Flint (The Louis L'Amour Collection)

I've read quite a few westerns by the late, great Louis L'Amour, but had never read Flint. Was quite curious to do so, as I recently wrote a western myself and have been email corresponding with a good number of other newer writers of westerns...and one book that almost all of them admired in particular, was Flint. Having just finished reading Flint, it is easy to see why this one in particular is so highly respected by the western writers. In Flint, the main character is an educated, urbane, complex fellow, a man really with no real name. He goes off from New York after a doctor tells him he is dying, goes off to the west where he had first come from...goes there to die. Once there, he takes the name Jim Flint, after a gunfighter, also Flint, who had raised him. Flint thinks he's going to go to this hide out he knows of, kick back and die in peace, but of course he is wrong. As soon as he gets off the train trouble starts. Flint is a man who thinks he's soon to die, and as such he "just doesn't give a damn." This makes him one unusual character. Flint is a book with a complex plot, full of interesting twists and turns, and although I've enjoyed almost every Louis L'Amour book I've read, this one really does stand out as a classic. A book that's hard to put down, fun to read, and hard to beat, Flint is a MUST read for every fan of good westerns. Highly recommended.

This is a classic western. The story opens with a man on a train, Flint, running away from civilization. At first we know very little about him, but as the story unfolds, we learn more about him. There are a couple mysteries, who is he and what does he want? The story moves along quickly, and yet there are lots of details that flush out the people, the location, and the background. This is one of the Louis L'Amour books I'll reread fairly often. Louis L'Amour was one of the most popular writers. All total his books sold in the tens of millions. His heroes were honest men and women, tough with inner strength. Mostly they wanted to be left along, but when trouble came their way, they dealt with the trouble. As a young man Louis spent a couple years out in the West, he talked with people who had lived during the wild times. So he knew the stories, he knew the flavor, and this comes through in his writing. If you are new to Louis L'Amour's books, give this one a try.

I've read every Louis L'Amour novel (a legacy from my father), and enjoyed them all. Flint is my favorite. The character development and plot development are both phenomenal, and the descriptions of fight scenes are great as well. I'm a sucker for the 'orphan raised by gunslinger' theme, as well, I guess ... I really like the background story for Flint.I think the theme which dominated for me, in the book, was the attention to the fact that since Flint believes he will die anyway (and has nothing to live for, regardless) -- he becomes such a dangerous man to the villains -- because he doesn't play by the rules they're used to -- he attacks them head-on. In the end, Flint is like a good cup of hot cocoa, or your favorite homemade meal ... it's comfort food for me as a reader, and I have to dive into it every once and awhile.

...diagnosed with a short time to live,wealthy New York Financier James T. Kettleman has come to a lonely refuge to die,much as he had lived,alone ...escaping a cold, selfish wife and her conniving "do anything for a buck" father,he comes to a place described to him years before over a small campfire by the only friend he ever had...cold,hard eyed,paid assassin,Jim Flint... leaving his lair, riding an ancient mare with a six-shooter brand,Kettleman rides to a remote outpost to retrieve some packages he mailed to himself under the name"Jim Flint"...he rides into trouble-hunting gunslingers and finds himself smack dab in the middle of one of the bloodiest range wars in the history of the old west... a range war engineered by his old nemises whom he thought was back in New York...this turn of events brings his former life and all he wanted to leave behind rushing to meet the life he has chosen...surprising his past and present enemies as well as his new friends and acquaintences when they learn that this man they thought they all knew was one of the most feared pistol-fighters ever...he was "The Kid At The Crossing"... gripping,spine tingling...L'amour puts you right there as Jim Flint takes them on...FIVE STARS+

Returning to his beloved West to die, James Kettleman is not at all who or what he appears to be to the casual observer. Raised in a rather unusual fashion by a quiet, deadly, and unusual man, Kettleman comes back to the West of his early years after some highly successful years in New York. This "Kid At The Crossing" (you'll understand once you begin reading) quietly steps off the train that has brought him back and finds himself smack-dab in the middle of trouble, and drawing unwanted attention. This is without a doubt THE BEST western novel that Louis L'Amour wrote. There are plenty of worthy contenders among his works (Conagher, Reilly's Luck, Hondo, The First Fast Draw, and others) but they all trail behind this one. It's full of intriguing characters, great character studies, superb descriptions of the New Mexico countryside, and plenty of action. Some well-written twists and surprises along the way, too. I can't count how many times I have read this one through the years!