THE EMPTY LAND

THE EMPTY LAND

- Louis L'Amour -

A boom town springs up in the middle the wild west desert, full to bursting with miners, law abiding traders, and also the outlaws that smell the chance to make a quick buck. The opportunity to create a prosperous settlement is threatened by a gang of drifting thugs who do not think twice about using violence to get their way - killing a couple of Marshalls in the process.

There is only one man who can take them on - Matt Colburn. A good hearted, 'street' smart man with a lightning fast draw. The only concern is that he doesn't think twice about shooting to get his way either.

Is he no better than a murderer himself?

I had the feeling L'Amour was posing this tough question to the reader. It would make for a good debate seeing as Colburn ends up using some questionable methods to rid the town of these outlaws, including; killing, fist fighting, public threats and naming/shaming, and of course the *DRAW* gun battles. But, taken into the context of a lawless community this was all fair game, and it did end up working in the end.

After reading a small pile of L'Amour books I have found this one to be the best so far. There was lots of action and cowboy things, but, more importantly there was something deeper - that ethical question of when is it, if ever, ok to kill?

RATING : READ

*I know it is hard, but, you have to get past the covers on these books. I know they are a bit cheesy, but, as the old saying goes 'never judge a book by it's cover'.