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The Empty Land
For thousands of years the lonely canyon knew only wind and rain, wild animals, and an occasional native hunter. Then a trapper found a chunk of gold, and everything changed overnight.
In six days a town called Confusion appeared . . . and on the seventh it could disappear, consumed by the flames of lawlessness and violence. On one side are those who understand only brute force. On the other are men who want law and order but are ready to use a noose to achieve their ends. Between them stand Matt Coburn and Dick one a hardened realist, the other an idealist trying to dig a fortune from the muddy hillside. Outnumbered and outgunned, Felton and Coburn can’t afford to be outmaneuvered. For as the two unlikely allies confront corruption, betrayal, and murder in an attempt to tame a town where the discovery of gold can mean either the fortune of a lifetime or a sentence of death, they realize that any move could be their last.
In six days a town called Confusion appeared . . . and on the seventh it could disappear, consumed by the flames of lawlessness and violence. On one side are those who understand only brute force. On the other are men who want law and order but are ready to use a noose to achieve their ends. Between them stand Matt Coburn and Dick one a hardened realist, the other an idealist trying to dig a fortune from the muddy hillside. Outnumbered and outgunned, Felton and Coburn can’t afford to be outmaneuvered. For as the two unlikely allies confront corruption, betrayal, and murder in an attempt to tame a town where the discovery of gold can mean either the fortune of a lifetime or a sentence of death, they realize that any move could be their last.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
176 people are currently reading
709 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
1,000 books3,499 followersLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
September 10, 2025
Boot Hill synonymous with the Old West, death strikes quick and not respectable men inherit a hole in the ground some even receive an epitaph... My favorite is "Here lies Lester Moore four slugs from a 44, no Les no more" on his tombstone. This is a roundabout way of introducing one of Louis L'Amour 's best westerns "The Empty Land" as the usual hero type, Matt Coburn fights for survival alone .... almost, to clean up this time a lawless boom town in Utah as prospectors find Gold in the middle of nowhere. A few days before only a small group , wild animals to be sure walked there, now thousands of the savage two -legged kind trample the soil, despoiling the land, polluting the air crushing anything in there greedy way, ambition is king no matter the cost, hills disappear as holes appear, nature took millions of years to develop that in a week or two vanish so men might become rich by grabbing a piece of yellow mineral. Matt has a reputation which means any kid lucky enough to kill the gunman will be famous and feared, no longer a nobody money doubtless his too. Our little town for good reason called Confusion is on a path either to prosperity or a tumble into nonexistence the balance is precarious though still about even, the fall would be devastating and the rise glorious. Mr. Coburn is very reluctant to be a lawman again all the killings make him feel uneasy besides he meets two attractive women independent Laurie Shannon owner of a local ranch, she a delightful combination of toughness and tenderness . Madge Healy on the other hand at 19 already a widow the husband was a irresponsible heel, she a popular former singer and dancer in mining camps has a claim which will make her wealthy if she lives, hired outlaws want nonetheless Matt rather enjoys the Cowboy life drifting from job to job yet the constant movements tiring to the heart maybe there is a better life somewhere else, calm, quiet, peaceful, the dull living he yearns for but will the crowd permit this escape from duty...not. The writer loved adventure, like the books he wrote the characters breathed excitement his many fans wouldn't have it differently.. Some of the best action scenes are in this novel the tensions mount the guns spark , the noise constant and bodies collapse, horses scream, blood drops, the ground wet from dark liquid and the living remain standing. But the snakes will return as in the present world.
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November 23, 2020
A great story. Matt Coburn is your quintessential Western. He cleans up towns with outlaws and lowlifes. Confusion is a town on the edge. Gold has been discovered and the vultures are circling. Matt also has two woman he must decide between. Laura a rancher with a view on killings and Madge who like Matt understands the necessity for law and that sometimes the only option is violence.
The story has a great fist battle, gunfights, ambushes and also the dilemma of how you bring law and order to a town. On the one side you have people who think talking will persuade the bad elements to change their ways. Matt knows better.
