Scan barcode
theecraigeth's review against another edition
2.0
A great disappointment, in heavy handed prose Dead Man’s Walk follows Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae upon first joining the Texas Rangers as they embark on an ill-planned and ill-fated journey through Comanche country to annex Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then a journey through Apache Country as prisoners of the Mexican Army, where they cross the titular Jornada del Muerto. Finally, returning back to Texas as the escorts of the Lady Carey, a British noblewoman formerly held prisoner in a leper colony.
McMurtry’s penchant for writing one-dimensional villains is generously extended here to all his characters in Dead Man’s Walk; our main protagonists Gus and Call are little more than early outlines of what they grow to be in Lonesome Dove and both lack the charm and aptitude that made them such compelling characters: Gus McCrae is grating, juvenile and sex obsessed; Call is rigid, wrathful and impersonable. The other Rangers are mostly nondescript, the exceptions being the commanders, always vain and inept; and two seasoned scouts, Shadrach and Bigfoot Wallace, who, while apparently competent, never seem able to prevent the various misfortunes that befall the Rangers. Perhaps the worst is Matilda Roberts, a whore, as so many of McMurtry’s important women characters are. Matty shows early promise as a character. She starts the book by catching a snapping turtle and throwing it at the campfire so it can be cooked. Part-way through the book becomes engaged to Shadrach, who is later accidentally killed during Colonel Caleb Cobb’s farcical last stand. By the end of the book, Matty has lost all of the boldness and assertiveness that she had in the early pages, and she alternatively mothers Woodrow Call, warms various male characters with her body at night and cries about the loss of her dear Shad.
Dead Man’s Walk also lacks the thematical richness of Lonesome Dove, which explored themes of aging, friendship and disillusionment. In the prequel, we follow the Texas Rangers as they stumble through misfortune after misfortune, which they escape through luck, another character’s intervention such as the wealthy Mrs Carey, or the irrational superstitions of the Rangers’ Comanche enemies. The Rangers are simply not agents in a story written about them. Worse still, as we get to the end of the book, Woodrow Call is just as angry and unsociable as he was when he started. He’s made a lot of promises to himself that he would do things differently if he were to one day command a troop of Texas Rangers, but we have no evidence that he’s learnt anything that might mean he is able to do so. Gus McCrae, on the other hand, is just as whore-crazed and insecure at the start as he is at the end.
McMurtry’s penchant for writing one-dimensional villains is generously extended here to all his characters in Dead Man’s Walk; our main protagonists Gus and Call are little more than early outlines of what they grow to be in Lonesome Dove and both lack the charm and aptitude that made them such compelling characters: Gus McCrae is grating, juvenile and sex obsessed; Call is rigid, wrathful and impersonable. The other Rangers are mostly nondescript, the exceptions being the commanders, always vain and inept; and two seasoned scouts, Shadrach and Bigfoot Wallace, who, while apparently competent, never seem able to prevent the various misfortunes that befall the Rangers. Perhaps the worst is Matilda Roberts, a whore, as so many of McMurtry’s important women characters are. Matty shows early promise as a character. She starts the book by catching a snapping turtle and throwing it at the campfire so it can be cooked. Part-way through the book becomes engaged to Shadrach, who is later accidentally killed during Colonel Caleb Cobb’s farcical last stand. By the end of the book, Matty has lost all of the boldness and assertiveness that she had in the early pages, and she alternatively mothers Woodrow Call, warms various male characters with her body at night and cries about the loss of her dear Shad.
Dead Man’s Walk also lacks the thematical richness of Lonesome Dove, which explored themes of aging, friendship and disillusionment. In the prequel, we follow the Texas Rangers as they stumble through misfortune after misfortune, which they escape through luck, another character’s intervention such as the wealthy Mrs Carey, or the irrational superstitions of the Rangers’ Comanche enemies. The Rangers are simply not agents in a story written about them. Worse still, as we get to the end of the book, Woodrow Call is just as angry and unsociable as he was when he started. He’s made a lot of promises to himself that he would do things differently if he were to one day command a troop of Texas Rangers, but we have no evidence that he’s learnt anything that might mean he is able to do so. Gus McCrae, on the other hand, is just as whore-crazed and insecure at the start as he is at the end.
madelaine__grace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
k8e888's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
mnichols_2's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alexandre_rl's review against another edition
4.0
Antépisode de Lonesome Dove. Les talents de conteur de McMurtry sont intacts et plusieurs scènes sont si adroitement dépeintes qu’on croirait voir un film. Il est agréable de retrouver Gus et Call, même s’ils y sont un peu trop passifs à mon goût. C’est également un roman beaucoup plus violent que Lonesome Dove: les cœurs sensibles préféreront s’abstenir. La finale est étrange et un peu décevante, mais dans l’ensemble c’est un bon western, bien qu’une ligue en-dessous du classique qui a lancé la série.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
5.0
I haven’t seen the Lonesome Dove television series nor have I read the first two books in this series. I chose to approach the series with the earliest book in the storyline and I felt it was great. Interesting. Well-written. Continuously engaging plot development. Great characters. Sadness. Intrigue. An appreciation for living in the present. I’m really excited about moving on to Comanche Moon but I have some other things to get through first. Thinking I’m going to love this series after this start. If you haven’t read it; I would.
jonwash's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Somebody poisoned the waterhole!
abigail_bonds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5