Silver Canyon: A Novel

Loved this book, told in the first person this is Matt Brennan who rides into town and into trouble - there are two ranchers who are fighting a smaller third holding who is between them, they want his land and water rights. Within minutes of getting to town both men tell him to join their crew - he refuses both and goes out to see Ball, on the third place - but not before he has fallen in love with the woman of his dreams. If he is going to set up house he is going to need some assets behind him, he likes Ball, the old man caught between the two ambitious ranchers, and he makes a deal to be a fighting partner for the spread. Between the two of them they think they can make it work. This is about much more than settling the problems of three men out for power - Brennan has to make peace with them all, but at the same time he has to sort out the huge man, Park, who is the current suitor for Moira (the woman Matt has fallen in love with) but there is also something sinister in Parks past - and in his current dealings. There is also something going on with a crooked lawyer called Booker who seems to be instigating trouble in the background. Brennan resolves all so that peace can reign in the valley - and its really well done. This is a resolution that I didn't expect but like all of L'amour's books, there are some complex relationships based on loyalty and respect rather than black and white.

When I tell people that I love Louis L'Amour I get some pretty weird looks in return. To my friends I am known to read quite a bit of heavy history and biography and it seems odd to them that, given my normal reading diet, I could find anything good to say about such "light" reading as L'Amour. Still I find L'Amour's talesmithing abilities to be without peer.L'Amour wrote with a distinctive style and filled his stories with action and intrigue. No, his works are not the extremely violent works that typify modern westerns like UNFORGIVEN or OPEN RANGE. But then L'Amour wrote in a time when such graphic action would not have been readily accepted.With all this in mind, I loved SILVER CANYON, a tale of vengeance, lies and, as with virtually all of L'Amour's stories, of the good guy winning in the end. The tiny western hamlet of Hattan's Point is a sleepy town until the day that Matt Brennan seems to bring with him a heated, all out war that involves practically everyone in town. Matt makes friends and enemies with equal ease. He also finds the love of his life and is in hot pursuit despite her being the daughter of one of the main combatants in the feud. Who will win out? Read SILVER CANYON.THE HORSEMAN

Louis L'Amour wrote many, many westerns and in my opinion this is one of the best of them. The story line is very cohesive and involving. The characters are rich and well developed. As always L'Amour weaves a rich and very detailed landscape, with a lot of attention to details. The plot was intriguing and kept you guessing right up until the end. Just a very, very well written story!

I have read many Louis L'Amour books. But this one is my favorite! If you like really good gunfights, classic western scenery in canyon country, along with plenty of enemies and the odds against the hero, you will love this book. This is the story of Western drifter, Matt Brennan. One sunny day he drifts into the small Western town of Hattan's Point and catches sight of the girl of his dreams. Of course she thinks of him as an overconfident and cocky cow-puncher with no future involving her. But Matt plans to change that after he inherits the Two-Bar, a massive cattle ranch with plenty of valued water and the best graze around for miles. Of course every outlaw and cut-throat in the area also wants the ranch, and Matt has to defend it from the nasty outfits' hired hands with nobody but himself and his trusty firearms by his side. This was a great book with plenty of outdoor action in the desert canyon country of Utah along with enjoyable characters and a quality story.