Jubal Sackett Book Review

I have mixed feeling about this book. Of all the Louis L’Amour books I’ve read, this one is my favorite. The plot is solid, interesting, and moves quickly. It’s super fun reading a book whose characters are contemporaries to Pocohantas, complete with all the nerdy little historical details that makes the read as educational as it is entertaining. As someone who enjoys camping in canvas and dressing up for Mountain Man Rendezvous, it’s super satisfying reading a well researched historical fiction.

The protagonist is similar to protagonists in other L’Amour books I’ve read. It’s a template that works for me, but it was a little weird reading another book with a main character who loves books, loves to learn everything and anything, loves to wander and explore the unexplored, has Druidic roots and talents, has great outdoorsman skills, and is a great fighter. I like Jubal more than other versions of this template, like Kerbuchard, because he’s not a womanizing adventurer…actually, that might be the main reason why I like him and Kerbuchard rubbed me the wrong way (seriously, you find the love of your life one minute and then are in love all over again the next? Not cool man, not cool).

I also struggle a bit with L’Amour’s writing style. I’m not saying he isn’t a talented storyteller and writing craftsman, in this instance it’s just a matter of taste. I find his style a bit abrupt and clipped, very to the point. I really take to writing that feels like I’m sitting on the front porch with a pipe smoking, bearded old man in a rocking chair spinning a yarn. 

That being said, my husband really enjoys L’Amour’s style and it’s been fun reading this simultaneously and conversing about it.  

I think this book would be a fun read during the month of November when we remember the early settlers of the North American continent and their friendship with a tribe of Native Americans. This book provides wonderful insight into the tribal dynamic of the time, the predicament the native peoples found themselves in with the coming of foreign settlers,  and has well-written, memorable Native American characters.

I would highly recommend this book as a fun, entertaining read for someone who likes historical fiction or a good action and adventure novel.