The Navajo called them the Anasazi, the “ancient enemy,” and their abandoned cities haunt the canyons and plateaus of the Southwest. Fo...
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Jun 06, 2011
Anthony
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The Haunted Mesa is a book consisting of approximately 250 pages of a man trying to decide when and how to save his friend in another world and less than 100 pages of him actually doing it. Not one of the worst books I've ever read, but one that is disappointingly mediocre. Especially given the fact that I had read it as a child and had fond memories of it. I have read all of Louis L'amour's books, every single one of them between 4th and 6th grade and he was my all time favorite author during t
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Apr 11, 2009
Arlene
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I thought that Louis L'Amour was a hack author - just turning out 'formula' Westerns, but when I read this book, I found that he is a very good author and very engaging. I have read many more of his novels and enjoyed them.
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Jan 27, 2012
Henry
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Mike Raglan a well known investigator and writer,gets a strange message from a friend.An eccentric rich scientist,(aren't they all?)who needs help quickly. So he arrives in the southwest, four corners area(Utah,Colorado,Arizona,New Mexico)and no friend!Weird rumors abound that the Anasazi, ancient cliff dwellers have been seen.Ghosts?Real,Who knows!Raglan decides to visit the scientist unfinshed house.Oh,its located on top of a haunted mesa,no problem he'll go alone.Unbelievably an unknown new
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Feb 11, 2012
Mary
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The Navajo called them the Anasazi, an enigmatic tribe of southwestern cliff dwellers that disappeared many centuries ago. Their sudden disappearance baffled historians. Summoned to a dark, desolate desert plateau by a letter from an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn in to a world of mystery, violence and mysticism. He will eventually learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi, but not without a high cost to himself and his friends.
I did enjoy this book b More...
I did enjoy this book b More...
Jul 27, 2011
Dlora
rated it: 
I've always liked Louis L'Amour westerns. He knows his history and the geography of the West. The Haunted Mesa is actually a contemporary story and might be considered a kind of science fiction. Historians have always wondered what happened to the Anasazi Indians and this story speculates that there is another dimension with portals that come and go between the two worlds. L'Amour suggests the Anasazi Indians went back to the Third world (of their creation myths) to escape the marauding Apache a
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Mar 17, 2011
Cornelius
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Jul 06, 2010
Rebecca
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Explaining what happened to the Anasazi is an interesting concept and adding the fantastical elements made it more interesting still. Unfortunately the book itself wasn’t very interesting. It started out mysterious and kind of spooky but then it settled into a rut. Mike Raglan goes to save a friend from some unknown danger and he has to think about it a lot. You hear him go over the few facts he has in his head and then he explains these facts to someone else and then he goes over them in hi
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Aug 01, 2009
Greg
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I've always been fascinated by the Anasazi people, those who inhabited the now American Southwest, and lived in cliff dwellings. Every chance I get while vacationing in those areas, I make sure to visit the National Park sites that host cliff dwellings, and try to learn what I can about them. I find myself wondering and speculating about what life might have been like for them, their families, work lives, activities, and so forth. Their relatively sudden disappearances from the places where they
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Jun 05, 2011
Jackie Renee
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All in all, I enjoyed this book. If I could, I would give it 3 1/2 stars.
The Haunted Mesa had the potential to be a great novel. The concept is an interesting one that should be explored. The ancient culture of the Anasasi needs a great novel devoted to it. I would have loved an explanation of the culture of the people that inhabit the other world, too. I had so many questions about Shibalba that will be forever unanswered.
It had several major flaws, though. The f More...
The Haunted Mesa had the potential to be a great novel. The concept is an interesting one that should be explored. The ancient culture of the Anasasi needs a great novel devoted to it. I would have loved an explanation of the culture of the people that inhabit the other world, too. I had so many questions about Shibalba that will be forever unanswered.
It had several major flaws, though. The f More...
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Mar 12, 2009
Pat
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I thought this would be a western book so I didn't pick it up for awhile, then took it on vacation to Bandelier in New Mexico. Could not have picked a better book for this vacation. It is a good read about portals between worlds and the Anasazi indians who guard them.