The story has a great fist battle, gunfights, ambushes and also the dilemma of how you bring law and order to a town. On the one side you have people who think talking will persuade the bad elements to change their ways. Matt knows better.
March 6, 2020
This was one great read! L’Amour‘s, The Empty Land, was about the birth of a mining boom town, and the good and bad people who populated it during its first weeks of existence. Historically in the west, times were definitely tough. Many good and honest people worked those new towns, but there were too many who also exploited the wealth and good intentions of others as well. Lawlessness was too easy to find, yet there were certain codes of conduct too. These towns and the west sure weren’t places for the faint of heart. L’Amour captured it brilliantly in the fast-paced page turner that has well developed characters and important ethical questions as well. A terrific book!
March 28, 2013
This book has given me a crisis of identity. I'm no longer sure that I don't like westerns. Though, I think perhaps I just really like Louis L'Amour’s writing. The opening passage of “The Empty Land” is captivating and makes some bold claims about a coyote that would have been harder for a lesser writer to live up to:
“In Europe, Pope Gregory the Great had died, in Ireland the Golden Age of scholarship was at its height, and on the Continent the Merovingian kings ruled much of what is now Germany and France.
In Southeast Asia the little kingdom of Champa, now called South Vietnam, was locked in a life-and-death struggle for its independence, with China and what is now North Vietnam.
It was the seventh century, and the great T’ang dynasty was rising in China, while across the Asian continent a relatively unknown man named Mohammed sat meditating in Mecca, conceiving the religious teachings that were to dominate civilization for the next seven hundred years.
In what was someday to be known as western Utah, a hungry coyote trotted across a barren slope.
The coyote had no awareness of history beyond the memory of where his food had been obtained in the past, nor had he any realization of the sequence of events he was soon to star in motion, a sequence that was to enrich several men and at least one woman, and was to bring sudden and violent death by bullet or blade to at least forty men.
All of that lay more than eleven hundred years in the future, but it was the coyote that began it.”
In the pages following L’Amour lives up to the coyote’s hype and tells a solid story full of tense moments and wild west action. I’ve consistently been engrossed and entertained by L’Amour’s books, and he has such a large body of writing, I think L’Amour will be my go to author for filling in the gaps when I need a good book to listen to when I have nothing else in mind.
“In Europe, Pope Gregory the Great had died, in Ireland the Golden Age of scholarship was at its height, and on the Continent the Merovingian kings ruled much of what is now Germany and France.
In Southeast Asia the little kingdom of Champa, now called South Vietnam, was locked in a life-and-death struggle for its independence, with China and what is now North Vietnam.
It was the seventh century, and the great T’ang dynasty was rising in China, while across the Asian continent a relatively unknown man named Mohammed sat meditating in Mecca, conceiving the religious teachings that were to dominate civilization for the next seven hundred years.
In what was someday to be known as western Utah, a hungry coyote trotted across a barren slope.
The coyote had no awareness of history beyond the memory of where his food had been obtained in the past, nor had he any realization of the sequence of events he was soon to star in motion, a sequence that was to enrich several men and at least one woman, and was to bring sudden and violent death by bullet or blade to at least forty men.
All of that lay more than eleven hundred years in the future, but it was the coyote that began it.”
In the pages following L’Amour lives up to the coyote’s hype and tells a solid story full of tense moments and wild west action. I’ve consistently been engrossed and entertained by L’Amour’s books, and he has such a large body of writing, I think L’Amour will be my go to author for filling in the gaps when I need a good book to listen to when I have nothing else in mind.
May 3, 2011
Instead of The Empty Land, I'd call it - The Price for Confusion
February 26, 2012
I think The Empty Land just tries too much. For a fairly short book, there are too many characters—it feels like hundreds at times; even minor bystanders like a couple of stagecoach passengers who never appear again are given full first-and-last names. There are so many villains and gunmen that it's a task keeping straight who wants what and who's working for whom and with whom (made a little more complicated by some people switching sides). The result is that nobody really has enough time in the spotlight for characters to be fully developed. It's written in a short, jerky style that moves quickly from one event to the next. Madge Healy was probably the most interesting character, but the love triangle was too much of a sideline to hold any interest. The only other character that I felt any kind of sympathy for was, oddly enough, the misguided young gunman wannabe Freeman Dorset.
