Very similar to the 'Western' story from All the Pretty Horses(C. McCarthy) once Lando nears the border. ( )

Historical Fiction. A young man after losing his family, running away from home and raising himself in the mountains of Tennessee heads west to make his fortune. On the way he learns to fight, makes some friends and enemies, and learns his father was much more than he thought. He attempts to find his fathers treasure and gets captured and put in a Mexican prison as slave labor. He escapes the prison and gets revenge on his old enemies.

I like ready Louis L'Amour's books, and his Sackett series is some of his best work but they do tend to fit a pattern. I enjoyed the book and will likely read it again someday. ( )

Lando is the 8th book in Louis L’Amour’s Sackett Family series of which I have been reading on and off for years. This particular story features Orlando Sackett, a young man who has had misfortune follow him all his life. He ends up in Texas and involved in a hunt for missing pirate plunder. He is captured and spends years in a Mexican jail, when he escapes he returns to Texas and plans revenge on those who wronged him.

Although there was plenty of action in this story, I felt it was a little thin on story-line. The reader is told that Lando spends six years in jail, but I would rather have read a little more about this as he went into jail a boy, and came out a fully formed man. As the story progressed, characters came and went with very little explanation, leaving me confused as to their purpose or motives. I also felt that the ending seemed very rushed and wasn’t really very conclusive. I thought perhaps the next book in the series will continue Lando’s story, but a quick check shows that the next few books deal with a different member of the Sackett clan.

Overall this was a very quick read that I was able to finish in one sitting. It was enjoyable enough at the time, but I highly doubt that I will remember much about this story in the future. ( )

As a child Lando is left in the care of a faithless neighbor, but within a few years strikes out on his own, heading west. His travels take him eventually to Texas and Mexico, competing with outlaws and relatives on a quest for gold. Standard but enjoyable fare from this author. ( )

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Title: Lando
Series: Sacketts #7
Author: Louis L'Amour
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Western
Pages: 176
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Lando Sackett was given into the care of a neighbor when his mother died and his father just took off. Lando ended up taking off and living off the land and eventually calls out the man who stole his inheritance.

He heads out West with a tinker Gypsy, finds out his uncles are on the trail to kill him (for the sin of his father daring to marry their sister), comes across the fact that his father knew where a sunken treasure ship is and finds out that his dad isn't dead and always meant to return but couldn't, due to being in a mexican prison.

Lando saves the town from the gambler and is headed out West again.

The End (sunset and all)

My Thoughts:

L'Amour definitely has a thing for skipping huge chunks of time. Lando spends 6 years in the mexican prison and that time and his rescue take about 3 pages. He is skipping from peak to peak in the story and only gives us details when it suits the story he wants to tell. A very different style than what I'm used to in SFF.

I had read this in highschool but the only thing I remembered was the prizefight at the end. But my goodness, it was worth remembering. A boxing fight where the crowd is under the control of the gambler and using dirty tricks against Lando. A rifleman trying to shoot him from a window. His Ranger friends showing up and making things even. The joy, sweat, blood and tears of one man fighting another. This fight is why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 3.5.

The rest of the book was pretty good too. Showed how greed and pride could destroy men from the inside and how obsession could take over and ruin a man from living a quiet, satisfying life. A great Western that shows Rugged American Individualism at its best.

To close, the cover. While this edition does a decent job of showing the prizefight at the end, the guy just doesn't look like Lando. THIS cover does a much better job:

★★★★☆ ( )