Sackett's Land: A Novel

In Sackett's Land, we meet the first ancestor of the future Sackett clan to be immortalized in narrative. Englishman Barnabas Sackett gets in a bit of trouble in his homeland and sets off to the West to make a new home. This is really what L'Amour is all about, not "the West," per se, but "the Frontier." Discovery of new lands and finding a life in the wide open spaces. Sackett sails over the ocean and lands in what will become America. His trials and struggles make for highly interesting reading and L'Amour's sense for detail gives one a true feeling for what it must have been like back then. The most compelling of the series, and fine introduction to the First Family of frontier fiction.

While I believe that I have read most of the Sackett novels, this first one was always my favorite. It is definately the most unusual of the series, indeed, of anything that I've read by Louis L'Amour. Set in 1599, it is the story of Barnabas Sackett, founder of the Sackett clan in the New World. The Sacketts were fenmen (swamp men) eeking out an existance farming the little good land available to them, fishing for eels, smuggling, or going off to fight in the wars. It was the combination of the chance finding of a cache of Roman gold, along with a fight with an arrogant aristocrat, that put young Barnabas on the road to "adventure." Fleeing to London, he meets the contacts that he will need to set sail for a new world and a new life. The sword fights, pirates, and sea battles that follow are not what you expect in a "western", but they are quite good never-the-less. Upon surviving to reach America (after Roanoke, but before Jamestown) Barnabas rapidly sizes up the territory and the inhabitants and resolves to start his family there- far from kings and aristocrats. When he hears of the "far blue mountains" from the Indians that he is trading with, he makes up his mind to one day travel to them- and beyond.

Hello my name is Michael Toomey and I have just got done reading a book called Sackett's Land. It is another wonderful book written by the great western author of all times LOUIS L'AMOUR. Unlike most of his books the book starts out in England In the Fins. Barnabas Sackett is the Sackett in this book. He is the first Sackett to go to the Americas. It all started out with Barnabas getting in a fight with some on and then all hell breaks loose. The man who he got in a fight with is a powerful man with a lot of influence in England. Barnabas and Jublain are chased all through England. On is trip through England he meats a lot of different people. The question is will Barnabas make it to America and if he does will he make it back or be killed by savages? Well you just got to read it don't you.I would like to thank my English Teacher for giving me the chance do do this book review Thanks Mr. Powell

This a story of adventures that you can dream about. L'Amour does an outstanding job of describing the details of England and the new America. Barnabas Sackett finds gold coins and wants more out of life. It is exciting and uplifting. To see how he battles pirates and Indians and lives off the land. Not a western but an adventure story that is so well written you can't wait to read the next one to see how Barnabas turns out. I also listened to the audio tapes and they are great. The reader has an excellent voice.

This novel which introduced us to the intriguing saga of the Sackett family is by far the best of the series. Set in 17th century England and America, this book creates vivid images of life during a time when freedom was not a given right, but something you had to fight for. The courageous Barnabas Sackett flees to America to start a new life with nothing but the clothes on his back and a deep sense of pride. Struggling to survive in the wild untamed land of what is now the USA, Barnabas finds himself faced with escaping from vicious pirates, battling the elements of the weather, and often times being the first white man to come face to face with the American Indians of the region. L'Amour does a fine job at telling this adventurous tale which will keep you flipping the pages from start to finish.