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Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove) Review

The adventure continues for, now veteran, Texas Rangers Woodrow Call and Augustus (Gus) McCrae on the plains of Texas in the mid-1800's. We follow these two best friends through many adventures and hardships in this second installment of Larry McMurtry's epic Lonesome Dove series.
This book takes place a number of years after Dead Man's Walk left off. At this point Gus and Call are now part of the Ranger troop led by the Infamous Inish Scull. Scull and his troop's sole purpose are to destroy their abhorred enemy: The Comanche Indian and their Great War chief, Buffalo Hump. Both of which are formidable opponents especially the dreaded Buffalo Hump who is known for not only killing incredible amounts of white men but torture as well.
When urgent business calls Captain Scull he (almost haphazardly) assigns Gus and Call to captain of his beloved troop, who then leads their troop to the safety of Austin. This marks the beginning of their new career as captains of the Texas Rangers, a cherished and long sought-after position by many a Texan. But they soon learn it isn't as glamorous as it appears. Between low wages, crooked governors, men and close friends dying, and countless other obstacles Gus and Call start wondering if this is really what they want to do for the rest of their lives and if not what will be the next step for these two men who know nothing but rangering?
Most books over 700 pages can start to feel like a chore and often times make you question if it's worth actually getting to the top of the never-ending mountain. This was not the case for Comanche Moon. At no point did I feel obligated to finish it but rather turned the pages as quickly as if I was looking a word up in the dictionary and was a couple pages away. The characters are extremely well-defined and you are brought to a personal level with nearly a dozen different characters. Some loveable, some likeable, some so venomously evil you couldn't imagine being in the situation where you had to actually face them.
The aforementioned Inish Scull has become one of my favorite literary characters to date. His quick-wittedness and genius will have you laughing and rooting for this complicated man. Especially when he is faced with the most perilous situation one can imagine.
Also we dig much deeper into the lives and heads of our two heroes, along their loves, their pains, their triumphs, and their regrets. Both seem like simple men, neither are.

The point of the book where McMurtry really shine is in the last 50 pages, when he describes the grizzly murder of the now elderly Buffalo Hump by his banished son. I wouldn't have thought possible if the smartest literary minds all told me but McMurtry actually made you sympathize with the aging Indian. Throughout the previous 1000-1100 pages (spanning two different books) he has described this man as such a hated villain and feared individual that his death should be a triumph for the Rangers, but you actually have to hold back a tear. It was that good.
I've yet to read Lonesome Dove and all I hear is that it is such a cornerstone of literary history. If it is actually better than Comanche Moon it must be. Bottom line: read this book. Might be my favorite book ever.

Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove) Overview

The author brings the four-volume saga that began with his Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, Lonesome Dove, to a conclusion with the struggle of two Texas Rangers to protect the frontier against Comanches.

Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove) Specifications

In a book that serves as a both a sequel to Dead Man's Walk and a prequel to the beloved Lonesome Dove, McMurtry fills in the missing chapters in the Call and McCrae saga. It is a fantastic read, in many ways the best and gutsiest of the series. We join the Texas Rangers in their waning Indian-fighting years. The Comanches, after one last desperate raid led by the fearsome-but-aging Buffalo Hump, are almost defeated, though Buffalo Hump's son, Blue Duck, still terrorizes the relentless flow of settlers and lawmen. As Augustus and Woodrow follow one-eyed, tobacco-spitting Captain Inish Scull deep into a murderous madman's den in Mexico, their thoughts turn toward the end of their careers and the women they love in remarkably different ways back in Austin. What's amazing about McMurtry's West is that he sees beyond the romance. Neither his Indians, his cowboys, his gunslingers, nor his women act the way they did in either Zane Grey novels or John Wayne movies. Incredible beauty and lightning-quick violence are the bookends of his West, but it is the in-between moments of suffering and boredom where McMurtry shines. The suffering is poignant and heart-rending; the boredom tempered with doses of Augustus McCrae's sharp humor. Don't be surprised if you find yourself crying and laughing on the same page.

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Customer Reviews

I read this before Lonesome Dove - OA - San Francisco, CA
This was an excellent book, a great adventure. Since it chronologically happens before Lonesome Dove, I read it first. I think it made Lonesome Dove even better!

Comanche Moon - Bernard L. Deleo - Oakland, CA
Larry McMurtry's `Comanche Moon' follows the Texas Ranger Captains Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae in their middle years. This is a stand alone book in the series which can be read with enjoyment and understanding by itself. In `Comanche Moon, McMurtry's isolating and development of each character's voice is amazing. Coupled with entrancing detailed descriptions of the Texas badlands interspersed throughout, `Comanche Moon' is McMurtry's best of series. I have never been a fan of novel landscaping minutia. McMurtry writes word pictures with enthralling technique. I know gritty westerns aren't for everyone. If you've ever wanted to try one out, `Comanche Moon' would be my recommendation.

Another classic - Jeffrey Roberts - Long Island, New York United States
NO ONE makes you feel as much a part of the story as larry mcmurtry. when i put one of his books down i generally have to get a glass of water to get the dust out. I enjoyed comanche moon, but felt it just left me hanging, which would be fine, except that i already read the other 3 parts to the series. as i was reading comanche i wondered how the book would have been if read in sequencial order, not knowing the future. GUS AND CALL are probably the two best characters in american fiction, and in comanche moon you can find several reasons not to like CALL. read this if you have read lonesome dove or plan to read it. alone, i am not sure.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 23, 2010 12:40:05

Children's Books

Monday, August 23, 2010