjoyed this book immensely, and I have an author I will certainly revisit on occasion.
However, I did find the godlike superhero powers of the main character a bit excess. Like could this guy please have something he's not good at? He's always taking the bad guys for a beating, and while it was enjoyable, I felt like this book lacked real tension because the main character has no vulnerabilities. He's "unbelievably" (emphasis on unrealistic) good at everything. Throughout the book, he gives the bad guys a beating but never really suffers any true beating, which to me lacks a depth of realness to it.
That said, I enjoyed this book immensely, and I have an author I will certainly revisit on occasion.
November 2, 2023
I found this book in the library and decided to read it on the spur of the moment. I wanted to read another Louis L'Amour novel and there it was. I didn't know it was the third in a series. It didn't matter, though. L'Amour let me know who the character was swiftly and the story stood alone.
Kilkenny (the character) is a typical Western hero--tough, a man of few words who does his talking through his actions, solitary. He isn't completely typical, however. He has some education, surprising class, and an unbiased kindness. He just has a fast gun and skills to handle trouble, which he wants no part of. He's come to mountain country in Utah, looking for some land where he can ranch and mind his own business. The trouble is, circumstances always seem to make everyone else's business his own.
Kilkenny again has to deal...deal with the cards in front of him. His reluctance, his high responsibility level, his competence and his vulnerability all combine to make for a riveting story I found enjoyable.
Kilkenny (the character) is a typical Western hero--tough, a man of few words who does his talking through his actions, solitary. He isn't completely typical, however. He has some education, surprising class, and an unbiased kindness. He just has a fast gun and skills to handle trouble, which he wants no part of. He's come to mountain country in Utah, looking for some land where he can ranch and mind his own business. The trouble is, circumstances always seem to make everyone else's business his own.
Kilkenny again has to deal...deal with the cards in front of him. His reluctance, his high responsibility level, his competence and his vulnerability all combine to make for a riveting story I found enjoyable.
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