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Dec 22, 2011
Sandy
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I do not know exactly when this book arrived on my stack to read, but it certainly captivated me with suspense immediately. And it was a book you really should start on Friday night! Reason being that you can hopefully sleep in late after not being able to put it down all night! I had drifted through other L'Amour books and enjoyed them mildly. This one seemed to be unique.
Finding the "Popol Vuh" as a source for some of the information recalled my reading that work as a student More...
Finding the "Popol Vuh" as a source for some of the information recalled my reading that work as a student More...
Aug 14, 2007
Becca
rated it: 
Not very good. Actually, pretty weird. And at the end I kind of felt like I'd wasted a lot of my time in reading it. Seemed kind of pointless.
Anyways, this person finds a kind of time portal in and old cliff dweller sacred building and uses it to pass back through time several times to meet a woman and her tribe and fight to escape from the people who are attacking them.
Anyways, this person finds a kind of time portal in and old cliff dweller sacred building and uses it to pass back through time several times to meet a woman and her tribe and fight to escape from the people who are attacking them.
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Nov 24, 2010
Jim
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Hmm. Bought in Orlando Airport for the flight West into L’Amour country, this was the second self-indulgent novel of the holiday. Perhaps L’Amour does believe in The Other Side of the Veil, but he could’ve written about it much better. Some real sloppy stuff here that could have been prevented by decent editing. In one particular scene, the lead character is visited by some old Injun and I kept expecting his faithful, always growling at strangers, dog to be doing his nut. Then the main character
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Jan 20, 2012
Dale
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This sci-fi book by Louis L'Amour could have been so much more.
Yes, that's right. Louis L'Amour, author of more than 100 westerns wrote a sci-fi book. It is set in familiar territory for him, the American Southwest and it concerns the disappearance of the Anasazi Indians more than 600 years ago. If you are unfamiliar with the Anasazi, they are the builders of the adobe brick cliff dwellings that are scattered across the Southwestern desert. Their most famous site is at Mesa Verde Natio More...
Yes, that's right. Louis L'Amour, author of more than 100 westerns wrote a sci-fi book. It is set in familiar territory for him, the American Southwest and it concerns the disappearance of the Anasazi Indians more than 600 years ago. If you are unfamiliar with the Anasazi, they are the builders of the adobe brick cliff dwellings that are scattered across the Southwestern desert. Their most famous site is at Mesa Verde Natio More...
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May 19, 2009
John
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Sep 17, 2010
Snicks
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As a recent visitor to both the Cahokia Mounds and Mesa Verde, my curiosity has definitely been piqued about our mysterious and historical worlds. Thus the timing for this book was most excellent. My previous reading and role playing experience with fantasy worlds did not make Louis L'Amour's Haunted Mesa very surprising, but I found his incorporations of past civilisations likely due to occasional visits to this fourth dimension excellent. There were unexpected roles as well, which was good. I
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Jul 05, 2010
TJ
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Jun 06, 2009
Marta
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I actuallly enjoyed this book. In fact, I've read it twice - first in 1987 when my family were traveling in Arizona, NM, Colorado area - and I enjoyed it then. Back then, there was this huge mystery about what happened to the Anasazi, and although I knew the alternate universe answer wasn't probably true, it was a fun read. I reread it again this year (practically the only fiction on sale at Mesa Verde N P ) and it seemed a little stupider but still an ok read. (The answer is the "Anasaz
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Mar 11, 2010
Juan
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The Haunted Mesa is basically about a friend Mike trying to find his friend Erik who was kidnap by a tribe who has been living hidden, the only entrance that led to find this race was through a Kiva where there is a wall similar to the Mihrab in a mosque. The Kiva for my believe, symbolize an opening through which the Anasazi entered in and out from there mysterious city in cliffs. Mike entered through the Kiva and go on the rescue his friend who was taken inside a forbidden maze with a system o
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Oct 22, 2009
DaNela
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My grandma loves Louis L'Amour books, so whenever I run across one, I pick it up for her. The cover of this one got me interested, here's a book that looks sci-fi, so I decided to read it before passing along. What a great story, and I'm glad to have read it. It reminds me of S.M. Stirling, minus all the long paragraphs of history (which is ok every once in a while, but gets dull after so long).
