# Westerns -- COMBINED thread



## DGFall (Jul 7, 2011)

Anyone have any suggestions on Westerns? I have read, all I think, of McMurtry, L'amour, many others. I'm looking for some new authors writing in the Western genre.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

_The Sisters Brothers_ is a 2011 Man Booker International Prize finalist, and one I added to my wish list.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Try Ralph Cotton

http://ralphcotton.com/


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

Some popular authors in our library are Elmer Kelton, Robert Parker, William Johnstone and Cormac McCarthy


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I really enjoyed Parker's Appaloosa series, although I was glad I got the last one from the library (high price, short book).


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## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

I am still trying to convince Carolyn Steele that she needs to turn Indie. She's been trying for YEARS to get someone to pick up her works, and they are AMAZING!.. but alas, westerns aren't hot like sparkly vampires right now. =(

If she ever does take my advice, I'll send her your direction. If you see any of her works, snag them up while you can.


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

I haven't read Bill Pronzini's westerns, but if they're as good as his mystery and suspense novels you'll want to check them out.  You might also take a look at Max McCoy and Don Coldsmith.  Richard Matheson has written several westerns as well.


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## Tommie Lyn (Dec 7, 2009)

cork_dork_mom said:


> Some popular authors in our library are Elmer Kelton, Robert Parker, William Johnstone and Cormac McCarthy


I agree with the Elmer Kelton recommendation.

I don't recall having read Robert Parker or William Johnstone...and after seeing _No Country for Old Men_, I have no desire to read anything by Cormac McCarthy.


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## RobynB (Jan 4, 2011)

You know who has a new western out? Gene Hackman (yep, the actor). I haven't read it, but it looks good:


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## J.L. McPherson (Mar 20, 2011)

Casper Parks said:


> Try Ralph Cotton
> 
> http://ralphcotton.com/


Ralph Cotton is outstanding and one of the best dialog writers I've ever read. If you enjoy gritty, sh!tkicker western yarns, then _Webb's Posse _ is a must read !


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

J.L. McPherson said:


> Ralph Cotton is outstanding and one of the best dialog writers I've ever read. If you enjoy gritty, sh!tkicker western yarns, then _Webb's Posse _ is a must read !


Webb's Pose spin-off stand alone novels.
Fighting Men
Gun Law
Summers' Horse came out in July

Not positive, will have to ask him. I think a couple characters from Webb's Pose pop in and out of Fastest Gun Alive - Gunman's Reputation Series... He has over 50 books out right now and is currently doing a hybrid thing older books as Indie and newer titles traditional publishing.

Actually, I am going to reread Webb's Pose.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

jhanel said:


> I am still trying to convince Carolyn Steele that she needs to turn Indie. She's been trying for YEARS to get someone to pick up her works, and they are AMAZING!.. but alas, westerns aren't hot like sparkly vampires right now. =(
> 
> If she ever does take my advice, I'll send her your direction. If you see any of her works, snag them up while you can.


I didnt see anything western for her on Amazon, except one that was with other authors. Can you give me some titles?


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## erikhanberg (Jul 15, 2011)

Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry is by far my favorite western. After that, True Grit is pretty high up on the list. I read it after seeing the Coen Brothers adaptation of it and totally got why they wanted to turn it into a movie. It's really good!


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

I've never read many westerns, altho I love the West and horses, and live a western lifestyle as much as possible.

I do look for 'women in the West' books tho....pioneer and ranch women living and struggling and succeeding in the west...fiction and non-fiction. 

Can anyone recommend?


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## rabmac (May 22, 2011)

Robert B Parker's Hitch & Cole series are very good (my favorites). Also Forrest Carter (two Josey Wales titles). 

Also anything by Jack Schaefer, Glendon Swarthout (The Shootist), and Elmore Leonard.

Try Loren D. Estleman (The Master Executioner is a masterpiece), Will Henry and Matt Braun.

True Grit, by Charles Portis, is a must. I also very much enjoyed Dances with Wolves, by Michael Blake.