Although I don't usually skip when I read, I did skim over the four-page fistfight. Not my cup of tea. On the other hand, the stagecoach trip was probably the best-executed sequence in the story. And L'Amour did create quite a fascinating opening for the book, though it seems like it would better suit a big historical saga than an average action-filled Western.
Although I don't usually skip when I read, I did skim over the four-page fistfight. Not my cup of tea. On the other hand, the stagecoach trip was probably the best-executed sequence in the story. And L'Amour did create quite a fascinating opening for the book, though it seems like it would better suit a big historical saga than an average action-filled Western.
November 19, 2020
A canyon that has not seen man except for a rare native hunter is the site of a gold strike. In this remote and dangerous location, a mining town springs up in just six days. Matt Corburn and Dick Fallon team up to risk their lives in an effort to strike it rich.
July 27, 2010
Another very good one.
June 8, 2017
Not L'Amours best work. Story was a bit disjointed and I just didn't really care about any of the characters.
March 1, 2025
My dad gave me this book over a decade ago, and I started reading it ironically only to discover that it’s actually awesome. I think I love westerns.
November 19, 2020
To find gold, two unlikely allies must tame a Western town where some men's notion of law is a lynchman's rope. On the other side is a lawless element that wants the town wide open. Into this conflict rides a gunman who wants to leave violence behind.
September 1, 2024
Great cowboy talk in this book. I love when Matt Coburn says” if legal action doesn’t work, use lever action” and “ this town should form an uplift society and do all the lifting with a rope”
March 8, 2009
My dad loves all his books and I read over a hundred while staving off the night terrors when growing up.
It is a strange fact about the old west, Indians, and the genocidal take over of the land now called the United States that fiction writing about them is often taken for truth (see Ward Churchill's Fantasies of the Master Race). The back of almost every L'amour novel lauds his knowledge of "how it really was" and the fact that he could've been one of the tough, honorable, lonely fighting men he wrote about. This is complete crap. L'amour was a seller of fantasy, of lies, and of ideals that white men like to think they possess.
He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogic--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing.
Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard.
When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed.
It is a strange fact about the old west, Indians, and the genocidal take over of the land now called the United States that fiction writing about them is often taken for truth (see Ward Churchill's Fantasies of the Master Race). The back of almost every L'amour novel lauds his knowledge of "how it really was" and the fact that he could've been one of the tough, honorable, lonely fighting men he wrote about. This is complete crap. L'amour was a seller of fantasy, of lies, and of ideals that white men like to think they possess.
He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogic--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing.
Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard.
When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed.
February 24, 2017
The Empty Land by Louis L'Amour is a great book. Matt Corburn has been a wanderer his whole life and working for the law. He has gone from Boom town to Boom town and cleaning them up. He comes upon this one little Boom town called Confusion. He had cleaned up tough towns before but he did not even want to try to bring the law to Confusion. He was asked to sheriff and refused. But, even after he refused he realized he had no choice but to help, and helping my cost him his life. I liked this book a lot. There was action and excitement. Not as much as I would like but enough. When it cam to a certain part of the book the excitement started to build up. It would get worked up then it dropped. I do and I don't like the excitement than that not being the best part of the book. Most of Louis L'Amour books a shorter jam packed this adventure, but I think that there should have been more adventure. Before he starts to help in Confusion he rides gun on a Wells Fargo stage. I think the Wells Fargo trip took too long. A way I can make a connection to this book is some parts of this book take place in Southern Utah and I have been in Southern Utah. The theme of this book is to "Choose the Hard right than the easier wrong."
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April 27, 2012What is it about L'Amour's stories? I have yet to read one I didn't like. In The Empty Land, it's a story of three men who find gold and a boom town springs up in the matter of days, but it's on the verge of destroying itself through its lawless citizens. Enter Matt Colburn. He's as tough a man as the West could make, ready to take on the outlaws and thieves to make a town worth living in.
