Western

Not sure I'd consider this a "lost treasure", but it was an enjoyable read with a bit more depth than many of L'Amour's westerns.

The underlying plot thread of "You killed my family and I'm going to hunt you down and take revenge" has accounted for barrels of ink and forests of pulp paper, particularly in the Western genre. L'Amour softens it a bit here by having the protagonist realize, after 20 years or so, that the crusade had lost much of its urgency and that basically all he wanted was to be left alone. The appearance of a young woman from his past, and circumstances beyond his control, heated up the quest once again.

This is all set against the background of the gold and silver boom in what became Virginia City, Nevada, as the Civil War broke out. There are politics involved here, interesting insights into hardrock mineral mining of the day, sneaky villains, plucky young women, and boom-or-bust mentality.

The subplot also pads out the length quite a bit, but overall the story maintains a good pace and holds the reader's interest. There's a low-key romance and considerable derring-do as it all wraps itself up. ( )

Outstanding. Lots of action and detail by "America's Favorite Storyteller". ( )

Vey grim opening but gets better once the hero is an adult I Nevada instead of an unhappy child in Cornwall.

I enjoyed this book but the Kindle version is poorly formatted. Chapter links into the book all go to chapter 5. Chapter title formatting is off on every chapter. ( )