Lando (Sacketts #7) ★★★★☆

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 Title: Lando

 Series: Sacketts #7

 Author: Louis L'Amour

 Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

 Genre: Western

 Pages: 176

 Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Lando Sackett was given into the care of a neighbor when his mother died and his father just took off. Lando ended up taking off and living off the land and eventually calls out the man who stole his inheritance.

He heads out West with a tinker Gypsy, finds out his uncles are on the trail to kill him (for the sin of his father daring to marry their sister), comes across the fact that his father knew where a sunken treasure ship is and finds out that his dad isn't dead and always meant to return but couldn't, due to being in a mexican prison.

Lando saves the town from the gambler and is headed out West again.

The End (sunset and all)

My Thoughts:

L'Amour definitely has a thing for skipping huge chunks of time. Lando spends 6 years in the mexican prison and that time and his rescue take about 3 pages. He is skipping from peak to peak in the story and only gives us details when it suits the story he wants to tell. A very different style than what I'm used to in SFF.

I had read this in highschool but the only thing I remembered was the prizefight at the end. But my goodness, it was worth remembering. A boxing fight where the crowd is under the control of the gambler and using dirty tricks against Lando. A rifleman trying to shoot him from a window. His Ranger friends showing up and making things even. The joy, sweat, blood and tears of one man fighting another. This fight is why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 3.5.

The rest of the book was pretty good too. Showed how greed and pride could destroy men from the inside and how obsession could take over and ruin a man from living a quiet, satisfying life. A great Western that shows Rugged American Individualism at its best.

To close, the cover. While this edition does a decent job of showing the prizefight at the end, the guy just doesn't look like Lando. THIS cover does a much better job:

Now that's a MUSTACHE!

★★★★☆

1. Sackett’s Land (Book 1)
   
2. To the Far Blue Mountains (Book 2)
3. The Warrior’s Path (Book 3)
4. Jubal Sackett (Book 4)
5. Ride the River (Book 5)
6. The Daybreakers (Book 6)