I love the language L'Amour uses to describe people and places. It's like he lived in that time and is taking us all there with him. It's that good.
I love the language L'Amour uses to describe people and places. It's like he lived in that time and is taking us all there with him. It's that good.
December 29, 2019
Matt Coburn is a man that cleans up boom towns. He is hard and he either kills or runs off the bad guys. So, the town is happy while he is doing it, but embarrassed and disgusted when he finishes. Confusion is located in the Nevada/Utah area at the foot of the Confusion Mountains near Jefferson Davis Mountain. The characters are not well hashed out. These books do not have the pages for that much character development. These books are like potato chips. There is not much in one chip, so you keep reading.
January 22, 2022
My Favorite Louis L'Amour Story Thus Far
Although the story started slow, once it came to life, it really came to life. Great characters, lots of action, and the main character's sober reflections all the way through. A well-developed story.
Although the story started slow, once it came to life, it really came to life. Great characters, lots of action, and the main character's sober reflections all the way through. A well-developed story.
July 12, 2015
You can't have peace, unless both sides truly want it.
June 10, 2018
The Wild West in the 1860s. And it was getting pretty wild in Confusion, the brand new town that sprouted up real quick when some promising gold mines were discovered nearby and everybody wanted a piece of the action. Confusion was somewhere between Ely, Nevada and Delta, Utah. Still open country today, long after L’Amour (1908-1988) wrote The Empty Land in 1969.
The three miners who founded the town were good men. “We want a church and school. We want law and order.”
What would they name the new boomtown? Confusion. Every night fistfights, shootings, tents burned down. Gambling, saloons. Plenty of rough men among a few good ones. Who could enforce some law in a place like this?
Before long, Big Thompson, a rough and tumble claim jumper, killed the town’s first marshal. Thompson wanted a share of the big gold mine owned by the founders of Confusion at a budget price but was refused.
Hick Sutton was hired as the new marshal. He and his boys were expected to kick Big Thompson out of town. But Sutton’s agenda was shaking down the gamblers, not enforcing the law and ridding the town of the crooks. But he was no match for Thompson who ran him out of town.
Some of the miners wanted Matt Coburn, the best gunfighter around, as the new marshal but Felton, one of the founders, was against it. Meanwhile, as the town grew, violence and lawlessness increased. And the bad guys—Big Thompson, the knifeman Peggoty Gorman, and the cold, calculating Harry Meadows--weren’t planning on leaving all that gold nearby. By the 15th day of the life of Confusion, 7 were killed, along with 9 robberies and 2 stagecoach holdups. Felton was finally persuaded to accept Coburn as marshal.
Coburn was a gunfighter with a conscience, not a hired lawbreaker like so many others. “I never hired my gun to anybody but the law,” he said to another gunman who challenged his ethics. But he had no interest in the job of town marshal.
The Wells Fargo man had a $50,000 shipment of gold bullion to deliver to Carson City by stagecoach. He wanted Coburn to ride shotgun. Coburn was initially reluctant to get involved with Confusion. He didn’t want the marshal job, or the stagecoach gig, either. But he relented, wanting to ride with driver Dandy Burke, who had a reputation as a fighter of stage robbers. The coach journeyed from Confusion to Carson City. Everybody knew what was on board as it had been advertised in the local paper. Gold. But the ad also mentioned casually that Matt Coburn would be riding shotgun. The gold was an enticing target for outlaws, but the smart ones wanted no part of Coburn.
Big money meant big risks, and Harry Meadows wasn't reckless. A clueless young gun wanted to join Meadows and attack the stagecoach. Meadows was reluctant, as he considered Coburn too tough and not worth the trouble. But he convinces the impressionable young gun eager to prove himself that he's the man to take down Coburn and earn himself a reputation.
Laurie Shannon is a ranch owner. Madge Healy is a former child entertainer who went from town to town entertaining the miners, dancing and singing songs from their youths.
Will Matt Coburn survive the attempts on his life by Meadows and Big Thompson? And if he does survive, which of the two women--Shannon or Healy--will he choose? And what about Confusion and its three founding miners? Will the town survive or be destroyed like so many others by the rowdy, reckless bad guys who move from town to town with little care for the havoc they wreak?
