Western novels

[Terrible Tim]

I am just finishing Robert B Parker's Appaloosa novel and will be on the look out for the other two novels, Resolution and Brimstone. I have enjoyed Appaloosa, it is an entertaining read. I am looking forward to the movie.
I would like to know if anyone has read any good (or great) western novels? Who are the best western authors? I must admit Appaloosa is only the second western novel I have ever read.

Many thanks,
TT.

[Malamute]

Not quite Old West (a bit earlier) is Gates of The Alamo by Stephen Harrington(?).
Set against the backdrop if the Texas War of Independence it tells the story of a family who get mixed up in the war. It has a great section on the seige and fall of the Alamo.  A good read.

[LeadAsbestos]

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Brilliant, absolutely like no other.

[Driscoles]

My absolutely favourite Western Novel is Johnny Vengeance by Frank Gruber.
Björn

[Ruarigh]

Pretty much anything by Louis L'Amour gets me wanting to game the old West. Likewise Oliver Strange's Sudden series. The Edge series by George G. Gilman is alright. I also used to read J. T. Edson's westerns, which are hugely cheesy, but a bit of fun. Plenty of source material in all of those. Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is well worth digging out, but I have never really liked anything else he did. Elmore Leonard's Valdez is Coming is another that I would highly recommend. Joe Millard also wrote a series of books that took their starting point from Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. I enjoyed reading those too.

[Aaron]

Another earlier one is J.F. Cooper's The Pioneers. It has Sioux, Pawnees, a wagon train and, of course, an aged Leatherstocking. Cooper has a distinctive writing style that people seem to either love or hate. Fortunately for me I fall into the former camp.

There is a novelization of John Wesley hardin's life by James Carlos Blake called The Pistoleer that is a great read also.

[BunkerMonkey]

Elmore Leonard by far is my favorite Western author. His full length novels are great and include "Valdez is Coming", "The Bounty Hunters", "The Law at Randado", "Last Stand at Saber River" and  "Forty Lashes Less One".

Also, there is a collection of his short stories that I highly recommend, "The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard". An abridged version is available in Books On CD format and includes readings by David Strathairn, Henry Rollins and  Tom Wopat. Perfect to listen to while painting.

[cmsciulli]

Zane Grey is supposed to be a good author in this genre, but I have not read anything by him. . . yet.

This weekend I'll be picking up a boatload of books that are being sold on Craig's list, and most seem to be western novels, alot by Zane Grey.  These are the title's I'm getting and all for $40!

The Lords of Discipline - Pat Conroy
And Ladies of the Club - Helen Hooven Santmyer
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
The Green Gauntlet - R.F. Delderfield
The Silver Treasury of Light Verse - Oscar Williams
Howard Hughes-The Untold Story - Peter Harry Brown
The Vicar of Christ - Walter F. Murphy
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Ron Hansen
Operation Zimmerman - Frank Geron
The First Man in Rome - Colleen McCullough
Walkers of the Wind - William Sarabande
Voice of the Eagle - Linda Lay Shuler
Code of the West - Zane Grey
Dream West - David Nevin
The American West - Selected readings from Mankind Magazine
The Bad Lands - Oakley Hall
New Trails - John Jakes and Martin H Greenberg
All our Days - R.M. Roberts
Northwest Passage - Kenneth Roberts
The Traveler - Don Coldsmith
Walk in my Soul - Lucia St. Clair Robson
Conquest - Oliver Payne
Warpath - Oliver Payne
The Scarlet Feather - Dale VAn Every
People of the River - W. Michael Gear
People of the Lake - Richard E. Leakey
People of the Wolf - W. Michael Gear
Reindeer Moon - Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
The Yellowstone - Winfred Blevins
She Who Remembers - Linda Lay Shuler
Double Barrel Western - Gene Shelton
Sacajawea- Guide to Lewis and Clark - Della Rowland
Comstock Crazy - Canyon O'Grady
The Fugitive Trail - Zane Grey
The Russian River - Gary McCarthy
The Virginia City Trail - Ralph Compton
The Great Land Swindle - Canyon O'Grady
Silver Slaughter - Canyon O'Grady
The Santa Fe Trail - Ralph Compton
Look the the Mountain - Legrand Cannon Jr
Wyoming - Zane Grey
The Last Ranger - Zane Grey
Sitting Bull War Chiefs - Bill Dugan
The Life and Death of Johnny Ringo - Ray Hogan
North of 36 - Emerson Hough
The Judas Killer - Jon Sharpe
The Hawk and the Dove - Leigh Franklin James
The Edge of the World - William Sarabande
Wyatt Earp - Stuart N Lake
Westward - Dana Fuller Ross
The Lonesome Gods - Louis L'Amour
World Explorers - Lewis and Clark - Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
The Book of Ruth - Jane Hamilton
The Cunning Man - Robertson Davies
Dakota - A Spirtual Geography - Kathleen Norris
Wonderous Times on the Frontier - Dee Brown
Great Plains - Ian Frazier
Trail of the Mountain Man - William W. Johnstone
Comanche Moon - Larry McMurtry
Expedition - Dana Fuller Ross
The Cowboys - William Dale Jennings
Great Gunfighters of the West - Carl W Breihan
Thunder in the Sky - William Sarabande
The Memoirs of Chief Red Fox - Fawcett Crest
The Lone Star Ranger - Zane Grey

[Terrible Tim]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am off to the library to see what is available...

