Sorry Kcred, I've only read Lonesome Dove. It's one of my favorites also.

kcred, it has been several years since I read Comanche Moon, but I recall it being a pretty good yarn as far as prequel/sequels go. I have to admit, though, with the exception of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, that I was never able to keep all the characters and their relationships straight and how exactly they were supposed to fit in the continuing saga of the four books. Eventually I learned that I wasn't the only reader who has had that problem -- apparently McMurtry was never very concerned about continuity!

The trouble with the three books that are supposed to tell the before and after of Lonesome Dove is they are just never going to live up to expectations after reading LD -- well, in my opinion, they can't.

The only other McMurtry book that even approaches LD is The Last Picture Show which I read long before LD and even before the movie of it (TLPS) was made and was long a favorite of mine. They both have that authentic Texas feel to them that I love so much, although they are set in different times and really don't have much in common. Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon, as well as Streets of Laredo, also have a good bit of that authenticity . . . if only McMurtry had been a bit more careful with tying his characters' stories together better with those of McCrae and Call. Of course, that may be just my nit-picky opinion. Taking each as a standalone might be a better reading tactic!

Thanks for your help! I wound up getting Comanche Moon this morning. I hope she likes it. I've still got a couple of books to finish before I can even start it.

kcred, I hope your wife likes Comanche Moon, too . . . particularly because I recommended it, perhaps a bit half-heartedly! I'm always hesitant to make recommendations because I know that my taste often doesn't match that of other readers. But I like McMurtry's writing a lot, even some of his lesser efforts.

Do you read many historical novels with a western or southwestern theme? I'm always on the lookout for books about the U.S. West, fiction or nonfiction, so if you have one or more to recommend I'd like to know. I read all of Cormac McCarthy's western-themed books in spite of what I think is the appalling violence in them (Blood Meridian, especially -- The Judge has to be one of the evilest characters in all literature, in my opinion, but he sure is memorable). Years ago I read most of A. B. Guthrie's books (e.g., The Big Sky and The Way West) and Wallace Stegner's books (his novels and his histories of the West).

More recently I have liked Guy Vanderhaeghe's trilogy (The Englishman's Boy, The Last Crossing, and The Good Man). I think The Last Crossing is my favorite of the three.

My father was a fan of Louis L'Amour. He always passed LL's westerns to me and I wound up reading -- and rereading -- a lot of them. They might not be the profoundest of writing, but I've always enjoyed them.

At any rate, those are a few examples of the westerns I've read. What about you? I don't run across many readers of westerns these days.

Hi friedag,

No, I don't read a lot of historical westerns. Bury Me At Wounded Knee and Centennial are the only other ones that spring to mind.

Mostly I like books with memorable characters. Lonesome Dove fits that bill in spades. My wife wanted to follow those characters.

Thank you for the suggestions. We'll see how she likes it.