Before The Empty Land, it had been years since I had picked up a Western, but I’m glad I did. I couldn’t put this one down. L’Amour knew the West, and he spins a great yarn. The first thing I did after finishing the last page was look to see what other of his novels I might buy. That’s the mark of a great storyteller.
The three miners who founded the town were good men. “We want a church and school. We want law and order.”
What would they name the new boomtown? Confusion. Every night fistfights, shootings, tents burned down. Gambling, saloons. Plenty of rough men among a few good ones. Who could enforce some law in a place like this?
Before long, Big Thompson, a rough and tumble claim jumper, killed the town’s first marshal. Thompson wanted a share of the big gold mine owned by the founders of Confusion at a budget price but was refused.
Hick Sutton was hired as the new marshal. He and his boys were expected to kick Big Thompson out of town. But Sutton’s agenda was shaking down the gamblers, not enforcing the law and ridding the town of the crooks. But he was no match for Thompson who ran him out of town.
Some of the miners wanted Matt Coburn, the best gunfighter around, as the new marshal but Felton, one of the founders, was against it. Meanwhile, as the town grew, violence and lawlessness increased. And the bad guys—Big Thompson, the knifeman Peggoty Gorman, and the cold, calculating Harry Meadows--weren’t planning on leaving all that gold nearby. By the 15th day of the life of Confusion, 7 were killed, along with 9 robberies and 2 stagecoach holdups. Felton was finally persuaded to accept Coburn as marshal.
Coburn was a gunfighter with a conscience, not a hired lawbreaker like so many others. “I never hired my gun to anybody but the law,” he said to another gunman who challenged his ethics. But he had no interest in the job of town marshal.
The Wells Fargo man had a $50,000 shipment of gold bullion to deliver to Carson City by stagecoach. He wanted Coburn to ride shotgun. Coburn was initially reluctant to get involved with Confusion. He didn’t want the marshal job, or the stagecoach gig, either. But he relented, wanting to ride with driver Dandy Burke, who had a reputation as a fighter of stage robbers. The coach journeyed from Confusion to Carson City. Everybody knew what was on board as it had been advertised in the local paper. Gold. But the ad also mentioned casually that Matt Coburn would be riding shotgun. The gold was an enticing target for outlaws, but the smart ones wanted no part of Coburn.
Big money meant big risks, and Harry Meadows wasn't reckless. A clueless young gun wanted to join Meadows and attack the stagecoach. Meadows was reluctant, as he considered Coburn too tough and not worth the trouble. But he convinces the impressionable young gun eager to prove himself that he's the man to take down Coburn and earn himself a reputation.
Laurie Shannon is a ranch owner. Madge Healy is a former child entertainer who went from town to town entertaining the miners, dancing and singing songs from their youths.
Will Matt Coburn survive the attempts on his life by Meadows and Big Thompson? And if he does survive, which of the two women--Shannon or Healy--will he choose? And what about Confusion and its three founding miners? Will the town survive or be destroyed like so many others by the rowdy, reckless bad guys who move from town to town with little care for the havoc they wreak?
Before The Empty Land, it had been years since I had picked up a Western, but I’m glad I did. I couldn’t put this one down. L’Amour knew the West, and he spins a great yarn. The first thing I did after finishing the last page was look to see what other of his novels I might buy. That’s the mark of a great storyteller.
October 28, 2025
This is the first western novel I have read, and I really enjoyed it. It is about a group of three people who settle a town in the desert near a recently found gold mine. Felton, the main one behind the planning and settlement, wants this town to thrive with a school and church and other very friendly things, but he encounters a major problem: many of the people who come to this type of town are rough, gun-wielding outlaws not afraid to injure or kill others. The story follows him and Matt Coburn, a fast draw with a good heart as they try to put law into this town.