TT.

[Kit Walker]

I would also recommend any of the books by Terry C. Johnston.  He wrote several series.  One series of nine books deal with the adventures of Titus Bass, a mountainman.  A second, 16 books I think, follows Irish immigrant, and veteran from the War Between the States, Seamus Donegan thru the Indian Wars of the late 1800s in the American West.  Sadly Terry died before finishing this series.  A third series of three books cover the journey of Jonas Hook searching for his kidnapped family after the Civil War.  A last series of three books follow George A Custer career out West and the life of his rumored Cheyenne son.  Terry took great pride in his historical accuracy and became great friends with many Historical authors.  He visited, camped on and rode horseback to many of the sites he wrote about.  His vast library of books, magazines, unpublished diaries and notes he made are now part of the Universty of Montanna's Library.  Terry conducted tours with small groups to many of these places.  I had the good fortune to go on two of these and get to know Terry.  He was in the process of writing a historical novel about the Alamo, but sadly we'll never see it.

[matakishi]

The Virginian by Owen Wister is one of my favourite novels, regardless of genre.

[Galloping Major]

There is a novelization of John Wesley hardin's life by James Carlos Blake called The Pistoleer that is a great read also.

The Pistoleer is a very enjoyable read, I read it a few years ago.
You can't go far wrong with Larry McMurtry, Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey.

[Gallowglass]

I would also recommend any of the books by Terry C. Johnston.  He wrote several series.  One series of nine books deal with the adventures of Titus Bass, a mountainman.  A second, 16 books I think, follows Irish immigrant, and veteran from the War Between the States, Seamus Donegan thru the Indian Wars of the late 1800s in the American West.  Sadly Terry died before finishing this series.  ........  Terry took great pride in his historical accuracy and became great friends with many Historical authors. 

I have the first four or five (I think) of these. There is a lot that's good in them, but the rendering of the Donegan character's accent sets my f**king teeth on edge. I don't doubt Mr Johnston's devotion to historical accuracy or love of the subject, but I very much doubt that he ever spoke to an Irish person for any length of time.

That said, don't pass up the opportunity to read them.

[Kit Walker]

There is a lot that's good in them, but the rendering of the Donegan character's accent sets my f**king teeth on edge. I don't doubt Mr Johnston's devotion to historical accuracy or love of the subject, but I very much doubt that he ever spoke to an Irish person for any length of time.

That said, don't pass up the opportunity to read them.

Sorry to hear it bothered you so much it caused you to swear.  It must of took you out of the story frequently.  I can't speak for Terry, I know he researched the various cultures he wrote about and talked to experts on the subjects.  I believe he also had a collection of personal correspondence/unpublished diaries from Irish soldiers serving out west.  Of course I'm sure speaking accent differs from a persons writing.  Not being an expert myself, does a current Irish accent differ any from a Irish accent from the 1800's? 

[Gallowglass]

  Not being an expert myself, does a current Irish accent differ any from a Irish accent from the 1800's? 

I can't answer this with any degree of certainty, but I will state that the first time I ever encountered a person from Newfoundland I honestly thought I was speaking to somebody from Wexford. Given that Irish people have been living in the place for almost 300 years (it even evolved its own Irish dialect) but the accent mirrors those who've never left...I think you get the picture. I would say that there was probably little difference between the accents of the Irish in the 1870s and the Irish of the early 20th century. My grandfather certainly didn't speak the way Donegan is written, nor do any Kilkenny people that I'm familiar with.

My problem is more with the language used to "give effect" to Donegan's accent. It suffers from a number of what I like to call "Victor McLaglenisms".

Look - to somebody who's not Irish, it really matters very little. Your enjoyment of the books is unlikely to be diminished. I'd certainly reiterate that they are well worth reading, but the "accent" ruins it for me. The main difficulty that I have is consistently being kicked out of what is otherwise a well-realized, well-researched story - akin to constantly hearing an out of tune instrument at the opera.

If the "accent" was well done, I'd give the books a 9.1 out of 10. Unfortunately, the accent largely kills them for me, so personally I'd give them a 6.1