Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Over on the Dry Side by Louis L'Amour Narrator: Kirby Heyborne, Oliver Wyman, Jason Culp
Series: Talon and Chantry #7
Published by Random House Audio on October 13, 2020
Genres: Historical Fiction
Length: 7 hours
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
The abandoned cabin seemed like a good place to settle down. . .except for the dead man in the front yard. But Doby Kernohan and his father traveled a long way seeking a new start, and they were in no position to be choosy. Unfortunately, the mysterious man's violent end was an omen of darker events to come, for a cycle of violence that had begun long ago was about to reach an explosive conclusion. Caught in a tangle of murder, greed, and blood vengeance, the Kernohans have no choice but to get involved. And when a mysterious beauty from deep in the surrounding hills and a deadly stranger named Owen Chantry arrive, what had at first seemed like good fortune suddenly becomes a terrifying fight for life itself.
LOUID L'AMOUR'S LOST TREASURES IS A PROJECT CREATED TO RELEASE SOME OF THE AUTHOR'S MORE UNCONVENTIONAL MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE FAMILY ARCHIVES.
A dead body, an empty cabin, a mysterious girl, a lone rider, and a gang after a treasure make for a very exciting western adventure. I was looking forward to a tale told alternating between a sixteen year old boy with lots of grit and a hard man with cold gray eyes from two talented narrators splitting the audio work.
Doby Kernohan and his pa find a murdered man and a deserted cabin. They are tired of drifting so settle in to work the land. Doby worries there is trouble coming and he isn’t wrong when a savvy man rides in and claims the man is his murdered brother, word is carried that the dead man knew the source of a treasure, and there is a beautiful girl who seems tied-in to the Mowatt outfit driving people away so they can get to the treasure.
Meanwhile, Owen Chantry knows his brother and the treasure isn’t some hoard of gold and gems, but he also knows the lure of treasure so is not surprised when the greedy Mowatts and their hired gunfighters won’t be persuaded to clear out and leave the Kernohans alone. A confrontation is coming and he has to get that girl away from the worst of that group and keep Doby and his pa safe even while he determines to stop drifting and plant roots on Clive’s land and that cabin up high in the lovely, but lonely forest.
Over on the Dry Side is a nice blend of characterization, mystery, historical background, and western action. It was exciting to listen to, but it also felt choppy with the blend of Doby and Owen’s stories in one book since the tension piece between the two that was building never got addressed and just petered out at the end. To be fair, maybe the big fight at the end gave Doby perspective so he could stop resenting Owen for his prowess and for getting the attentions of a certain lady. Owen could wax long on philosophical ideas and their shared Irish heritage and history which could slow the pace down a bit. But, I still enjoyed it because Owen was that fascinating contradiction of educated, polished, but also wild and raw. One moment he’s teaching Doby and the next he’s in a gun battle. There is the mystery about Clive’s treasure and a hint of romance to round it all out.
This was a Lost Treasures edition so it also included an explanation from Beau L’Amour about the story and where it fit in to his dad’s series on the Chantry family. It also included a partial, never-finished prequel story about Owen Chantry that shares his background and the beginning of an adventure. I wish Louis had finished that one.
All in all, it was a good western adventure with the treasure hunting twist. Those who enjoy frontier stories or western shoot ‘em ups should give it a go.
Narration:
Kirby Heyborne does fabulous as an uneducated, but wise in the ways of hard work and frontier living young man and Oliver Wyman matched him as Owen and his perspective. I enjoyed both their sides of the story and how they voiced the other characters and caught the tone and rhythm of the story. Jason Culp read the extras.
Listen to a clip:
About Jason Culp
Jason Culp was born in Los Angeles, second son of actor/writer Robert Culp and his wife Nancy. Raised variously in the San Fernando Valley, Ojai, Malibu and Beverly Hills, he began acting at the age of 10 in a small role in the film “Hickey & Boggs”, directed by his father. After a great deal of theater through his teen years, he trained at the American Conservatory Theater, in New York with Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen at the esteemed HB Studio, and back in Los Angeles in the 80s with John Lehne. He appeared in the soaps “General Hospital”, “Days of our Lives”, and appeared in the film “Skinheads”. He moved to New York in the early 90s and resided there for 25 years, doing regional theater and focusing on voice over work, audiobooks and writing. He has now returned to Los Angeles to resume his acting career.
About Kirby Heyborne
Kirby Heyborne has received critical acclaim for his starring role in the award-winning World War II drama Saints and Soldiers. He has had starring roles in eight other features and two short films, and has also appeared on the WB’s Everwood and many national commercials. He has garnered rave reviews for his narration for Books on Tape over the years and is considered one of the finest narrators working today.
About Oliver Wyman
A veteran voice actor who can be heard in countless cartoons and video games. He has recorded more than 150 audiobooks. Over the course of his career, Wyman has won a total of five Audie Awards.
Oliver credits his personal passion for comic books for his ability to make characters come alive in his head. “The music of language is always apparent to me.” He loves doing science fiction and fantasy titles when he gets the chance, and he looks at characters he’s to portray as if he’s casting a movie. He meets the challenge of business books by maintaining a level of energy that transfers to listeners and keeps them engaged with the information. With the offbeat humor of Tim Dorsey’s books— HURRICANE PUNCH and ATOMIC LOBSTER —Oliver is engaging another facet: his ability to do humor.
About Louis L’Amour
Louis L’Amour was an American author. L’Amour’s books, primarily Western fiction, remain enormously popular, and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death all 101 of his works were in print (86 novels, 14 short-story collections and one full-length work of nonfiction) and he was considered “one of the world’s most popular writers”.
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As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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Wow, I have never seen an audiobook with three narrators. Must be great to have nice, distinctly different voices. Many single narrators do a good job, but sometimes it’s a struggle to make out different characters in books with many male voices.
I’m not interested in westerns and haven’t read a L’Amour book, but you make this one sound like giving it a go.
Yeah, I really enjoyed having two distinct narrators for the voices since one perspective was a teenage boy and the other a middle-aged man. I loved all the action moments, but the reflective parts and historical descriptions have great appeal too.
as a teenager, i used to swipe his books from my dad when he wasn’t looking
Haha, that’s great, Sherry. My first Louis L’Amour was swiped from my dad’s nightstand, too. 🙂
🙂
I don’t think I’ve read this author. I was confusing him with Zane Grey for a moment, who I have read a bit. I might like to read some of his work sometime.
My favorites are Flint, his Sackett series, and Milo Talon. 🙂 Hope you get the chance.
Oh I don’t think I’ve ever tried a book like that
Yeah, western fiction is not as popular these days, but I’ve come to love it. 🙂
I remember reading his books when I was in high school. I loved. I have not read him in quite a while. This one sounds exciting,
Fun that you’ve read his books, too.
Can you believe I’ve never read a Louis L’Amour? This sounds like an excellent place to start. Wonderful review, Sophia! 🙂
Haha! He’s a classic so you’ve got plenty of time to get around to his stuff. I like some more than others and really like the ones when there is a mystery paired with the western action. I think that was why my first one, Milo Talon, got me reading more.