The book follows a good progression, and it never felt like it was going too fast or slow for the point in the plot. The characters felt realistic and all had different motives and personalities that contributed to the progression of the story. I loved reading through the action scenes, because they were described with a lot of great detail and felt very real. The themes of anarchy and lawlessness helped me to understand today's political systems and why they work the way they do. I had a hard time following all of the different characters in the story and keeping all of them straight with their individual roles and personalities, so I suggest using a character map to associate all the names with their roles and relations. There is a lot of death and violence, and a little bit of strong language. Overall, it is a reasonably short and exciting read.
The book follows a good progression, and it never felt like it was going too fast or slow for the point in the plot. The characters felt realistic and all had different motives and personalities that contributed to the progression of the story. I loved reading through the action scenes, because they were described with a lot of great detail and felt very real. The themes of anarchy and lawlessness helped me to understand today's political systems and why they work the way they do. I had a hard time following all of the different characters in the story and keeping all of them straight with their individual roles and personalities, so I suggest using a character map to associate all the names with their roles and relations. There is a lot of death and violence, and a little bit of strong language. Overall, it is a reasonably short and exciting read.
May 17, 2020
This is the best western novel by L’Amour that I have ever read. Matt Coburn is the main character and while he is the best with a gun, he is most reluctant to use it. Yet, circumstances continue to force him to intervene and try to establish law in order in the gold boom town of Confusion. His first job is riding shotgun for the stage carrying the first shipment of gold ore and ends with his engaging in a series of gunfights with people that kill others for fun and profit.
This book also has one of the most interesting beginnings of all western novels. The first three paragraphs describe events in Europe and Asia during the seventh century, where monarchs ruled and fought for dominion. Only after that does the flow move to a coyote trying to capture a meal on the move.
The story is about a man with a destiny that he tries to avoid and cannot. Even though he could have rode away and left the town to likely destruction, he rides back because he fundamentally knows that he is the only one that can hold the barbarians at bay. He succeeds at great cost and at the end, he may have found peace and a real station in life.
The story is great and engaging, the hero that uses his guns to tame the social forces of darkness should engage in thoughts of regret and doubt when it is necessary to kill those that want to destroy the sparks of civilization.
This book also has one of the most interesting beginnings of all western novels. The first three paragraphs describe events in Europe and Asia during the seventh century, where monarchs ruled and fought for dominion. Only after that does the flow move to a coyote trying to capture a meal on the move.
The story is about a man with a destiny that he tries to avoid and cannot. Even though he could have rode away and left the town to likely destruction, he rides back because he fundamentally knows that he is the only one that can hold the barbarians at bay. He succeeds at great cost and at the end, he may have found peace and a real station in life.
The story is great and engaging, the hero that uses his guns to tame the social forces of darkness should engage in thoughts of regret and doubt when it is necessary to kill those that want to destroy the sparks of civilization.
June 3, 2021
I would have put 4 stars except I started to zone out in the last half of the story. The beginning was very strong, the introduction to characters was solid, you immediately felt at home with his characters: hero, women, side people, and villains. He goes on to construct a wonderful rendition of a gold-rush boom-town. Somehow he makes everything click but I lost track of things and my eyes glazed over at some point where Matt(?) escorts a gold delivery. As usual with L'Amour, he ends with some great descriptive fights where you really get a feel for the odds of the fighters and he drops a fact or two that relate from his own experience as a boxer. L'Amour is always good to read when you want good descriptions of land, tough people, authentic sounding fights, and visceral, raw feelings. Even though he isn't well-respected as an author of American letters, for someone whose novels are pretty much, and by pretty much I mean definitely, rough drafts (he never went back through to correct things, or keep track of his characters) they are very solid and a full head and shoulder above other pulp fiction of his era, or any era (for instance, the Tarzan novels are pure steamy garbage attempts at action in comparison).
October 5, 2022
I've never read a western until "The Empty Land," so I can only compare it to non-fiction, legal mysteries, and a sampling of a few others. Of course, dipping my toe in the western genre, I had to begin with a Louis L'Amour.
I can't say this story took me to the edge of my seat; however, I found the characters each had an internal battle they were fighting that provided enough interest to keep me listening to the audiobook. There was the no-longer-want-to-be lawman and a young woman in need of protection with a secret. An older woman had her eye on the lawman, but her moral compass just might get in the way. Of course, there were a lot of rowdy miners ready to strike it rich or steal it rich, if it came to that, and one massive haul of gold in need of transport to town on the WellsFargo stage.