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## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

Robert B. Parker, who normally wrote mysteries, took a bit of time to write a few Westerns that I thought were pretty good.  One was even made into a movie--Appaloosa


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

I highly recommend "A ladies life in the Rocky Mountains" by Isabella Bird. It's the true story of her life as she traveled from the front range of Colorado up to the Rocky's. I grew up in this area so it was really interesting to read about life back in the mining days and see the places she wrote about. Very well written.



9MMare said:


> I've never read many westerns, altho I love the West and horses, and live a western lifestyle as much as possible.
> 
> I do look for 'women in the West' books tho....pioneer and ranch women living and struggling and succeeding in the west...fiction and non-fiction.
> 
> Can anyone recommend?


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## kchughez (Jun 29, 2011)

I'm not a western reader BUT, I stumbled on a book that I thought was about revenge and ended up being a western and I like it very much. Vigilante's Bride


~KC


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## BSquared18 (Apr 26, 2011)

Not quite a western but certainly about the Old (very Old) West, starting from way back when: I stumbled across _Trail of the Spanish Bit_, the first novel in the Spanish Bit Saga, by Don Coldsmith. It traces the evolution of a Native American tribe from the time when the Spanish were first exploring the West.

I ended up reading all 29 books in the series. By all means, read them in chronological order.

Bill


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## JackBadelaire (May 31, 2011)

James Reasoner.

Although he's probably written over a hundred books, I've only read a couple and they were quite good, specifically _Diamondback_ and _The Hunted_. He's also contributed a volume to Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin's _The Dead Man_ series. He's also working towards pushing a number of his backlist books into Kindle formats. He writes a blog, Rough Edges, that I read with a good amount of regularity. I've corresponded with him a number of times, and he's been a great resource.


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## DGFall (Jul 7, 2011)

Thanks. I have read most of what you have recommended but I have come up with a few new authors. I'll take a look at Ralph Cotton, Vigilante Bride, and Lauren Estleman, also Elmer Kelton. 

Thanks again, keep em coming.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

cork_dork_mom said:


> I highly recommend "A ladies life in the Rocky Mountains" by Isabella Bird. It's the true story of her life as she traveled from the front range of Colorado up to the Rocky's. I grew up in this area so it was really interesting to read about life back in the mining days and see the places she wrote about. Very well written.


Thanks! It's available on Kindle.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

BSquared18 said:


> Not quite a western but certainly about the Old (very Old) West, starting from way back when: I stumbled across _Trail of the Spanish Bit_, the first novel in the Spanish Bit Saga, by Don Coldsmith. It traces the evolution of a Native American tribe from the time when the Spanish were first exploring the West.
> 
> I ended up reading all 29 books in the series. By all means, read them in chronological order.
> 
> Bill


This sounds incredible. Unfortunately, doesnt look like it's available for Kindle. Wow. I wish I had the time to invest in looking for it...the series...at the library.


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## BSquared18 (Apr 26, 2011)

Re: _"This sounds incredible. Unfortunately, doesnt look like it's available for Kindle. Wow. I wish I had the time to invest in looking for it...the series...at the library."_

Yes, I realized after making the post that I should have checked to make sure they were at the Kindle store. Too bad they aren't. If you don't have any luck at your library, you might try eBay; that's where I bought them one by one used at a good price.

Good luck!
Bill


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

J.L. McPherson said:


> Ralph Cotton is outstanding and one of the best dialog writers I've ever read. If you enjoy gritty, sh!tkicker western yarns, then _Webb's Posse _ is a must read !


Jl McPerson,

Ralph looked at this thread and recognized your name from a review you had left on Amazon...


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## Spitzbub (Jul 4, 2011)

Great thread, I love picking up all these recommendations.  One fantastic novel that reads like a western, though it is set in frontier Australia, is Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang.  An unforgettable story, that won the Booker Prize.

