Although this one in the series is not as good as Lonesome Dove, I was still pleasantly surprised by just how good it turned out to be. Obviously Gus Although this one in the series is not as good as Lonesome Dove, I was still pleasantly surprised by just how good it turned out to be. Obviously Gus Mcrae is absent from this segment, but Captain Woodrow Call still stands out as a great character to build a story around. And as Call sets out to hunt down a murdering bandit, his old partner, Pea Eye joins him and stands out as a great player in Gus's absence.
As with the first novel, there were some huge surprises in this one, many that were introduced right from the get-go, but as new characters were developed and a new plot unfolded, all the surprises worked perfectly for the story as a whole.
One addition that Larry McMurtry used was bringing the real life outlaw, John Wesley Harden, into the tale. The old outlaw didn't really affect to outcome in any way but his presence did bring some nitty-gritty spice to the tale.
I am so glad that I found, not only Lonesome Dove, but this book as well. As a series they stand out as one of the best westerns I have read. Absolutely epic. ...more
This was a great piece of historical fiction. It's nice to have a moment from the past presented in unabashed, brutal honesty, and fact, instead of thThis was a great piece of historical fiction. It's nice to have a moment from the past presented in unabashed, brutal honesty, and fact, instead of the romanticized Hollywood version. I must admit that I enjoyed a couple of the latest movies on the subject, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp, but as great as they are, they still miss a ton of details to the overall story, and they take some extreme liberties to enhance entertainment values. I'm sure Russell had to use her imagination to fill in the gaps to create a fluid story, but even if her attempts were off, I still believe she got the facts concerning the heart and soul of the event and its characters correct. Epitaph is much more than a story about a gunfight, or about Wyatt Earp and John "Doc" Holiday. This story encompasses all the supporting characters and surrounding events that makes it entertaining and informative from beginning to end. The Earp brothers, the wives and women in their lives, the Clantons and McLaureys, the politics that shaped the people and the events, it's all here. And there is a great wrap up to the story, leading all the way to Wyatt and Josies last days in Los Angeles that explain their lives at the end and how the story of The Gunfight at the OK Corral became famous. You wont find any "I'll be your huckleberry" or "You're a daisy if you do" but I am content with “I am damned if I will spend my time listenin' to ungrammatical, repetitious, imbecilic nonsense without a challenge!” This is an exceptional book and I recommend it to all....more
I grew up with this event taking place and always wondered about the details. And boy did this give me some details. I guess the frustrating part abou I grew up with this event taking place and always wondered about the details. And boy did this give me some details. I guess the frustrating part about the story is knowing all the details but still being uncertain about Patty's guilt. And only she will ever really know the truth. After reading the story I couldn't help but think that even though she had been kidnapped, that at her core, she was just another anti-government punk who took the opportunity to become a rebel. But then she was only seventeen, and she was subjected to a nightmare situation that would rattle even the strongest of individuals. Maybe she did go willingly after a while, but can we blame her, knowing her age and the ease in which someones reasoning could become warped under those conditions?. This was a pretty interesting bit of our history, and there are a ton of side characters and events tied to the time and story. I would recommend this one to my friends....more
The only thing about my death that I have decided for certain is that I do not want to be embalmed. This book gave me some ideas, but I can tell you f The only thing about my death that I have decided for certain is that I do not want to be embalmed. This book gave me some ideas, but I can tell you for sure that one other option I'm sure I'll pass on is a sky burial. I checked out a couple of You Tube vids and realized it's not so much the vultures that freak me out as it is the people cutting up the body and crushing the bones to pulp to make it easier for the birds to devour. I'm not knocking the customs of other cultures, but unless I fall into a wood chipper and the chunks are flung into an aviary, it just ain't happening for me. ...more
I've become a fan of JLB over the years, but I was a little disappointed with this one. This second installment in the series didn't nearly stand u 3.5
I've become a fan of JLB over the years, but I was a little disappointed with this one. This second installment in the series didn't nearly stand up to the first book, Wayfaring Stranger. The action kept me entertained, but the overly rash behavior of the characters keep me from being able to give this 4 stars. ...more
I wouldn't say this Wyoming crime novel was anything spectacular, I mean it is good, just not great, but it's the humor that Johnson uses as he did in I wouldn't say this Wyoming crime novel was anything spectacular, I mean it is good, just not great, but it's the humor that Johnson uses as he did in book 1 that makes this an enjoyable read. I'm not sure if I'll tackle the entire series, but this was definitely good enough to make me want to add part 3....more
If your only knowledge of King Edward I is what you gleaned from Mel Gibsons "Braveheart", then let me say from the beginning, forget everything that If your only knowledge of King Edward I is what you gleaned from Mel Gibsons "Braveheart", then let me say from the beginning, forget everything that you assume to be fact from that movie and realize that it is complete crap. I would like to think that the movie was entertaining except that I know it took a historical event and turned it into a romanticized, twisted lie.
This was actually a very informative piece on this particular time in the history of England. At times it read like a school textbook and there was a lot of backtracking, or I may have given this 5 stars. ...more
What a powerful piece of our history. An event that is slowly being forgotten as time goes by. This story covers the details of the Naval battle in Sa What a powerful piece of our history. An event that is slowly being forgotten as time goes by. This story covers the details of the Naval battle in Samar (during the conquest to retake the Philippines from the Japanese) in which, against overwhelming odds, a small group of ships under Admiral Sprague defeated a massive Japanese imperial fleet. It was from this battle that Herman Wouk used for his classic, War and Remembrance. I served in the Navy, so obviously this hits home for me. I can relate to the surroundings, having served aboard a ship, the USS Jouett CG-29, and toured in the Philippines, but I was never in a conflict such as the battle at Samar. Very few have and because of todays technology we may never see another naval battle of its kind. A great piece of military history....more
It looks like Joe Hill has followed in his fathers footsteps as a talented story teller. It also looks like Joe Hill is following in his fathers foots It looks like Joe Hill has followed in his fathers footsteps as a talented story teller. It also looks like Joe Hill is following in his fathers footsteps by using his stories as a vessel to declare his political gripes. Joe, this was about as bad as browsing facebook and reading all the bullshit posts from people expressing what they each perceive to be the social injustices of the country. It's because of that that nowadays, facebook mostly sucks. And it is because of the similarity that this book also sucks. ...more
Well, I went from giving Andys first novel, The Martian, 5 stars to giving this one 1 star. If this had been the first I read by him I probably would Well, I went from giving Andys first novel, The Martian, 5 stars to giving this one 1 star. If this had been the first I read by him I probably would never had bothered with The Martian because, in my opinion, this book just sucked. Sorry, even though I see a few who agree with me I see twice as many who thought it was great. Other than the fact that Andy replicated his former main character with but another wise ass character, and that this time his story telling seemed amateurish at best, there were some details that I would love to bash, but nowadays, even on Goodreads, a persons opinion only seems to be acceptable if they are politically correct as opposed to honest. So, I'll keep my lips zipped on some of those details and stick with my "this book just sucked" opinion. ...more
I'm not going to bash this book, actually the writing was fine, so I just want to stress that my rating comes from my own opinion based on my perspectI'm not going to bash this book, actually the writing was fine, so I just want to stress that my rating comes from my own opinion based on my perspective considering how I was raised. I'm sure J.D.'s upbringing might seem hard to many, but for so many others his life was tough, but not so tragic that I want to spend time reading about it. I've said this before... I don't want to beat my own drum, but brother (or sister), from my perspective this story was a yawner....more