Everything I expected when I picked up "The Empty Land" is here. The best part is the beginning, so I'm not spoiling it for anyone when I say this—the hungry coyote trotting across a barren slope 1,100 years before the story began. He started it all without realizing it. My hat is off to Louis L'Amour.
I can't say this story took me to the edge of my seat; however, I found the characters each had an internal battle they were fighting that provided enough interest to keep me listening to the audiobook. There was the no-longer-want-to-be lawman and a young woman in need of protection with a secret. An older woman had her eye on the lawman, but her moral compass just might get in the way. Of course, there were a lot of rowdy miners ready to strike it rich or steal it rich, if it came to that, and one massive haul of gold in need of transport to town on the WellsFargo stage.
Everything I expected when I picked up "The Empty Land" is here. The best part is the beginning, so I'm not spoiling it for anyone when I say this—the hungry coyote trotting across a barren slope 1,100 years before the story began. He started it all without realizing it. My hat is off to Louis L'Amour.
August 4, 2020
It was difficult looking at paperback book stands in the 60s and 70s to avoid seeing a Louis L'Amour novel. Seemed to me, from the outside, to be the Agatha Christie of Western writers. It took me this long to read one, and it was fun, and rollicking, and dramatic.
Though not RICHLY fun, rollicking and dramatic. Lots of stereotypes here, with the strong, brave man and the pretty, emotional woman (and the tough, emotional woman and the strong cowardly man), and fairly often the writing moved into the melodramatic. The premise of the tired but deadly old gunslinger coming in to clean up a corrupt town is a bit threadbare, but there are some decent, if predictable, subplots here, and some good, if predictable, characters.
As I said, I did enjoy the quick read, but I have my reservations. I would like to read what people consider his best work to see what that might be like. In the meantime, watch out for that glint of metal shining behind those boulders in the hills.
Though not RICHLY fun, rollicking and dramatic. Lots of stereotypes here, with the strong, brave man and the pretty, emotional woman (and the tough, emotional woman and the strong cowardly man), and fairly often the writing moved into the melodramatic. The premise of the tired but deadly old gunslinger coming in to clean up a corrupt town is a bit threadbare, but there are some decent, if predictable, subplots here, and some good, if predictable, characters.
As I said, I did enjoy the quick read, but I have my reservations. I would like to read what people consider his best work to see what that might be like. In the meantime, watch out for that glint of metal shining behind those boulders in the hills.
February 12, 2021
An excellent Western! The opening prose is beautiful, and by far the most skilled writing I have seen by L'Amour.
I like almost everything about this- the completely different opening and the sense of history it gives, the boomtown/gold rush town themes, the different characters and different approaches to the world, the gunfights, and the way the stories play out.
I don't like the love-interest switch out, and I find the first woman's sudden change of heart difficult to believe when she was previously ok with employing a former outlaw; the very end of the story is not quite as good, and very familiar, but it mostly works.
I didn't like Matt Coburn at first, but once we actually start to see more of his character and his need to help, I liked him better (including how smart he was about every choice he made).
Finally, this edition (mass market) has the most fascinating mini-bio I have read for L'Amour.
I like almost everything about this- the completely different opening and the sense of history it gives, the boomtown/gold rush town themes, the different characters and different approaches to the world, the gunfights, and the way the stories play out.
I don't like the love-interest switch out, and I find the first woman's sudden change of heart difficult to believe when she was previously ok with employing a former outlaw; the very end of the story is not quite as good, and very familiar, but it mostly works.
I didn't like Matt Coburn at first, but once we actually start to see more of his character and his need to help, I liked him better (including how smart he was about every choice he made).
Finally, this edition (mass market) has the most fascinating mini-bio I have read for L'Amour.
July 15, 2019
A group of miners make a strike.
Soon a boom town, is growing quickly up around them.
They are looking to build something.
Yet as things get bigger.
Outlaw elements begin to drift in.