John


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## mark1529 (Aug 26, 2011)

kchughez said:


> I'm not a western reader BUT, I stumbled on a book that I thought was about revenge and ended up being a western and I like it very much. Vigilante's Bride
> 
> 
> ~KC


vigilante's bride was very good finished yesterday..........thanks


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## J.L. McPherson (Mar 20, 2011)

Casper Parks said:


> Jl McPerson,
> 
> Ralph looked at this thread and recognized your name from a review you had left on Amazon...


Holy crap, that's awesome. The man is by far my favorite living western writer, and second only to Louis L'Amour.


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

I haven't seen many westerns or discussions on westerns.  Any fans out there?  If so, what books do you recommend, and are any of them in ebook form yet?


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## J.L. McPherson (Mar 20, 2011)

I'm a huge reader of the western genre, have been since I was a kid. My Grandfather had a big bookshelf full of old westerns that I cut my teeth on. Pretty much anything by Louis L'Amour is outstanding. Some of my favorites of his are _Jubal Sackett_, _To Tame A Land _ and _Hondo_, among others, too many to list !

Elmer Kelton's _Boone's Lick _ was awesome and anything by Elmore Leonard is worth checking out. Of the newer writers Ralph Cotton is ridiculously good and highly recommended. Hope that helps, and they are all available on the Kindle.

J.L. McPherson


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Julie Christensen said:


> I haven't seen many westerns or discussions on westerns. Any fans out there? If so, what books do you recommend, and are any of them in ebook form yet?


Try this recent thread...

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,81076.msg1291689.html#msg1291689


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## joshtremino (Jul 31, 2010)

I've actually never read a western. I do, however, like western/sci-fi hybrids like Priest and Firefly.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Oh, yes, but it's hard to find good westerns. I recently read all of Robert B. Parker's Appaloosa series. They're all available for Kindle, but don't buy the last one. It was written not long before his death and is very short and at least at the time I looked at it very overpriced. I got that one from the library.

I liked A Man Called Outlaw by K.M. Weiland, also available for Kindle.

Indie John Locke has Follow the Stone and Don't Poke the Bear for $.99 each. I rather liked Follow the Stone, but the second one not so much, in part because it ends in the middle of nowhere, obviously a run up to another in the series, but I think a book ought to contain a complete story.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Casper Parks said:


> Try this recent thread...
> 
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,81076.msg1291689.html#msg1291689


In fact, I've just merged these two threads into one. . . . sorry for any confusion. . .


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Track down The Missing (novel the western film was based on) the author's name escapes me, but it is a terrific read. 

Another personal favorite is St. Agnes Stand,by Tom Eidson. 

True Grit of course, Lonesome Dove and several others by Larry McMurtry.


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## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

I've been talking with author M. Carolyn Steele. She is -- by far -- my favorite western author, focusing on her Cherokee heritage. I'm always in awe of her writing talent, but no one seems to find that westerns are hot enough to warrant offering her a deal for her works.

I found that she posted one of her stories for free to her website: http://www.mcarolynsteele.com/Stories.html

If you can, go there and give your opinion. Tell her how much you enjoy it. mcarolynsteele at gmail dot com. Maybe if she gets enough of a push, she'll venture into the electronic market. I have had the pleasure of reading four of her books in my writers group with her, and I would just about kill to see some of them actually make it to print.

(NOTE: The formatting is awkward in Chrome, but looks good in Internet Explorer.)


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

I'm bookmarking this thread!  A great list of western writers.  Interestingly, I didn't see any indie writers in the mix.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

**** friendly reminder:  authors, we're in the Book Corner so please refrain from mentioning your own books but, rather, address the question from the point of view of yourself as 'reader'.  ****


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

J.L. McPherson said:


> Ralph Cotton is outstanding and one of the best dialog writers I've ever read. If you enjoy gritty, sh!tkicker western yarns, then _Webb's Posse _ is a must read !


After you mentioning Webb's Posse, dug out the paperback and reread it. It is not available in e-book format. Binding on paperback is starting to separate... Just as good the second time around.


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