tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post7922414636050771261..comments2024-03-28T22:25:23.698-05:00Comments on Western Fictioneers: That First Western NovelWestern Fictioneershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01683314579075461026noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-63091905200758484032014-03-16T17:21:55.313-05:002014-03-16T17:21:55.313-05:00I'd seen racks of Louis L'Amour westerns i...I'd seen racks of Louis L'Amour westerns in bookstores for years. Finally I checked out Sackett's Land from my library one summer while in high school. That was my first and led me to a love of westerns.Louis Burklowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105879183637623203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-74362030411063746432014-03-16T14:25:58.698-05:002014-03-16T14:25:58.698-05:00Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage was mine...Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage was mine, although it was read to me by my mother when I was around five years old. In a couple of years I was reading the Big Little Books and pulp Western mags when my older brothers left them laying around. Oscar Casehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-28678795619653887442014-03-16T14:18:10.673-05:002014-03-16T14:18:10.673-05:00I don't remember the first but I remember read...I don't remember the first but I remember reading Louis L'Amour from an early age. I too read above level but not as much as you. I had to wait until 6th grade to read Shakespeare.<br /><br /><br />Connie<br />imabrassy1@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-7092855192912484612014-03-16T06:19:31.202-05:002014-03-16T06:19:31.202-05:00Will Henry also wrote the first Western I read--Sm...Will Henry also wrote the first Western I read--Smokey the Cowhorse. Read every Sudden novel I could get my hands on, but didn't like JT Edson's work. I read a lot of Louis L'Amour (everything) but was more impressed by Gordon Sherriffs and Clair Huffaker. Elmer came sometime later. <br /><br />ctwChuckTyrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02609200010767178944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-74936698265759094852014-03-16T03:13:45.994-05:002014-03-16T03:13:45.994-05:00No Survivors by Will Henry was my first, and it ma...No Survivors by Will Henry was my first, and it made quite an impression. So many more since then, but that one is and shall remain special to me.Frank Roderusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-47484288485071856202014-03-15T19:38:54.052-05:002014-03-15T19:38:54.052-05:00The first Western novel I read was a Gold Medal ca...The first Western novel I read was a Gold Medal called BIGGER THAN TEXAS by William R. Cox, bought brand-new off the spinner rack in the drugstore in Goldsmith, Texas in December 1963. We were there visiting relatives. That was also the first grown-up paperback I ever bought. It wasn't long after that I started reading the Hopalong Cassidy books by Clarence E. Mulford, along with books by Zane Grey and Max Brand.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-57846756210498023472014-03-15T16:21:52.827-05:002014-03-15T16:21:52.827-05:00Strangely enough, as an avid watcher of TV and mov...Strangely enough, as an avid watcher of TV and movie Westerns, it never occurred to me to read any. I had a Whitman copy of Disney's Andy Burnett story when I was about 11 and in junior high I read DESTRY RIDES AGAIN for school, but that was about it until about 12 years ago when I started reading Westerns in earnest. I can never pick a favorite, but I've enjoyed most of them and know I'm in for a good time when I select certain authors. Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-73552591271968363232014-03-15T15:27:18.078-05:002014-03-15T15:27:18.078-05:00Troy,
This all sounds so familiar. Reading adult...Troy,<br /><br />This all sounds so familiar. Reading adult books at eight and breaking into my father's library.<br /><br />BURNING DAYLIGHT, LIGHT OF THE WESTERN STARS, ARIZONA AMES, and all the James Oliver Curwood books about the great north, were the first adult books I read.<br /><br />The basic premise of Curwood (and maybe in between the lines of westerns) was that cities and crowds of people were evil, and only in open country, could a man or woman live a clean life and fulfill their dreams.<br /><br />Good stuff, Dr. Troy.<br /><br />CharlieCharlie Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16992330591519249699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-40126573671806224662014-03-15T15:14:47.124-05:002014-03-15T15:14:47.124-05:00Mine was 'Sudden' by Oliver Strange. My fa...Mine was 'Sudden' by Oliver Strange. My father had a lot of his novels. Oliver Strange was a British author writing in the late 1930s. The books were already old by the time I started reading them, but they hooked me and led me to all the other Westerns that my father had - Zane Grey, Max Brand, Louis L'Amour and more.<br /><br />KeithKeith Souterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15206349930107528691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-20662562236760068092014-03-15T13:58:15.744-05:002014-03-15T13:58:15.744-05:00Well it might not be overly manly to admit, but I ...Well it might not be overly manly to admit, but I got hooked on the Little House books and read 'em all --in order--before the TV show aired. They were, and still are, favorites of pioneer literature.Richard Proschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314680709014254183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-11420497875292203492014-03-15T13:02:10.046-05:002014-03-15T13:02:10.046-05:00Hmm, now you've got me ponderin' about all...Hmm, now you've got me ponderin' about all this, Troy. I read ahead of my age, too, but not like you did! So I would have to think back to the western that had the most influence and is most memorable, and say that would be Ol' Yeller, followed by Shane--what a lot of good writing is crammed into those 160 or so pages! <br /><br />Of course, in school we read stories about going west, etc., but mainly short stories, etc. Later on, I would say that Conagher stuck with me because of the simplicity, but the beauty of the story. <br /><br />Good question--made me think today!<br />Cheryl Cheryl Piersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18116526340220274282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-80535447454993246432014-03-15T12:25:56.648-05:002014-03-15T12:25:56.648-05:00Ooooo ... Beastmaster! I hadn't even thought o...Ooooo ... Beastmaster! I hadn't even thought of that as being a Western, but it was one of the first books that really grabbed at my emotions. And you're right, after that I had to start researching the Southwest, Navajo traditions, and ranching of course.<br /><br />I always loved Westerns with strong characters - I think my first ones were the YA-type ... Moccasin Trail comes to mind, as does Seven Alone - both books about young people overcoming the odds as pioneers. I've also had a long-standing attraction to people torn between two worlds, such as the young man in Moccasin Trail and the one in Halfbreed, or the lone gunman trying to go straight and make a new life.<br /><br />J.E.S.Hays<br />www.jeshays.com<br />www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooksJ.E.S. Hayshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04040717916141732624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-28765846456390535292014-03-15T12:00:06.591-05:002014-03-15T12:00:06.591-05:00Mine was The Rimfire Riders by John Robb. Publishe...Mine was The Rimfire Riders by John Robb. Published by the Children's Press it was part of a series that I then collected.Steve Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631734673248632467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-66594457231342401612014-03-15T11:56:14.112-05:002014-03-15T11:56:14.112-05:00Like you, I read a lot, sometimes late into the ni...Like you, I read a lot, sometimes late into the night. I also remember and have been told that as a young child I made people read to me all the time. (That may be why I can remember so much of what I heard, but that's another topic).<br /><br />If it is printed, I want to read it. I love Westerns, but think it is the adventure taking place in the setting that I enjoy. Adventure is the draw for me, and if the characters are well drawn...and the story told well. I confess that no one story or book stands out as special, but L'Amour's "Flint" and Norton's fantasy "Beastmaster" a western if there was one do come to mind. <br />DorisRenaissance Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045401344374224512noreply@blogger.com