Claim jumpers, and men looking to steal, what others earned.
Matt Coburn was drifting. He was not looking for trouble or other folks problems.
A known gun hand, and before a town tamer.
He did not want to get involved.
Yet as he saw how things would go. As he began liking the effort and people of the town.
Matt knew, he was going to have to help or the town would fail.
The outlaws and thieves would win.
Not to mention a few fine ladies, that stood at risk as well.
Decent western fare.
Plus not a bad wrap up. Giving good idea, at how his future lay before him.
Made this a fast, enjoyable read.
Soon a boom town, is growing quickly up around them.
They are looking to build something.
Yet as things get bigger.
Outlaw elements begin to drift in.
Claim jumpers, and men looking to steal, what others earned.
Matt Coburn was drifting. He was not looking for trouble or other folks problems.
A known gun hand, and before a town tamer.
He did not want to get involved.
Yet as he saw how things would go. As he began liking the effort and people of the town.
Matt knew, he was going to have to help or the town would fail.
The outlaws and thieves would win.
Not to mention a few fine ladies, that stood at risk as well.
Decent western fare.
Plus not a bad wrap up. Giving good idea, at how his future lay before him.
Made this a fast, enjoyable read.
June 9, 2023
I don't consider myself a big fan of Westerns, but on the other hand, I've enjoyed every Louis L'Amour book I've ever read. The Empty Land is a good study of how mining camps/ towns quickly blossomed and grew (sometimes to survive and grow, but most often not) in the American West. It also has a very intriguing opening that hooked me immediately. The story is top-heavy in characters for so short a book, and it takes awhile to get to the real action, but still, I found it entertaining. One question I do have, which I kept waiting for the book to answer but never did, was why the book is titled The Empty Land. Once gold is discovered and opportunists start pouring into the area, the land is anything but empty. Oh well. It was still a diverting read.
December 9, 2025
I hadn't read a Louis L'Amour novel in about 15 years. After reading a dozen or so, I lost interest because the quality was so hit and miss. On a whim, I recently decided to revisit his work. I'm glad I did. "The Empty Land" is a winner.
Published in 1969, it's about a good, likable man who tries to tame a wild town full of swindlers, drunks, and gunslingers. Just that description alone probably makes you want to yawn. It's been done a thousand times. But Louis drew me in and kept me turning pages. Enough fists and bullets flew to entertain the hardcore action addict, and a couple of alluring women, both of whom are attracted to the protagonist, added some heart to the proceedings. This is a fine western.
Published in 1969, it's about a good, likable man who tries to tame a wild town full of swindlers, drunks, and gunslingers. Just that description alone probably makes you want to yawn. It's been done a thousand times. But Louis drew me in and kept me turning pages. Enough fists and bullets flew to entertain the hardcore action addict, and a couple of alluring women, both of whom are attracted to the protagonist, added some heart to the proceedings. This is a fine western.
January 20, 2022
To text itself is great, of course. An engaging story with several layers of moving players and events, passionate descriptions of historical and geographical landmarks, and all the action, romance, and wide-open spaces one expects of a L'Amour western.
This, however, is a review written to encourage you to grab the audiobook if you can. Edward Herrmann--God rest him--makes an incredible narrator, bringing each voice, each event, even the pauses between words to vivid reality. His voice is one of the best I've heard reading audiobooks, and hope I find many, many more narrated in his deep, warm tones!
This, however, is a review written to encourage you to grab the audiobook if you can. Edward Herrmann--God rest him--makes an incredible narrator, bringing each voice, each event, even the pauses between words to vivid reality. His voice is one of the best I've heard reading audiobooks, and hope I find many, many more narrated in his deep, warm tones!
September 26, 2019
A western with a more literary bent. L'Amour never fails to deliver. His characters are well drawn (despite the obvious tropes and types that a western requires) and his plot, while simple, is filled out and satisfying. I listened to the audio CDs and the narrator was excellent. L'Amour's son, Beau, is releasing some of his dad's material with bonus info at the end and this is usually very interesting as well. Recommended for western and L'Amour fans, and anyone who likes outdoor, historical adventure.
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