I'm definetly interested in his other work now, which I know will not be sci-fi'ish, but More...
I'm definetly interested in his other work now, which I know will not be sci-fi'ish, but More...
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May 04, 2008
Anna
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Dec 14, 2011
Susan
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This is one of the few books Louis L'Amour wrote that borders on fantasy. There is a lot of hesitation on the part of the protagonist, but otherwise this is a great mystery novel. There is a lot of information about the Anazazi and other Native American tribes and L'Amours description of the desert is great. I have actually read this one twice. It is an interesting concept of the disappearance of an ancient people wrapped around the current Wild West.
May 17, 2010
Christine
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I have to say that I am not a huge Westerns fan. I enjoyed discussing this book at book club, but I had a hard time reading it. I felt like the book was all plot and no characterization. The main character was already perfect (with the exception of having some fear of the unknown), and did not grow or change at all. I found the idea of parallel worlds intriguing, but I felt like the book dragged on discussing the same ideas over and over again.
Oct 14, 2009
Ron
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I knew Louis L'Amour was a very prolific Western author. Some of his books have been made into movies probably the most famous was Hondo with John Wayne. While the Haunted Mesa took place in the Southwest,it took place in modern times and wasn't a "Western". It was more SCI-FI. I like SCI-FI but was expecting something different. I like the smell of horse sweat, leather, sagebrush and gunsmoke. I will try another of his books.
Nov 15, 2010
Sherry (sethurner)
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"It was night and he was alone upon the desert."
But not for long. I bought a used paperback edition of The Haunted Mesa, and am glad I didn't pay for a new copy. The book is a funny hybrid of Western and science fiction action, Buck Rogers in the land of the cliff dwellers. For folks who want a quick read, all plot with lots of action, this might be the ticket, but I found the writing style awkward and repetitive, and finally annoying.
But not for long. I bought a used paperback edition of The Haunted Mesa, and am glad I didn't pay for a new copy. The book is a funny hybrid of Western and science fiction action, Buck Rogers in the land of the cliff dwellers. For folks who want a quick read, all plot with lots of action, this might be the ticket, but I found the writing style awkward and repetitive, and finally annoying.
Oct 28, 2011
Fredrick
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Mike Raglan receives a letter from his friend Erik requesting help. When Mike arrives at their meeting place, Erik never shows up but a beatiful young woman does. Erik has gone to another deminsion and is trapped by an evil group. Mike has to cross over and rescue his friend and return to this universe before the gates close. This is one of the few books by L'Amour that involve supernatural forces.
Jan 18, 2009
Cleanfun
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This was really quite good. Annoying repetition aside, he manages to make you question the reality we understand and are comfortable in. Creeped me out late at night while lying in my bed. I was tempted to board up the window.
I just randomly grabbed this book so I didn't walk out of the bookstore empty handed. I enjoy a LL western story so I figured it was a safe bet. Surprise!
I just randomly grabbed this book so I didn't walk out of the bookstore empty handed. I enjoy a LL western story so I figured it was a safe bet. Surprise!
Jan 17, 2009
Stormy
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This book was recommended to me several times but it just never seemed all that interesting. I finally read it last year (2008) and really did not enjoy it that much. What I disliked the most about the book was the author continually rehashed over and over what the plot was all about through internal dialogue with the main character which drove me to madness.
Feb 21, 2011
Vickie
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I just couldn't finish this book. Although I'm not really a Louis L'Amour fan, I wanted to try this book because of the subject- the Anasazi. But he didn't make me believe. So I quit halfway through, skimming the rest of the way and reading the ending. I did enjoy Last of the Breed so maybe this wasn't the right time for me but I'm pretty sure that I won't pick it up and try again.
Aug 04, 2011
Since it has been so long since I read this book; I can't say much! It was good,and made me think. I want to read it again! Mr. L'Amour has become one of my favorite secular authors. My husband got me hooked on his books years ago when I watched "The Cherokee Trail" on the Disney channel. He handed me the book,and I quickly became a fan!
